Jazz at Wizards
The effects of a winter storm that dumped two feet of snow on parts of the east coast around Jan. 23 are still being felt by the NBA, which had to reschedule a pair of games due to the weather. One of those games will be made up on Thursday, when the Utah Jazz and the Wizards sacrifice the final day of their All-Star break to meet in Washington for the makeup contest.
The Jazz should be happy to get back to work after surging with seven wins in eight games prior to the All-Star break to jump into eighth place in the Western Conference. Utah nearly made it eight straight before dropping a 100-96 decision at New Orleans in the final game before the break and will get on a plane immediately after Thursday’s game to begin stretch of four of five at home against the Boston Celtics on Friday. The Wizards at least have the luxury of playing their back-to-back on Thursday and Friday at home, and they are looking for a quick spark in order to make a run at a postseason spot in the East. Washington dropped nine of its final 13 before the break and is staring at a final 31 games that include a pair of West Coast road trips (one of three games, the other five games), two more dates with Cleveland, two more against Chicago and three games against Atlanta.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ROOT (Utah), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (26-26): The Jazz managed a respectable 7-9 mark with forward Derrick Favors out 16 games while dealing with a back injury and have thrived since his return. The 24-year-old is one of the leaders of a strong young roster, and the team is 7-2 since his return. “We're taking it game by game,” second-year guard Rodney Hood told the Salt Lake Tribune. “We haven't really been talking about the playoffs. If we make it, it would be amazing with us being such a young team. (Our goal) is to just game by game to get better, and if we do that, we'll be where we want to be by the spring.”
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (23-28): Washington finished 10 games above .500, earned the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference and won a first-round playoff series last spring, only to start off inconsistent this season. The Wizards are last in the league in rebounding and have dipped to the bottom third in the league in defensive efficiency, though All-Star point guard John Wall saw signs that the team could be one of the best. “We showed glimpses of what we can be, beating good teams and competing against the best teams,” Wall told the Washington Post. “We just got to be able to do that the last 31 games. … We got to be able to put everything to the side and compete for these last 31 games. They’re going to go by fast.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hood averaged 23 points in the last four games.
2. Wall scored 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting in the All-Star Game despite dealing with a bruised right knee.
3. Washington held Utah to an average of 86.3 points in taking the last three in the series.