Tag: Utah Jazz

LeBron James is driving the Anthony Davis DPOY bandwagon

LeBron James is already hitting the gas on the Defensive Player of the Year campaign for his Los Angeles Lakers teammate Anthony Davis.

Throughout most of the 16-2 start for the Los Angeles Lakers in the first month of the season, the conversation has often been about a change on the defensive end by LeBron James who had been maligned for his defense over the past couple of seasons.

But a concurrent storyline to LeBron’s defensive renaissance has been the play and leadership of Anthony Davis on that end. Davis leads the NBA in blocked shots through the first 18 games of the season and he’s making a strong case for his first ever Defensive Player of the Year award as he anchors the No. 2 defense in defensive efficiency, according to Basketball Reference.

LeBron James added his voice to that case for DPOY on Friday afternoon ahead of their game against the Washington Wizards.

James deserves plenty of credit for how this season has unfolded, telling Davis that he was a priority offensively while also letting Davis lead on the defensive end to make the Lakers one of the best defenses in the league. But being the teammate he is, James is speaking even louder about Davis to make sure The Brow’s heroic efforts get just as much shine as LeBron’s league-leading assist lead and defensive turnaround.

Pelicans vs. Jazz Recap: The good, the bad and the Ball

The Pelicans left their comeback too late on Saturday night as a fourth-quarter rally fell short at Utah, 128-120.

The Pelicans left their comeback too late on Saturday night as a fourth-quarter rally fell short at Utah, 128-120.

The Good: The second half

After a putrid first quarter and a less awful second period, the Pelicans outscored the Jazz 66-54 in the second half. Unfortunately, it did not make up the 20-point halftime deficit.

Over the final two periods, the Pelicans hit 11 threes, shot 48 percent overall and forced 12 Jazz turnovers. Utah, though, also shot 46 percent from the field and came up with enough plays down the stretch to hold on.

Brandon Ingram and Jrue Holiday each took turners playing closer in the fouth. Ingram had 25 points in the second half and 15 in the fourth, hitting all but one of his six attempts in the final frame. Holiday had 12 in the fourth and 19 in the second half.

Honorable Mention: Ingram and Holiday, JJ Redick again, Donovan Mitchell’s poster dunk

The Bad: The first half

While it goes hand-in-hand with the previous section, the first half on Saturday was bad enough that it deserves another mention. New Orleans shot 18-for-51 from the field and let Utah hit 55.6 percent of its shots. Of the Jazz’s 25 field goals, 20 of them were assisted.

Interestingly, only Lonzo Ball had a positive plus-minus in the first, which speaking of…

Honorable Mention: Melli’s awareness for passes from Ball, did we mention the first half?

The Ball: A strong performance in an ugly game

Ball was impressive in the second half and was part of the group that made a run in the third and fourth quarters to close the deficit. Ball finished with 13 points, four rebounds and four assists on 5-of-15 shooting overall and 3-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.

Only two players for the Pelicans finished with a positive plus-minus in the game: Ball at a team-best +9 and Melli at +5. Frank Jackson finished at zero in just shy of 15 minutes.

It was a strong game from Ball that may force Alvin Gentry’s hand regarding the starting lineup and a potential return for Ball into it.

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Pelicans vs. Jazz Preview: Can New Orleans continue the win streak?

New Orleans looks for his fourth consecutive win on Saturday against the Utah Jazz while moving closer to the playoffs.

Who: New Orleans Pelicans at Utah Jazz

When: Saturday, Nov. 23, 9:00 p.m ET

Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena

How to watch: Fox Sports New Orleans, NBATV

After its rocky start to the season, most of it a result of injuries, the New Orleans Pelicans appear to have found its stride in the recent week. Thursday’s win in Phoenix was the third-straight victory, marking the first three-game win streak of the season, and the fourth win in the last five games.

On top of boosting the confidence of the young Pelicans, the streak also has slowly pulled New Orleans back into the early playoff picture. The Pelicans are in the 10th seed, 1.5 games back of eight-seed Phoenix. Saturday’s contest against Utah pits them against the current six seed in the standings and one of the projected Western Conference favorites.

Unlike New Orleans, Utah started fast this season, winning four of its first five games. Not surprisingly, the Jazz have the top-ranked defense in the league with a rating of 100.7. Also unsurprisingly, Utah is playing at a pace that ranks them 21st in the league.

Comparatively, the Pelicans are ninth in offensive rating and fifth in pace, making Saturday’s contest a battle of two teams composed in two different styles. New Orleans is also getting closer to full strength with Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball both back on the court. Derrick Favors, however, will not be available for the Pelicans in the contest in his first potential return to Utah.

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Donovan Mitchell and Utah stifle Warriors gritty comeback, 113-109

The Warriors clawed back into a hard-fought battle with the Utah Jazz, but in the end, Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell were too much for the injury strapped dubs.

For a team that’s coming off a 48-point loss at the end of a week-long road trip, the Golden State Warriors gave as much effort as you could possibly ask for against the Utah Jazz.

The 15.5-point underdogs battled Utah for 48-minutes of the game. However, in the end, the talent of Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley overpowered the grit of the understaffed Warriors.

The scrappy Dubs were able to cut down The Jazz’s 21-point lead to single digits in the final minutes, but the team couldn’t manufacture a bucket when it mattered, falling 113-109 in Utah.

When the game got close, the backcourt duo of Mitchell and Conley took over, combining for 57 of their team’s 113 points. Conley’s handling of the pick and roll with Rudy Gobert was a problem all night for Golden State’s lowly defense.

Utah shot 61-percent from the field in the first half and was able to stretch a two-point first-quarter lead into a 14-point lead heading into the locker room at halftime. The Warriors slowly scratched their way back into the game behind a flurry of 3-pointers from an unlikely hero.

Big man Omari Spellman dropped four-threes on four shots behind the arc, with all four coming in the fourth quarter. Spellman had one of his best nights in a Golden State uniform, totaling 18 points with five boards.

Seven players scored in double figures for the Warriors on a night where they only had eight healthy players, and none of them included Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, D’Angelo Russell, or Klay Thompson.

Undrafted rookie, Ky Bowman turned in another impressive performance as the Dubs primary ball-handler, scoring 17 points, with five assists and four steals. Bowman had a crafty steal that led to a powerful dunk to cut the Jazz lead to six with less than two minutes to play. Bowman is currently on a two-way contract, but has easily played his way onto the Warriors full-time roster for the 2019-20 season.

After a four-game road swing, the Warriors will now get a rare weekend off and hope for good news on the returns of Kevon Looney and Draymond Green. Both bigs could return as soon as Monday against Oklahoma City, providing a much-needed boost to the Warriors injury-riddled roster.

Joe Harris: Nets’ ‘compete level was a lot higher’ vs. Jazz

Tuesday’s loss in Phoenix was tough, but the Nets’ loss to the Jazz was an even tougher pill to swallow.

As bad as the blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns was, Tuesday’s 119-114 loss to the Utah Jazz was an even tougher pill for the Nets to swallow. Brooklyn had what looked like a comfortable lead at halftime, but wound up losing in a nail-biter.

As Kenny Atkinson pointed out to reporters in Utah, there are no moral victories from a loss, but the Nets did show signs of growth. In particular, the Net finally attacked their opponent early in the game — something they haven’t done much to start 2019-20.

Though the Nets had an advantage over the Jazz with Utah being on the second game of a back-to-back, Joe Harris felt the first half result was an accurate depiction of Brooklyn’s intensity in the first half, per Tom Dowd of BrooklynNets.com.

The compete level was a lot higher. Against Phoenix that was uncharacteristic of us, not what we want Brooklyn Nets basketball to be about. And tonight we did a much better job just coming in, having effort from the get-go. There was a couple miscues here and there but that happens over the course of the game, but the effort, the compete level was there all night.

Nets bogged down by foul troubles against Jazz

The Nets gave the Utah Jazz far too many chances at the free-throw line, which was part of what cost Brooklyn the game.

The Brooklyn Nets were more efficient from the free-throw line (84%) than the Utah Jazz (77.1%) on Tuesday. But Brooklyn being more effective at the charity stripe only means so much when the opposition has 10 more free-throw attempts in the course of the game.

With the Nets losing by five to the Jazz, those extra free throws were made all the difference, as Utah knocked down 27 free throws to Brooklyn’s 21 in the 119-115 finish.

The Jazz took 35 free throws and were fouled by Brooklyn 29 times, while Utah only fouled the Nets 18 times. Jarrett accounted for six of those fouls and Joe Harris had five. Spencer Dinwiddie had four, as did Kyrie Irving, though two of his came when the Nets needed to foul Utah late.

Needless to say, Kenny Atkinson wasn’t pleased the Jazz had so many chances at the line.

… I would say the other thing that kind of irks me is giving up 35 free throws. So we played hard, we competed, but now we gotta add understand how to play without fouling.

Kenny Atkinson on Nets’ current status: ‘We’re below average’

The Brooklyn Nets are stuck in a rut. They have the ability to get out of it, but Kenny Atkinson and company haven’t been able to yet.

Following the 119-114 loss to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, the Brooklyn Nets have now dropped back-to-back games twice this season, the first instance being losses to the Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers.

Brooklyn, now 4-6 with two games left on the road trip, easily could be heading to Denver at an even 5-5 had they not scuffled late against the Jazz.

This isn’t the start the Nets or their fans were expecting, but Kenny Atkinson doesn’t think Brooklyn’s record is an inaccurate depiction of where they stand at the moment, which he expressed to reporters in Utah:

We are where we are. We’re 4-6. We’re below average. … I think there’s positive things [from Tuesday’s game], I think there’s things to build on. I think our defense has gotta improve for us to take another step. But 4-6 is 4-6. This league is unrelenting, so we are below average. I think our guys understand that.

But Atkinson doesn’t think where the Nets currently stand is where they’ll end up. He’s seen growth, adding:

I do think we’re building something with the new group. I don’t feel like, ‘Ah, you know, we’re not together.’ I feel good about the group. I feel good about our process. I feel good about our system. I feel really good about our players. These are tough games, the Utahs, the Denvers on the road. But I like the way we competed.

Nets struggle in second half vs. Jazz, now 1-2 on road trip

Kyrie Irving had a rough shooting night for the Brooklyn Nets in the loss to the Utah Jazz.

The Brooklyn Nets performed far better in the first quarter of Tuesday’s game than they have of late. They proceeded to build on their strong start by carrying a 68-53 lead into halftime.

The Utah Jazz proceeded to flip the script and handed Brooklyn it’s second loss of the five-game road trip with a 119-114 finish.

Previously, Kenny Atkinson discussed how the Nets struggle to get stops, especially early in games or when they’re also struggling on offense. The latter was the problem in the second half.

After a rough third quarter, things got worse for the Nets in the fourth quarter — yet they still had a chance at the end. They simply couldn’t get it done offensively.

Kyrie Irving took 30 shots. He only made 10 of them. Twelve of his attempts were from beyond the arc. He only made two of those. Not at all a good shooting night for Brooklyn’s point guard, despite the fact he finished up with 27 points.

Garrett Temple got the start in place of the injured Caris LeVert and finished in double figures (10), as did fellow starters Joe Harris (11) and Taurean Prince (15). Spencer Dinwiddie (21) and DeAndre Jordan (15) also finished in double figures.

Jordan (6-for-8 shooting) and Prince (6-for-9, 3-for-5 from three) were the Nets’ most efficient shooters in the loss.

Jordan also grabbed 17 rebounds while logging two blocks and two steals. Irving and Jarrett Allen each had two blocks, as well.

Another notable stat: Harris had a -22 plus-minus. He and Allen (-14) were the only two Nets with a negative, double-digit plus-minus.

RELATED: WATCH: DeAndre Jordan finishes savage alley-oop in Utah

WATCH: DeAndre Jordan finishes savage alley-oop in Utah

With the help of Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan posterized Tony Bradley in Utah.

The Nets and Jazz had a big battle in Utah on Tuesday, and it didn’t work out well for Brooklyn in the 119-114 finish. Among those who performed well was Brooklyn center DeAndre Jordan, who came off the bench for Jarrett Allen.

Although Allen had one of the more impressive plays of the game, blocking Rudy Gobert — giving the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year a taste of his own medicine — he made some mistakes throughout and dealt with foul trouble again, fouling out with 5:58 left in the game. This presented Jordan with more opportunities, and the veteran big man took advantage, logging a double-double.

For all of the important plays Jordan made, the one which garners the most attention is the one few can make — the alley-opp from Spencer Dinwiddie that Jordan threw down over Jazz center Tony Bradley. This alley-oop did have more flair than the typical throwdown — it’s not every day someone hurdles and NBA player.

Nets-Jazz odds: Utah a significant home favorite

Previewing Tuesday’s Brooklyn Nets at Utah Jazz sports betting odds and lines, with NBA matchup analysis and picks.

The Brooklyn Nets (4-5) visit the Utah Jazz (7-3) Tuesday at Vivint Smart Home Arena for a 9 p.m. ET start. We analyze the Nets-Jazz odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Nets at Jazz: Key injuries

Nets

  • SG Caris LeVert (thumb) out

Jazz

  • PG Dante Exum (hamstring) out

Nets at Jazz: Odds, lines, picks, and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Jazz 115, Nets 105

Moneyline (ML)

The -250 line for the JAZZ at home is not outrageous. Utah is 5-0 at home in the early going where the Nets are just 1-3 on the road.

Utah allows just 98.1 points per game on the season. Brooklyn scores at nearly 120 points per night. That is quite a contrast in styles. Utah can adapt better than Brooklyn and play much better defense.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Jazz to win outright returns a profit of $4.00. It’s a touch chalky, but it’s better than risking this on a Brooklyn (+200) team that has trouble keeping teams from scoring.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The better play for this tilt is taking the JAZZ with the -6.5 points at -110 odds. A Utah cover here at those odds produces a tidy $9.09 profit – doubling the moneyline outcome.

Brooklyn is 1-3 against the spread on the road and is 7.2 points off projections which makes a Utah cover more likely. Utah is 3-2 ATS at home and exactly six points per game above the cover line.

Over/Under (O/U)

Let’s take the OVER 217.5 (-125). Yes, Utah can clamp down on defense but Brooklyn’s defense is bad enough to push totals up.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Chris’ NBA betting record: 24-16

Follow @ChrisWasselDFS and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

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