The Charlotte Hornets travel to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz at Vivint Arena on Thursday.

The Hornets (13-41) just picked up their first double-digit win of the season in their most recent outing. To do that the game before the All-Star break tells you everything you need to know about their season, posting the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference. It's easy to understand how that happened because LaMelo Ball and Mark Williams have been out for the majority of the season. Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward were also oft-injured before getting traded, and not many teams can compete with so many key players sidelined. In any case, it looks like they made a good move to acquire Tre Mann in that Hayward trade because he's been stellar as the starting point guard since that move.

The Jazz (26-30) have been much better at home than on the road, posting a 17-10 record at Vivint Arena. That mark took a hit in their most recent outing, narrowly losing to the Golden State Warriors in the final game before the break. They had numerous chances to snatch that game in the final seconds, with Keyonte George and Collin Sexton scoring over 30 points. The problem is that they allowed 140 points in regulation, moving them to 26th in total defense. That mark is clearly hurting this club, entering this matchup losing four straight and seven of their last nine games in total. If the defense continues to allow 120-plus points every game, it'll be tough for this team to hang around with anyone.

These teams played on January 27, with Utah prevailing, 134-122. That gives Utah 11 wins in their last 12 meetings with Charlotte.