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Utah Jazz at Dallas Mavericks Preview: Jazz look to extend win streak on the road

SACRAMENTO, CA - OCTOBER 17: Jae Crowder #99 of the Utah Jazz high-fives Dante Exum #11 during their game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on October 17, 2018 in Sacramento, California. 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. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - OCTOBER 17: Jae Crowder #99 of the Utah Jazz high-fives Dante Exum #11 during their game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on October 17, 2018 in Sacramento, California. 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. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

The Utah Jazz are looking to follow up Saturday’s winning performance in New Orleans with another W in Dallas today.

The Utah Jazz had a very strong outing in their win Saturday night against the New Orleans Pelicans. Ricky Rubio and Rudy Gobert came up big for the team. I expect that they will continue to produce consistently for Coach Snyder. Today (Sunday) at 5 pm MST the Jazz will be in Dallas to take on the Mavericks.

The Mavs are currently sitting in the number four spot in the Southwest Division, behind the Memphis Grizzlies and in front of the Houston Rockets (I didn’t see that one coming). They have a 2-3 record with losses to Toronto, Atlanta, and Phoenix.

Even though the Mavs have been unimpressive for quite some time now, it would be foolish to automatically discount this game as an easy win. I expect this game to be fairly close for a few different reasons:

First, this is the second game of Utah’s first back-to-back of the season. It will be interesting to see how the back-to-back will effect the team and if players can fight through any possible fatigue they may experience. If the game stays close down the stretch, this could have a major impact on the outcome.

Second, the Mavs have some real talent. Through five games, six Dallas players are averaging double figures for points per game. They are a balanced team, they don’t need to rely on just one or two guys to do all of their scoring.

While Dallas has some very solid role players, they lack a real bona-fide superstar. Dirk Nowitzki is past his prime. DeAndre Jordan is a former all-star, but I don’t believe that you could create a dominant team with Jordan as your centerpiece. Luka Doncic is good and has a lot of potential to someday be a superstar, but not yet. Look for Dallas to be extremely competitive in the coming years as their young guys develop.

Third, Dallas has not lost at home yet this season. I know that the sample size is small here, they’ve only played two home games. Notwithstanding, they beat Minnesota and Chicago – two pretty good teams.

This will be a contested game, neither team will roll over. I’m excited to see how the Jazz come out after having played hard on Saturday night.

Prediction: Jazz 105, Mavericks 96.

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