Utah Jazz at Atlanta Hawks: Keys to the Game

Key Performer – George Hill

I pinned George Hill as the key performer the last time these two teams met and he most certainly did not disappoint. Not only was he Utah’s second leading scorer (Gordon Hayward logged one more point) with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting and five made threes, but he also forced Hawks point guard Dennis Schroder into a horribly inefficient night.

Schroder went just 6-of-19 from the field and 2-of-7 from deep while logging just two assists and posting a plus-minus of -20.

And while I typically like to switch up who I think the key performer will be, the fact of the matter is that for all that Schroder does well, this is simply a match-up that greatly favors George Hill. Hill’s size and length make him absolutely too much for Schroder to handle on both ends of the court, especially given that Dennis isn’t known as an overpowering defender by any means.

https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/828104110486413312

And although George Hill had some struggles last month, he looked much more like his old self in Utah’s latest win over Charlotte as he finished with 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting with five made threes.

Hopefully that’s a sign that he’s over his cold streak and that he will be able to garner even more confidence tonight in a very favorable match-up against Atlanta.