Chris Paul will have to rely on Darren Collison to handle his buddy Deron Williams. Advantage Utah.
After winning their first game post All-Star Break last night in Houston, the Utah Jazz have another road test tonight in New Orleans. Fortunately for the Jazz, the Hornets will be without their star point guard, Chris Paul, who is out with a left knee injury.
Because of Paul’s absence, the first key matchup I see in this game will be Hornets’ backup point guard Darren Collison versus Deron Williams. Surprisingly for the Hornets, Collison has filled in rather nicely for CP3, as he has put up big numbers in points and assists in his last few games. (25 and nine against Boston, 27 (career high) and nine against Orlando, 24 and four against Charlotte, 17 and 4 against Philadelphia).
However, even though Collison has been successful over his last few games, he has not played against any point guards with the size of D-Will. Williams will body up Collison, and he will make him earn all of his points, just like he made Aaron Brooks do last night, as the Rockets’ point guard shot 5-17 from the field. Offensively, I do not see Williams being slowed down too much by the rookie Collison. This is not as much of a knock on Collison, as it is praise for D-Will. Williams has had double-digits in points or assists in all but 3 games this season (2 of those games were Jazz wins), and there is no reason for me to believe that he will not be in double-digits once again tonight. Plus, Williams must be very excited to get to play the Hornets without Chris Paul, and I cannot see him letting this opportunity pass him by without causing some damage to the Hornets in the process. He will realize that he has the biggest mismatch in this game, and he will look to exploit it again and again.
The other matchup that I think will be instrumental in determining the outcome of this game will be between forwards David West and Carlos Boozer. D-West has put together another productive season for the Hornets, as he is averaging 18 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. The last time these guys met, West accumulated 20 points and 9 rebounds in a 91-87 Hornets victory. As for Boozer, the Jazz’s starting power forward is coming off of a very quiet game, as he scored 12 points and grabbed 8 rebounds against the Rockets. These numbers are way below Carlos’ average, and I am positive that he will come out with more fire in this game because of it. Also, Boozer usually plays with more passion when he goes against the better power forwards in the league. Specifically, in their last meeting, Boozer scored 18 points and collected 14 rebounds against West and the Hornets.
Because the Hornets are without their star point guard, and because the Jazz are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, I am going to pick the Jazz in this game. But don’t think that this game is a “Gimme.” The Jazz are coming off of another road game last night, and they might not be on top of their game. Nonetheless, I am sticking with Utah, albeit in a close one.
LT’S NOTES
– The Jazz are 0-1 against the Hornets this season.
– The Jazz are originally from New Orleans.
– In their last meeting, Devin Brown led all scorers with 30 points for the Hornets.
– With a win tonight, the Jazz will complete their first back to back road sweep since Feb 1st/2nd of 2008 (Washington and Memphis).
– With a win tonight, the Jazz will win 5 in a row on the road for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
– The Jazz have won 14 out of their last 16 games.
– Look out for the Hornets’ Mardi Gras uniforms!