Golden State Warriors will see a lot of themselves in Jazz
By Eric He
Riding high on a six-game win streak and a perfect homestand, the Golden State Warriors will head into Utah to take on the Jazz Tuesday night, where they will meet a team that was in their shoes not too long ago.
Before the 16-game win streak, before the rise to the elites of the West, before the back-to-back playoff appearances, and before even the development of one superstar point guard, the Warriors were an up-and-coming team, looking to prove themselves in a rugged conference.
Although the Jazz don’t have the shooters the Warriors possess, these two teams have notable similarities. Quin Snyder, in his first season as Utah’s head coach, has made headlines for his fiery mentality and antics during timeouts — in other words, a motivator first and X’s and O’s second. Sounds a lot like Mark Jackson, the coach who was responsible for bringing the Warriors out of mediocrity.
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They have not one, but two towering young centers in Rudy Gobert and Enes Kanter. Both are 22, and as the Warriors well know, a domineering big man is a necessity for any contender. While there remains uncertainty as to whether Gobert or Kanter will start, Gobert has blossomed filling in for the injured Kanter in recent games. The 7′ 1″ center out of France is fifth in the league with 2.18 blocks per game, and he is averaging a ridiculous 4.7 blocks a game since Jan. 1.
The Jazz are primed for a run in few years. They are the second youngest team in the league — average age of 24.3 years, second only to the Sixers — and Steve Novak is their only player older than 27 (he’s 31). Their best player, Gordon Hayward, who they just signed to a max contract, is only 24. Add in Derrick Favors (23), Alec Burks (23), and Trey Burke (22), along with Gobert and Kanter, and there’s a young core that will be scary as they develop. All that, and we haven’t even mentioned Dante Exum, their 19-year-old lottery pick from this year’s draft out of Australia.
So, the Warriors may be the better team now, and they may blow out the Jazz on Tuesday night, but this matchup may not be as lopsided in the years to come.
Key Matchups
Andrew Bogut vs. Rudy Gobert: A matchup of international 7-footers, this battle of the bigs will be intriguing to watch. Bogut is expected to return to the starting lineup against the Jazz after a knee injury sidelined him for a month, and he will be matched up against Gobert, a monster in his own right who defends the paint as well as Bogut.
Stephen Curry vs. Trey Burke: I became a Trey Burke fan the minute I saw him go off during March Madness a couple of years ago. Averaging 12.6 points a game, Burke isn’t Stephen Curry, but he definitely has range and quickness. He will be put to the task against Curry, however, saying to The Salt Lake Tribune, “Defensively, I’m going to have to be great on the ball. I have to stop him from shooting three’s, but I’m also going to have to stop him from getting into the lane. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Klay Thompson vs. Gordon Hayward: Both Thompson and Hayward are young guards who recently signed huge contract extensions — heck, Thompson’s contract was probably modeled after Hayward’s — and they’ll have something to prove. This might be the most even matchup in terms of star power and skill set.
Keys to the Game:
1. Weather the storm
Salt Lake City is notorious for being brutal for road teams to play in — the higher elevation, the proximity of the seats to the floor, and the loudness of the crowd. The Warriors may have some tough stretches, but they need to establish their dominance early, weather the storm, and try to take the extraneous factors out of the game.
2. Clamp down on defense
The Jazz rank 14th in the league in field-goal percentage, but they are in the bottom third in points per game and three-point percentage. The Warriors are among the league’s best defensive teams, and it is defense that oftentimes wins road games. Look for Bogut to assert himself in his return to the starting lineup.
3. Wrap it up early
Not to take anything away from the Jazz, but ideally, Steve Kerr would love to have a 20-point lead by the end of the third quarter so he can rest his starters for Wednesday night’s game against the Heat at home.
Prediction
Another comfortable win for the Warriors. They beat the Jazz 101-88 back in November at Oracle Arena, and I don’t foresee any problems on Tuesday night. Elite teams take care of inferior opponents — the Warriors are only one game ahead of the Trail Blazers for the top spot in the West, and they need to pick up wins against teams like the Jazz if they want their reign atop the conference to continue.