Utah Outduels D.C.

It’s been no secret that the Utah Jazz have been hard on the eyes since the trade deadline expired.

Utah’s youthful focus and futuristic mindset have put forth a current basketball product of two wins in ten games for the Jazz, boasting two losing streaks of five and three.

Yet despite all the porous play as of late, and the tank rolling ahead at full power, there are teams you absolutely cannot lose too.

The Washington Wizards are one of those teams.

The Wizards were 9-51 coming into Salt Lake last night and were riding a 14-game losing streak.

I get the Jazz aren’t a fun watch right now, but it literally could be worse, and the Wizards are a prime example.

Thankfully for one night and one night only, the Jazz played winning basketball, sent the Wizards to 15 straight losses, and avoided the utter embarrassment of losing to a team with the same number of wins as the Pistons who broke the NBA single season record with 27 consecutive losses.

An Ugly Win is Still a Win, I Guess.

This game was far from a masterclass.

Utah was pretty banged up, and would lose more rotation players as the game wore on with both Taylor Hendricks and Keyonte George exiting early.

The game was a 75-74 contest at the break, which seems impressive until you realize that it was a byproduct of neither team being able to defend at the simplest level.

A great example is Jordan Poole, the most meme worthy player in the association went 11/18, hit six triples and dropped 32 points on Utah’s head.

Poole has shot near 40 percent this season and under 32 from deep, only to score his second-best total of the season against the Jazz.

But then Washington was just as incompetent:

It was quite a treat.

Ultimately one team had to demonstrate who was truly worse, and the Wizards took it personally with a little self-implosion.

Even in Ugly Wins, You Can Find Beauty

John Collins had 17 points, 15 rebounds and shot 64 percent.

Collin Sexton poured in 29 points and showcased his efficiency once again with a 58 percent kind of night while hitting 4 shots from deep and led the squad with 7 assists.

Taylor Hendricks, prior to the toe injury, went 3/3 from the field with two deep balls.

But the shiniest star of them all was Jordan Clarkson who single handedly won this game for the home team.

A takeover that broke records and set new marks.

What makes it most impressive is the reality that Clarkson has struggled this year with career shooting lows.

In Jordan’s last twenty games, Clarkson has scored more than twenty points only 4 times. He’s scored more than 30 twice in that span, including last night.

Last night was the first time Clarkson shot 50 percent from the field since January 29^th, when he went 5/10 in a 33-point loss in Brooklyn.

He took 26 shots in yesterday’s 12-point win, which is instantly more impressive. It was arguably his most impactful night as a pure scorer this season due to the win., also see: 12-0 individual run.

The 38 points is a season high for JC, and his 7 assists is his highest assist number this year when scoring more than 24 points.

In an Ugly Game, There Were Some Sexy Plays.

Some of the worst defenses in the Association means we got to witness some really neat looking plays.

Also, Collin Sexton in the dunk contest next year?

Utah will look to win consecutive games for the first time since early February when they host the Chicago Bulls this Wednesday the 6^th.