Utah Jazz vs. Charlotte Hornets: Keys to the Game

Key Stat – Three-Point Percentage

The last time Utah and Charlotte faced off, the Jazz shot horribly from deep, converting on just 8-of-34 attempts to finish at 23.5 percent for the night. That poor shooting performance was a big reason why, despite leading for much of the game, the Jazz were unable to extend their lead and eventually faltered and fell to the Hornets in the final period.

But for the season, the Utah Jazz have been much more accurate and efficient than the Hornets from behind the arc overall. Utah ranks 11th in the league in three-point percentage at 36.2 percent while Charlotte comes in at 20th with a percentage of 35.3.

And the Hornets are arriving at their mediocre percentage by putting up the ninth-most three-point attempts in the league at 27.4 per game. With such a high volume of three-point shots and a less than desirable percentage, the Hornets have been far from efficient.

However, given the fact that they take so many threes per game, they also have the ability to catch fire and turn into quite the dangerous opponent from deep. Therefore it’s vital that the Jazz stifle as much momentum as possible by keeping Charlotte in check from behind the perimeter.

The good news is that even in wins the Hornets’ average three-point percentage is just 0.1 percentage point better than Utah’s season average in both wins and losses, so while Charlotte can heat up from deep, overall it’s been quite a struggle for them to convert from behind the arc.

Therefore, this could be an area where the Jazz should enjoy a significant advantage that could very well lead them to a sizable victory.