Game thread: Conley, Jazz look to beat up on the Dubs again

The Utah Jazz will aim for their 10th win of the 2019-20 campaign in a repeat engagement with former Jazzman Alec Burks and the injury-ravaged Warriors.

When the Utah Jazz met up with the Golden State Warriors just over 10 days ago, the game largely followed the script one would have expected. Despite the best efforts of D’Angelo Russell, who scored 33 points, the injury-ravaged Warriors were run off the floor by Mike Conley and the Jazz in a 14-point drubbing.

Things have only gotten worse for the Dubs since then; Russell suffered a sprained right thumb, Draymond Green has been shelved with a bum heel and Golden State has dropped to a league-worst 3-13 on the year.

I have a horrible feeling that this will all come back to bite the Jazz along with the rest of the Association when the Warriors draft in the top three and return their big guns next season, but for now — it’s time to feast.

Conley continues to be up and down in his early Jazz career, but his effort against Golden State last time around may have been his best as a Jazzman. In 31 minutes of play, Utah’s point man put up 22 points, went 5-of-8 from 3-point range and threw out seven dimes with zero turnovers.

Although he’s slowly trending upward, this game should present a prime opportunity for Conley to really break out and remind the basketball world why the Jazz were willing to take on his $30-plus million salary over the summer, particularly with Russell out.

In D’Lo’s absence, the Warriors have been paced by second-round steal Eric Paschall, who’s averaging 23 points per contest since the All-Star guard went down.

Former Jazzman Alec Burks has also picked up the scoring, putting up just under 16 points per game over the Warriors’ last three. That’s on an effective field goal percentage of 39.7, though, and Burks has been Golden State’s most negative player since taking on more of the burden with a net swing of minus-27.2.

Still, Burks has definitely been able to do more with the Warriors this season compared to his last several seasons with the Jazz. And fans in the 801 are definitely well aware of the damage he can do when he’s firing on all cylinders.

Even so, it’s hard not to see the Jazz picking up win No. 10 in this one. Barring a shooting disaster akin to Conley’s return to Memphis — where it took a 9-of-11 night from Rudy Gobert to get the Jazz to 40 percent and the team missed 25 of its 34 3-point attempts — the Warriors are severely outgunned against the Jazz.

Game Data

Broadcast Info

Tip-off: 7:00 PM MT on November 22 from Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, UT
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: The Zone Sports Network (97.5 FM & 1280 AM Salt Lake City)

Projected Starting Lineups

Injuries

Ed Davis is the only major injury to report for the Jazz; he’s still out with a fractured left fibula. He’s set to be re-evaluated by Jazz medical sometime after the upcoming holiday. Other than that, the Jazz should have a full complement of players.

The Warriors, meanwhile, are the most banged-up team in the Association. Stephen Curry (broken hand), Klay Thompson (rehab from knee surgery) and Kevon Looney (hamstring, neuropathy) are all nursing long-term injuries, although Looney could return over the weekend.

Russell is still out with a thumb sprain, while Green is set to miss his second straight game with right heel soreness.

Prediction

The Action Network lists the Jazz as 16-point favorites after the spread opened up at 13½. Even with the Dubs in such a diminished state, it’s hard to pick a team to cover when they’re giving so many points to the opponents.

The Jazz should win outright, but I just can’t pick them to cover (although it’s far from an unfathomable proposition). Let’s go with Utah over Golden State 111-97.

Discussion

#GSWatUTA will be the hashtag on Twitter for Friday’s game. As per usual, the live comment thread will be up and running below. Go Jazz!