JARRETT ALLEN VS. RUDY GOBERT – One of the most unique C’s in the game, Rudy makes the Jazz tick with his smothering paint defense and vertical spacing. Allen won’t be giving up a ton of strength as on other nights, but he also tends to get his shot blocked (or get gun-shy) on the rare occasion that he faces superior length. I’m going with the All-Star here, while hoping Jarrett holds him in check enough that the Stifle Tower doesn’t neutralize our guards.
TAUREAN PRINCE VS. ROYCE O’NEALE – Like Nicolas Cage and John Travolta, these Baylor alums will face off. Royce is short, stocky, efficient and a defensive ace. Taurean… is… not quite those things. Still, I feel he can have a bigger impact and swing this matchup in his favor by remaining offensively aggressive, and not letting O’Neale camp out in the short corner.
JOE HARRIS VS. BOJAN BOGDANOVIC – Another face-off! Sniper projects of the past and present Nets regime go head to head, and I think that Bojan has a sizable advantage, no pun intended. He’s taller, longer and stronger, but also just has a more diverse skill set and is a positive on both ends of the floor. Joe, do your best.
GARRETT TEMPLE VS. DONOVAN MITCHELL – Ruh roh. Mitchell continues to trend up in his 3rd season, and is almost impossible to stay in front of defensively. Caris is out, and I expect Temple to get the assignment with his defense and playmaking ability. We take an L here, but my *hope* is that Garrett can hit a few 3’s, stay out of foul trouble and at least slow down the Donovan freight train.
KYRIE IRVING VS. MIKE CONLEY – By the first 10 games of the season, this SHOULD be a big win for the Nets, perhaps the most decisive H2H for either team in the game. Mike has struggled to find his form on a new team, while Kyrie has lit Brooklyn on fire in his seamless transition. As Ralph Fiennes put it:
We know that over the course of their careers, Conley and Irving are much closer peers than their 19-20 seasons thus far would indicate. Also, Mike is coming off of his best performance of the young campaign, while Kyrie is following up his worst. Context is everything. I fear a get-right game is overdue for the Utah PG, and our team defense is looking like the league’s jump-off right about now. Meanwhile, the Jazz are a vice-grip of collective D, and KI may force some offense under the weight of carrying us this entire game.
Our bench is tough to read from game to game, but I feel we match up well with them. Joe Ingles is now their 6th man, and can impact the game positively in a number of ways. The trouble is, they don’t have a whole lot else going for them. If Spencer can continue his run of form, and DJ stays motivated by the spectre of Claxton taking his spot in the rotation, I say we win the 2nd unit battle.
Quin has adapted well to the NBA game, after languishing in college and cutting his teeth in the G league. Kenny comes from similarly humble beginnings, and neither are fond of in-game adjustments. This one is too close to call; I think that the bigger gambler wins this duel. Unfortunately, this game doesn’t really hinge on the coaching battle either way.
PREDICTION: NETS 108, JAZZ 140
