The Golden State Warriors (19-27) are coming off their fourth loss in a row and will be looking to right the ship tonight when they host the Utah Jazz (28-19) at Oracle Arena. Jerry Sloan’s team was victorious in their last encounter but the Dubs will try to take a 2-1 lead in the season series. What should the Warriors expect tonight?
On offense, Utah averages 100.2 points per game (12th in the NBA) on 46.4% field goal shooting (11th in the league). The Jazz are an efficient offensive team that rely on a lot of ball movement. Rarely do they allow for the ball to stick into the hands of one player while the other teammates just stand and watch. The end result is a team that shares the wealth as evidenced by their 24.1 assists per game (second in the association).
Indeed, Utah’s ball movement results in opposing teams getting stuck in mismatches (on switches) and rotations. Once that happens, Jazz players either feed the big man with the advantage or run a screen and roll. And given the fact that their big men (Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap and even Andrei Kirilenko to some degree) are good at catching passes and finishing at the basket, opposing defenses are put into quite a bind. Indeed, according to Hoopdata, the Jazz attempt 23.7 shots per game at the rim (ninth in the NBA) and convert 64.0% of those shots (14th in the league).
Consequently, Utah tends to own the painted area when they face off against teams. According to Team Rankings, the Jazz average 42.8 points in the paint per game (10th in the association) and also manufacture 26.2 free throw attempts per game (6th in the NBA). Their big people do a solid job on the interior and Deron Williams always rewards his teammates when they get open.
One area of concern for the Jazz mind you is their big men’s tendency to take perimeter shots. Indeed, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson like to create their offense on occasion from the free throw line extended. Whether it’s in the form of a jump shot or simply trying to bully their way to the basket, it often results in missed shots or turnovers.
On defense, the Jazz surrender 99.7 points per game (18th in the NBA) on 45.3% field goal shooting (14th in the league). Jerry Sloan’s players might have some mental lapses or even occasionally use poor judgment, but they will never lack effort. The Jazz are a physical team that leave their prints on all the hustle stats. According to Hoopdata, the Jazz are the third best team in the NBA at making defensive plays (the stat combines steals, blocks and charges drawn) with a 15.4 mark.
They crowd offensive players on the perimeter (big men as well) and dare them to attack the paint where they have help waiting for them to rough them up and force them into passing the ball to perimeter players. It explains why they only allow 20.8 shots at the rim per game (ninth in the NBA) and 39.3 points in the paint per game (11th in the league).
Also, the Jazz have a terrific perimeter defender in Raja Bell that makes it tough for players to score. In addition, they also have Andrei Kirilenko who is a poor man’s version of Gerald Wallace. He can guard a variety of positions and do it well. As a result, Utah can have him switch at times on pick and rolls and not lose much in their defensive match ups.
Mind you, given the fact that Jerry Sloan’s team is so tough and physical, they tend to be overaggressive. The end result? Fouls. A lot of them. They allow teams to shoot 28.4 free throws per game (28th in the league) because of their pinball style of defense. They challenge players on the perimeter and ask their big men to do the same in pick and roll situations. This is especially true for Paul Millsap. In screen roll action, he often jumps out on the offensive player and dares him to drive past him as he repeatedly bumps him. Smart teams keep putting him in those situations where he either keeps fouling or has to limit his eagerness to defend and at times allow a player to beat him to the basket.
Furthermore, Mehmet Okur is now slowly being re-integrated to the team. He has appeared in 13 contests and played 12.9 minutes. His conditioning is not up to par and therefore teams take advantage of him by forcing him to defend and make rotations. For the time being he has trouble doing so and thus typically gets his team exposed.
Utah game notes: Mehmet Okur and Raja Bell missed the last meeting between these two teams.
Golden State game notes: Stephen Curry missed the December 13th showdown. In four career games versus the Jazz, Curry has averaged 16.3 points per game, 6.3 assists per game and 5.3 turnovers per game on 38.6% field goal shooting.
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Big win last night even with the miserable shooting of Monta Ellis. Stephen Curry wsa ble to carry the load offensively and there was even some good defense played by Golden State.