by Alma Bean
Feature Image: Photo by Adam Hagy of NBAE via Getty Images
After having the last two days off, the Utah Jazz (10-3) will take on the Washington Wizards (6-6) on the road. Utah looks to extend their winning streak to five games on Saturday.
What to Look For
With the absence of Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma became Washington’s go-to guy on Thursday’s win against the Dallas Mavericks. Kuzma scored 36 of Washington’s 113 points while also getting 11 rebounds and six assists in the process. Though Washington pulled off the win, they are ranked second to last in the league in points per game (107.5.) Washington is also near last in the league in three-point percentage (31.4%) and steals per game (5.6.) With a foul heavy team like Utah, Washington’s opponents rarely foul committing 19.3 per game and almost 12 turnovers per game. This matchup should be seen as a high scoring game as both Utah and Washington have allowed at least 100 points in a majority of their games (Utah-13, Washington-11.)
Utah is currently riding a four-game winning streak, longest of the season, as they go into their second of this three-game road trip. With a Utah win, it would be the first time since last season that Utah held a five-game winning streak. Lauri Markkanen has shown that he is the steal of this offseason, having a career best season in nearly every category. Markkanen has scored almost a third of his point total last season (21′-22′:900, 22′-23′:295) while currently on pace to not only double last season’s total but reach a new career high in points. Another veteran on Utah’s roster is looking at reaching a career high in points in Kelly Olynyk. Olynyk is currently on pace to exceed 1,000 points for the first time in his career, the closest he has reached that milestone was in the 2017-18 season with 872 points in Miami.
Injury Report
Utah- Ochai Agbaji: Out (G League), Leandro Bolmaro: Out (G League), Johnny Juzang: Out (G League), Micah Potter: Out (G League)
Washington- Bradley Beal: Out (Return to Competition Conditioning), Delon Wright: Out (Hamstring), Taj Gibson: Doubtful (Neck), Kristaps Porzingis: Probable (Groin)
Where to Watch?
The Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards will have an early tip-off at 4:00 p.m. MT on AT&T SportsNet.