Utah Jazz at Golden State Warriors 12/27: Picking up the pieces
![OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 25: Kevin Durant #35 and Jordan Bell #2 of the Golden State Warriors slap hands after Durant blocked the shot of LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers late in the fouth quarter of an NBA basketball game at ORACLE Arena on December 25, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 25: Kevin Durant #35 and Jordan Bell #2 of the Golden State Warriors slap hands after Durant blocked the shot of LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers late in the fouth quarter of an NBA basketball game at ORACLE Arena on December 25, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/2a129e089c87c330845445f8670f89a0f7dbeb67640db901e1fca6147790a425.jpg)
The Utah Jazz face the Golden State Warriors on the second night of a back-to-back after a bad loss in Denver.
Aside from two encouraging victories against the Boston Celtics and the San Antonio Spurs, the Utah Jazz have struggled of late.
Now, it needs to be said that the difficult schedule (most difficult month for any team this season in terms of opponents, as well as travel and back-to-backs) is certainly a factor and is wearing on this team. That said, if you compare the defeats early on in this scheduling disaster to the most recent two losses you notice a stark contrast.
Utah Jazz’s subpar effort in back-to-back games is disconcerting https://t.co/iLyxopetWn pic.twitter.com/xACCj8rKPp
— The J-Notes (@TheJNotes) December 27, 2017
There was a great effort against the Cleveland Cavaliers, a dominant-for-95 percent-of-the-game encounter with the Houston Rockets and a win over the San Antonio Spurs More recently, though, we have two demoralizing losses to division rivals in the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t get better. Not yet, anyway. Despite the absence of Stephen Curry, it will be tough to win against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday on the wrong end of a back-to-back.
So how can the Utah Jazz overcome this slump and defy the odds for a win at the Warriors? Especially when the odds are clearly not in their favor; per Five Thirty Eight —
@tjcranman The odds of victory, per https://t.co/j0YPANXKot pic.twitter.com/hQ4ETd8Nwz
— tyler cran (@tjcranman) December 27, 2017
Here are my keys to doing the improbable.