The Utah Jazz (31-38) take on the Minnesota Timberwolves (15-54) tonight at EnergySolutions Arena at 7:00 PM. Both teams are looking to get back on the winning track after the Jazz lost to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday and the Timberwolves lost to the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. The Wolves come into the game losers of 7 out of their last 8. The Jazz have won 7 out of their last 9 games.
Gordon Hayward is listed as questionable for tonight’s game with a Grade 1 left AC sprain. He was at shoot around but did not participate. He is leading the Jazz in scoring at 19.6 points per game game and steals at 1.4 per game. Rudy Gobert is leading the team in rebounds at 8.9 a game and in blocks at 2.3 rejections a game. Trey Burke is the team’s assist leader at 4.4 a game.
Here is Rudy Gobert with the media following shoot around:
The Jazz continue to lead the league in scoring defense as they are only giving up 94.9 points per game. They are 28th overall in scoring at 94.7 points per game. Utah had allowed 88 or fewer points in 11 of 12 games before falling 106-91 to the NBA best Golden State Warriors on Saturday. The Jazz’s 81.7 points allowed per game led the NBA and were nearly nine fewer than second-best Washington Wizards (90.3) in that span.
Here is Rodney Hood with the media following shoot around:
Trey Burke and Gordon Hayward had 26 points apiece in a 100-94 win over the Timberwolves on December 30. Trey Burke scored a game-high 28 points in a 101-89 victory at Minnesota on January 3. Minnesota has the second-worst record in the NBA. They are 1 1/2 games ahead of the New York Knicks.
Utah Jazz Head Coach Quin Snyder with the media after shoot around: