The Utah Jazz (40-40) face a huge game tonight as they take on the Dallas Mavericks (41-39) at Vivint Smart Home arena. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM. The Jazz currently control their own destiny to making the playoffs as they are the 8th seed. They trail the Mavericks by a game for the 7th seed, but only lead the Houston Rockets (39-41) by a game, who are currently in 9th place.
Derrick Favors is listed as questionable for tonight’s game with knee soreness. Trey Lyles had a career-night on Sunday as he scored 22 points in his start. The Jazz will need to play well defensively again tonight. It’s their defense which drives their offense. This is the final home game of the regular season and the crowd will need to be a big part of the game. They will need to be loud and keep the Jazz energized.
Here is Utah Jazz Head Coach Quin Snyder with the media following shoot around today:
The Jazz and Mavericks split the their first 2 meetings this season in Dallas so whomever wins tonight will own the tiebreaker between the 2 teams. Gordon Hayward leads the team in scoring at 19.7 points per game and will need to have a big game tonight. He talked with the media after shoot around. Here is that audio:
Rudy Gobert is coming off of an outstanding performance on Sunday against the Denver Nuggets as he finished the game with 16 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 blocked shots. His defense will be key again tonight against the Mavericks. Here is the audio of Rudy Gobert talking with the media this morning after shoot around:
