10/9 Utah Jazz at Phoenix Suns: Keys to the Game

The Utah Jazz face the Phoenix Suns for the second straight time in preseason action as they look to log their fourth victory in a row.

The Utah Jazz were able to come away with a rather convincing win over the Phoenix Suns in their first preseason contest on Friday. Both teams surely learned a little something about one another in that game and they’ll have a chance to make adjustments and go at each other once again as they’ll face off for the second time in preseason on Monday.

This time, however, the Jazz will play their first contest of 2017-18 away from the friendly confines of the newly renovated Vivint Smart Home Arena. I feel relatively confident about their poise and overall experience, so I’m not too worried about the fact that this is a road contest, but it will be intriguing to see how the Jazz perform in an opposing building.

Unfortunately the Jazz will be without Dante Exum this time around, as they likely will be for much of the season, since he suffered a severe left shoulder injury in the prior contest against Phoenix. The Jazz were able to win handily without him on Friday, so while his presence will certainly be missed over the long-term, his team should still be able to handle a young and largely inexperienced Suns team in preseason action without him.

As long as Utah can find success in these following areas, I like their chances of improving to a perfect 4-0 in preseason play.