10/18 Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets: Keys to the Game

The Utah Jazz will have their hands full in their 2017-18 season opener tonight against a prolific Denver Nuggets team.

The long wait of offseason is finally over as the Utah Jazz’s 2017-18 campaign gets underway tonight as they’ll host the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets are one of many teams that underwent significant improvements this offseason and between internal growth and the savvy addition of Paul Millsap, they could very well be a force to be reckoned with in the Northwest Division and the league as a whole.

Therefore, the Jazz will have to come out prepared to face a team that figures to be even more formidable that last season. The Nuggets are one of a handful of teams that will likely be battling Utah for playoff position all season long, so even though the season is very much young, there’s no telling how important this initial bout could be.

And given that Denver plays at a blistering pace and boasts a daunting frontcourt, there’s several areas, most notably the following three keys, in which the Jazz will have to be at the top of their game if they hope to start the year out 1-0.