The Minnesota Timberwolves play host to the Utah Jazz at Target Center on Sunday.

The Jazz (30-20) find themselves in their worst slump in two years, entering this matchup losing four straight and 10 of their last 12 games in total. That's a shocking stretch from a team that led the NBA in victories last year, but it's easy to understand why. Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert have missed most of those games, and they quite simply can't compete without their two best players in the lineup. The good news is that both guys are close to returning, and it could be a silver lining to have them fully ready for the second half of the season. It has also helped Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson to get rolling, and that could be a bright spot in an otherwise dark period as well.

The Timberwolves (24-25) come into this matchup winning eight of their last 13 games. With that said, D'Angelo Russell suffered a shin injury in a loss against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday and was unable to play in a defeat against the Phoenix Suns on Friday. Having to play the Warriors and Suns in back-to-back nights is tough enough but to do it on the road without your point guard is a nearly impossible task. In any case, it's been a good stretch from this team outside of that, and it has Minnesota fas ecstatic to watch these youngsters work. Where they've really stepped up in on the defensive end, ranked 11th in total defense this year after finishing 28th last season.

These teams played three times in December, with Utah winning all three matchups by at least 12 points apiece. With that said, Minnesota swept the three-game season series last year.