Utah Jazz vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction: A tussle between two identity-seeking squads

The NBA trade deadline is just a couple of days away or so and this will be an important period as we see what moves different squads pull off. This means that the remaining season can witness a lot of direction shift with teams acquiring some depth or letting go of the remaining depth to build long-term. Will the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves be two such teams as they collide here?

The Jazz comes into the game after suffering a 111:124 against the Mavericks despite a 26 points performance by Jordan Clarkson. They have lost two in a row and three out of their five games which have once again brought them under 50% wins as they sit at 28 losses and 27 wins. The last loss will hurt because Doncic and Irving both were out for the Mavs and they allowed the string unit to cook them. Such losses are haunting when a team is competing for the Play-in spots. The Jazz needs to fix their defense and their offense has taken a tumble too.

The Wolves enter the game after losing 112:146 against the Nuggets in a rather shoddy performance. The team has now lost three of their last five games and after a strong month of January, February has been a rather tough month. They still have something to build upon with 29 wins and 28 losses. Their team has been missing Karl Anthony-Towns but the play of Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell has kept them afloat. The team's defense has improved and the team has shown the potential to build adequate winning runs. How will they get it done after a sloppy period?

• Jazz: OUT: Micah Potter. QUESTIONABLE: Jarred Vanderbilt;
• Timberwolves: OUT: Karl Anthony-Towns, Austin Rivers. Game-Time Decision: Kyle Anderson.

The Jazz’s last loss is alarming on many levels and this team does require some changes to hold on to a strong record. The Wolves played last night and were hammered brutally. This can impact them a bit and playing away from home is tricky in such scenarios. That is why I give the Jazz an edge and predict a scoreline of 122:116 in their favor.