The Utah Jazz won’t have much time to dwell over Jerry Sloan’s sudden resignation as head coach. Less than 24 hours after the shocking announcement, the Jazz will host the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.
The Jazz head in to this matchup as 6-point favorites in NBA odds while the total is 209.5.
Sloan announced on Thursday that he was stepping down as head coach of the Jazz after more than two decades as head coach. The 69-year-old said he had run out of energy to coach.
“I had a feeling this time was the time to move on,” Sloan said. “(That’s) a long time to be in one organization. Again, I’ve been blessed. Today is a new day. When I get this over with, I’ll feel better. My time is up and it’s time to move on.”
Tyrone Corbin will take over as head coach for the Utah Jazz (31-23, 17-11 home). He takes over a team that has struggled over the past few weeks. After Wednesday’s 91-86 loss to Chicago, the Jazz are 4-10 in their last 14 games.
Corbin’s debut will come against the Phoenix Suns (25-25, 10-14 away), a team that has won three straight games over Utah. The Suns will be looking to move above .500 for the first time since Dec. 7. They have won five of their last six.
The Suns are coming off of back-to-back games against Golden State earlier in the week. They topped the Warriors 104-92 on the road on Monday and followed that up with a 112-88 home win on Thursday. Steve Nash passed for a combined 26 assists in the two victories.
I'm a basketball fan from Vancouver, Canada. Losing the Grizzlies was bitter-sweet. They sucked balls, so I never really started supporting them, but now I only get to catch games on TV.