Game Night: Utah Jazz vs. New Jersey Nets

by CRS-ONE

Game Night:  Utah Jazz vs. New Jersey Nets

So this past weekend wasn’t any fun for the Jazz. They lost both games to the Cavs and the Pacers. Lebron dropped 40 again in a close game; Clevland won 99-94. The next night they folded against the Pacers, 117-97. Their swingmen all got what they wanted. Mike Dunleavy, Marquis Daniels and even Shawne Williams respectively put up 19, 17 and 16. Compare that to the Jazz’s shooting guards who combined for 26.

To an extent, I can accept their lack of offense. The Jazz score in the paint. Everyone knows that. It’s their lack of defense which is unsettling. The Pacers shot 11-23 from outside. Alright, so maybe they give up a lot from the three point line. But the real kicker is that when the other team’s shooting guards decide to drive in, we have awful help defenders. This is one of the reasons why I’m so happy that Andrei Kirilenko is still with the team, as he truly is the Jazz’s best help defender.

This brings us to tonight’s game against the New Jersey Nets. The last couple of years it seems like the Nets are some sort of mental block for the Jazz. They lost six out of the last seven games against New Jersey, last year losing both games. I can’t honestly remember the last team the Jazz beat NJ.

As much as I hate seeing players being injured, Vince Carter being out is a good thing for the Jazz. All the Jazz are healthy and accounted for. Here are five things to watch in tonight’s game.

1. Williams vs. Kidd. Since Deron Williams came into the league in 2005, everyone has compared him to Jason Kidd. If you like your basketball games centered on strong point guards who can run a tight offense, this games is for you. DWilll and JKidd also spent the summer together on Team USA, so I’m sure there will be a little bit of master/apprentice showmanship.
2. Can the Jazz capitalize on Carter being out? Since Vince Carter has joined the Nets, he has been an absolute terror against the Jazz. Then again, most decent shooting guards can terrorize the Jazz.
3. Rebound and control the paint on offense. The Nets have no one that can guard Carlos Boozer. No one. Nenad Krtic? Nope. Jamal Magloire. Remember when he was an All-Star? Keep feeding the ball to Boozer and he can have a monster night. And the rebounding. The Jazz have one of the best frontcourts in the league with Boozer, Kirilenko and Memo Okur, with some key subs in Matt Harpring and Paul Millsap. As for the Nets, it’s so bizarre that Kidd, mind you a point guard, leads them and rebounds. That says a lot about their front court.
4. Defend the perimeter and guard the swingmen. I can’t stress it enough, but they need to stay with their man. Do not let guys like Antoine Writh or Bokie Nachbar get career nights.
5. It’s a home game! Energy Solutions Arena can be very hard on road teams, so the Jazz definitely have home court advantage. Maybe that’s not much of a key. I found one. It’s the battle of the Collins twins, with the Nets having Jason and the Jazz having Jarron. It’s funny…not only are they identical, but they have the same basketball skill set.