Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets: Keys to the Game

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Dec 3, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum (11) drives to the hoop past Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay (0) in the third quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Utah Jazz defeated the Denver Nuggets 105-98. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /

Key Stat – Rebounds

The Denver Nuggets have been a solid rebounding team all season long and currently rank second in the NBA at 46.6 rebounds per game. Yet, last time these two teams faced off, the Jazz were able to barely edge out the Nuggets on the boards by a margin of 40-37.

This was undoubtedly a key contributor to Utah’s win as the Nuggets have typically been able to generate several points off of second chance opportunities which Utah was able to limit by doing a better job of rebounding. Still, just like their rebounding mark, the Nuggets are second in the league in second chance points at 15.3 per contest and can be very dangerous in this area.

#NBA Rebound rate#Nuggets 53.8%#Bulls 52.8%#Hornets 51.5%#Thunder 5.14%#Pistons 51.2%#Spurs 5.1.%#Jazz 51.1%#Twolves 51.1%#Cavs 51%
— SERC (@SERCenter) January 23, 2017

And while the Jazz will no doubt be coming into this game fatigued after the brutal schedule they’ve faced, it will be an absolute necessity for them to find a way to take care of business on the boards. Otherwise, it’s likely that they’ll be quickly overpowered by a fresh Nuggets team.

In last night’s defeat, the Jazz were noticeably out-rebounded by the Thunder, particularly in a handful of critical situations which led directly to Utah’s demise. Unless the Jazz are able to find a way to control this aspect of the game against an even better rebounding team, they could be in for a long night against the Nuggets.

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