Utah Jazz at Portland Trail Blazers: Keys to the Game

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Apr 4, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) tries to dribble past Portland Trail Blazers guard Evan Turner (1) during the fourth quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Utah won 106-87. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports /

Key Performer – Gordon Hayward

With Jusuf Nurkic out of the lineup, it’s logical to pin Rudy Gobert as the key performer and expect him to have a big game. He certainly did so last time as he finished with 20 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting outing from the floor while grabbing 11 rebounds. However, it was in fact Gordon Hayward who stole the show in that contest.

Hayward dropped in 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from deep to effectively sink the Blazers. He went on to surpass that performance last night against Minnesota with a career-high 39 points on an even better 14-of-22 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 from behind the arc.

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While it may be difficult to see Hayward going off again like that for the third time in a row, he has actually been phenomenal in second nights of back-to-backs this season as he’s averaging 23.1 points on 47.5 percent shooting from the field and 43.5 percent from deep in such situations. That’s more points and a better three-point percentage than in games with one or two days of rest prior.

And it’s clear that Hayward, perhaps more than anyone, realizes that it’s money time. He’s playing extremely well to push this team to its limit heading into the postseason and he’s not about to back down. Therefore, if he can continue his hot streak and maintain his trend of playing well in back-to-backs, there’s a good chance that Utah will be able to come away with yet another victory tonight.

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