Winless Jazz Embark On First Extended Road Trip
Nov 1, 2024, 3:44 PM | Updated: Nov 2, 2024, 12:29 pm
SALT LAKE CITY—The Utah Jazz will begin their first multi-game road trip of the season against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
The Jazz will make stops in Chicago and Milwaukee before wrapping up the four-game road swing in San Antonio.
At 0-5, the Jazz are the only winless team in the NBA.
Related: Jazz Drop Fifth Straight To Open Season
Jazz Look For First Win Against Nuggets
The Jazz will face a Nuggets team that has gotten off to a slower-than-expected start to the season.
Denver is 2-2, but dropped its first two games of the season at home, and has needed overtime in each of their last two wins on the road.
Nikola Jokic is playing MVP-level basketball to open the season averaging a league-leading 31.5 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 9.3 assists.
Nikola joins Oscar Robertson as the only other player in NBA history to reach this stat line:
🃏 29 PTS
🃏 18 REB
🃏 16 AST pic.twitter.com/ezkbnYfQYN— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) October 30, 2024
However, their defensive rating ranks 21st in the league, one spot behind the 20th-ranked Jazz.
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is shooting a career-worst 38 percent from the floor over his first four games after signing a four-year, $208 million contract in September.
Like Murray, the Jazz have struggled to find an offensive rhythm early in the season.
Related: Keyonte George Stays Level-Headed Despite Shooting Slump
The Jazz own the league’s worst offensive rating at 97.8, the only team in the NBA with a rating below 104.0.
Opposing defenses have held the Jazz below the 100-point mark three times, including Thursday’s 106-88 loss to the San Antonio Spurs
The Jazz’s five-game losing streak is the franchise’s longest to open a season since 2013 when the team began the year 0-8.
Jazz Injuries
OUT – Lauri Markkanen (back spasms)
OUT – Jordan Clarkson (plantar fasciitis)
OUT – Isaiah Collier (right hamstring)
OUT – Taylor Hendricks (fibula fracture)
How To Watch, Stream Jazz vs. Nuggets
The Jazz will face the Nuggets at 8:00 p.m. MST on Saturday in Denver. The game will be televised on KJZZ, streamed on Jazz+, and heard on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.
