Five and a Half Games Out

The Utah Jazz are in 11th place in the Western Conference, just one spot out of the Play-In Tournament, but they are 5.5 games behind LeBron and the Lakers for that spot. The Jazz are not doing themselves any favors recently, as they have lost eight of their last nine, with their only win coming over the Spurs. Utah recently went on a short road trip, losing all three in the Southeast against Atlanta, Orlando and Miami. In the Heat game, they were led by Keyonte George with 31 points in the loss.

The Jazz will be without their top scorer in this game, as Lauri Markkanen will sit against the Wizards with a right quad contusion. This would leave Collin Sexton as the leading scorer for Utah, he averages 17.9 PPG and 4.6 APG, and was recently promoted to the starting lineup in favor of Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson now leads the second unit, and scores 16.8 PPG while still leading the team with 5.0 APG. Without Markkanen on the floor, the only player on Utah averaging two or more threes per game is rookie Keyonte George, he averages 2.0 made threes per game and is scoring 12.2 PPG. John Collins is their top scorer on the inside, he averages 14.3 PPG and leads the team with 8.4 RPG.

Taylor Hendricks has been starting recent games, he is a 20-year old rookie forward averaging 5.7 PPG. Talen Horton-Tucker and Omer Yurtseven have been getting the most minutes off the bench lately. The Jazz rank 15th in offensive efficiency and 25th in defensive efficiency. They play at the 7th fastest tempo in the league.

Fourteen Straight Losses

The Washington Wizards have fallen behind the Detroit Pistons in the standings, a feat that seemed impossible earlier in the season. The Wizards have done this by losing their last fourteen straight games, they have not won since January 29th when they defeated the Spurs. Washington is finishing up a three game road trip, they lost the first two matchups against the Lakers and Clippers. In the Clipper game, Washington was led by Kyle Kuzma with 32 points and seven rebounds in the loss.

Kuzma leads the team in scoring with 22.2 PPG while also adding 6.6 RPG and 4.0 APG. He is the top shooter on the team with 2.3 made threes per game on 34.2% shooting from deep. Kuzma has scored 20 or more in each of his last four games, including the 32 point game against the Clippers. Jordan Poole is their second leading scorer, but was recently moved to the bench. Poole is averaging 16.3 PPG and just put up 34 against the Lakers. Marvin Bagley III has found a bigger role with the Wizards after coming over from the Pistons midseason, he starts at center and is averaging 13.9 PPG and 8.5 RPG in his 17 games with the Wizards. Deni Avdija is a 23-year old starting on the wing and contributing another 13.6 PPG.

Tyus Jones starts at point guard, he leads the team in assists with 7.3 per game while scoring 12.1 PPG. Corey Kispert is a big scorer off the bench, the shooting is averaging 12.4 PPG with the second unit. Washington ranks 26th in offensive efficiency and 29th in defensive efficiency according to dunksandthrees.com. The young Wizards play at the fastest pace in the league.