Utah Jazz at Phoenix Suns: Keys to a fourth straight win

PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 25: Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz goes to the basket against the Phoenix Suns on October 25, 2017 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. 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 Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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Key #3 – Hold their own on the boards

I hate to keep bringing up the last time that Utah and Phoenix faced off, but it was so ugly that there’s plenty that the Jazz need to remedy from that last contest. Another area in which they were thoroughly dominated was on the boards as Phoenix grabbed 55 rebounds compared to Utah’s 44.

This was partially due to the fact that the Jazz shot so poorly and missed so many shots, but still, their lackluster rebounding effort was a major contributing factor in the loss. And that’s even more disheartening considering that the Suns aren’t exactly a powerhouse when it comes to rebounding. Sure, they’re 11th in the league in rebounds per game (44.3), not a bad mark, but they’re just 16th in rebounding percentage (49.7) and 16th in rebound differential (-0.4).

The bad news is that, while those figures aren’t great, all three of them are better than those of the Jazz, as they’ve been far from a good rebounding team this season. Luckily, the Jazz have performed much better on the boards over the course of their current three-game winning streak as Rudy Gobert gets back in the swing of things.

If he can have a big game and his Jazz teammates can follow suit, then Utah should be able to win the battle of the boards and come out on top on the scoreboard as well.

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