Nov 23, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) drives to the hoop against Denver Nuggets guard Malik Beasley (25) in the fourth quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Utah Jazz defeated the Denver Nuggets 108-83. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
The Utah Jazz have an incredible opportunity to further improve their record this week as they play three of four games at home and take on three opponents with losing records.
In a surprisingly light week last week in which the Utah Jazz only played two games in seven days, they looked vastly improved as they came away with two big victories over the Nuggets and the Hawks to improve their overall record to 9-8.
At the start of the week, given Utah’s poor play in week four and the uncertainty that existed at that point surrounding George Hill‘s status, I had picked the Jazz to go 1-1. However, I’m happy to say that they outplayed my predictions and continue to build a season lead over me as their 9-8 record has them two whole games ahead of my projection record which now sits at 7-10.
Utah will be back to a busy week during the final days of November and the start of December as they return to having a four-game slate over the next seven days. They’ll begin on Monday on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves, then will have the fortune of playing their next three of the week (and eight of their next nine) at home.
First they’ll host Houston in the second night of a back-to-back on Tuesday, then they’ll play Miami on Thursday before playing their third of four contests this season against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
While they appeared fatigued and largely out of sorts the last time they played four games in a seven-day stretch, the Jazz have looked like a completely different team ever since George Hill returned and the team got some much needed rest, so I highly expect much better results this time around in this week’s slate of games.
Apr 1, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9) battles for the ball with Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles (2) and guard Raul Neto (25) in the fourth quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Utah Jazz defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-85. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
11/28 Utah at Minnesota
6:00 pm MT – Root Sports/League Pass
Opponent record: 5-11
Season series: Tied 0-0
In my recent preview of the Jazz’s keys to a win over the Timberwolves I broke down this match-up in detail. Rather than beat a dead horse, I’ll allow my readers to check that piece out themselves and I’ll just briefly touch on what’s in store for Utah in their first contest of the week.
2015 Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins and 2016 Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns are the two main focal points for this young and up-and-coming team. Wiggins leads the team in scoring at 23.5 points per game and Towns comes in as a close second logging 21.1 points per contest and also is pulling down a team-high 9.4 rebounds.
However, despite the fact that the Timberwolves were slotted to be one of the most improved teams in the league this year, they have yet to come anywhere close to those illustrious expectations, much to the disappointment of new head coach Tom Thibodeau who has expressed a great deal of frustration with this young squad.
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— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 28, 2016
One of their main issues has been bench play as outside of their starting five, Minnesota has had a hard time getting anyone else to produce regularly.
Therefore, while you can’t take any games for granted, particularly on the road, given Minnesota’s struggles and Utah’s recent level of play, I’m highly confident that the Jazz will come away with a convincing win to take an early 1-0 lead in the season series.
My Prediction: Jazz Win
Final Score: Utah 103, Minnesota 86
Nov 19, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets forward Corey Brewer (33) shoots against Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) in the second half at Toyota Center. Rockets won 111-102. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
11/29 Utah vs. Houston
7:00 pm MT – NBATV
Opponent record: 11-6
Season series: Rockets lead 1-0
The Utah Jazz looked sluggish in their previous contest against the Houston Rockets where they ultimately fell 111-102 in the Toyota Center. It was a frustrating game for the Jazz as they out-shot the Rockets both from the field and from deep, but struggled with turnovers which largely led to their downfall.
Of course James Harden came up big in that contest as he always seems to against the Jazz, notching 31 points and 10 assists on the game. Meanwhile, Jazz star Gordon Hayward struggled mightily in the game finishing with a mere nine points on 4-of-13 shooting.
Mar 23, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) reacts after a play during the third quarter against the Utah Jazz at Toyota Center. The Jazz won 89-87. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
However, in Tuesday’s upoming contest with George Hill back in action, I expect that the Jazz will be much better at taking care of the ball, that Hayward will have a bigger game with his point guard running mate on the floor and that Hill will provide a defensive boost on the prolific James Harden.
If all of these aspects fall into place, this could very well turn out as a Jazz win, however, the fact that it is the second night of a back-to-back against an extremely fast-paced Houston team is a bit nerve-wracking. Surprisingly, Utah is 3-1 coming off of zero days of rest this season, but the Rockets surely aren’t a desirable match-up when potential fatigue plays a key role.
So while I think Utah is more than capable of beating this solid Houston team, who could very well be in close competition with the Jazz for playoff position again this season, I’m going to give the Rockets a slight edge in this one.
Trust me, Jazz fans, I waffled back and forth dramatically on this projection. If the Jazz play like they did against Atlanta, then they’ll run the Rockets out of the building as well, but in all honesty, last time I picked the Jazz to go 4-0 in a week the exact opposite became the case. So in hopes of avoiding another jinx, I’ll give a fresh Houston team a narrow win in this match-up against the Jazz.
My Prediction: Rockets Win
Final Score: Houston 115, Utah 109
Nov 12, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat forward Justise Winslow (20) is pressured by Utah Jazz forward Joe Johnson (6) during the second half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
12/1 Utah vs. Miami
7:00 pm MT – Root Sports/League Pass
Opponent record: 5-11
Season series: Jazz lead 1-0
The Jazz took on the Miami Heat on a second night of a back-to-back in their final game of a five-game eastern road trip earlier in the season and came away with a convincing 102-91 win. Utah utilized Hayward’s 25 points to overcome Hassan Whiteside’s 15 points and 14 rebounds and come away with a thrilling victory.
Things haven’t gone much better for the Heat since that contest as they currently sit at a 5-11 record. Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic continue to play quite well for the Heat, but overall they’re facing a dire lack of talent and depth on their roster.
They’ve posted a decent defense this year as they rank fourth in the league in opponent points per game, but have struggled to score and haven’t moved the ball well as they rank near the bottom of the league in both points and assists per contest.
Add all that to the fact that they’ll be facing the Jazz on the second night of a back-to-back as part of a tough three-game road trip and this should be a match-up that Utah dominates again. Gobert is more than capable of matching up against Whiteside and Hill certainly has what it takes to stop Dragic, so as long as the rest of Utah’s role players step up, it should be a relatively easy win on their home court.
My Prediction: Jazz Win
Final Score: Utah 99, Miami 88
Nov 23, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard George Hill (3) takes a shot against Denver Nuggets forward Juancho Hernangomez (41) in the third quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Utah Jazz defeated the Denver Nuggets 108-83. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
12/3 Utah vs. Denver
7:00 pm MT – NBATV
Opponent record: 7-10
Season series: Tied 1-1
The Utah Jazz have seen a lot of the division rival Denver Nuggets recently as they faced them twice about a week ago. In the first contest, a winded Jazz team was unable to keep up with a relentless Denver attack and Utah was easily defeated 105-91 inside the Pepsi Center.
However, in the ensuing game Utah flipped the script, taking their revenge in dominant fashion by winning 108-83 in George Hill’s return from injury. It was a phenomenal bounce-back game for the Jazz after dropping four straight.
22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 3-pointers – 28 minutes.
Good to have you back, George! pic.twitter.com/VHJ5293oZh
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 24, 2016
Of course, Denver’s second-leading scorer Danilo Gallinari didn’t play in that second contest against the Jazz as he was dealing with a thigh injury. Utah did a solid job of containing him in the teams’ first contest but (assuming he plays) they’ll have to do so again if they hope to come away with a win.
Yet after seeing Utah take down the Nuggets so easily last week, it seems quite probable that they will be able to do it again. There’s a decent amount of talent on the Denver squad, but not enough consistency to make them too much of a threat. Once again, Utah will have the benefit of playing a tired Nuggets team who will be hosting the Rockets the night before coming into Salt Lake.
With favorable match-ups across the board while playing on their home court against a tired Nuggets team, I expect a very similar result to these two teams’ previous contest.
My Prediction: Jazz Win
Final Score: Utah 105, Denver 85
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Thus due to the fact that Utah looked much improved last week, I’m expecting them to come away with a much better record in week six than the last time they played four games in seven days. George Hill’s impact on this team is undeniable and as Utah faces a weak Minnesota team and two teams that they’ve already defeated this season, they shouldn’t have a hard time logging at least three wins.
Of course the game against Houston is the biggest and will be the most difficult. While the Jazz definitely should be able to match-up and defeat the Rockets, for the sake of avoiding a repeat of the curse I caused last time with my over-optimism, I’ll pin the Jazz as dropping that one and finishing the week 3-1.
However, even if that was all they could muster, it would still put the Jazz at 12-9 with a great opportunity to improve even more in the next week as they’ll once again play three out of four contests at home.
Utah’s rough schedule to start out the season and their ability to weather that early storm is finally starting to pay off as they’ll be rewarded with a much easier slate of games in the ensuing weeks and throughout the month of December.
All stats courtesy of NBA.com
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