Utah Jazz at Cleveland Cavaliers: Keys to the Game

Key Match-up – Gordon Hayward and LeBron James

When looking at these two teams, there’s simply no other pair of players whose battle against one another will be more thrilling than that of Gordon Hayward and LeBron James. In the last meeting between the Jazz and Cavs, both players went back and forth exchanging blows in impressive fashion, but ultimately it was Gordon Hayward and the Jazz who came out on top.

James finished the game with 29 points on 10-of-20 shooting while Hayward finished with 28 on an ultra efficient 10-of-12 performance from the field. The conscious duel between these two All-Stars was apparent and exhilarating.

And while both teams have a number of key role players who could step up and make a difference in this game, the most likely bet is that whichever one of these two in particular shines the brightest will end up willing his team to victory.

Hayward was exceptional again last night in the victory over Detroit as he finished with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting while also connecting on 4-of-7 threes. The performance marked his sixth time in the last seven games that he has finished with at least 23 points.

Interestingly enough, it’s also worth noting that Hayward has played extremely well for the Jazz on second nights of back-to-backs this season. Coming into games with zero days of rest, Hayward is averaging 23.8 points on 48.7 percent shooting from the field and 44.6 percent from behind the arc. Each of those figures is surprisingly above his overall season average.

LeBron has also been on a tear of late as in his last seven games he’s averaging 27.9 points on 52.9 percent shooting from the field while adding 12.4 rebounds and 9.1 assists. He’s also logged four triple-doubles during that stretch.

Nevertheless, if Hayward is able to maintain his recent trend of bringing energy and performing well in the second night of back-to-backs, he could very well find himself able to out-duel LeBron once again and inspire his team to come out strong and work together to steal the win.