Utah Jazz at Cleveland Cavaliers: Keys to the Game

Key Stat – Three-Point Percentage

The Cleveland Cavaliers are an incredibly good three-point shooting team. Not only do they convert at the second highest rate in the league (39.2 percent) but they also hoist up the second most attempts (33.9) meaning their high volume and high efficiency make them extremely dangerous. There’s a reason that they set a new NBA record this season with 25 made threes in a game.

With guys like Kyle Korver (who’s dealing with a foot issue and may miss the game tonight) who’s lighting it up from deep at 48.7 percent as a member of the Cavs alongside other sharpshooters such as Channing Frye, Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert, it’s no surprise that Cleveland is finding such success from behind the arc, especially with LeBron obviously demanding so much attention, allowing him to drive and dish often.

However, the Jazz did an exceptional job both at converting from three and containing Cleveland from behind the arc in the two teams’ last meeting. Utah shot above their season average, finishing the game at 38.2 percent (13-of-34) while the Cavs ended up shooting just 29 percent (9-of-31) for the game.

Also, the Jazz have been on fire of late from three, shooting a combined 52 percent over the course of their last three games. While that partly makes me nervous that they’ll have to come back to earth in a big way and that it could happen tonight, if the Jazz can somehow maintain their current hot streak while containing Cleveland from deep as well as they did last time, it will provide them with a critical edge in the match-up.