by Alma Bean
Feature Image by Rick Egan of The Salt Lake Tribune
The Utah Jazz (21-20) takes on the surging Indiana Pacers (23-16) looking to extend their season-high winning streak.
What to Look For
Coming into this game, Utah is currently on a league-high five game winning streak. Utah has also found their way to win at home with a 14-5 record on the season, winning the last eight home games. Indiana is coming into this game with a 10-8 road record but that will be the least of Utah’s worries. Coming into this game, Indiana is top-five in points per game (126.1), field goal percentage (51.1%), three-point percentage (38.3%), assists (31.1) and blocks (6.2).
This being their meeting this season, Indiana getting the win 134-118, Utah will be looking to even the score and the odds are looking in their favor as they are currently a 7.5-point favorite tonight. As long as Utah can stick to the zone defense that has shot them to a top-10 defense in the league during their hot streak, Indiana might struggle to sweep this hot Utah team.
Key of the Game
Turnovers. Indiana knows how to control the pace of the game better than any team in the league. Currently first in the league in assists per game (31.1), all those passes lead to more turnovers, which Indiana is 29th in the league in turnovers per game (22.3). Utah will need to swarm Andrew Nembhard and Benedict Mathurin as they have taken over the primary ballhandling duties. With the defensive efforts from Kris Dunn, who has been averaging 1.8 steals per game since the new calendar year, Indiana will need to earn their assists this go around.
Injury Report
Indiana – Bruce Brown (knee) Questionable, Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring) Out, Aaron Nesmith (shins) Questionable
Utah – Taylor Hendricks (G League) Out, Johnny Juzang (G League) Out, Micah Potter (G League) Out, Jason Preston (G League) Out, Brice Sensabaugh (G League) Out
Where to Watch
Tip-off will be at 7:00 p.m. MST on KJZZ and Jazz+.
The Hive Sports 
Leave a Reply