Utah Jazz vs Washington Wizards Prediction & Match Preview - December 11th, 2021 | NBA Season 2021-22

Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards will host the sizzling Utah Jazz on Saturday night [Photo: The J-Notes]

The Utah Jazz will hope to finish a spotless road trip when they face off against the Washington Wizards on Saturday at Capital One Arena.

The team with the NBA’s best offensive rating by a wide margin continues to wallop opponents in their six-game winning run. Except for their close win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Utah Jazz have been thrashing opposing teams on both ends of the floor. Capping their road dominance will be the perfect ending before a three-day break from the action.

6 straight 🤫

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The Washington Wizards have been struggling of late. They needed a Kyle Kuzma three-point buzzer-beater to eke out a win against the lowly Detroit Pistons. The Wizards’ struggles were obvious even from the start, as they fell behind by as many as 14 points in the second quarter.

Bradley Beal and crew will have to do a much better job against the in-form and sizzling Utah Jazz in their brief homestand.

Match Detail

Fixture: Utah Jazz vs Washington Wizards | 2021-22 NBA season

Date & Time: Saturday, December 11th; 7:00 PM ET (Sunday, December 12th; 5:30 AM IST)

Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

Utah Jazz Preview

The Utah Jazz offense has been surreal in their last six games [Photo: SLC Dunk]

The Utah Jazz own a 117.2 offensive rating, which is absurdly better than the second-ranked 113.2 rating of the Atlanta Hawks. In the Jazz’s six-game winning streak, that number has ballooned to an insane 130 ORTG. They are blowing out opponents by 21 points per contest, excluding their one-point victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The dynamic duo of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert have been spectacular in their recent winning streak. Mitchell has led the team in scoring in their last six games, while Gobert has dominated the rebounding department in the same time span. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has helped limit Karl-Anthony Towns and Joel Embiid in Utah’s win over Minnesota and Philly.

The Utah Jazz are the hottest team in the NBA right now.

Key Player - Donovan Mitchell

This season, Donovan Mitchell is averaging 24.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists. He is shooting 34.8% from three-point land and 45.3% overall. Those numbers have spiked up in the Utah Jazz’s winning streak. He has tallied 29.7 points and dished out 5.3 assists, which are career-highs, in his last six games.

Even more impressive is the gigantic jump in his shooting efficiency, with 54.9% on overall field goal shooting and 44.8% from long range. When the two-time All-Star is shooting this efficiently, the Utah Jazz are almost unbeatable.

Utah Jazz Predicted Lineup

G - Mike Conley | G - Donovan Mitchell | F - Bojan Bogdanovic | F - Royce O’Neale | C - Rudy Gobert

Washington Wizards Preview

The Washington Wizards' defense has been atrocious in the last 10 games [Photo: NBA.com]

The Washington Wizards surprised many by grabbing the best record in the East at one point earlier in the season. Defense was their identity in their quick start. The Wizards were firmly entrenched in fourth to seventh place in defensive rating. Their defense has since regressed. They are now 14th in the league.

In the last 10 games where the Washington Wizards have gone 4-6, they have had the worst defensive rating in the NBA by a considerable margin. Their 117 DRTG is not even in the same vicinity as the bottom-ranked Charlotte Hornets’ mark of 113.1 DRTG.

That last-placed defense in the last ten games will have to do a Herculean task against the fiery offense of the Utah Jazz.

Key Player - Bradley Beal

Bradley Beal’s struggles this season have been well-chronicled. After losing the scoring title to Steph Curry in the last game of the previous season, his average has dropped by almost 9 points. His 22.6 points per contest for the Washington Wizards is his lowest since the 2018-19 season. Even more alarming is the downward spiral of his three-point shooting. His 26.2% shooting from deep is so ridiculously off from last year and his career average.

That being said, no one in the Washington Wizards' camp can come close to Bradley Beal’s scoring prowess and crunch DNA. The Wizards have traded away John Wall and Russell Westbrook at different times in the last few years because they consider Beal to be the cornerstone of the franchise.

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One good thing about the three-time All-Star’s form this season is his career-high (5.7) in assists. As defenders continue to keep track of him despite the struggles, he has managed to involve his teammates better.

Washington Wizards Predicted Lineup

G - Spencer Dinwiddie | G - Bradley Beal | F - Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | F - Kyle Kuzma | C - Daniel Gafford

Jazz vs Wizards Match Prediction

The Utah Jazz are firing on all cylinders right now, which is bad news for the Washington Wizards’ inept defense in the last ten games. If Washington can’t summon the same kind of defensive execution and tenacity they displayed earlier in the season, they could be in for a beatdown.

The Utah Jazz are likely to extend their streak against the Washington Wizards in their matchup on Saturday.

Where to watch the Jazz vs Wizards game

The NBA League Pass will stream the game live. The local coverage of the matchup between the Utah Jazz and the Washington Wizards is available via NBC Sports Washington and AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.