by Daniel Olsen | The Jazz need a win and they need one bad. Unfortunately our prediction in the Jazz vs Lakers preview was correct: the Jazz lost to the Lakers as they pulled away late in the game. It’s time to move on because the Jazz have a very winnable game coming up tomorrow at 12:30 PM MST. They take on a Memphis Grizzlies team that is currently the 8 seed in the West despite losing all three games in the bubble so far. Below are the three Jazz Notes for Utah to get that W.
Jazz Note #1: Be confident but not too confident
While the Jazz did improve in their close loss to LA, they can’t overlook Memphis. Even though they’ve lost all their games in the NBA restart, two of those games were close. The Jazz should be confident that they are a veteran team and can make plays down the stretch. The Grizzlies have struggled down the stretch so the Jazz need to capitalize on that. The Jazz need to continue to be confident in their ability to compete at a high level with the best teams in the world.
Jazz Note #2: Start hitting open three-pointers
It goes without saying that the Jazz have struggled at this stat in the Orlando bubble. So far they have only made 25 of 108 shots from downtown in their first three games. That’s just over 23%. This is not good for a Jazz team that averaged 37.7% from beyond the arc for the season. The bottom line is the Jazz are living and dying by the three. Yes they are missing a true stretch four like Bogey, but it’s time to stop making excuses. There is no excuse for shooting that poorly. If there is confidence as mentioned previously then the shots will fall.
Jazz Note #3: Win the battle of the boards
The Grizzlies are an athletic rebounding team. While the Jazz are the better defensive team, it’s hard to win many games if you don’t grab more rebounds than the other team. So far this season Memphis is 7th in the NBA at 46.4 rebounds per game. The Jazz are at an average 44.9 per game which is good for being 15th in the NBA. Despite the loss of Bojan, the Jazz have actually improved that number to 48.66 in the first three games of the NBA restart. If they can out-rebound, or at least tie, Portland then that could clinch the game. While that may sound silly, rebounds give you more opportunities to score. Getting a couple more chances than the other team could be the difference in the basketball game.
I think the Jazz win this game but it’ll only happen for sure if they comply with at least two of our notes. I think the Jazz will finally start to heat up from deep and hand the Grizzlies their 4th loss in four tries in the bubble. The score will still be close but the Jazz will make enough plays to win 110-103.
The game will be broadcast Wednesday on NBA League Pass and local TV Channels. Tip-off is at 12:30 pm MST.
Featured image via LineUps.