The Dallas Mavericks avoided the dreaded 0-2 series hole by winning Game 2 at home over the Utah Jazz, 110-104. With the series now tied, Game 3 just looked even more pivotal. Check out our preview below of this Mavs vs. Jazz 2022 NBA Playoffs showdown.
Jalen Brunson is boosting his free agency stock with his play without Luka Doncic in the playoffs. Brunson delivered a heroic performance in Game 2, dropping 41 points with 8 rebounds and 5 assists, while shooting 15/25 in 42 minutes of action in Game 2. With Brunson, who also scored 24 points in Game 1, is shooting 49 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from behind the arc, so far in the playoffs. However, he can see his minutes decrease if Doncic ultimated gets the green light to play. Doncic is currently questionable to play Game 3 after missing the first two games against the Jazz due to a calf injury. If he can’t go, the Mavs are confident in Brunson to fill the void nicely. The Mavericks are also looking forward to getting better efficiency from Spencer Dinwiddie, who scored 17 points in Game 2 but went just 6/18 from the floor. Maxi Kleber’s floor-stretching ability is another to be watched out for after hitting 8 threes on his way to a 25-point night in Game 2.
The Mavs are 7-3 against the spread in their last 10 games overall.
Speaking of efficiency, that’s something the Jazz can improve on, especially for Donovan Mitchell. The Jazz’s star guard pumped out 34 points in Game 2 but was 13/30 from the field. Mike Conley spent 22 minutes on the floor with went 0/7 on a scoreless night. Bojan Bogdanovic offered more value with 25 ponts on 9/15 shooting. Better ball-movement and opening up shots for someone like Rudy Gobert could go a long way for the Jazz, who are making 44.8 percent of their shots in the series. Mitchell is actually leading the Jazz with 5.5 assists per game in the first round but that’s obviously not enough. Gobert is going to be just fine even without getting shots, but considering his size and length, he should be able to get easy lob passes when Jazz guards start to suck in defenses. A home game will be a nice time to start for Utah to get the leather moving.
The Jazz are 9-4-2 ATS in their last 15 games as a home favorite.
