Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets: Keys to winning season series

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Prediction – Nuggets 121, Jazz 103

If you couldn’t tell from my tone in the piece thus far, I’m feeling less than optimistic about Utah’s chances tonight. The Jazz have been too horrible on the road (3-15) while the Nuggets have been just too good at home (13-4). Not to mention, between inconsistent play, streaky shooting and head-scratching rotations, the Jazz have simply looked out of sorts of late. Therefore, I’m picking Denver to win in commanding fashion.

And the Nuggets deserve some credit for how well they’ve played this year even without the injured Paul Millsap. They’re 20-17 on the season and likely well on their way to a playoff spot. The Jazz, meanwhile, are starting to look more and more like a lottery team with each passing week.

Next: Jazz-Nuggets Key Matchup: Donovan Mitchell vs. Gary Harris

However, I guess if there’s one ray of hope in all this, it’s that whenever I get really pessimistic about Utah’s chances is typically right about when they bounce back and post a huge win (see the games at Boston, vs. San Antonio and vs. Cleveland if you need any examples). So perhaps the energy and focus will be there tonight and the Jazz will put up yet another one of their stunning performances to earn a big and much-needed road win.

As nice as that would be, though, unfortunately I’m not counting on it.

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