Lakers vs Jazz Preview: How legit is this winning streak?

Lakers vs Jazz Preview: How legit is this winning streak? https://t.co/O73nH8tXoQ

— LakerTom (@LakerTom) November 19, 2024

The Lakers look to not only remain undefeated in the NBA Cup but also on their home floor when they host the Jazz on Tuesday.

It didn’t take long for the Lakers to put together a five-game winning streak this season. This is definitely an encouraging sign, especially since it took until March for Los Angeles to do that last season. And not to jinx it or anything, but the best part about this winning streak is that it’s sustainable given how the purple and gold have been playing as of late.

The Lakers will be at home — where they remain undefeated — for the next three games. Tuesday’s match will be an NBA Cup game, where Los Angeles also remains unbeaten dating back to last season. It’s nice to be on the right side of these winning streaks and, hopefully, contrary to the famous saying, they don’t intend to be broken.

In order for the Lakers to keep their winning streak — whether it’s their overall record, at home or in the NBA Cup — some aspects of their play must still improve. Let’s start by looking at it from the standpoint of their matchup against the Jazz:

Can the Lakers defense still improve?

This is what I’m going to pay most attention to in Tuesday’s game against Utah, who employ two speedy prolific scoring starting guards in Jordan Clarkson and Colin Sexton. Clarkson and Sexton are the exact type of guards the Lakers defense struggled to contain early in the season, specifically before they replaced D’Angelo Russell on the starting lineup for Cam Reddish.

Can the Lakers handle the Jazz early?

Maybe it’s the fact that the Lakers have had way too many nail-biters of late but it would be nice to see Los Angeles take care of Utah early. This isn’t to say the Jazz will be a walk in the park as no opponent is in today’s NBA, but it’s important to note that they’ve been struggling to start the year. They’ve only won three out of their first 10 games and were on a six-game losing streak to begin the season. They’ll also be on their third game in four nights.