Utah @ Phoenix preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 9, 2017 ) Utah 120, Phoenix 102

The Phoenix Suns are an organization in turmoil, but aim to win their second consecutive game when they host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. Coach Earl Watson was fired after three defeats to open the season and disgruntled guard Eric Bledsoe is no longer part of the team, but some joy was found when Phoenix posted a 117-115 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday.

The Suns are trying to find a taker for Bledsoe while interim coach Jay Triano is promising to lead with a hard-nosed style designed to help young players improve. "That's what we need," standout shooting guard Devin Booker told reporters. "We need accountability. We have a lot of young guys on the team, so we need to get rid of those bad habits early. We need to know the consequences." Utah dropped a 102-84 decision to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday in the opener of a road back-to-back as the game got away when the Jazz were outscored 33-15 in the third quarter. "We had a tough time scoring, that's the bottom line," Utah coach Quin Snyder said afterward. "When that happens it puts a lot of pressure on your defense."

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah), Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)

ABOUT THE JAZZ (2-2): Point guard Ricky Rubio is settling in with his new team and has scored in double digits in each of the past three games, and has recorded 10 assists twice in four contests this season. "He's running our team," Snyder said after Tuesday's defeat. "I like how aggressive he's being offensively. He's doing a heck of a job. He's doing everything we asked. I think he's going to keep getting better as a player." Rookie guard Donovan Mitchell scored a team-best 19 points against the Clippers after tallying two points on 1-of-7 shooting in each of the previous two games.

ABOUT THE SUNS (1-3): The biggest beneficiary of Bledsoe's banishment was 27-year-old journeyman Mike James, who made his first career start against Sacramento and scored 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting - including the go-ahead basket with 14.8 seconds to play. James is averaging 13.3 points through his first four NBA games after starring overseas the past five seasons while playing for clubs in Croatia, Israel, Italy, Spain and Greece. "I think the one thing Mike has is experience playing basketball in crazy environments," Triano told reporters. "Playing in that Greek league is no joke. Games go down to the wire and they're throwing stuff at you and there's smoke bombs going off in the crowd. It's a passionate place to play and he's been through this before and (the winning shot) was a pretty cool play."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Jazz went 3-0 against the Suns last season and have won the past seven meetings.

2. Utah SG Rodney Hood (calf) is expected to miss his third straight contest.

3. Phoenix PF Marquese Chriss moved into the starting lineup to score 19 points against Sacramento after he averaged 4.7 over the first three games.

PREDICTION: Jazz 111, Suns 105