by Alma Bean
Feature Image by Beathany Baker of the Salt Lake Tribune
The Utah Jazz (4-7) takes on the Phoenix Suns (5-6) as Utah looks to advance to 3-0 in the In-Season Tournament.
What to Look For
This divisional rivalry will always have an intensity to it, but adding the pressure of the In-Season Tournament makes the game all the more exciting. Currently Utah is in second in their group with a 2-0 record and Phoenix is fourth with a 0-1 record. These teams have already faced each other once this season as Utah lost on the tail end of a back-to-back in Phoenix 126-104. With point differential be crucial in this tournament, this game could be the difference of competing for the NBA Cup or sitting home and watching history.
With both teams sitting in the bottom-five in the league in turnovers, it will be critical for methodical ball movement to implemented into each of their gameplans. Though Kevin Durant is a generational scorer, his passing ability may make or break Phoenix in this matchup. Knowing how this matchup tends to go, don’t be surprised if Grayson Allen has a sneaky good game. Allen has averaged 15.8/4.2/1.6 while shooting 55.8 percent from the field and 51.5 percent from the perimeter in his last five matchups against Utah.
Key of the Game
Turnovers. Though both teams are bottom-five in the league in committing turnovers, they’re both also bottom-five in the league in forcing turnovers. Even with a stat that doesn’t look promising, both teams are top-three in turnover differential with Utah in first with +4.9 and Phoenix in third with +3.1. If Keyonte George can continue his AST/TO ratio of 2.8, 5.3 as a starter, Utah should be in good hands. It would be in Phoenix’s best interest to apply additional pressure to Jordan Clarkson and Talen Horton-Tucker as they are both averaging a combined 5.8 turnovers per game and a combine AST/TO ratio of 1.7.
Injury Report
Phoenix – Bradley Beal (back) Out, Devin Booker (calf) Probable, Drew Eubanks (back) Probable
Utah – Josh Christopher (G League) Out, Johnny Juzang (G League) Out, Walker Kessler (elbow) Out, Micah Potter (G League) Out
Where to Watch
Tip-off will be at 8:00 p.m. MST on ESPN, Jazz+, and KJZZ.
The Hive Sports 
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