Game Preview: Golden State Warriors at Utah Jazz
By Andrew Ites
The Warriors will travel to Utah to take on the Jazz on Tuesday night. Should Golden State be on upset alert in Salt Lake City?
The Warriors are coming off of one of their biggest wins of the season with a 109-105 victory over the Celtics on Saturday. However, they’ll need to move on from that emotional game quickly because Utah is a very difficult place to play.
Golden State was in a similar situation leading into the first game between these two teams this season.
The Warriors were coming off of a home win against the Cavaliers on Christmas Day and were set to host the Jazz at Oracle Arena two days later. Golden State made easy work of the Jazz in the first matchup with a 126-101 win.
Tuesday night’s game will be a lot different as Utah was missing Rudy Gobert in their loss to the Warriors in late December. Gobert will be back on the floor for this matchup, and he will make it a lot more difficult for Golden State to drive to the bucket with his dominant rim protection.
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Rodney Hood was the leading scorer for the Jazz in Oracle Arena earlier this season with 26 points in just 29 minutes, but he will likely be on the bench for Tuesday night’s game with a leg contusion. Hood’s injury will put an even larger burden on rookie guard Donovan Mitchell, who has carried Utah’s offense for most of the season.
The Jazz have enough wing defenders to make the Warriors work on offense and Utah has a fantastic home court advantage, but Golden State should continue their win streak with a victory on Tuesday night.
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