Utah Jazz vs. Portland Trail Blazers: Keys to the Game

Key Stat – Rebounds

Believe it or not, the Trail Blazers are actually a better rebounding team than the Jazz in terms of boards per game as they rank 13th in the league at 43.9 per game while the Jazz rank 19th at 43.3. Of course some of this has to do with the fact that Portland plays at a much faster pace because when looking at season rebound differential, Utah posts a solid +3.0 advantage (3rd in the league) while Portland is dead even at 0.0 (15th in the league).

And the Blazers will likely take a huge hit in the rebounding department due to the fact that their breakout center Jusuf Nurkic, who they acquired shortly before the trade deadline, was recently announced as out for the remainder of the regular season after suffering a fibular fracture. Nurkic has been posting 10.4 rebounds per game in a Portland uniform and the news of his injury is certainly unfortunate as he and his team had been playing so well together.

However, it will very likely help Utah gain a big advantage on the boards that should help propel them to a victory. In the last meeting between these two teams, the Jazz were able to outmatch Portland on the boards 46-41 and that, along with impeccable shooting, helped thrust Utah to an incredible 111-88 win.

Without Nurkic, the Blazers will have to rely largely on Meyers Leonard to grab boards as well as take a rebounding by committee approach. That combination isn’t exactly a daunting one. Thus, given Utah’s impressive rebound differential on the season, it’s quite likely that they’ll be able to outmatch Portland in this area which will hopefully lead to a win once again.