Utah Jazz at Atlanta Hawks Game Thread: Derrick Favors returns home

The "homecoming" tour / Five game Eastern Conference road trip continues tonight as the Utah Jazz will tip off against the Atlanta Hawks.

• Game one had Trey Burke back in Michigan (where he went to college) against the Detroit Pistons.
  
• Game two had Gordon Hayward return to Indiana (where he is born, raised, went to high school, and college) and sadly lose to their Pacers.
  
• Game three is back in Georgia, where Derrick Favors is from, went to school, and he is a proud alumnus of Georgia Tech. (Like Matt Harpring!) (Actually, I don't know if any of them have a college degree... I just checked, Harpring was a Senior when he left for the NBA draft, so *maybe*?)
  
• Game four (against the New York Knicks) will be the former team of Steve Novak and Toure' Murry;
  
• and game five (against the Toronto Raptors) is also another team Novak played for.

Welcome home @dfavors14 Back in the dirty south! @utahjazz pic.twitter.com/9KK9otjPAK

— Brian Zettler (@BrianZettler) November 12, 2014

Tonight is also a return of sorts for rolling stone / head coach Quin Snyder. One of the teams he was an assistant for was last seasons' Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks players, like Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver, can't stop gushing about him. It's been a fun day on twitter, to say the least. As for tonight's game, though, well; the Jazz are 48-45 against the Hawks, all time; however, they are a dismal 17-30 on the road. I know what you are thinking, Hawkward. (Slightly NSFW)

Personally, I'd love to see a big night for Favors (surprisingly not NSFW); and it's also Trey Burke's birthday today, so he is due for a big night. All of that said, that probably means that tonight Joe Ingles will drop 20 or something. That's just how Jazz games go now-a-days.

As we covered in the podcast, it's always fun to play against the Atlanta Hawks because they have so many former Jazz players. We love Paul Millsap. Kyle Korver sold so many shirts. And DeMarre Carroll never stopped hustling back in Game 4 of that playoff series. Sadly, no DMC tonight, as we went over the injuries back in the game preview.

Starters:

Yes. They have really good players, and the only advantage is Gordon Hayward over Thabo Sefolosha. The Derrick Favors / Al Horford battle will be fun, the Paul Millsap / Enes Kanter one? On paper? Not that bad. On the box score? Kinda close. On the court? We'll see. I know that Kyle Korver can't guard Alec Burks. And I think both of them know that too. But by the same token, Jeff Teague should have his way with Trey Burke.

Clearly they have the better starting five, even with DeMarre Carroll out with a groin injury.

Bench:

Run, right? Maybe? I like our bench better, but I'm a homer. It may be just because Trevor Booker and Rudy Gobert are huge pieces of our team that wreck things on the regular. Dante Exum vs. Dennis Schroder is going to be a lot of fun to watch for sure . . . because . . . you know . . . a Black German dude against a Black Australian dude. (Wait, am I racist? Are minorities born in Canada capable of that?) Self actualization obstacles aside, I think the Jazz are going to need solid bench play in order to win this one.

Injuries:

• DeMarre Carroll (ATL): Out with a groin injury
• Mike Scott (ATL): Out with a back injury
• Rodney Hood (UTA): Out with a foot injury
• Adreian Payne (ATL): Is probable for tonight, with the same foot injury as Hood (Plantar fasciitis)

Marquee Match-up:

Favors, at home, vs. Horford in a come-back season from injury. Two 6'10 centers who are double double machines going at it. The team that knows how to feed their big on offense will be the team that probably wins this game.

Bold Prediction:

At least 2 OT, right? You guys know you want it.

GO JAZZ GO!