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After a strong win against the Boston Celtics, the Utah Jazz will continue their east coast roadtrip against the Washington Wizards.
The Wizards are on a 5-game losing streak and have lost 7 of their last 8 games. Last night the Wizards lost a close one to the Sacramento Kings. They struggled with turnovers all night and couldn’t keep the Kings from scoring. They also ended on this headscratcher of a pass from Russell Westbrook on the final play of the game.
game on the line just wait for Westbrook’s reaction when he realizes nobody flared out pic.twitter.com/A4IZF6ATck
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 18, 2021
After a tough first quarter against Boston, Utah looked like they caught some of the fire they had from their success earlier in the season. Even though they’ve lost 4 of their last 7 games, Rudy Gobert has been dominant for the Jazz. During that span Gobert is averaging 16.4 points, 14.1 rebounds, 3.4 blocks, 1.7 assists and 1 steal per game. Sheesh.
That production has buoyed the Jazz during a period where there offense has stagnated. During the stretch before last night against Boston, the Jazz had the #24 offense in that span and the #12 defense. Gobert is the thing that kept Utah afloat at that time. To be honest, Gobert is the one that keeps this team afloat at all times. His production on both ends of the floor is the thing that makes this Jazz team roll and he deserves so much more respect than he gets.
Game Info
When: 5:00 PM MST
Where: Capitol One Arena, Washington, DC
TV: NBA TV, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain
Radio: 97.5 FM/1280 AM
What to watch for
What version of Bojan Bogdanovic will we see?
It’s been rough go for Bogdanovic lately. Really rough. During Utah’s last seven games where they’ve gone 3-4, Bogdanovic has struggled. His numbers are respectable, 36% from three scoring 16 ppg, but he’s struggled on the defensive end and has not been great handling the ball. For example, last night he had 3 turnovers for example and 4 against the Warriors.
Bogdanovic is the x-factor for this team in a lot of ways. If Bogdanovic has one of those games where he goes 5/10 from three and is moving the ball within the offense, it makes this Jazz team very potent. When he lacks confidence and dribbles into good defenders and turns over the ball, it gums everything up and create opportunities for the opposing team.
Which version do we see tonight? If it’s the good version of Bogdanovic, the Jazz should have a relatively easy win.