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Last night the Jazz overcame their embarrassing loss to the Atlanta Hawks by beating the Dallas Mavericks. The Jazz have now won 12 straight road games. They will be looking for another road victory tonight in San Antonio.
The Jazz are 3-0 against the Spurs. They will look to sweep the Spurs tonight for the first time since the 2009-2010 season. A recap of the Jazz and Spurs this season:
- December 21st- The Jazz beat the Spurs: 101-89. This game featured one of the few games Kawahi Leonard has played this season. He scored only 10 points. Rodney Hood led the Jazz with 29 points.
- February 2nd- Again the Jazz beat the Spurs. It was a high scoring even with the Jazz winning out 120-111. Ricky Rubio killed the Spurs, scoring 34 points, a career high for Ricky! It was magical.
February 12- The Jazz win in a close battle. 101-99. Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 25 points. Mitchell had a rough shooting night, until it mattered. Mitchell scored 8 of the Jazz’s last 9 points including a go-ahead bucket with 39.2 seconds left. Mitchell on his 4th quarter scoring:
”You can’t think about the misses, that’s the biggest thing,” Mitchell said. ”I was continuing to stay locked in and just stay focused and understand the shots eventually were going to fall. Fortunately, they did.”
So let’s look at tonight:
Game Info:
When: Friday, March 23, 2018, 6:30 p.m. MDT
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas
TV: AT&T Sports Net - Rocky Mountain
Radio: 1280 AM/97.5 FM The Zone
Injuries:
Utah Jazz:
Thabo Sefolosha - OUT (Knee)
Raul Neto - OUT (Wrist)
Tony Bradley - OUT (Concussion)
San Antonio Spurs:
Kawhi Leonard- OUT (Quad but you better double check with Woj)
What to Watch For:
Can the Jazz really sweep the Spurs?
As discussed above the Jazz are 3-0 against the Spurs this season. Will the Jazz really sweep the Spurs in a season where they have gotten swept by teams like the Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks? That could be the most Jazz thing ever.
The Spurs will have all players available except for Kawhi Leonard. The Spurs have veterans who have been in many playoff races. They recognize the importance of this game. Manu Ginobli started his professional career in 1995. Donovan Mitchell would be born one year later.
The Jazz have to treat this as a must win game. No tie breakers with the Spurs are at risk but in order to keep pace with the 4-10 in the West, this is a must win. The Jazz have won many must win games this season, let’s hope they have it again tonight.
I expect that Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell will show up again, like they did last night. They want the playoffs. They want the playoffs more than they want personal awards. Ricky Rubio loves to feast on the Spurs (may he be their JJ Barea?). Derrick Favors always seems to shine against the Spurs also. If our starters show up like they have against ever other game so far against the Spurs we have a chance at a victory.
Prediction:
I predict the Jazz will beat the Spurs. We have had a rough offense the last week, I expect it to come back tonight. Quin always loves to come up big against his mentor, Pop, he will have his players ready!
Score prediction: 115-106
Poll
Who will win tonight?
This poll is closed
-
65%
Utah Jazz
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34%
San Antonio Spurs
Go Jazz!
Check out the Spurs fan perspective at Pounding the Rock