11/1 Utah Jazz vs. Portland Trail Blazers: Keys to the game
By John Keeffer
Make Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum work
Maybe it’s because of his ties to Utah (via his Weber State roots), but Damian Lillard always seems to bring it against the Utah Jazz. Last season, he torched the Jazz for a career-high 59 points, on 18-of-34 shooting, including nine 3-pointers.
He is also one of the few players who has been able to put Rudy Gobert on a poster.
The Jazz could play a terrific game, but if they cannot contain Lillard and McCollum, they could still find themselves on the losing side of things. The key will be to force difficult shots. You cannot allow them to get into a rhythm by allowing open, uncontested shots.
With star players in the NBA, you can’t fully stop them, but you can work to make their life difficult. That is something that the Jazz can excel with their length and defensive versatility.
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On the flip side, the Jazz need to attack them on the offensive side of the ball. Both Lillard and McCollum are subpar defenders…at best. Put them in the pick n’ roll to make them work and create mismatches. In last season’s opener, Rodney Hood and Joe Johnson combined for 55 points. Much of that damage was done in the post against Portland’s smaller guards.