How tight is the Western Conference race?
The Utah Jazz haven’t clinched a postseason berth
Rob Havenstein Jersey , but they can still finish as high as third in the West if they win their final three games.
Utah will get its first chance to clinch a playoff spot when it visits the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Sunday evening.
The Jazz (46-33) have won four in a row following their 117-95 victory against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night. If they can beat
the Lakers and win against the visiting Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, they
can finish third in the West with a win in Portland in the regular-season finale
Wednesday.
The Portland Trail Blazers were in the driver’s seat for the third seed in the West, but lost at the San Antonio Spurs 116-105 on Saturday night.
The Lakers (34-45) are in a much different position than the Jazz. They’re limping to the finish line with three games left.
Los Angeles rookie point guard Lonzo Ball has been upgraded to questionable against Utah after missing the past five games with a left knee bruise, and
forward Kyle Kuzma is also listed as questionable after sustaining an ankle
sprain Friday night against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.
Kuzma is second on the team in scoring (16.1) along with forward Brandon Ingram, who will miss his fifth straight game while in the NBA concussion
protocol.
Lakers power forward Julius Randle continues his torrid pace, however.
He had 20 points and 10 rebounds against Minnesota for his 12th double-double in the past 16 games. Randle had his best game of the season at the free throw
line against the Timberwolves
Brian Urlacher Jersey , making all 10 of his attempts to account for half his points.
“I think his willingness to continue to grow as a player is really impressive.” Lakers coach Luke Walton said after the loss to Minnesota. “He’s so
dominant physically, and he’s had so much success recently, I feel like if he
wanted to, he could put his head down, get to the rim and score 30 points a
night.”
Randle’s most glaring weakness has been turnovers. He has given the ball back on 13.2 percent of the team’s possessions this season and had five turnovers in
the loss to the Timberwolves.
“We’re asking more of him as far as him being a playmaker,” Walton said. “Teams are collapsing
Sylvester Williams Jersey , so we want him making the extra pass out and slow down a little bit so he can read defenses more. I think he’s done a really nice
job of trying that. Sometimes it’s been great, other times we’ve had some
turnovers because of it. It’s part of his growth as a player and his willingness
to continue to try to do that is a nice characteristic for your players to
have.”
Randle came up one assist shy of his second triple-double of the season when Los Angeles played the Jazz on Tuesday in Utah, finishing with 12 points, 12
rebounds and nine assists.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS (7-9)
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: QB Kirk Cousins; WRs Terrelle Pryor, WR Brian Quick and Ryan Grant; LBs Zach Brown, Will Compton
Rodger Saffold Jersey , Junior Galette, Trent Murphy and Chris Carter; CB Bashaud Breeland; G Shawn Lauvao; S DeAngelo Hall; TE Niles Paul; C Tony
Bergstrom; DTs Arthur Jones and Phil Taylor.
RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: T Ty Nsekhe; G Tyler Catalina.
NEEDS: With Cousins gone, new QB Alex Smith needs offensive targets, especially speed at wide receiver to complement third-year WR Josh Doctson and
possession guy Jamison Crowder. Allen Robinson would be perfect, if expensive
fit, though top priority is still replacing contributions of DeSean Jackson and
Pierre Garcon
Brandon LaFell Jersey , who departed in free agency last spring. Running back must be addressed in free agency or draft. Trading CB Kendall Fuller to
Kansas City in deal for Smith, expected departure of Breeland and lack of depth
at safety make secondary area of concern. Left guard and linebacker could be
crucial spots depending on statuses of Lauvao, Brown and Compton.
AVAILABLE SALARY CAP SPACE (approximately): $31 million.
Oakland Raiders Customized Jerseys
