Dane Coles of Salt City Hoops, an ESPN True Hoops affiliate, wrote today that the Utah Jazz have “figured out” the Golden State Warriors.

He wrote in his piece:

“Game planning the Warriors is hard enough in theory, but having the capability to follow that game plan for 48 minutes is another story. The lethal defense of the Utah Jazz makes it possible as long as the Jazz can match the offensive output of the Warriors. One thing is clear from the Jazz’s game plan: take Klay Thompson out of the game… Beating the Warriors in the regular season is completely different from beating them in the playoffs… They knew they had the tools and they are doing it now.”

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Coles mentioned that during Utah's meeting with Gordon Hayward to resign him to a long-term deal, the Jazz laid out a plan showing Heyward their plan to be the Golden State Warriors. Hayward eventually chose to sign with the Boston Celtics instead.

A large part of the Utah Jazz's success against the Warriors is the gravity of Rudy Gobert defensively. The Jazz have had one of the NBA's best defenses the past couple of years, the kryptonite to the Warriors' offensive “Superman.” Gobert is able to cause so much havoc in the paint. Just his presence alone forces opposing players to settle for midrange jumpers instead of taking the ball to the basket.

In reality, the Warriors are clearly going to have the advantage in the playoffs over the Utah Jazz. With the return of DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins, the Warriors' playoff hopes will get a tremendous boost, thus making them a harder to take down in the postseason.