The Golden State Warriors travel to Salt Lake City to play the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena on Friday.

The Warriors (5-21) still have the best record in the NBA over the last decade but they'll be dethroned from that pretty soon with the way they are playing. It's certainly no fault of the organization though, as they could no longer pay all of these superstar players. That's why they let Kevin Durant walk in the offseason but the rash of injuries is one thing they couldn't anticipate. Not only did they lose Stephen Curry in the opening weeks with a broken hand, and Klay Thompson in last year's Finals to a torn ACL, Draymond Green, D'Angelo Russell and Kevon Looney have also been in and out of the lineup themselves. The good news is that all of those guys are back now except Thompson and Curry but that's still proving to be too much to overcome. Where they're really hurting is on the defensive end, ranked 26th in defensive efficiency. As long as that continues, it's hard to imagine things getting better anytime soon and even harder to imagine Curry returning.

The Jazz (14-11) appear to be climbing out of their hole, winning two of their last three games. While that's surely a small sample size, winning by double-digits in both games shows that things are starting to turn around. That recent stretch actually ended their worst period of the season, losing five of their previous six games before that. They were also getting blown out in those games and it's becoming clear that the offensive and defensive splits are really determining results. This club ranks 22nd in points scored and seventh in points allowed which has been a common trend for this club over recent years. They have too much talent on offense to sit that low and it's just a matter of time before they rip off a lengthy winning streak.

These teams have already played twice this season, with Utah prevailing in both.