Utah Jazz at Detroit Pistons: Keys to the Game
Prediction – Jazz 109, Pistons 96
The Jazz ran away with the victory over the Pistons the last time they met and though I don’t expect quite as much of a blowout this time around, I still expect the Jazz to earn a rather comfortable win. Not only does Utah enjoy a stark advantage in talent, but the Pistons are also coming in on the second night of a back-to-back after a tough loss in Cleveland last night.
Of course, the Jazz do need to be careful to not come in overconfident after their statement win over the Clippers and make sure that they maintain focus. Not to mention, the Pistons have a lot at stake during the final weeks of the regular season and will be fighting tooth and nail for their very lives in an attempt to make the playoffs. That kind of desperation can certainly make for a dangerous team.
Nevertheless, there’s much more going in favor for the Jazz than there is for Detroit and I’m confident that rather than come in hungover from their win over LA, the Jazz will build off of that momentum and, just as I predicted earlier in the week, come away with a 13-point victory.
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With four straight road games against formidable teams up ahead, it will be important that the Jazz get the trip started off right with a win over the Pistons tonight. Given the fact that Utah will turn around and play Cleveland tomorrow night, it would be nice if they could build a big enough lead to limit the minutes of some of their key guys against Detroit.
But regardless of whether that ends up being the case or not and no matter how Utah gets it done, a victory tonight will be yet another important step forward as the Jazz near that 50-win mark and hope to keep hold of the fourth seed in the West.
All stats courtesy of NBA.com