Preview: Warriors take on Jazz in Chase Center

The defending champion Golden State Warriors are 9-10, clawing their way out of an early season slump back towards .500. Meanwhile the Utah Jazz, preemptively left for dead after shipping out franchise cornerstones Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, have started well with 12-8 record.

These two teams collide in San Francisco Friday evening in a race to see who can get over the Thanksgiving-itis first.

Golden State Warriors vs Utah Jazz

November 25th, 2022 | 7:00 PT

Watch: NBC Sports Bay Area | Listen: 95.7 The Game

Lauri Markkanen has been balling for Utah since arriving from Cleveland. He’s shooting 53% from the field and 36% from beyond the arc. This former lottery pick was drafted in 2017 and is finally showing signs of realizing the potential of being a 7-foot stretch big.

Here’s his draft profile from Draft Express:

Its Markkanen’s tremendous offensive ability at 7-feet tall that makes him such an interesting prospect. A versatile jump shooter, the freshman did the majority of his scoring in spot up and pick and pop situations, but also used his athleticism to attack closeouts, score on put backs, flashed face-up ability in the midrange, made shots off the dribble at a nice rate, and was even utilized off ball screens.

Interesting how it can a while for big man prospects to develop (for those watching Golden State youngster James Wiseman in the G-League with an eagle eye). I’m looking forward to how Draymond Green and Kevon Looney take turns battling against Markkanen and keeping him from getting easy points.

The Dubs have won five out of their last seven contests against the Jazz; let’s see if they can get another win over their Western Conference foes this holiday weekend.