Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
The (22-24 SU, 25-21 ATS) Utah Jazz and (22-22 SU, 19-25 ATS) Minnesota Timberwolves will take the court on Martin Luther King Jr. Day for an NBA Western Conference tilt. The Jazz, 8-16 in road games, lost 118-117 to Philadelphia in their last game. The Timberwolves, 14-9 at home, beat Phoenix and Cleveland in consecutive games earlier this week.
This is the third meeting between these teams. Utah won the first matchup 132-126 in overtime on Oct. 21, and Minnesota won the second game 118-108 on Dec. 9. Each road team was victorious.
Tip-off from Target Center is at 4:00 p.m. ET. Four Jazz players are questionable for Monday's game: Lauri Markkanen (hip), Collin Sexton (hamstring), Kelly Olynyk (ankle), and Udoka Azubuike (illness). Minnesota's Rudy Gobert is also questionable to play with groin soreness.
The Jazz have lost seven of their past ten, with two wins coming over Houston and Orlando. Utah needs to rediscover the magic it had earlier this season as soon as possible if it hopes to be a factor in the playoff picture.
In their latest loss, Utah trailed by double digits for most of the game. The Jazz didn't go away, though, storming back in the final quarter behind Jordan Clarkson's 17 fourth-quarter points to take a 115-114 lead with 33 seconds left. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be, as 76ers star Joel Embiid hit the game-winner with just under six seconds left. Clarkson tallied 38 points and nine rebounds for Utah in the home loss.
Utah scores 117.4 points per game this season and shoots 47.1 percent from the field, including 36.0 percent from three-point range. Its offensive rating is the fourth-highest in the NBA, and its effective field goal percentage (55.1%) is ranked tenth, per Dunks and Threes. Utah averages 44.2 rebounds per game, and its opponents average 43.3.
“This team doesn't go away, they don't let down, they continue to fight to the end. … That's been a hallmark of our team this season.”
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 15, 2023
Lauri Markkanen paces the Jazz with 24.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game on 52.0 percent shooting. Utah also depends on contributions from Clarkson (21.1 PPG, 4.4 APG, and 4.2 RPG), Collin Sexton (14.2 PPG), Malik Beasley (13.8 PPG and 3.5 RPG), and Kelly Olynyk (12.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 3.3 APG).
The Jazz surrender 116.7 points per game on 48.2 percent shooting, including 35.2 percent from long range. Their defensive rating is fifth-worst, and their assist-per-turnover ratio (1.67) is ranked 22nd. Utah's opponents prefer to attack them from inside rather than behind the arc. Only 34.8 percent of their shot attempts are from three, the lowest percentage in the league, and 38.0 percent of their shots come from within five feet of the rim, the fourth-highest percentage.
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