The Dubs return to San Francisco on the back of a 3-0 road trip that saw victories on the road in Houston, Minnesota and Oklahoma City. Riding an eight-game winning streak, the Warriors early-season success faces its hardest test yet with 7-2 Utah coming to town. Stephen Curry enjoyed an extremely successful road trip, scoring more than 30 points in all three games and having 10 assists in Minnesota and Oklahoma City. D'Angelo Russell continues to look strong in the Warrior offense, scoring 25 points in Oklahoma City on Saturday.
Curry and Russell combined to score 61 points for the Warriors, as rookie Jordan Poole set a new career-high with 16 points in the Dubs' 123-111 win over Oklahoma City on Saturday night. Full Recap
The Warriors have relied on consistent play off the bench throughout their eight-game winning streak. Poole, Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III have all tallied double-digit scoring performances coming off the bench for the Warriors and Eric Paschall has proven to be a reliable scoring threat whether he is starting or coming off the bench. With Jacob Evans and Kevon Looney still sidelined, the Warriors have been relying on that quartet, as well as Marquese Chriss and Omari Spellman, to provide a defensive presence and a scoring punch around the Warriors starters.
The Jazz made one of the offseason's biggest moves, trading for Mike Conley from the Memphis Grizzlies to solidify a formidable backcourt opposite Donovan Mitchell. Now nine games into the season, the trade is already paying dividends. Conley is second on the team with 16.9 points per game and is pacing the offense with 5.6 assists. Mitchell, with the added offensive support, is scoring 23.7 points on 51.9% shooting.
Rudy Gobert continues to be the force of the Jazz's NBA-best defense, averaging 1.8 blocks per game, 1.0 steals per game and 13.8 rebounds per game good for third in the NBA. The Jazz are allowing opponents to score just 97.8 points per game, the only team in the NBA to hold opponents under 100 points. They are holding opponents to 41.3% shooting from the floor, the lowest mark in the NBA.