Utah Jazz-Memphis Grizzlies: As ever, Mitchell & Co. face must-win

The Utah Jazz have been one of the Association’s best teams recently, but have still incurred some costly let-downs. They can’t afford another against the Memphis Grizzlies.

A ho-hum start to the year and injuries to key players notwithstanding, the competition in the Western Conference has become every bit the gauntlet pundits predicted after an eventful offseason. Right now, Nos. 4 and 10 on the West table are separated by just a handful of games and, despite their own injuries, the Utah Jazz are right in the thick of things.

If they wish to remain there, they’ll need to put their best foot forward against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.

Although the Jazz have been one of the Association’s hottest teams, winning 11 of 14, they’ve managed to let a couple of games get away recently. Specifically, Wednesday’s 97-94 loss to a depleted Boston Celtics squad. Not to mention a five-point loss to the lowly Atlanta Hawks on March 20.

Those losses have all but eliminated what wiggle room they had in their postseason pursuits. In order to remain in the playoff picture, the Jazz need to win the games they’re “supposed to.” The Grizzlies certainly fit the bill here.

But if we’ve learned anything from Utah’s recent let-downs, it’s that no win comes easy.

At 21-54, the Grizzlies are undoubtedly battling for pingpong balls in the NBA Draft lottery. However, they’ve also arrived in Salt Lake City with back-to-back wins in tow. On Wednesday, they upset the Portland Trail Blazers sans Damian Lillard and Moe Harkless 108-103.

Fresh off inking a 10-day contract, MarShon Brooks led the way with 21 points in just 21 minutes of play. Oregon product and sneaky rookie standout Dillon Brooks chipped in with 18.

The Grizzlies were aided by making 13-of-25 shots from 3-point range in the game. That’s the kind of effort from distance that sunk the Jazz against the C’s. In that regard, though, you would expect a regression to the mean for Memphis. For the year, the Grizz are in the bottom 10 league-wide in 3-point percentage, as well as total makes.

When last these teams met, the Jazz snagged a 95-78 win at FedExForum. If they can lock-down defensively, a similar result should be within reach. Especially given the absence of both Mike Conley and Tyreke Evans for the Grizz.

A bounce-back effort from Donovan Mitchell would also go a long way toward getting the win. Although he scored 22 points against Boston, he made just 7-of-20 shots and committed key turnovers down the stretch. He wasn’t particularly sharp in his team’s last bout with the Grizz, either, missing 11 of his 15 shot attempts.

Next: Jazz-Grizz key matchup: Gobert vs Gasol

In what’s essentially a must-win situation for the Jazz, expect a more focused effort from the Rookie of the Year candidate.

The Jazz and the Grizzlies will tip it off from Vivint Smart Home Arena at 7 PM MT.