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Memphis • The chatter was noticeable.
There was Enes Kanter tapping Jeremy Evans on the elbow whenever he tried to shoot a jumper. There was Trey Burke having an animated conversation with Rodney Hood. There was laughter, there were jokes being thrown around like chest passes.
Clearly, this was a loose Jazz team at a shootaround that preceded Monday's game here against the Grizzlies — one that needed a day off after looking very fatigued on Saturday in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
"The day off on Sunday did this team some good," Utah coach Quin Snyder said. "We had just played four games in five nights and you could see this team kind of hit a wall. There's a reason you don't play five games in six nights during the NBA schedule."
Tonight the Jazz finish their marathon pre-Christmas road trip and it will be a daunting challenge. Memphis is one of the best teams in the Western Conference, holding steady in second place and looking every bit a contender again.
But the Grizzlies could be short-handed. They will likely be missing Zach Randolph. He didn't play last night in Cleveland with knee soreness and is questionable for tonight. Tony Allen also is likely out with a scratched cornea.
Those are a few key pieces that Memphis could miss. Still, the Grizzlies have had a mastery over Utah that the Jazz haven't been able to figure out. They've won five consecutive games against the Jazz, the most recent being a 96-86 victory back in March.
Memphis will be focused as well. The Grizzlies are attempting to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season. They have one of the best point guards in the league in Mike Conley. The slimmed-down Marc Gasol has been superb in the lane and looks to be an MVP candidate.
"Everyone knows that there's a couple of days off after tonight," Snyder said. "We can't make the mistake of leaving too soon. We have to finish the trip, and it will be a good test of our mental toughness, because this is a good Memphis team that we're facing."
The Jazz enter the game with an 8-20 record. That puts them close to the bottom of the conference, but it's a bit misleading. Utah has played some of its best basketball of the season on this trip. They have wins over the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, and were dominant in Miami. They had a 14 point lead over New Orleans last Tuesday, but lost it in the fourth period, and they led the Washington Wizards at halftime two Sundays ago.
A win tonight would give the Jazz a 3-3 record on the trip. That would probably be as good as anyone could imagine. Even with a loss, it can be argued they performed well.
— Tony Jones