Utah Jazz-Hornets Preview: Jazz aim to string together a win streak

The Utah Jazz will have their hands full as they aim to earn a second straight victory when they head to Charlotte to take on Kemba Walker and Co.

It’s been tough sledding for the Utah Jazz so far this season as they find themselves a pair of games below .500 at the season’s quarter mark. Not only is their record disappointing, but the way some of those losses have come has been even more disheartening. Between blowout defeats and putrid efforts, there have been some ugly contests for Utah.

However, in the fourth quarter of their most recent win, the Utah Jazz seemed to get some of their mojo back. Donovan Mitchell was dominant in the final period against the Brooklyn Nets. Rudy Gobert returned to DPOY form while having a nice performance on offense as well.

The icing on the cake was Utah’s bench coming through as both Raul Neto, who has been largely injured, and Royce O’Neale, who has largely under-performed, both had great games.

With such being the case, the Jazz will look to ride that momentum into their upcoming game against the Charlotte Hornets where they’ll aim to put together a bit of a winning streak. However, they’ll be in for a much tougher task in Buzz City than they were in Brooklyn on Wednesday night.

Not only do the Hornets currently boast a winning record of 11-10, good for sixth in the Eastern Conference, but they also have one of the league’s most prolific point guards in Kemba Walker, who looks nothing short of a superstar so far this season. He has lit up opposing teams to the tune of 27.4 points per game on 44.3 percent shooting from the field and 37.8 percent from deep to go along with 6.3 assists.

From clutch heaves from deep to incredible finishes at the rim, Kemba has been electric this season and is absolutely responsible for Charlotte’s solid start. Considering that Utah has struggled mightily against opposing point guards this season, Walker will likely be even more of a threat. The likes of Ricky Rubio, Dante Exum and Raul Neto will surely have their work cut out for them as they aim to hold him in check.

That’s even more true considering the success Kemba seems to have against the Jazz, and how poorly Utah has played in Charlotte in recent seasons. They Jazz haven’t won a game there since the 2013-14 season when the team was still named the Bobcats. Kemba had great games in nearly all those contests, most notably with a 52-point outpouring back in 2016.

The Hornets’ struggles have largely come because Walker doesn’t have a ton of help around him, but guys like Jeremy Lamb and Malik Monk are constantly improving as new coach James Borrego continues to do a great job with his squad. Utah will need to be much more buttoned up than they were even in the win in Brooklyn if they hope to overcome a good Charlotte team and make it two straight victories.

One exciting aspect of the game is that the newly acquired Kyle Korver should be making his Jazz debut. That’s the team’s goal, so long as both players involved in the trade can pass their physicals to solidify the trade. Considering that both are healthy, one would assume there would be no setbacks there.

If Kyle is able to play, we could instantly see the kind of impact he’ll have on this Jazz offense. Sure, he’ll need to familiarize himself with Quin Snyder’s sets and get used to his new teammates before he’ll truly be as effective as he can be, but adding a shooter of his caliber should instantly make the Jazz more dangerous.

At a minimum, it will improve their space dramatically and provide Mitchell and Co. with more opportunity to drive to the rack. Unfortunately for the Jazz, who have been one of the NBA’s worst 3-point shooting teams this season, the Hornets have been among the best in the league at defending the 3-point line. With those two opposites colliding, it will be interesting to see how much, if at all, Korver can cause a deviation from the norm.

This is going to be a battle. Between a nearly impossible cover in Kemba Walker, a history of struggles in Charlotte and a team that has under-performed and may be aiming to work Korver into their rotation, the Jazz will have their hands full. As such, I’m not convinced that this is a contest in which Utah will quite be able to come out on top. I imagine it will be a close one, and will very likely depend on how much help Kemba gets from the rest of his roster, but I’m picking Charlotte to win in a close one.

Prediction: Hornets 102, Jazz 97

The Utah Jazz and Charlotte Hornets will tip-off on Friday at 5:00 PM MT. The Jazz have one road game remaining on their current trip after this one before returning home for a two-game stint.