The Hive Sports

by Alma Bean

Feature Image by Marielle Scott of Deseret News

The Utah Jazz (27-31) starts their road trip against the Atlanta Hawks (25-32) in Quin Snyder’s first meeting with his former team since his departure at the end of the 2021-22 season.

What to Look For

With the recent injury to Trae Young that will have him out for at least four weeks, Atlanta will need to lean into running their offense through Dejounte Murray. There have been six games this season where Atlanta has played without Young and had to rely on Murray as their point guard. In those games, Murray is averaging 26.2/6.3/9.0 with shooting splits of 45.9/42.2/90.6 while attempting just over 20 shot attempts per game. In these games, Atlanta puts more of an emphasis on his perimeter shooting and it has led to a six percent increase in Murray’s stats as he is shooting 36 percent this season. Expect a drop in production from Jalen Johnson this game as he has not looked his best when he plays without Young and Murray is at the helm. In those games, Johnson is averaging 16.8/7.8/3.2 with shooting splits of 44.7/33.3/66.7 with just over 15 shot attempts per game.

Another thing to keep an eye out for is John Collins. Tonight will mark the first time that he has faced Atlanta since he was traded to Utah this past offseason. Compared to his final season in Atlanta, Collins has improved his numbers in *FGM, FGA, FG%, 3PTM, 3PTA, 3PT%, OR, DR and REB. Having Collins taking on the likes of Clint Capela and Saddiq Bey in the paint could be a challenge or a way to show his former home how his versatility is still strong at work in Utah.

_{*FGM = Field Goals Made, FGA = Field Goals Attempted, FG% = Field Goal Percentage, 3PTM = Three-Point Field Goals Made, 3PTA = Three-Point Field Goals Attempted, 3PT% = Three-Point Field Goal Percentage, OR = Offensive Rebounds, DR = Defensive Rebounds, REB = Total Rebounds}

Key of the Game

Getting boards. Utah currently has a +4.6 differential in rebounding compared to Atlanta’s +0.1. Even with Atlanta ranking sixth in the league in rebounds per game (45.1), this may open up more opportunities for Utah to create transition points. Having Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler grabbing boards and dishing the ball to the likes of Keyonte George and Jordan Clarkson, Utah should keep Atlanta sprinting in this one if they’d like to pull off the road win.

Injury Report

Atlanta – Onyeka Okongwu (toe) Out, Trae Young (finger) Out

Utah – Johnny Juzang (G League) Out, Otto Porter Jr. (away from team) Out, Micah Potter (G League) Out, Jason Preston (G League) Out

Where to Watch

Tip-off will be at 5:30 p.m. MST on KJZZ and Jazz+.