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Utah Jazz at Oklahoma City Thunder: Keys to keep the win streak alive

Jared Woodcox|
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - OCTOBER 21: Carmelo Anthony #7 of the Oklahoma City Thunder boxes out against Joe Ingles #2 of the Utah Jazz on October 21, 2017 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - OCTOBER 21: Carmelo Anthony #7 of the Oklahoma City Thunder boxes out against Joe Ingles #2 of the Utah Jazz on October 21, 2017 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – DECEMBER 4: Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz is introduced before the game against the Washington Wizards on December 4, 2017 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – DECEMBER 4: Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz is introduced before the game against the Washington Wizards on December 4, 2017 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)

Key #1 – Play with home court energy despite being on the road

This is a key that I’ve mentioned a handful of times before, but it will be extremely critical in Tuesday’s match-up. So far on the season, the Jazz have been absolutely phenomenal at home where they boast a record of 11-4. However, it’s been a different story on the road where they’re just 2-7. The bit of good news is that they’ve won two of their last three road games in commanding fashion, so hopefully they’re ready to turn the corner in this area.

That will be critical to coming away with a win as, like the Jazz, OKC has also been spectacular at home despite some overwhelming road woes. They’re currently 8-3 within Chesapeake Energy Arena but just 2-9 on opposing teams’ courts. In other words, this match-up will be a battle between two teams that are great at home, but have struggled on the road.

With that being the case, the Jazz will have to break their predominant mold in a big way if they hope to come out on top. The energy they’ve had in their recent home wins has been absolutely phenomenal as it helped them jump on the Washington Wizards early (Utah led 29-15 after one quarter) as well as erase a 16-point deficit against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.

Therefore, even though they won’t have a raucous home crowd behind them, the Jazz need to come out with high intensity on both ends of the floor, get off to a good start and do everything in their power to keep the Thunder’s momentum down and their incredible fans out of the game as much as possible. OKC has long boasted a reputation as a tough place to play, so it’s little surprise that the Thunder have been so effective there.

Nevertheless, if the Jazz are to prove that they’re truly the real deal as they’ve looked for the better part of the last two weeks, they’ll need to figure out how to win on the road. They’ll have a great opportunity to do just that in their upcoming contest as they’ll look to shock the rapidly improving Thunder on their home court.

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