The Utah Jazz go into Friday night with a six-game losing streak and a fresh target: opening NBA Cup Group Stage play against the Dallas Mavericks. It is the kind of game that can either steady a season or deepen the hole, and Utah needs the former after Wednesday night’s 120-113 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Keyonte George gave the Jazz something to build on in that overtime defeat, finishing with 39 points and nine assists. Lauri Markkanen added 21 points and 10 rebounds, but Utah still went 11-of-47 from deep. That kind of night has become part of the problem. The Jazz have shot 34-of-121 from beyond the arc over their last three games, and they are at 31.5 percent from deep on the season, which ranks 27th.
Friday’s game matters because it is Utah’s first NBA Cup Group Stage game, while Dallas already has a win in the format after beating the Houston Rockets one week ago. The Mavericks are 4-4 and have been driven by Cooper Flagg, who is averaging 24.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game, and Kyrie Irving, who is scoring 22.7 points per game. A year ago, the teams split the season series, so this is not an unfamiliar matchup, even if the stakes now feel sharper for Utah.
The Jazz also have to manage the game without Jaren Jackson Jr., who is out with a right knee MCL tear, and Jusuf Nurkić, who is out with a right foot second plantar plate tear. That leaves more pressure on the parts of the roster that are still available, especially when Utah’s offense has been struggling from long range and its frontcourt rotation has been thinned out. Hardy said the season is long and every team runs into adversity and shooting slumps, but added that when it happens this early, it can make the skid feel even worse.
Dallas brings different problems. The Mavericks rank 12th in offensive rebound percentage and 29th in opponent offensive rebound percentage, while Utah is 18th in offensive rebound percentage. On a possession-by-possession basis, that means Dallas has been better at creating extra chances while also giving opponents more second looks than Utah has. The Jazz do not need a perfect shooting night to win, but they do need a cleaner one than the last three games have given them. Friday night gives them their first chance to reset in Cup play, and if they cannot slow the skidding now, the next stretch will only ask harder questions.
