Utah gutted out a series win against the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games thanks mostly to the steady stellar play by Mo Williams, who is arguably playing his best basketball since his 2009 All Star campaign. Even with the strong play of Williams and the rest of their starters, the Jazz face an uphill battle in this Western Conference semifinal.

Kenneth Faried returned to play the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5, a welcome addition for a team that finished with the worst rebounding average of any team in the first round. Faried and center JaVale McGee should match up nicely with Utah's tandem of Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, so Denver will make up that rebounding gap quickly. Faried's return also pushed Danilo Gallinari-who led the Nuggets with just over 20 points a game in the first round-back to the bench, where he'll give the Jazz's second unit fits.

Without a steady defender to guard the rangy Gallinari and with pure scorer Randy Foye expected to miss the entire series, Utah will need someone to step up to guard Gallinari and give the Jazz a scoring push while their starters are out. Jamaal Tinsley, Gordon Hayward, and Derrick Favors were able to give Utah that push at certain points during their first round series, but none of them have been able to string together consistent performances like Gallinari has. Al Jefferson and Alec Burks both showed flashes that they might be able to be a big threat to complement Williams, but both disappeared for large stretches during the first round. Utah has the talent to take one or two games in the series, but Denver will come out on top and with a matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder looming.