The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz vs. New Orleans Pelicans: Keys to building a win streak

By Jared Woodcox

NEW ORLEANS, LA - DECEMBER 27: Anthony Davis #23 and Jrue Holiday #11 of the New Orleans Pelicans before the game against the Brooklyn Nets on December 27, 2017 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - DECEMBER 27: Anthony Davis #23 and Jrue Holiday #11 of the New Orleans Pelicans before the game against the Brooklyn Nets on December 27, 2017 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FL – DECEMBER 23: Jrue Holiday #11 of the New Orleans Pelicans handles the ball against the Miami Heat on December 23, 2017 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL – DECEMBER 23: Jrue Holiday #11 of the New Orleans Pelicans handles the ball against the Miami Heat on December 23, 2017 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Key #2 – Stop the Pels on the perimeter

Although the New Orleans Pelicans ultimately fell short in their last match-up against the Utah Jazz, a major reason why they were able to build up a big lead and nearly come out on top was because of their red-hot three-point shooting. The Pelicans finished the game shooting 15-of-30 (.500) from deep, ten percent better than the Jazz on the exact same number of attempts.

And that game wasn’t exactly an anomaly for the Pels as they’ve been a good three-point shooting team all season long. They currently find themselves at sixth in the league at 38.1 percent. Of course, having two star bigs in Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins who are both more than capable of knocking down the three-ball plays a large role, but beyond them New Orleans is stacked with effective sharpshooters up and down their roster as well.

Therefore, if Utah hopes to come away with another win over the Pelicans and hopefully not have to pull of a nerve-wracking comeback as they did last time around, they’ll need to do everything they can to slow New Orleans down from behind the arc. There’s no question that the Pelicans offense will be able to space the Jazz out significantly, but if Utah somehow manages to prevent them from finding their shot, they’ll be hard-pressed to generate the necessary scoring to arise victorious.

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