3 Utah Jazz Storylines to Watch as Lakers Come to Town

The Utah Jazz have the third game of their 2026-27 regular season on tap for this weekend in what's bound to be a high-intensity matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers.

And of course, any time the Lakers come to town to face your team, there's bound to be some extra attention placed around that game. That's especially so for this contest against the Jazz, where there's due to be a few noteworthy storylines to keep an eye on heading into Sunday's action.

Let's break down three of the biggest storylines to keep an eye on in the Jazz's upcoming matchup vs. the Lakers:

Walker Kessler's Return to Salt Lake City

Oct 21, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Walker Kessler (14) and guard Austin Reaves (15) react against the Golden State Warriors in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The biggest storyline for this matchup is undoubtably the implications of Walker Kessler's return to Utah, as he will be playing his first game in Salt Lake City in a uniform other than the Jazz's.

Kessler spoke a couple of days before the game to address how excited he is to compete against his former teammates and coaching staff, so you can expect the Lakers big man to bring his A-game, as he has for the first two games of the season.

So far this season, Kessler is averaging an impressive 24.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks per game in LA as Luka Doncic's sidekick in the frontcourt. And against a Jazz team that's been known to be a bit shorthanded in terms of center depth to start the new year, it could be a bit tough for Utah's defense to be the ones to stop Kessler from having another big day.

What's the Plan to Stop Luka Doncic?

Dec 18, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward/guard Luka Doncic (77) drives past Utah Jazz forward/center Kevin Love (42) during the first quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Jazz will have their toughest individual defensive matchup of the season on deck for this game against the one and only Luka Doncic, who's had a bit of a slow start to the season in terms of efficiency, but we know just how electric he's been in a few of his prior matchups against Utah.

In Doncic's past three matchups against the Jazz from last season, he has some impressive averages of 38.3 points on 47.3% from the field, 9.0 rebounds, and 10.7 assists, while also recording a perfect 3-0 record in those appearances.

The Jazz's defense will have to continue building up some momentum in this game to limit Doncic to another poor shooting night. Or else, it could be a bit of an uphill climb to stop another potential scoring barrage.

How Will Will Hardy Structure the Jazz's Starting Five?

Oct 23, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy reacts to a play against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Through the first two games of the new season, the Jazz have already rolled out a couple of different starting five units that effectively make Will Hardy's plans for how this game will begin a little more unpredictable than usual.

In game one against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Jazz rolled out Jaxson Hayes as their fifth starter to add a bit more size in the frontcourt. That led to a 20-point blowout as the end result. In game two against the New Orleans Pelicans, Utah swapped Hayes out for Ace Bailey to add more versatility on the wing, but Hayes went out to have a rock-solid performance by scoring 17 points off the bench.

How will Hardy plan out his rotation this time? Perhaps the Jazz bank on Hayes and his size in a matchup against a big like Kessler, or maybe they try to build a bit of continuity with that first unit and roll Bailey with the starters once again. Only time will tell.

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