Pregame: Portland Seeks Elusive Quality Win On Road Against Utah

Opponent: Utah Jazz (38-13 overall, 8-2 last 10 games)

Offensive Rating: 116.8 (fourth)
Defensive Rating: 107.6 (third)
Net Rating: +9.2 (first)

Where: Vivint Arena (Salt Lake City)
When: 7:00 p.m. (PST)
Broadcast: NBC Sports Northwest/AT&T SportsNet

Point Spread: Utah -6
Moneyline: Utah -250, Portland +205
Over/Under:

Injuries/Health

Portland: Zach Collins (out), Norman Powell (probable), Jusuf Nurkic (questionable)
Utah: Udoka Azubuike (out), Jordan Clarkson (doubtful), Elijah Hughes (out), Juwan Morgan (out)

Primer: The league-leading Utah Jazz haven't just beat up on bottom-dwellers this season. They're 12-6 against basketball's top-10 teams in net rating, per Cleaning the Glass, outscoring that tough competition by 8.4 points per 100 possessions – by far the best in the NBA.

The Blazers, as you've no doubt heard by now, have managed just four victories against that group, tied for the fewest among winning teams. Their net rating in those matchups is an ugly -9.5.

Even Portland's rest advantage over read-weary Utah doesn't loom as large as it would against most foes. The Jazz, coming off an overtime loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night in a game with palpable playoff feel, are tied for the league's best record in back-to-backs at 8-1.

UPDATE: Conley is not listed on Utah's injury report as of Thursday morning, suggesting he's likely to play against the Blazers.

Utah's standing with no rest is especially impressive considering five of those game have come sans Mike Conley, who's sat out half of back-to-backs since missing multiple games in February with a long-nagging hamstring injury. He's unlikely to play against the Blazers after notching 35 minutes against Chris Paul and the Suns.

Conley's been a revelation during his second campaign with the Jazz, but their success without him is no fluke. Utah's non-Conley starting lineup of Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Royce O'Neale, Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gobert boasts a net rating of 23.0, second-best league-wide among units that have played at least 150 minutes, per NBA.com/stats.

The good news for Portland is that the Jazz, unlike the LA Clippers, don't have the personnel to consistently exploit individual matchups offensively. Mitchell has taken another step this season, most notably as a shooter, while Jordan Clarkson is enjoying a career campaign en route to Sixth Man of the Year. Those guys are extremely tough to guard, obviously, but don't pose an imminent, unavoidable threat to the Blazers' perimeter defenders the way oversized playmakers do.

The availability of Jusuf Nurkic looms very large against Utah. Rudy Gobert sets more ball screens and engages in more dribble hand-off action than any big in basketball, ensuring his defender is forced to defend multiple actions in space on a given possession. Needless to say, that's not Enes Kanter's strength, and going small with Robert Covington at the 5 risks Gobert dominating as a roller and offensive rebounder.

Of course, the soon-to-be three-time Defensive Player of the Year can be stressed, too, especially against elite pull-up shooters. Gobert is better than ever navigating the perimeter defensively this season, but is still at his most impactful in the paint.

Bottom Line: Thursday's biggest swing factor? The Blazers' off-dribble three-point shooting. If Portland's guards have it going from deep, this one could come down to crunch-time. Otherwise, it's tough to imagine the Blazers getting the quality win they're seeking in Salt Lake City.