Preview: Hawks begin road gauntlet in Salt Lake City

At one point this season, the Utah Jazz were 19-28 with injuries and all kinds of uncertainty. Since then, Rudy Gobert and company have utterly exploded to the tune of a 21-2 record and, in short, the Atlanta Hawks face a significant challenge in Salt Lake City on Tuesday evening.

Though the Hawks began a six-game road trip on Saturday in Milwaukee, this contest marks the start of a continuous five-game journey through the West and no one wants to be facing off the with the Jazz right now. Utah sports the league’s best current defense under the direction of old friend Quin Snyder and the on-court leadership of Gobert and, with John Collins, Kent Bazemore and others out of the lineup, it is difficult to see a path for Atlanta to score effectively.

With that as the backdrop, the Jazz enter this game as 13-point favorites and that provides little in the way of optimism. Taurean Prince has been red-hot and Dennis Schroder is always capable of a breakout but, at the end of the day, it will take the best possible effort from the Hawks to compete in Utah on this fine evening.

Stay tuned throughout the night for all the latest.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Tuesday, March 20, 9:00 pm ET

Location: Vivint Smart Home Arena

TV: Fox Sports Southeast, Fox Sports Go, NBA League Pass

Radio: 92.9 The Game (Atlanta)