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Without any doubts, the Utah Jazz were hoping for a much better start into this year’s NBA campaign than a mediocre 19-16 record and ninth place in the Western Conference. Looking for a win to get back on track, the Utah Jazz will host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at EnergySolutions Arena on Friday at 3:30 a.m. GMT.

On their way to the top of the Eastern Conference, the Cavs are evidently making progress as far as the integration of their off-season additions goes. While Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon had little trouble adjusting themselves to Cleveland’s offensive schemes, Shaquille O’Neal caused more problems for the franchise from Ohio at the beginning of the season. Yet, after three months of play the acquisition of the future hall of famer is finally paying dividends and taking considerable pressure of Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Arguably having the best center duo in the league, the Cavaliers seem to be prepared to compete with the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics for a spot in the NBA finals. Needless to say that LeBron James is still the heart and soul of Mike Brown’s squad at both ends of the floor.

The Jazz on the other hand failed to live up to their expectations and are struggling to stay in the playoff race. Even though coach Jerry Sloan can finally count on a healthy squad, Utah does not look like a team that could make noise in the post-season. Most importantly, the Jazz continued to struggle on the road as they won just 6 out of 19 away from Salt Lake City. That said, there is a good chance that Utah’s front-office will mix things up by trading All-Star forward Carlos Boozer before the trade deadline in February. Thus, one might be led to believe that LeBron James and the Cavs are bound to clinch a road win versus the Jazz on Friday night. Yet, things might turn out to be more difficult than expected for the Cavaliers. More specifically, Utah has shown that they are one of the best home teams in the league and will most likely be looking to exploit the point guard mismatch when Deron Williams takes on the undersized Cavs guards.

You can watch all games of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Utah Jazz right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of NBA live streaming.