Utah Jazz face crucial measuring stick game versus Golden State

The upcoming battle against the Golden State Warriors will be a great measuring stick for the Utah Jazz as they aim to enter the All-Star break on a high note.

As the All-Star break draws ever nearer, Utah Jazz fans have to be pretty happy with the way things are shaping up. After blowing out the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday to win the season series, the Jazz have climbed to sixth place in the Western Conference – just a half-game out of fifth and a game and a half out of fourth – with one of the easiest remaining schedules in the league.

Not only that, but having surpassed the trade deadline with the team still intact (for better or for worse), the team should be focused and mentally poised to come together and go on a bit of a run, akin to what we saw a season ago, even if not quite as dramatic. The Jazz, perhaps most notably Ricky Rubio who was the center of a great deal of trade talk, looked out of sync in the days leading up to the deadline. They responded nicely in the win over the Spurs, though, so hopefully that performance was a sign of good things to come.

They’ll be tested right away with a daunting matchup in their final contest before the All-Star break as they’ll head to Oakland to face the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. Though it comes as little surprise, the Warriors have been on an absolute tear of late, winning 15 of their last 16 contests, many of which have come in statement fashion.

Each of their trio of dominant stars, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, seem to be hitting their stride and paving a path of perfection on the trail into the postseason. Therefore, the Jazz will be in for a tough contest on Tuesday in a game that will serve as a nice measuring stick in relation to how sound the Jazz truly are post-trade deadline, where they stand heading into the All-Star break, and how they’re able to compete against the championship favorites.

This game will have an extra wrinkle due to the fact that Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala recently mocked Rudy Gobert on Twitter about his emotional reaction to missing the All-Star Game. Gobert subsequently clapped back hilariously at Green, leaving the next round of their back-and-forth to be settled on the court.

https://twitter.com/TheJNotes/status/1091718602061897729

Rest assured that Green will jaw at Gobert and look to fluster him, and we could very well see a heated bout in that regard. However, angry Rudy is also a Rudy that shouldn’t be trifled with, as he solidly proved in Utah’s most recent contest. Facing LaMarcus Aldridge, who wrongly beat Gobert out of an All-Star spot, Rudy seemingly took his rage out on the Spurs star, putting up 21 points and 13 rebounds to Aldridge’s 15 and 10.

Not only that, but despite Golden State’s hot play of late, the Jazz should be taking some confidence into this game. They’ve played the Warriors as well as anybody this season, defeating them in their last contest and losing only by a buzzer beater in the first contest after playing about the best half of basketball we’ve ever seen out of this Jazz squad.

Of course, both those games were on Utah’s home court, which gave them a nice advantage, so it will be interesting to see if their swagger against the Dubs can carry over on the road.

Unfortunately, I’m feeling less than optimistic. I have high hopes for how the remainder of the Jazz season is going to go and believe that 50 wins is still very much within their grasp. I also think we’ll see a spirited team hit its stride post-All-Star break now that the trade deadline has come and gone, their chemistry remains intact and the playoffs are clearly visible on the horizon.

That said, the Warriors have been playing at an other-worldly level of late. And particularly on their home floor where they have a reputation for dominating, I have a hard time seeing the Jazz getting this one done.

Yes, they just took care of business against the Spurs, but prior to that, they were walloped by a pair of Western Conference playoff teams in the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets. The Jazz have largely struggled against playoff-caliber teams, particularly of late, and Golden State is the most daunting of any of them.

Make no mistake about it, Tuesday’s game will be a great measuring stick game for the Utah Jazz to see where they stack up against the reigning and favored NBA champions. Unfortunately, I’m projecting that said measurement will tell us what we likely already know. Despite several things looking Utah’s way to close the year, they simply come up a little short in comparison to Golden State.

My Prediction: Warriors 122, Jazz 101