Utah Jazz vs Indiana Pacers key matchup: ROTY vs MIP?

The Utah Jazz will take on the Indiana Pacers in what will be their first home game in a dozen nights. We’ll also see two players fighting for year-end hardware in Donovan Mitchell and Victor Oladipo.

The Utah Jazz have entered a stretch where they simply have to win games in order to keep the slightest of playoff hopes alive. Given the barrage of injuries that have massacred Utah’s roster, Rudy Gobert’s continued absence and Nikola Mirotic trade seemingly causing the disengagement of Derrick Favors, the Jazz are having to scrap and claw for every win.

And that’s exactly what they’ll have to do to come out on top against the unexpectedly overachieving Indiana Pacers.

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One could argue that the Pacers are the most enjoyable team to watch in the Association. Despite a somewhat underwhelming first half of the season for Myles Turner, he’s still showing flashes of the All-NBA center to come.

Meanwhile, Victor Oladipo is in the midst a breakout season, leaving little doubt as to who the Most Improved Player award belongs to.

Paired with Dipo, Domantas Sabonis has proven to be a worthwhile addition in the Paul George trade after making massive strides from last season. The Pacers also have Lance Stephenson. Need I go on?

Don’t be fooled by the fun, up-tempo, highlight reel style of play from the Pacers, because there is plenty of substance beneath that exterior and enough talent to make playoff teams sweat.

Indy will roll into Salt Lake City on the second day of a back-to back after destroying the Phoenix Suns last night. The Jazz are fresh off a long road trip and had two days off. One of which was reportedly spent doing an extended four-hour training session.

Utah Jazz /

Utah Jazz

Donovan Mitchell is coming off a 35-point game in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets and could still see a major increase in production in the next five games against lesser opponents.

Oladipo has been red-hot from the second the season tipped off and has shown no signs of slowing down, averaging a blistering 26 points in his last 15 games.

He’s set himself apart from the field in the hunt for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. Meanwhile, Mitchell is staking his claim for Rookie Of The Year while front-runner Ben Simmons’ play has begun to slip.

After a strong start to the season for the Aussie, his numbers have taken a significant decline while Mitchell’s have improved out of sight. Over the span of the last nine games, Mitchell is averaging 22.8 points on 48 percent from the field, 31 percent from deep and 88 percent from the line, with 4.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and1.4 steals.

Over the same stretch, Simmons is averaging 15.9 points on 52 percent from the field and 59 percent from the line, with 5.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks (with four turnovers). Simmons has yet to make a 3-point shot in his NBA career on 10 attempts.

With Mitchell’s Rookie Of The Year chances still intact, he has to jump on the opportunity to increase his production while the ‘dog days’ of the NBA season have affected Simmons on a greater level.

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The Jazz will be without Rudy Gobert, Dante Exum and Thabo Sefolosha, who will miss the remainder of the season with an MCL injury. Raul Neto is listed as questionable. Turner and Glenn Robinson III will be out for Indiana and Sabonis will likely start once again in Turner’s absence.

Purely from a basketball fan’s point of view, a scoring battle between Donovan Mitchell and Victor Oladipo will be quite enjoyable to watch. This individual matchup may very well be the deciding factor in the of the game. Lets hope Mitchell and the Jazz can get it done.

Statistics courtesy of Basketball Reference.

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