Thursday, December 8th vs. Golden State
I know, I know, these two games are within the same week, but make plans to order Chinese take-out twice this week or do whatever else necessary to make time, because this second game will be an absolute must-watch as well.
While the Jazz were never able to take down the then defending champion Golden State Warriors during last year’s campaign, they pushed them to the brink in both contests in Salt Lake City. The final contest even went into overtime after the Jazz failed to convert on 10 of 14 free throw attempts in the final quarter.
Nevertheless, Utah has shown that they aren’t afraid of Golden State and are more than capable of competing against the Western Conference behemoth. Of course, the Warriors only got better by adding seven-time All-Star and former league MVP Kevin Durant, however it did come at a price.
While it was certainly worth it for the Warriors to land Durant, there’s no denying that they had to shed some considerable talent in their frontcourt to make room, losing the likes of Andrew Bogut, Festus Ezeli and Marreese Speights.
Though KD more than makes up for their loss in terms of talent, the Jazz’s main advantage over Golden State in last year’s bouts was their skill and size down low.
With the Warriors now having an even weaker post presence, the Jazz will have to rely heavily on Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert to make life miserable for the Warriors in this first match-up of the year that also happens to be the Warriors’ only appearance in Vivint Smart Home Arena next season.
Despite the end results, the two games when the Warriors came to town were among the most exciting of last season. If the Jazz can build on what they were able to do against Golden State in those games and continue to challenge them with their size and length, this could be an incredibly exciting game.
We may even see the overwhelming underdog pull off an impressive victory.
Next: Tuesday, January 10th vs. Cleveland