Charlotte @ Utah - 12/30/13 - 9pm ET

[mrknowitall215]

@

Bobcats at Jazz

9 p.m., EnergySolutions Arena

TV: SportSouth. Radio: WFNZ-AM 610

Matchup to Watch

Gordon Hayward vs. Gerald Henderson: Hayward is emerging as somewhat of a star. He’s already had games this season of 30 and 29 points. Henderson will be a busy guy guarding him.

Observations

The home loss to the Jazz feels like one of those games the Bobcats might really regret if they fall to make the playoffs.

Ex-Jazz player Al Jefferson scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in that first game against Utah since Jefferson signed with the Bobcats. Enes Kanter particularly struggled to guard Jefferson.

Jazz coach Ty Corbin acknowledged before that game Bobcats coach Steve Clifford had devised better defensive schemes to put Jefferson in situations where he could succeed at that end of the floor.

This is the first true Western road trip of the season. It gets much tougher after this with games against the Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers.

Tap-ins

Utah is the second-worst defensive rebounding team in the NBA.

Jazz opponents are shooting 47 percent from the field, second-highest in the league.

Utah’s Trey Burke’s scoring average – 13.4 ppg – is second only to the 76ers’ Michael Carter-Williams among rookies.

Did you know?

Hayward is on a pace to finish this season averaging more than 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. Why is that significant? Because only other Jazz player to do that was Hall of Famer Pete Maravich.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/1 ... sCk4NJDsrV

SCOUTING THE JAZZ

In the month of December, the Jazz is ranked seventh in the NBA for three-point percentage, making 80-of-207 for 38.6% (entering 12/23)… In the month of December, the Jazz have shot 81.6% (177-217) from the charity stripe, ranking fourth in the NBA for free throw percentage during that period (entering 12/23)… In the past ten games, the Jazz bench has contributed the ninth most scoring points in the league with an average of 35.6 points per game and third in bench rebounding with 18.4 rebounds per game, entering 12/23… Coming off a career-high 31 point performance against the NBA’s two-time defending champion Miami Heat on 12/16/13, Alec Burks has scored in double figures in 12 of his past 14 games and currently ranks as the NBA’s fifth-highest bench scorer for the season… Through 30 games in 2013-14, Gordon Hayward is putting up 16.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists this season and could become just the second Jazz player ever to average 16-plus points, 5-plus rebounds and 5-plus assists in a season. The lone other Jazzmen to accomplish that feat: Hall of Famer Pete Maravich.

KEY MATCHUP vs. JAZZ: Kemba Walker vs. Trey Burke

Kemba Walker and rookie Trey Burke went toe-to-toe on Dec. 21 at Time Warner Cable Arena, as the two young point guards matched each other with 20 points apiece in the Jazz’s 88-85 victory. Walker is currently playing some of the best basketball of his young career after scoring 25 points on Dec. 23 against Milwaukee, recording his sixth-consecutive game with 20 points or more. The six-game streak is the longest of his career, tied for the third-longest in franchise history and tied for the fourth-longest current streak in the NBA. During the six- game stretch, Walker is averaging 26.0 points, while shooting .586 from the field (58-for-99), .500 from beyond the three-point line (14-for-28) and .813 from the free-throw line (26-for-32)… Burke is averaging 13.2 points, 4.9 assists and 3.5 assists in his rookie season and tallied 30 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in the Jazz’s 86-82 victory over Orlando on Dec. 18. The 21-year-old is the first NBA rookie to record at least 30 points, seven rebounds and eight assists since Blake Griffin had 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Clippers against Memphis on 4/13/11. His 30 points are the most by any rookie this season.

http://www.nba.com/bobcats/news/preview ... s-and-jazz

[fatlever]

your winning streak is on the line mrknowitall.

good luck charms brought to you by blonde utah girls.

[JDR720]

this should be a win....but its the bobcats so who knows

[HornetJail]

this should be a win....but its the bobcats so who knows

I'm pretty sure someone said the exact same thing the last time we played [insert team here].

[Elden Payton]

Time to make amends for the shambles that was the last time we met.

[hotrod]

Revenge for the Buzz City night loss!

[lmcguir5]

We should have won that game. We had the momentum probably 3 times down the last 7 minutes of the game, and each time Trey Burke hit some stupid shots to kill the momo. We need a good win to rebound from the past two debacles, and get our team morale back up.

[mrknowitall215]

Game #32: Bobcats @ Jazz 3-on-3 Preview w/ Salt City Hoops

1- REVENGE? Utah spoiled the party last Saturday night when the team unveiled the new Hornets logo, as they won in Charlotte. Now Al Jefferson makes his first appearance back in Utah since signing with Charlotte this summer. Predict Big Al’s night.

Spencer: Favors and Kanter are a load around the basket. Jefferson definitely had a difficult time getting close to the rim against the two last Saturday night and I could see that being an issue again tonight. Best way to negate that – get to the foul line and get one of these mammoths on the bench with foul trouble. All that being said, I just get a feeling that Big Al is going off tonight — 25 points + 13 rebounds.

Greg: Jefferson’s been on a hot streak over the last few weeks; he’s averaging 22.2 points and 13.2 rebounds on 49.2 percent shooting in the last six games. The Jazz are actually a good matchup for him, too, as they allow the second-most shots in the restricted area despite playing at one of the slowest paces in the league. He should be able to take advantage inside.

Andy Larsen (SaltCityHoops.com): Big Al’s game is one of the most consistent, from night to night, of any player in the NBA: he generally demands the same approximate number of shots, and the shots he takes aren’t usually ones the defense alters anyway. So while this is boring, I’m predicting the same 8-18 game for 19 points and 11 rebounds that he’s averaged this season and essentially his entire career on a per 36 basis. The matchup with his former team last weekend shows that Utah’s defense doesn’t present anything unusual for Al: he shot 9-19 with 19 points and 11 rebounds. I doubt this game varies wildly.

2- IMPROVEMENT. After a disastrous start to the season, the Jazz have been respectable as of late going 5-5 in their past 10 games. What’s been the biggest difference for this team seemingly turning a small corner?

Spencer: Improved shooting from deep + taking care of the basketball. The Jazz have been averaging 8 3-pointers/game over the past 10 games opposed to 6.3 for the entire season. Also, Utah is valuing the ball more – they’ve only turned it over 13.2 times/game in the past 10, but 15.5/game over the entire season.

Greg: Trey Burke. Burke’s been playing for 21 games now, so he’s not the only reason, but the team seems to go as he goes. He’s averaging 17.5 points on 57.1 percent true shooting in wins, and 10.9 points on 43.6 percent true shooting in losses.

Andy: Getting healthy. The entire Jazz roster is healthy (incredibly unusal for an NBA team this late in the year!), which has allowed Ty Corbin to stop giving huge minutes to very fringe NBA players as they were at the beginning of the season. Trey Burke has been the main upgrade, and has surpassed early expectations after a very poor summer league and preseason performance. Before Burke’s return from a broken finger, the likes of Jamaal Tinsley, John Lucas III, and Diante Garrett were getting starters minutes at PG. The return of Marvin Williams has been big as well, he’s a considerable improvement over Mike Harris and is providing spacing as a starting stretch 4. The result is a Jazz team with a capable (league average) offense and still horrendous defense.

3- PICK IT. This is a game that the Bobcats absolutely have to win after the gut-wrenching loss in Atlanta Saturday night and 3 games left on this road trip. Who ya got?

Spencer: Unlike Charlotte teams of recent memory, this one has a purpose. They believe they can win any given night and have a coach who will accept nothing less than maximum effort. This locker knows that they’ve been extremely close all season long to turning a serious corner as far as contending is concerned. Utah ruined the last Saturday night for Charlotte and their energized fan-base, and then add Jefferson’s first trip back to Utah on top of that – I think the Bobcats win.

Greg: Utah’s a tough place to play even when the Jazz are bad. They’re a pedestrian 3-5 there so far, but the losses have come against good teams, including Indianapolis, Portland, San Antonio and Phoenix. With the Bobcats banged up and seemingly slumping, I think the Jazz take tonight’s game.

Andy: The Bobcats. Ultimately, I suspect Steve Clifford’s defense will again hold the Jazz to low scoring totals (88 last game on just 38% shooting). This game, I’m predicting Charlotte scores more than 85.

http://queencityhoops.com/blog/2013/12/ ... ity-hoops/

[JDR720]

wonder how the Utah fans will react to Al

[Hugo The Hornet]

Not easy game. Utah has good shooters from the 3-points line, last game against them, they defeat us after many defense errors. Favors and Kanter are very good players in the paint. I hope "Big Al" and McRoberts will stop them.

[mrknowitall215]

I've come to the realization that there's no such thing as a easy game with this Charlotte Bobcats team due to the fact that they are so limited offensively. Even when they do shoot well, other teams are allowed to stay close simply by just making more 3-pointers

[mrknowitall215]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/BobcatsMartin/status/417770202114187264[/tweet]

Feed Al Jefferson, and I'm not talking about food

[freakon0mics]

Not easy game. Utah has good shooters from the 3-points line, last game against them, they defeat us after many defense errors. Favors and Kanter are very good players in the paint. I hope "Big Al" and McRoberts will stop them.

They have shooters but the Jazz as a unit hasn't been making threes as much as you think. They are ranked in the bottom 5 teams in the league in 3 pointers made, with us at the bottom. I don't see them having a 3 point scoring run like how Atlanta did against us. They made 10 on us the last game but we kept it real close.

That being said, they are still a team that can still beat us. They started out 3-15 in November but in this month they manage to have a 6-9 record. Getting Trey Burke back and healthy was key for them. They are a much better team when he plays well. The defense on him and guarding the three point line is key to beating this team.

[Elden Payton]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/BobcatsMartin/status/417770202114187264[/tweet]

Feed Al Jefferson, and I'm not talking about food

Al doesn't need anymore food

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

I've come to the realization that there's no such thing as a easy game with this Charlotte Bobcats team due to the fact that they are so limited offensively. Even when they do shoot well, other teams are allowed to stay close simply by just making more 3-pointers

Truth.

[Elden Payton]

wonder how the Utah fans will react to Al

I really hope that he gets the reception he deserves!

He served that franchise well.

[Diop]

forgot our good luck charms

Spoiler:

[Elden Payton]

forgot our good luck charms

Spoiler:

You'd convert.

[Diop]

we have a 19 year old kid at our work who is Mormon who was dumped by his fiance and we were worried about him.

Then I kept seeing photo's of him at these Mormon get togethers and he was always surrounded by hot girls.

Realised there was nothing to worry about and sorta wished I was raised Mormon

[JDuaneWayne]

forgot our good luck charms

Spoiler:

I had that posted and the link was giving me an error so I erased it. I'd take 20 more of her tho