Utah Jazz vs. Thunder preview (Game 38 of 82)

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  • Utah Jazz (12-23, 13th in the West) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (30-7, 1st in the West)
  • When: Wednesday, 07 January 2026 at 7:00pm CST
  • Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
  • TV: FDSN-OK
  • Offensive Rating: UTA: 114.8 (14th) / OKC: 118.3 (5th)
  • Defensive Rating: UTA: 122.0 (30th) / OKC: 105.0 (1st)
  • Net Rating: UTA: -7.1 (26th) / OKC: 13.3 (1st)
  • Current Streak: UTA: Lost 4 straight, 2-8 in their last 10 / OKC: Lost 2 straight, 6-6 in their last 12

The Set-Up

Sam Presti, 20 April 2023. We’re going to be okay, guys.

This is the third of four meetings this season between these Northwest Division rivals. The Thunder have won the first two meetings this season by an average of 31 points.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

  • Line: OKC -18
  • O/U: 240.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Alex Caruso – OUT (back)
  • Ousmane Dieng – OUT (calf)
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Questionable (knee)
  • Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (calf)
  • Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
  • Nikola Topic – OUT (cancer treatment)
  • Jaylin Williams – OUT (heel)

UTA

  • Ace Bailey – Questionable (hip)
  • Walker Kessler – OFS (shoulder)
  • Kevin Love – OUT (rest)
  • Georges Niang – OUT (foot)

Three Big Things

  1. Offensive Mojo – If there is a team to get your offensive mojo back, it’s definitely against the Utah Jazz. The Jazz are the worst defensive team in the league by a good margin. They are 25th in steals and 30th in blocks. To further help the Thunder’s cause, the Jazz rank 28th in Opponent Points off Turnovers. If the Thunder are going to get their get-back offensively, this is just the team to do it against. And this goes for whether Shai Gilgeous-Alexander plays in this game or not. The one game SGA missed this season was against Utah, and Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren took care of business in a 30-point victory.
  2. Dynamic Duo – While the Jazz may be bad defensively, they’ve definitely surprised some teams with what they do on the offensive end. Lauri Markkanen (nearly 28 points and 7 rebounds per game) and Keyonte George (24 points and nearly 7 assists per game) have quietly formed a formidable duo in Utah…albeit on the offensive end. Utah’s next evolution may be in finding defensive-minded players that fit around their two offensive stars. With OKC’s propensity for letting offensive-minded players get hot early and stay hot in games lately, it would behoove the Thunder to get back to their brand of defense and make it a difficult night for these two players.
  3. Ajay Mitchell – In their last game against the Jazz, Mitchell only scored 7 points and dished out 4 assists, but was a team-high +32. His ability to break down the defense and get into the paint at will is such a weapon. If the Thunder can get their 3-point shooting groove back, it would make Mitchell that much more effective as a floor general/play-maker.

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