Preview: Utah Jazz head for a rodeo in Dallas

The sky is falling. The Utah Jazz remain winless thus far in November, on the cusp of a six-game losing streak. The team is shooting 27.6% on wide-open threes and has been trailing the bottom of nearly every statistical category. But just maybe, just maybe, all they need is a good ol’ NBA Cup Tournament match to light a competitive spirit under them.

That’s right, the Dallas Mavericks host the Utah Jazz at the American Airlines Center for an Emirates NBA Cup West Group A showdown. Dallas has already gained an early 1-0 advantage in the Cup standings in their 116-111 victory over the Rockets just last week. The NBA Cup has not been favorable towards the Jazz since its inauguration; in fact, it’s given teams more of an excuse to continue brutally beating up tanking teams — point differential matters!

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Over the past few years, the Jazz have held records of:

But now that they’re playing for wins (or so we’ve been told), we could see the script flipped. After all, it’s a ‘blank slate’ for this young team. They’ve battled through injuries, have been a part of two overtime games, and have been through some of the worst shooting woes in years. But that’s only temporary, right?

Dallas has likely been content with the Cooper Flagg-Kyrie Irving pairing, given that their team is 4-4 and has lost to some of the league’s best. The Mavs play an incredibly fast brand of basketball, ranking among the league leaders in overall pace and fast-break points.

Injury Report

You have to put a lid on Cooper

Obviously, Utah won’t be able to put the reigning Rookie of the Year to a complete stop, but this team has to make an effort to command their presence in the paint. The Jazz allowed an unanswered 12-0 run by New Orleans in overtime just 48 hours ago, exclusively inside the arc. We saw them hold Zion Williamson completely scoreless in the first half, but all hell broke loose after they surrendered a 13-point lead. We’ll have to hope that they can put out the same energy as they did against a conference foe like Flagg.

You could consider Cooper Flagg as an honorary ‘Jazz Killer’. In his two career matchups, he averages 34.0…

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Publish date : 2026-11-06 05:27:00

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