Utah Jazz: 2 keys to a primetime win against the Nuggets
By Jack Duggan
Tonight, the Utah Jazz face what is easily the hardest test of this young season, hosting the unbeaten Denver Nuggets on primetime TV. The Jazz, who have started the year 2-0, have certainly looked impressive, posting one of the league’s best defensive ratings through their first few games. They’ll need all that defense and more to stop the reigning MVP and company as they come into Utah 2-1.
As stated, the Jazz have looked solid to start the 2020-21 season, but in all fairness, their competition has not been particularly difficult thus far. They took care of business against an Oklahoma City Thunder squad that is deep in the midsts of a rebuild, and then won a slightly more competitive contest against the now 1-2 Sacramento Kings. The Nuggets, on the other hand, have started the year 2-1 and will easily stand as the best team the Jazz have played.
Despite remaining unbeaten, not everything has looked perfect for the Jazz. Clearly, there are areas to be improved upon moving forward. For instance, Donovan Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson struggled a bit against the Kings, both shooting well below 40% from the field. The Utah offense as a whole could use a boost, posting only the 12th best offensive rating (109.0) in the league through 2 games.
Apart from Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets have also struggled to generate consistent offense this season. It’s important to note they are missing their second star Jamal Murray who is still recovering from a torn left ACL suffered last season. Many eyes have turned to young wing Micheal Porter Jr to fill the scoring vacuum left by Murray. However, to start the season, Porter has yet to display the aggressive scoring the Nuggets need, as he has only attempted 10 shots in each of his first two games.
In last season’s three head-to-head matchups, the Jazz slightly bested the Nuggets 2-1, yet all three games were tightly contested. Plus, every time these two teams meet, an entertaining game seems to result.
So, let’s take a look at 3 keys to victory that could allow the Jazz to pass their hardest test of this young season.