Tank wars are getting spicy! The Utah Jazz (15-54) and Washington Wizards (15-53) chase the NBA’s worst record, with both teams completely disregarding the player participation policy. Utah as of now has the #1 position heading into the NBA Draft Lottery, but a win for either team will give them a complete hold over the pick.
On paper, this looks like one of our most winnable games left in the season. The Jazz are bound for a win sooner rather than later with their 10-game losing streak. After all, the Wizards have an absurd eight players listed on their injury report compared to Utah’s six. As of now, the Jazz still have Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton listed as available to play. There’s a good chance Will Hardy decides to sit both of them in the second half to leave us with a pretty ugly game to work with.
Washington has had an impressive 5-5 record in their last 10 games, including some pretty exciting wins over the Nuggets, Pistons and even a 125-122 win over the Jazz back in DC. With no Walker Kessler, the Wizards will have to take advantage of the glass despite being in the bottom 10 for both offensive and defensive rebounding. Another big kicker is the offense. Wizards are the bottom of the league in offensive rating compared to Utah’s 24th spot. It’s just a matter of which team goes cold from the field first.
Injury Report
Jazz:
OUT - John Collins (left ankle sprain), Walker Kessler (rest), Kenyon Martin Jr. (elbow injury), Svi Mykhailiuk (right foot soreness), Jaden Springer (low back soreness), Taylor Hendricks (right fibula fracture)
QUESTIONABLE- Kyshawn George (right knee contusion)
DOUBTFUL - Jordan Poole (right elbow contusion)
OUT - Bilal Coulibaly (right hamstring strain, Corey Kispert (left thumb surgery), Khris Middleton (bilateral ankle injury management), Malcolm Brogdon (left ankle sprain), Marcus Smart (illness), Saddiq Bey (left knee ACL surgery)
How to Watch:
Who: Utah Jazz vs. Washington Wizards
When: March 19th, 7:00PM Mountain Time
Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City
Watch: Jazz+, KJZZ
Don’t forget to develop the rooks
Utah Jazz v Philadelphia 76ers Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
Games like these don’t come too often. These are the types of reps you want for Collier and Filipowski to grow as players. Collier played around 36 minutes in the tank-off against Toronto while Flip played 33. Expect more of that tonight once the Jazz pulls Lauri and Sexton off the floor in the second half. The Wizards have been one of the NBA’s largest hubs for rookie development this season, logging in 1400 total minutes across their three rookies.
It’s worth throwing in your Jazz assists line in this matchup. Both of these studded rookies have proved their worth when it comes to being a general on the floor. Flip’s offense has been on an upward trajectory in the month of March, the most significant being his 3-point shooting. The improvement has translated to more overall production, and he has appointed himself a larger role in the rotation. The Jazz have been getting Kessler around six three-point attempts over the last few games — I expect Filipowski to get the same treatment.
Collier has been scoring the ball efficiently for the Jazz, scoring over 10+ points in 7 out of his last 10 games. Collier will need to step up and be a scoring threat inside the rim against a terrible Wizards defense. It’s like icing on the cake that the Wizards are the 5th worst team against transition scoring, which happens to be Collier’s bread and butter.
The moral of the story is to not throw in the towel too early. The outcome of tonight will be impacted by the young guys of both teams.