THE Utah Jazz welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves Saturday night, just one day after ending their last three-game losing streak with a victory over the Atlanta Falcons. The T-Wolves come in third in the Western Conference and they won’t be easy to beat as they are also fighting for the number one seed in the conference just before the playoffs begin. This will be the first matchup in a two-game mini-series between these two teams.
The Wolves are coming off an impressive win against the LA Clippers on Tuesday and had a few days off before the matchup against the Jazz. Everything seems to favor Minnesota for this matchup and honestly there aren’t many flaws that the Jazz will be able to exploit. Minnesota has an excellent defense and the Jazz sometimes struggle to score. At the same time, the Wolves can score with the best of them, and the Jazz also struggle to play defense. The key to winning this game for Minnesota will simply be playing the defense they are capable of all game and not getting complacent.
Utah enters this game as a clear underdog, but still hopes to compete with its young core. Since being inserted into the starting lineup, Jazz rookie Keyonte George has averaged nearly 18 points and shown plenty of upside. Utah will continue to lean on him and recently returned rookie Taylor Hendricks to lead this team and grow at the same time. This is a great litmus test for these young players to face the kind of team they are trying to become. The key for the Jazz in this game will be playing as a team and trying to score against Rudy Gobert and the T-Wolves’ strong defense.
Both teams are dealing with injuries to star players and Minnesota could be without former Jazz star Rudy Gobert, who is listed as a game-time decision. Meanwhile, Utah could be without the services of Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson, who are also game-time decisions. Either way, it’s always good to have two Jazz games during the weekend, GO JAZZ!
Game information
When: March 16 – 7:30 p.m. MST
Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Watch/stream on: KJZZ, Jazz+
Listen: Sirius XM, KSL 97.5 FM/S: KBMG 106.3 FM, Wolves App, iHeart Radio
