The Utah Jazz have already lost twice to the Dallas Mavericks this season, and neither game was close. They’ll look to reverse their fortunes on Wednesday against the Mavs, who will have to brave the game without injured stars Rajon Rondo, Tyson Chandler, and Monta Ellis.
Over in the Atlantic Coast, the Boston Celtics welcome a stiff challenge from the East-leading Atlanta Hawks. You can read a preview of that game here.
[sc:NBA240banner ]With Gordon Hayward playing some great basketball, the Jazz won their second game in a row, as they upended the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday, 100-96. The victory sets Utah up for a chance to secure the team’s first three-game win streak of the season.
Utah was trailing the Pelicans by 14 at one point in the third quarter, but the Jazz overcame the lead thanks largely to Hayward’s 25-point second half explosion. Hayward, who finished the game with a game-high 34 points, has been extra hot on offense over the last three Jazz outings, wherein he averaged 28.7 PPG.
Hayward, however, has put up just 14.0 PPG in two meetings this season with Dallas. He should get help from the team’s frontcourt tandem of Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter, who chipped in 18 and 14 points, respectively, and combined for 18 boards in the New Orleans game.
Utah had trouble staying home with the Pelicans’ shooters, as Eric Gordon and company combined for an incredible 13 total triples on just 22 attempts for a dizzying 59.1 percent shooting clip. Against Dallas, the Jazz must make a conscious effort to keep the Mavs’ snipers in check. In the Jazz’s 105-82 loss to Dallas on November 7, the Mavericks went 9-for-24 (37.5%) from deep.
The Jazz are 3-1 ATS in their last four road games.
Already missing Rajon Rondo to a face injury, the Mavericks have two more starters added to the team’s injury list as Tyson Chandler (ankle) and Monta Ellis (hip) each suffered injuries in the Mavericks’ 115-98 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.
Without their primary offensive weapon in Ellis and top rim protector and rebounder in Chandler for most of the game, the Mavericks were dominated by Los Angeles on both ends of the floor. Dallas was outrebounded by the Clippers (53-47), who also shot 44.6% from the field. The Clippers shot a total of nine three-pointers and scored 44 points inside the paint.
Ellis and Chandler are not expected to play against Utah, which means the pressure is on for the likes of Charlie Villanueva, Greg Smith, and Devin Harris to step up and help starters Dirk Nowitzki (18.3 PPG) and Chandler Parsons (15.7 PPG) in the Mavs’ Wednesday matchup with Utah.
Villanueva appeared to be ready for an expanded role when he tallied a season-high 26 points in 23 minutes against the Clippers. As for Smith (2.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 0.3 BPG), not much will be expected from him offense-wise, but he’ll have to show up on defense, as Utah’s big men will certainly look to pound the ball inside knowing that Chandler isn’t there to bother their shots.
Harris, meanwhile, has to recover his shooting touch after posting only four points against the Clips. In the previous two games against Portland and Sacramento, Harris scored 16 and 15 points, respectively.
The Mavericks are 8-0 SU in their last eight games at home against Utah.
