by Alma Bean
Feature Image: Photo by Scott G Winterton of Deseret News.
The Utah Jazz (12-8) travels to take on the Golden State Warriors (9-10) in the first game of a back-to-back.
What to Look For
Right now, Utah is riding a two-game losing streak against teams that were seen as wins on paper. Their last matchup against the Detroit Pistons didn’t go as planned as they lost to former Jazz man Bojan Bogdanovic 125-116. Utah’s matchup against Golden State will be a hard-fought one as Golden State is currently ranked sixth in the league in PPG (116.2) though Utah is ranked fourth (117.4) in the league. Also, Golden State allows the fourth most points per game with 117.4 PPG with Utah not far behind with 115.1 PPG. After career-best performances from Collin Sexton and Walker Kessler, will be interesting to see how far the bench Will Hardy will go on the first game of a back-to-back. With starting point guard Mike Conley still out, the guard positions have been interchangeable since his absence. With Ochai Agbaji no longer on the injury report, expect to see Hardy use him with the secondary unit or reserves if fouls become an issue.
Keys for the Game
Though Golden State has the number one three-point shooter in the league, Stephen Curry (5.2 3PG), both teams are averaging just over 37% from beyond the perimeter. With Golden State’s lack of size on their roster, they’re ranked in the bottom five in rebounds per game (41.6) while Utah is in the top 15 with 44.2 RPG. Utah’s defense will need to keep its head on a swivel as Golden State is ranked first in assists per game with 29.4 while Utah is not far behind with 27.7 APG. Utah also is top-three in the league in assists allowed with 22.3 per game.
Injury Report
Golden State- Andre Iguodala: Out (personal reasons)
Utah- Leandro Bolmaro: Out (concussion protocol), Mike Conley: Out (leg), Rudy Gay: Out (hand), Johnny Juzang: Out (wrist), Micah Potter: Out (G League)
Where to Watch?
Tip-off between Golden State and Utah will be at 8:00 PM MST on AT&T SportsNet.