Utah Jazz-Pelicans: Keys to winning the series matchup against the Pels

The Utah Jazz will look to win their 6th game in a row as they volley for playoff position against the New Orleans Pelicans in a pivotal Western Conference matchup.

After a long, uphill battle, the Utah Jazz have finally moved into a three-way tie for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They also happen to have the easiest remaining schedule when compared to the teams ahead of them.

Whether or not the remaining schedule is easy or hard for the Jazz, they will need to take care of business if they are going to make the playoffs. That means they have to win the clearly winnable games on their schedule.

Just a few days ago, the matchup versus the New Orleans Pelicans loomed large. Anthony Davis was finishing up a February in which he averaged 35.9 points, 12.8 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 2.4 blocks. They went 9-3 in February, and would go on to win 10 straight. Then Anthony Davis injured his ankle against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, and now the matchup looks like an expected win for the Jazz.

The game will be on the road in New Orleans and they will have something to fight for, but on paper, this is a game that the Jazz should easily win if the Pels are going to be without Anthony Davis. There are three things the Jazz will have to do if they are going to extend their road win streak to 11 games.

Make the Pelicans play at your pace

Since DeMarcus Cousins suffered  a season ending Achilles injury, the New Orleans Pelicans have been an entirely different team. As dominant of a player as Cousins is, he forced the Pelicans to play the game slower. With him out of the lineup, they have played at the fastest pace in the NBA, and are scoring a league best 115 points per game.

This is the polar opposite of what the Jazz would like to do. Utah has routinely been one of the slower teams in regards to pace of play over the last few seasons, and are currently the fourth slowest team in the league. They prefer to get into the half-court, and run their motion offense.

Slowing the pace also allows the Jazz to establish a set defense, where they have been the best defense in the league since the return of Rudy Gobert in January.

Whether or not Anthony Davis plays during the Sunday night matchup, the Pelicans are going to look to push the ball up and down the floor. The Jazz will need to effectively find a way to force the Pelicans out of their normal style of play and into a battle of half-court basketball, which gives the Jazz a huge advantage.

Dominate the pain on both ends of the floor

With a healthy Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert, most nights the Utah Jazz are going to have the edge down low. With Cousins already out for the season and Anthony Davis likely out for the game on Sunday afternoon, the Jazz are going to have the clear advantage in the paint, and they need to take advantage.

Gobert has been especially dominant during this recent stretch in March. Prior to the matchup against Memphis, Gobert was averaging 21.5 points, 15 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and 1.5 steals.

Both Gobert and Favors have been equally dominant, if not more so, on the defensive side of the ball. Being able to play Favors as the primary backup center, has allowed for 48 minutes of effective paint protection.

This needs to be a game where Gobert and Favors make their presence felt from the starting tip. The Pelicans’ starting bigs are likely going to be Emeka Okafor and Nikola Mirotic. As long as the Jazz can win the matchup on the interior, I expect them to come out on top.

Keep Jrue Holiday in check

With so many injuries, the Pelicans really only have one player to worry about now, and that is Jrue Holiday. Outside of the first matchup in December, Holiday has been very effective against the Jazz this season. He is averaging 26 points, 5.5 rebounds and four assists in the last two outings. Utah won the last outing in early February, but Holiday gave them fits all game, and finished with 28 points.

Anthony Davis is not the only Pelican who has upped his game since the Demarcus Cousins Injury. Since Cousins went down, Holiday has raised his per game point and assist totals to 20.6 points and 7.2 assists. He is going to be their primary source of offense with Davis out as a scorer and a facilitator. The Jazz are going to need to keep Holiday in check as he looks to carry the offensive load for this team.

Jazz make it 6 in a row, and 11 straight on the road

I just can’t picture the Jazz dropping this one. With an injury depleted roster and Utah’s dominant defense, it is going to be hard for the Pelicans to score 90 points. There have been a few games this season where the Jazz have thrown up a dud on offense. As long as that does not happen on Sunday, they should win easily.

Here is the potential wrench to this prediction:

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If Anthony Davis were to play, obviously that will make this a much more difficult matchup. That being said, I’d still put money down on the Jazz. They’ve played this team well this season, and in the last meeting just a month ago, they defeated the Pelicans 133-109.