The Washington Wizards travel to Salt Lake City to play the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena on Friday.

The Wizards (31-45) had serious playoff hopes coming into the season but all those hopes are gone at this point. In fact, Washington lost any chance of reaching the postseason after the Orlando Magic won on Thursday. That put the Wizards 6.5 games back with only six games remaining, as that obviously can't be made up. That makes this club one of the biggest disappointments of the season and it's obvious what the issue was. This team simply couldn't get over their injuries, with players like John Wall and Dwight Howard missing most of the season. That forced management to move Otto Porter at the trade deadline and it's now a new core for the future. The one bit of good news is that they appear to have some good young pieces to build around. with Bradley Beal being the shining star. Beal has taken this team on his back and quieted the notions on who the leader is for the Wizards. It's not just him though, as they've gotten some nice seasons from players like Bobby Portis, Tomas Satoransky and Thomas Bryant. That's a good enough team to reach the postseason and if they don't do that next year, it may be full-on sell time.

The Jazz (45-30) have been downright scary recently, as they're arguably the best team in the NBA right now. Not only have they won eight of their last nine games, but all eight of those victories have come by 15 points or more. That shows just how dominant this team can be on both ends of the floor and it's clear that their defense is the catalyst to their success. Playing at home is a huge boost as well, with Utah owning a 25-12 record at Vivint Smart Home Arena. That's always been one of the toughest arenas to play in and it's clear that Utah wants to land homecourt advantage in the first-round of the playoffs to use that hyphy crowd in their favor. The Jazz are 2.5 games behind the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets in third and fourth, as Utah will do everything they can to catch those clubs.

Utah dominated their first game against Washington, winning 116-95, on the road. That marked the Jazz' sixth-straight win in this series dating back three years.