Utah Jazz vs Detroit Pistons Pregame Analysis

by Alma Bean Feature Image by David Richards of USA TODAY Sports The Utah Jazz (10-18) takes on the Detroit Pistons (2-25) who is looking to avoid a 25-game losing streak. What to Look For With the loaded injury report for Utah, they will be looking to score early. Guys like Ochai Agbaji and Simone…

by Alma Bean

Feature Image by David Richards of USA TODAY Sports

The Utah Jazz (10-18) takes on the Detroit Pistons (2-25) who is looking to avoid a 25-game losing streak.

What to Look For

With the loaded injury report for Utah, they will be looking to score early. Guys like Ochai Agbaji and Simone Fontecchio will push a fast-paced, pass first offense to find the open man. This won’t be easy with the likes of Cade Cunningham, Alec Burks and Ausar Thompson on the defensive end. Though their record is the worst in the league, this doesn’t mean they don’t have things to be feared. Marcus Sasser, the rookie out of Houston, has been a spark off the bench for Detroit shooting 42.7 percent from the perimeter this season. Sasser is also leading Detroit’s guard in overall shooting percentage (48.8%) for players who have played over five games this season.

Both Detroit and Utah allow their opponents to shoot around 38 percent from the perimeter, so don’t be surprised when you see guys like Bojan Bogdanovic and John Collins firing at will. With two lethal shooters from the perimeter shooting over 40 percent from deep is recipe for disaster if either one gets hot.

Key of the Game

Turnovers. Though Utah has been doing better recently in protecting the ball, but they still commit the most turnovers per game (16.2) in the league. Not far behind Utah is Detroit who is second to last in the league in turnovers per game (15.9). Even with both teams being at the bottom of the league in turnovers, they are the top-two in the league in turnover differential with Utah in first (+4.3) and Detroit in second (+3.7). With Kris Dunn and Collin Sexton most likely running point for Utah in this game, they will need to be precise with their passes so then their turnovers don’t turn into points. Even with that thought in mind, both teams are at the bottom of the league in points off turnovers per game with Detroit being 29th (14.4) and Utah being last (14.1).

Injury Report

Detroit – Jalen Duren (ankle) Out, Killian Hayes (illness) Questionable, Monte Morris (quad) Out

Utah – Josh Christopher (G League) Out, Jordan Clarkson (hamstring) Out, Keyonte George (foot) Out, Talen Horton-Tucker (foot) Out, Johnny Juzang (G League) Questionable, Lauri Markkanen (hamstring) Out, Micah Potter (G League) Out, Brice Sensabaugh (G League) Out, Omer Yurtseven (illness) Out

Where to Watch

Tip-off is at 5:00 p.m. MST on KJZZ and Jazz+.

Author

Written by

Alma Bean

I am currently a student at the University of Utah working toward my second bachelor’s degree, this time in communication with an emphasis in journalism. I currently have a bachelor’s degree in music from Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida. As I pursue a degree in communication, I dream to bring this emphasis of journalism to the world of sports. When I’m not writing, I allow my inner basketball fan to come out as I watch previous games and highlights across the NBA to become a walking, talking sports almanac.

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