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The Utah Jazz take on the San Antonio Spurs tonight at 4:00 p.m. at the Thomas and Mack Center. I hope every Jazz fan that lives in the Vegas area are able to attend. Peter Novak will continue his coverage of summer league, so check back later tonight and tomorrow for his report on this game.
Unlike in the regular season the Utah Jazz are actually favored against the Spurs tonight in Las Vegas. The Jazz have summer league sensations, Dante Exum, Rodney Hood, Rudy Gobert and of course Trey Burke on their team. The San Antonio Spurs have the 30th pick in the draft Kyle Anderson to headline their Summer League team.
San Antonio Spurs
Here is what Spurs iconic GM RC Buford has to say about Kyle Anderson:
"Guys that like to pass, guys that know how to play, guys who are slow and can’t jump, they fit pretty good in San Antonio," general manager R.C. Buford said.
Anderson had his best game of Summer League yesterday as the Spurs crushed the Milwaukee Bucks 100-71. Anderson finished with 14 points on 4-9 shooting.
Anderson is leading the Spurs in minutes at 24.8 mpg. Austin Daye, a veteran heading into his sixth year is leading the Spurs in points with 12.8 ppg on .320 shooting. Daye is also leading the team in rebounds with 7.3 rpg.
The Spurs are averaging 85.7 ppg with nearly a 41% fg average. The Spurs have attempted 89 three-pointers in their four games making 27 of the 89.
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz earned a first round bye and were able to rest yesterday. With the momentum that the Jazz were carrying from their games against the Bucks and the Denver Nuggets, I wonder if the time off was good. The Jazz may be a 5th seed in the playoffs but they are number one in our hearts.
The Jazz's summer league team has me more excited than any regular season Jazz game the last few seasons. The Jazz are running, passing, setting picks, and are taking and making threes. THE UTAH JAZZ ARE PLAYING JAZZ BASKETBALL!!!
The Jazz are averaging 81 ppg. That is 4 points less than the Spurs. The Jazz have a higher average field goal percentage at .45. The Jazz have attempted 74 three pointers and have made 23. The Jazz are averaging 24 three-point attempts per game! The Jazz are only averaging 18.3 apg but that is okay. The Jazz are passing the ball, Dante and Trey are doing a great job of setting up teammates. They are looking to make the extra pass. That is one thing that I have enjoyed immensely about watching the Jazz this summer, they are passing the ball.. Another aspect of the game that is giving me great joy is. THE UTAH JAZZ KNOW HOW TO RUN A FAST BREAK AGAIN! Its absolutely amazing the differences between our summer squad this year and our regular season team the last few years.
Players tweets since the last game:
Late night chop session ,had to get right one time pic.twitter.com/xcK5j1Ry1q
— Trey Burke (@Burke_614) July 17, 2014
Found me a nice lil soulfood spot in Vegas!
— Rodney hood (@rodneymhood) July 17, 2014
STK
— Ian Clark (@IanClark) July 17, 2014
@dfavors14 happy birthday bigtime!!
— rudy gobert (@rudygobert15) July 16, 2014
Conclusion
I am super excited for today's game. I think the Jazz will keep their winning streak going and beat the Spurs. If the Jazz do beat the Spurs
If the Jazz win tonight vs. Spurs, we will play the winner of WAS-MIA at 8pm MT on Saturday. #jazzsummer
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) July 17, 2014
EDIT:
Jazz starters vs. Spurs (at 4 p.m. MT on NBA TV): Trey Burke, Dante Exum, Rodney Hood, Malcolm Thomas and Rudy Gobert.
— Jody Genessy (@DJJazzyJody) July 17, 2014