The Utah Jazz are coming into their Monday night game with the Phoenix Suns after an impressive win against the same team on Saturday. The reason that it was impressive, albeit it was a preseason game, is because the Jazz were without the services of Mike Conley. That combined with the fact that they are trying to integrate new faces onto the team, it was a good sign that the Jazz were able to hold up defensively against a team as potent as the Suns. It will be a huge challenge for the Jazz to try and contain the Suns for a second straight game.

The Suns are coming into this season with more hope than they have had in years after landing a big name free agent in Chris Paul to the uber talented young core of Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton. You can bet that even though it is a preseason game, the Suns will be wanting to exact revenge on the Jazz after losing the previous game.

Although this is a preseason game and it means nothing in the grand scheme of this season, it will be entertaining to watch two teams that will likely be jostling at the end of the season for playoff positioning. It’s still great to have NBA basketball back even though the meaningful games haven’t started yet.

Game Info

When: Monday, 12/14/2020 • 7:00 PM MT

Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, UT

TV: NBAtv, AT&T SportsNet-RM

Radio: 97.5 FM | 1280 AM The Zone

What to watch for

Battle of the point guards?

With the way that Mike Conley played in the bubble, it will be exciting to see if he can pick up where he left off. Especially matching up against a future hall of famer and defensive pest like Chris Paul. I don’t expect either Paul or Conley to have a lot of minutes and/or an epic showdown but I am intrigued by how Conley will look, especially if he gets a chance to play with Derrick Favors.

Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

Continued development?

Both Jazz rookies Udoka Azubuike and Elijah Hughes showed well in the first preseason game. Can they continue to show that they may be worthy of a rotation spot when the regular season starts? If so, it will give the Jazz some incredible depth. I know these two are rookies, and they will undoubtedly go through ups and downs this season, but it will interesting to see if they can play or if the first game was just a fluke.