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The Cavaliers kick off the second half of the season at 26-15, which I think most of us are pretty happy with. Game #42 is Donovan Mitchell’s first game in Utah since the trade, which adds some interest. Both teams had yesterday off. The Cavs have won four of their last five, losing only to Denver in Denver where the Nuggets are 16-3. The Jazz have lost seven of eight, winning only against the 10-30 Rockets when Lauri Markkanen went off for 49 points.
This has been a tale of two seasons for the Jazz; they started the season 10-3 and have since gone 10-20. They are 12-7 at home; the Cavs are 8-11 on the road.
These teams played in Cleveland on Dec. 19 with the Cavs cruising to a 122-99 win. Kelly Olynyk and Colin Sexton were out for the Jazz. By sheer coincidence, Sexton and Olynyk are out tonight, so Utah will have the same team except they will also be missing reserve forward Talen Horten-Tucker. Olynyk and Sexton combine for 26.3 points per game.
The Jazz are a good offense/bad defense team. They rank 3rd in scoring at 121 points per game. They love to jack up 3’s, ranking 4th in 3-rate and 13th in 3-point percentage. The Cavs are 28th in opponents’ 3-point percentage, so tonight we’ll see a team that shoots a ton of 3’s (40 per game) against a very bad team at defending 3’s, especially recently. Obviously a huge key to this game will be the Cavs ability to contest 3’s and force misses.
In the first game in Cleveland the Jazz were only 10-for-34 on 3’s so the Cavs’ perimeter defense was excellent and they held the Jazz to 22 points under their scoring average. They need that excellence again tonight, but I expect Utah to shoot better at home.
The Jazz are 15th in points in the paint and 25th in fast break points so they prefer to walk the ball up and shoot from deep. They’re below average in free throw attempts, but are very good at offensive rebounding, ranking 9th in offensive rebound percentage. The Cavs’ defensive task will be to contest the 3’s, force misses, and don’t allow too many offensive boards. In the first game Utah had 15 offensive rebounds which is too many.
Defensively the Jazz are 24th in opponents’ points per game, dead last in points in the paint (Rudy don’t play here no more), and 28th in fast break points. They defend the perimeter well, ranking 9th in opponents’ 3-point percentage, so the key is to attack the rim. They are 27th in defensive rebound percentage so they are very vulnerable to second chance points. The key is to attack the rim and crash the offensive glass against the team that is worst in defending the paint and almost worst in rebounding missed shots. No need to jack up a lot of 3’s, especially with their starting center out.
Markkanen leads the team in scoring at 24.5 points, hitting 53% from the field and 41.6% on 3’s. He’s also their leading rebounder at 8.3. Another former Cav, Jordan Clarkson, averages 20.4 points at 45% and 36%. Mike Conley, 35, starts at point guard and averages 10 points and 7.6 assists on 38% from the field. Jarred Vanderbilt is the power forward with 8.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. With Olynyk and Sexton out I expect the Jazz will be even more dependent on Lauri and Clarkson for scoring.
The Jazz shot just 38.7% against the Cavs in Cleveland and just 29% from deep. They did, however, force 23 turnovers so the Cavs need to protect the ball better. But they only scored 15 points off those turnovers - they do not like to fast break.
The Cavs outscored the Jazz 29-2 on fast breaks that night despite forcing just 14 turnovers. The Cavs ran the Jazz right out of the building, taking advantage of a slow team that ranks 28th in opponents' fast break points. I expect the Cavs to try and exploit them again tonight, fast breaking off steals and missed shots.
One reason the Jazz might be so vulnerable to fast breaks is they crash the offensive glass for rebounds and putbacks. That's a two-edged sword. If you don't get the rebound you have less players in position to defend the break. If Allen, Mobley and Love can control the defensive glass the Cavs could get a lot of easy transition buckets again tonight.
In the first meeting with Olynyk out the Jazz started rookie center Walker Kessler, the 22nd pick this year. He got in foul trouble with five fouls in 25 minutes. He’ll be starting tonight so that’s another reason to attack the rim - if they can get Kessler out of the game the Jazz will be missing their top two centers.
This has been a tale of two seasons for the Jazz; they started the season 10-3 and have since gone 10-20. They are 12-7 at home; the Cavs are 8-11 on the road.
These teams played in Cleveland on Dec. 19 with the Cavs cruising to a 122-99 win. Kelly Olynyk and Colin Sexton were out for the Jazz. By sheer coincidence, Sexton and Olynyk are out tonight, so Utah will have the same team except they will also be missing reserve forward Talen Horten-Tucker. Olynyk and Sexton combine for 26.3 points per game.
The Jazz are a good offense/bad defense team. They rank 3rd in scoring at 121 points per game. They love to jack up 3’s, ranking 4th in 3-rate and 13th in 3-point percentage. The Cavs are 28th in opponents’ 3-point percentage, so tonight we’ll see a team that shoots a ton of 3’s (40 per game) against a very bad team at defending 3’s, especially recently. Obviously a huge key to this game will be the Cavs ability to contest 3’s and force misses.
In the first game in Cleveland the Jazz were only 10-for-34 on 3’s so the Cavs’ perimeter defense was excellent and they held the Jazz to 22 points under their scoring average. They need that excellence again tonight, but I expect Utah to shoot better at home.
The Jazz are 15th in points in the paint and 25th in fast break points so they prefer to walk the ball up and shoot from deep. They’re below average in free throw attempts, but are very good at offensive rebounding, ranking 9th in offensive rebound percentage. The Cavs’ defensive task will be to contest the 3’s, force misses, and don’t allow too many offensive boards. In the first game Utah had 15 offensive rebounds which is too many.
Defensively the Jazz are 24th in opponents’ points per game, dead last in points in the paint (Rudy don’t play here no more), and 28th in fast break points. They defend the perimeter well, ranking 9th in opponents’ 3-point percentage, so the key is to attack the rim. They are 27th in defensive rebound percentage so they are very vulnerable to second chance points. The key is to attack the rim and crash the offensive glass against the team that is worst in defending the paint and almost worst in rebounding missed shots. No need to jack up a lot of 3’s, especially with their starting center out.
Markkanen leads the team in scoring at 24.5 points, hitting 53% from the field and 41.6% on 3’s. He’s also their leading rebounder at 8.3. Another former Cav, Jordan Clarkson, averages 20.4 points at 45% and 36%. Mike Conley, 35, starts at point guard and averages 10 points and 7.6 assists on 38% from the field. Jarred Vanderbilt is the power forward with 8.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. With Olynyk and Sexton out I expect the Jazz will be even more dependent on Lauri and Clarkson for scoring.
The Jazz shot just 38.7% against the Cavs in Cleveland and just 29% from deep. They did, however, force 23 turnovers so the Cavs need to protect the ball better. But they only scored 15 points off those turnovers - they do not like to fast break.
The Cavs outscored the Jazz 29-2 on fast breaks that night despite forcing just 14 turnovers. The Cavs ran the Jazz right out of the building, taking advantage of a slow team that ranks 28th in opponents' fast break points. I expect the Cavs to try and exploit them again tonight, fast breaking off steals and missed shots.
One reason the Jazz might be so vulnerable to fast breaks is they crash the offensive glass for rebounds and putbacks. That's a two-edged sword. If you don't get the rebound you have less players in position to defend the break. If Allen, Mobley and Love can control the defensive glass the Cavs could get a lot of easy transition buckets again tonight.
In the first meeting with Olynyk out the Jazz started rookie center Walker Kessler, the 22nd pick this year. He got in foul trouble with five fouls in 25 minutes. He’ll be starting tonight so that’s another reason to attack the rim - if they can get Kessler out of the game the Jazz will be missing their top two centers.
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