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Utah Jazz vs. Indiana Pacers: Keys to the Game

By Jared Woodcox

Dec 5, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Trey Lyles (L) and forward Derrick Favors (15) and forward Joe Ingles (2) react to defeating the Indiana Pacers in overtime at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz won 122-119. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Trey Lyles (L) and forward Derrick Favors (15) and forward Joe Ingles (2) react to defeating the Indiana Pacers in overtime at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz won 122-119. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 20, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) and center Rudy Gobert (back) celebrate during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 20, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) and center Rudy Gobert (back) celebrate during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

Prediction – Jazz 108, Pacers 103

With both teams coming into this contest on the second night of a back-to-back, I expect it to be a bit of a slow, ugly game. Luckily for Utah, they’ve been solid in these types of contests, finding a way to close out tightly contested games in the final quarter time after time particularly thanks to their daunting defensive prowess.

And while there’s some intriguing match-ups between the two teams, the Pacers have been horrific on the road, lacking energy and effort and at times looking as if they refuse to rebound or defend, and have been even worse in back-to-backs.

Not to mention, they’re weak at both the point guard and especially the shooting guard positions, particularly defensively. Therefore, I’m feeling confident that the Jazz will be able to come away with a win in this one and am going to stick with my 108-103 prediction that I pinned earlier in the week. Last season, this contest was one of the best games of the season, so we’ll see if the 2016-17 rendition of Jazz vs. Pacers can deliver once again.

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It would be great to see Utah log a sixth straight win and continue to claw their way up the Western Conference Standings, especially as they prepare to take on two tough playoff teams in back-to-back nights in the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets (yep, they’re eighth in the West right now).

It would also be nice to see George Hill bust out of his slump against his former team so that he’s ready to go in those key upcoming games as well. The Jazz have a solid record and are continuing to find a way to win games, but it would still be nice to see them log some more convincing victories against beatable teams and save the grind-it-out nailbiter wins for the real competition.

Hopefully that will all come together beginning with a convincing win against the Pacers that helps the Jazz get on track to make some real noise between now and the rapidly-approaching All-Star Break.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com

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