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Utah Jazz at Atlanta Hawks: Keys to the Game

Jared Woodcox|
Nov 25, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) dribbles the ball in front of Atlanta Hawks forward Thabo Sefolosha (25) during the first half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 25, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) dribbles the ball in front of Atlanta Hawks forward Thabo Sefolosha (25) during the first half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
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Nov 17, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) dribbles the ball as Brooklyn Nets forward Joe Johnson (7) defends during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 17, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) dribbles the ball as Brooklyn Nets forward Joe Johnson (7) defends during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Key Match-up – Joe Johnson and Paul Millsap

OK, I know that there might be some raised eyebrows on this one, but in honor of one of my recent pieces detailing how Joe Johnson could very well be Utah’s answer at the power forward position, I’ve decided to slot him in this spot against Atlanta All-Star Paul Millsap.

While at some point it may end up being the most logical course of action, there’s no indication that Joe Johnson will be the starter at power forward tonight. However, his phenomenal play at the position against Charlotte could very well prove that such should be the case. In the final period of play in Utah’s latest win, Johnson logged all of his time at the power forward position and was phenomenal.

Of course he’ll be in for a tougher challenge against Paul Millsap instead of Charlotte’s Marvin Williams, but it could also be a great test to see how capable Johnson truly is of manning the four-spot by putting him up against one of the league’s greats at the position. Millsap is indeed an undersized power forward, but is also very capable on both ends.

Nevertheless, if Johnson can replicate his stunning 18-point performance from the game against Charlotte while using his deceiving strength and expert basketball IQ to slow Millsap defensively, this could very well be a match-up that’s won by the Jazz.

https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/828104651069272064

Formerly, the Derrick Favors and Paul Millsap match-up would have been the one to watch and honestly I’m hoping that at any time now, Favors busts out of his slump and becomes that exhilarating competitor that all Jazz fans are craving to see.

While perhaps that will happen tonight, it’s been long overdue, so I believe it’s much more likely that Johnson will again find himself on the floor during the game’s crucial waning moments where he’ll more than likely be tasked with propelling the Jazz to victory by playing flawlessly at the stretch-four position.

If he does so, it will give Utah an enormous advantage and likely lead to a regular season sweep of the Atlanta Hawks.

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