Game Preview: Utah Jazz and their injury woes arrive in Phoenix for an unusual afternoon tip-off

Should be an easy win for the Phoenix Suns. But is anything easy?

Who: Phoenix Suns (17-19) vs. Utah Jazz (9-27)

When: 3:00pm Arizona Time

Where: Footprint Center — Phoenix, Arizona

Watch: AZFamily, Suns Live

Listen: KMVP 98.7

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Positivity. Gotta have positivity. Trying to have positivity.

The Suns play the Jazz at 3:00pm today (okay, strange start time), a team that has but 9 wins in 36 tries. Tanking for Cooper Flagg might be a real thing up there in the Wasatch Mountains, but in Phoenix, we don’t care. We’ll still make you look competent.

Utah’s hobbling into this one, winners of two of their last four games, dragging behind them an injury list long enough to make a triage nurse sweat. On paper, they shouldn’t offer much resistance. But look at the Suns against the hampered Magic or crippled Grizzlies.

Disrespect your opponent, even one taped together with spare parts, and you’ve already lost the mental edge. Talent doesn’t always dictate the final buzzer. It’s a cruel paradox in a game that thrives on highlight reels and superstar clout. Just ask the 17-19 Suns, a team so talented on paper it’s almost laughable, yet somehow playing basketball like they’re the punchline.

It’s not all doom and gloom for Phoenix. Since moving Beal and Nurkic to the second unit, the Suns are 2-1, and the shift is already paying off. Positive results, mind you, that I believed in a year ago. Results that could translate to consistent winning…if Beal fully buys into the role.

And really, how big of a change is it? Beal is averaging just 1.9 fewer minutes as a reserve. It’s less about the minutes and more about the mindset.

“When you look at the whole game, he’s playing a lot of minutes, still getting his shots up,” Kevin Durant said about Beal at practice yesterday. “So now coming into the games, I feel like he’s just comfortable understanding where his shots are going to come from. Sometimes that’s a struggle not understanding exactly what the role is at that point.”

Looking at the Suns’ rotational pattern over the last three games, it isn’t Beal who is sacrificing. It’s Tyus Jones. He is no longer closing out games, something he had done with regularity before.

With a favorable schedule before them, there is a chance that stacking wins may occur. Will that be enough for belief to return in this team? No, at least not in my eyes. But in certainly is a step in a direction that I’d enjoy. See? I was positive-ish.

Probable Starters

Injury Report

Suns

• Royce O’Neale — DOUBTFUL (Left Ankle)

Jazz

• Collin Sexton — AVAILABLE (Left Finger)
• Oscar Tshiebwe — AVAILABLE (Left Finger)
• Jordan Clarkson — OUT (Left Foot)
• John Collins — OUT (Left Hip)
• Keyonte George — OUT (Left Heel)
• Taylor Hendricks — OUT (Right Fibula)
• Johnny Juzang — QUESTIONABLE (Right Hand)
• Brice Sensabaugh — QUESTIONABLE (Illness)

Uniform Matchup

What to Watch For

The interior.

Despite their struggles to win games, Utah poses a significant challenge for the Phoenix Suns in the paint. Phoenix lacks size, and with Jusuf Nurkic benched in the last game, it’s worth wondering if Mike Budenholzer will continue leaning on Mason Plumlee and Oso Ighodaro. Walker Kessler, averaging 11.4 rebounds per game (8th in the NBA), is a force on the boards. Meanwhile, Lauri Markkanen, a fundamentally sound stretch four, can punish teams inside if given the chance. Given Phoenix’s size limitations, they might leave the door open for Utah to dominate in this area.

The question is, will Utah recognize and relentlessly exploit the Suns’ vulnerability in the interior? It’s a strong possibility. Utah ranks sixth in the NBA in total rebounds and third in rebounds allowed, effectively owning the glass.

One way for Phoenix to counter that? Play Jusuf Nurkic. Despite his struggles this season, particularly with interior scoring and playmaking, he remains an elite rebounder. According to B-Ball Index, Nurkic’s defensive rebounding talent is graded in the 100th percentile.

So, what’s Bud’s plan? Was benching Nurkic last game a chance for him to reset mentally, or was it purely a strategic move? We’ll find out tonight. Whatever the reason, the Suns need to address their interior presence if they hope to control the boards and neutralize Utah’s strengths.

Key to a Suns Win

Hustle and flow. Not just a 2005 Terrence Howard flick, but the mantra the Suns need to embrace if they want to shake off their habit of underestimating weaker or injury-riddled teams. It’s like clockwork: Phoenix steps onto the court, sees a team limping, and mentally coasts, only to get burned. Call it arrogance, call it complacency, but it’s a killer.

Utah comes in young, boasting the NBA’s eighth-youngest roster. Meanwhile, Phoenix? They’re the old heads of the league. And that age difference shows. Energy and effort have sometimes betrayed the Suns, even when the desire is there. Physical fatigue has a way of snatching games out of their hands, and tonight it could be no different unless they come correct.

The formula for a win? It’s not rocket science: beat the mental hurdles, conquer the physical limitations, and for God’s sake, own the glass. Sprinkle in a few three-pointers for good measure, and maybe, just maybe, this team can stop being the NBA’s punchline for playing down to their competition. The challenge isn’t just on the other side of the court. It’s in their heads, their legs, and, ultimately, their will to execute. Time to hustle. Time to flow.

Prediction

Phoenix is an 11.5-point favorite. I’m not touching it. My faith in them is on shaky ground, the kind of relationship where you keep looking at the door, waiting for the next letdown.

Will the Suns win? Sure. But cover? Not a chance. Not today. This team hasn’t earned that kind of confidence, and until they do, I’m keeping my wallet closed and my expectations even lower.

Suns 121, Jazz 111