Key #2 – Somehow compete on the boards
In my preview of the last Jazz-Nuggets game, I pinned winning the rebound battle as a significant key. The Jazz have been a poor rebounding team all season long whereas the Nuggets have been one of the best, so I knew it would be critical for Utah to seek to reverse that trend. Unfortunately, they didn’t come anywhere close to doing so.
Instead, Denver walloped Utah on the glass, out-rebounding them by a count of 53-42 and beating them on the defensive boards 43-30. Of course, it was pretty easy for the Nuggets to win that battle considering all the shots Utah missed, but that kind of lopsided result is still unacceptable and isn’t going to lead to many wins.
Utah Jazz 2017-18 Week 12 Outlook, Predictions https://t.co/p7dXZXGP5v pic.twitter.com/LEWiWkDpRp
— The J-Notes (@TheJNotes) January 2, 2018
Therefore, although the Nuggets have a clear advantage in the rebounding department based on how well they’ve done it all year, the Jazz need to at least seek to close the gap this time around if they’re going to be able to compete at all with a gritty Denver squad.
Considering how tough offense has been to come by for the Jazz all season long and particularly in the recent contest against the Nuggets, the Jazz need to count on solid rebounding in order to generate extra possessions and easy second chance points. If they’re unable to come through in that area, Denver will more than likely win tonight’s game and tie up the season series in short order.