Lakers vs. Jazz Preview: Round 2 won’t be easy

The Los Angeles Lakers caught a break when they played the No. 1 seed Utah Jazz on Saturday because Quin Snyder decided to give Mike Conley, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert the night off. Donovan Mitchell was also sidelined with an ankle injury.

Mitchell will be inactive again when the Jazz play the Lakers again on Monday, but they’re expected to have all three of Conley, Favors and Gobert available. When you consider the fact that it took an extra quarter for the Lakers to win on Saturday, that’s notable!

That’s not to say the Lakers can’t win on Monday; they’re just going to be facing a much different team than they faced on Saturday. To be more specific, they’ll have a center above the height of 6’9 on their roster, and that center has won two Defensive Player of the Year awards.

If Anthony Davis was available, that wouldn’t be a huge issue, but he’s not going to be despite the fact that he was cleared to resume all basketball activities on Thursday. Davis averaged 29.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals per game against the Jazz last season. The Lakers are undefeated (3-0) against the Jazz when Davis plays.

Maybe next time, AD!

The Lakers and Jazz will tip-off at 7 p.m. PT at Staples Center, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Notes and updates

• LeBron James (right ankle sprain), Anthony Davis (right calf strain) and Jared Dudley (right MCL tear) remain out for the Lakers.
• Andre Drummond (right big toe contusion), Marc Gasol (volar plate fracture, left pinkie finger), Markieff Morris (left ankle sprain) and Dennis SchrÖder (infection, right foot) are probable.

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.