Utah Jazz vs. Golden State Warriors: Keys to the Game

As the Utah Jazz injuries continue to stack up, the remaining players will have to play out of their minds if they hope to steal a game from the formidable Golden State Warriors.

In my most recent post yesterday, I went into full detail about the Utah Jazz’s chances of beating the Warriors and what they would need to focus on to make such a result a reality. However, as part of that prognosis, I mentioned that if it turned out that George Hill and Rodney Hood, who were both listed as questionable at the time, did not play, I would have been wasting my breath.

Well, by the look of things, apparently it was indeed wasted.

It was announced Wednesday night that both Hill and Hood would be sidelined for tonight’s contest as they are currently recovering from a sprained toe and a strained hamstring, respectively. As much as I’d like to remain positive and show my belief in the other players on the team, without those two guys in action it looks like Utah’s chances of victory will be reduced to slim to none.

Thus what was hopefully bound to be a heated contest and a great measuring stick for this up and coming Jazz team will now likely be a bit of a disappointment as Utah will be without three of its starters in Golden State’s lone visit to Vivint Smart Home Arena.

Nevertheless, the Jazz have shown resilience before even with key guys missing and despite the outcome shown on the scoreboard, I expect the Jazz to play with heart and put up a fight throughout the game. If they’re to do so, these are the key areas they’ll need to keep an eye on.

Key Match-up – Gordon Hayward and Kevin Durant

Of course all the buzz surrounding OKC this offseason had to do with their unbelievable acquisition of superstar Kevin Durant. So far this season he has not disappointed as he leads his team in scoring with 27 points per game on 56.5 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent from behind the arc.

He’s been an incredible addition to an already prolific squad that has looked utterly unstoppable in the early goings of this season.

And while Kevin Durant’s former Oklahoma City Thunder team often got the best of the then developing Utah Jazz, Gordon Hayward has been on a mission so far this season himself and has looked to be in All-Star form. It will be exhilarating to see how he does matched up against one of the premier players at his position in the league.

Up to this point in the season, he is averaging a career-high 23.1 points per game while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and despite a miserable start from the three-point line has brought his average all the way up to a respectable 34.9 percent. That’s a figure that I expect to continue to rise as he keeps shaking off the after effects of the fractured finger.

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Obviously Hayward will be hard-pressed to win this match-up against Kevin Durant, especially considering the individual load he’ll have to carry with three starters sidelined as well as the fact that Durant is now surrounded by so much talent that it’s hard to focus and stop any one guy on this Warriors roster.

Gordon will have to keep up his hot streak of nine games with 22 points or more and will have to be absolutely stellar on the defensive end if he and the Jazz have any hope of slowing down Durant. Even if they’re able to do so, it’s a nearly impossible task to force all three of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant to have a bad night in the same game, so Gordon and Co. are bound to have their hands full.

Key Stat – Three-Point Percentage

As I discussed in detail in my piece yesterday, the three-point shot is definitely the Warriors’ main weapon, but it has also been the one major hindrance in their losses. You could say they “live and die” by the three, but I’m not so sure that’s accurate given that they’re so good at it that it’s very rare that they ever “die.”

However, in each of their three losses this season, the Warriors have shot under 30 percent from deep. The thing about being a jump-shooting team is on those nights when the shots just aren’t falling, things can get rough pretty fast.

Thus the Jazz will have to shore up their perimeter defense and do all that they can to hold the Warriors to a below average night from deep. On the other end of the court, Utah has been pretty consistent from three as they’ve converted on 36.4 percent of their attempts, good for seventh in the league.

In the games where they’ve looked really impressive, though, such as the wins against the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets, they have moved the ball well and been lights out from behind the arc. Of course, in both of those contests they were fortunate enough to have George Hill leading the charge on the court, a luxury that reportedly won’t be available in tomorrow’s match-up.

So while the Jazz will have to do their best to maintain their solid perimeter shooting, what’s likely more important will be their ability to contain it on the defensive end. Unless the Warriors have an extremely off night from deep, it’s hard to see the injury-riddled Jazz out-shooting them from three-point land

Key Performer – Rudy Gobert

I pinned Rudy Gobert as the key performer in the win over the Suns on Tuesday and he most certainly came through. The Stifle Tower dominated the game, including putting in a backwards dunk off a lob from Shelvin Mack in the fourth quarter to seal the deal. Not only did Rudy log a career-high 22 points but he also grabbed 11 boards and put up four blocks.

It was one of those all-around performances for Gobert where he proved that he is worth every penny of that $102 million contract extension and as he continues to improve could very well become the driving force of this Jazz team.

And while the Golden State Warriors boast one of the most prolific wing and power forward combos in the league, they are a little slim at the center position with the likes of Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee and Anderson Varejao leading the charge in the paint.

Golden State’s Achilles Heel has been its lack of size down low, so the Jazz will need to utilize Gobert to his fullest to frustrate this Warriors team and take them out of their rhythm on both ends of the floor. If Utah’s wing defenders can control the perimeter, the Warriors will have a tough task of entering into the paint and getting past the Stifle Tower.

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As far as the individual battle goes between Gobert and the Warriors centers, Rudy certainly has the upper hand. However, it will be a tall task to expect him alone to be able to tip the game’s scale enough in the direction of the Jazz in order for them to win. With Hill, Hood and Favors all sidelined, it would take an incredible miracle for the underdog Jazz to come away with a win.

However, if there’s any hope of it happening, it will start and end with Rudy’s dominance in the paint.

Prediction – Warriors 112, Jazz 90

In my preview of this week of NBA action, I originally had this game pinned as a relatively close affair in which the Warriors would pull away with a 107-99 win. Yet with the release of Utah’s devastating injury update, I have a hard time believing this game will even be that close.

The Jazz have been resilient all year and have found a way time after time to overcome the injuries and come away with solid wins, but it takes more than resiliency to beat this Warriors team. It takes a nearly perfect game.

And without three of their top five players, there’s just no way that the Jazz can play up to their highest level. When Utah is healthy and clicking on all cylinders, they have some characteristics that actually help them match up pretty well against the Warriors and I fully expect them to be able to compete with them once that time comes.

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However, until then, we’ll likely see a wounded Utah team fall victim to a merciless Golden State squad that will be chomping at the bit to take advantage of a weakened opponent.

I truly hope I’m wrong and that Quin Snyder and the Jazz have enough grit and tricks up their sleeves to hang with this Warriors team despite the absences.

But even if that doesn’t end up being the case and the blowout that I’ve predicted ensues, Jazz fans shouldn’t get too discouraged as there’s still plenty of time left in the season for this team to get healthy and start competing at the level that we’ve seen glimpses of and know they are capable of.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com