The struggling Utah Jazz hit the road and take on the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night in Los Angeles, California as part of the league's In-Season Tournament Group Play. They tip it off at 10:00 pm. The Lakers are looking to make one deep run into the playoffs. 

Bookmaker has installed the Lakers as a solid - 7 1/2 point favorite. 

The Lakers (8-6) have ripped off two straight wins and five out of six overall. They are on a nice little run to start the season, including a solid win on Sunday night against the Houston Rockets, 105-104. In that game, the ageless veteran and future HOF'er LeBron James went off and pumped in a season-high 37 points, including the go-ahead free throw as the Lakers earned a tight win. 

James has been brilliant this season as he is averaging 26 points per game and he is still logging a ton of minutes for the Lakers. The 38-year small forward is playing around 34 minutes per game. He is also showing a young team how to win close games. 

The Lakers need to get more consistent play out of center Anthony Davis, who is netting around 22 points a game. They need him to stay on the floor and be engaged on both ends of the court. 

The Jazz (4-9) have dropped two straight and six of eight overall and they have really gotten off to a slow start this season. They have not been able to string together a run of wins here and there and they have high expectations heading into the season and believe they are a solid playoff team.

Their poor start has dampened that enthusiasm but the Jazz have some solid players that can turn too and rely on. Lauri Markkanen is the go to guy when it comes to their offense, as he is averaging 24 points per game and he is hauling down a solid eight boards per night. Point guard Jordan Clarkson is a nice role player that provides some much-needed production to take the pressure off of Markkanen. 

Clarkson averages just under 20 points a game and he is also one of the best three-point shooters on the team. Utah does have a solid mark of 6-2 against the spread and 4-4 overall when they net more than 113 points per game.

The Lakers are 4-1 in their last five games and 2-3 in their last five games against the number. They are also 3-4 in their road games against the spread and the totals have gone over in two of their last five games and three of their last seven games at home. The Jazz are 2-3 in their last five games and a very impressive 4-1 in their last five games against the number. They are 2-4 in their road games against the number.