The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz 2017-18 Week 21 Outlook, Predictions

By Jared Woodcox

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JANUARY 20: The Utah Jazz celebrate during the game against the LA Clippers on January 20, 2018 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JANUARY 20: The Utah Jazz celebrate during the game against the LA Clippers on January 20, 2018 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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MILWAUKEE, WI – MARCH 02: Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers looks on in the first quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center on March 2, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 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. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI – MARCH 02: Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers looks on in the first quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center on March 2, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 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. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

3/7 Utah at Indiana

5:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass

Opponent record: 35-27

Season series: Pacers lead 1-0

The Indiana Pacers have been one of the most intriguing and at times confusing teams in the league this year. They were pinned by many to be a sure-fire lottery team coming into the season after they traded away superstar Paul George for a pair of young guns in Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Instead, with a win today, they’ll find themselves in fourth place in the Eastern Conference and just a half-game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers over whom they own the tiebreaker.

Yeah, they’ve been that good.

But then again, at times the Pacers have been wildly inconsistent. Part of this is due simply to youth as their young core has struggled at times to maintain focus and discipline. This has been quite clear since the All-Star break as Indiana dropped two surprising losses to the Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks, then bounced back by defeating the much tougher Milwaukee Bucks.

Even within individual games the Pacers have been inconsistent as they’ve gotten off to huge first-half deficits on several occasions only to bounce back and win in the end.

In other words, Utah’s success in Indiana on Wednesday may very well come down to which version of this Pacers team shows up. If Victor Oladipo is firing on all cylinders, the three-point shot is going down and the team is locked in defensively, they’ll be tough to beat. Otherwise, the Jazz could earn a solid road win.

The Pacers certainly looked more like the former as they dropped a 109-94 blowout on the Jazz that wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated. The game was viewed as one of Utah’s low points of the season, but they’ve improved significantly since then as well.

In short, I think this game is about as up-for-grabs as they come. Both teams are hungry to improve where they sit in the standings. Both have had their share of ups and downs this year. The Jazz will be looking for revenge while the Pacers will be aiming to show that their prior domination wasn’t a fluke.

I really could see it going either way, but in the end, I’m going to go with the Pacers coming out on top. They play exceptionally well at home (21-11 compared to 14-16 on the road) and to be honest, even in Jazz wins they haven’t really impressed me since the break. Maybe they turn things around this week and clean up some of their recent sloppy play, but they’ll need to play much better than they have of late to beat a dangerous Pacers team.

The key to doing so will likely be slowing Oladipo, who has been in a bit of a shooting funk since the All-Star break. But if he’s given free reign and is allowed to explode like he did in Salt Lake City, it will mean big trouble for the Jazz.

My Prediction: Pacers Win

Final Score: Indiana 104, Utah 101

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