What to Watch: Suns at Jazz

The Phoenix Suns are looking to both get back over .500 and clinch the season series tonight against the Utah Jazz.

Phoenix is coming off of an epic 131-128 win on Friday night in the in-season tournament behind typical masterclass performances from Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.

While the defense had one of its worst performances of the season, it stepped up when needed most. The offense also showed why many within the league considered it to be potentially the best in the entire NBA.

While the Suns' win wasn't without struggle, it's nice to see the team on a winning streak again. It appears as if the team is back on track for the long haul this season.

With that being said, there are some things to focus on tonight. Even though Utah is a back-to-back opponent, Suns fans saw exactly why they can be a wild-card team any given night, and Phoenix shouldn't take this matchup for granted.

Jordan Clarkson Hot Streak Continues?

Jordan Clarkson is typically one of the streakiest players in the Association, but the talented Jazz point guard has been on a consistent tear of late, scoring 37 points and nearly willing Utah to victory on Friday night.

Containing Clarkson early was one of our three keys to the game on Friday night, and Phoenix failed spectacularly on the proposition.

The Jazz appear to live and die behind Clarkson performances this season. While Lauri Markkanen is the best player on the team, Clarkson might just be the most vital.

Keep a strong eye on how Clarkson starts the game and whether it dictates the way the game goes tonight.

Yuta Watanabe Status

The Suns' sharpshooting forward was added to the injury report, being listed as questionable tonight with a left quadriceps contusion.

Watanabe joins the likes of Bradley Beal (back) and Damion Lee (knee) on the report.

While Watanabe has been somewhat disappointing for Phoenix early on, he has flashed enough to give Suns fans confidence that he can consistently up his level of play in the grind of the season.

The Suns should be fine tonight if he is unable to go, but it would be unfortunate for a player in need of rhythm to begin missing games in a cold stretch.

Point Book

Suns fans have long known that Devin Booker is a great playmaker.

The rest of the league is catching on.

Booker is now averaging 10.3 assists per game this season after a 15-assist, one turnover performance against Utah.

Booker seems to be thriving in his predominately on-ball role, as the threat of him off-ball is keeping defenses on their toes at all times, and his incredible ability to manipulate defenses with footwork was on display frequently in the game Friday night.

While Booker is unlikely to average 10 assists a night for a full season, it is definite that he has become one of the best offensive engines in the NBA.

Shocking that a player as talented as Booker could put up video-game numbers when given more on-ball responsibility, along with replacing players such as Landry Shamet with Eric Gordon.

Phoenix and Utah will tip off shortly after 6 PM Arizona time. The game will be broadcast on AZ Family for local market audiences.