10/6 Utah Jazz vs. Phoenix Suns: Keys to the Game

The Utah Jazz will be in for a significant challenge as they host the Phoenix Suns in their first preseason game against an NBA team.

The Utah Jazz easily defeated their first two preseason opponents of the 2017-18 NBA season by notching a 25-point win over the Sydney Kings and a 39-point win over Maccabi Haifa. Of course, both squads were far from NBA-caliber opponents, so while those bouts served as a nice warm-up for the Jazz, they’re in for a much greater test in tonight’s contest against the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns aren’t exactly the cream of the crop in the NBA by any stretch of the imagination, but their combination of athleticism and promising depth should still make them a solid foe and certainly more formidable than either the Sydney or Maccabi squads. Therefore, it will be a great proving grounds for the Jazz and interesting to see how they stack up against heightened competition.

Obviously, it’s important to remember that this is only preseason and both teams will likely roll out several of their players who are lower on the depth chart while experimenting with different lineups, so win or lose, it isn’t wise to put too much stock into a contest with little meaning. Still, though, the Jazz have a lot to prove this season as they look to bounce back from a tough offseason, so expect them to want to bring their best and get their first bout against NBA talent started out right.

We’ve learned quite a bit about this Jazz team through two preseason games and hopefully they’ll be able to take yet another step forward in tonight’s bout by learning from their recent mistakes and capitalizing on what they’ve done well.