The Utah Jazz finds themselves in a tight corner on their home floor Monday night. The Warriors come in threatening to sweep the series and keep the Jazz at home for the offseason.
There are noticeable issues and reasons why the Jazz haven't found success in this series. There are also a lot of positive takeaways from their first three games that could help them avoid a sweep.
Tip-off for game 4 starts at 9:00 PM ET on TNT.
Main areas of concern for Utah
Obviously, the main issues for the Jazz are they can't defend efficiently. They thought they were going to on Saturday night when they held Klay Thompson and Steph Curry to 7 of 29 shooting. The problem is, the Warriors aren't that focused on individuals scoring.
Any given night the Warriors can have a guy step up. Saturday night was Kevin Durant. This was one of the first real games that Kevin Durant carried the Warriors to a win. He had 38 points on 15 of 26 shooting in the evening.
The Jazz have to find an answer for him.
Curry and Klay can both be electric, but when Durant is hot, there's no stopping it. The 7-footer can barely be guarded as it is, but Gordon Hayward has to find that answer for him.
Offensively, the Jazz just have to be more efficient. They did a much better job of this in game 3, where they challenged the Warriors and took them down to the wire. The problem is, down the stretch, the Warriors completely locked them up. Efficiency at the end of games is where the Jazz have had issues against the Clippers and now the Warriors. They aren't getting the quality shots they need nor are they getting the ball-movement that brings them success as a group.
Warriors dominance
Even with Curry and Klay struggling all game, and Draymond Green losing his mind, the Warriors still got it done in game 3.
Game 4 is all about finishing what you started. The Warriors came into this series with a flow that wasn't going to be altered.
They dominated games one and two, and now they had a closer one in game 3. They need to carry on and take care of business because the Spurs or Rockets are going to give them a good run for their money. The rest they can get from finishing this series in 4 games instead of 5 could be very beneficial to them for their Western Conference final opponent.
The Jazz have had a successful season, and sadly it may come to an end. Whether they win or lose in game 4, this team made some significant strides as a young group. They advanced in the playoffs and gave the Warriors some quality basketball.