NBA Matchups: December 20

Utah Jazz at Cleveland Cavaliers

Team Totals: Jazz 111, Cavs 118.5

Injury Report: Omer Yurtseven (O, illness)

Jazz projected starters: Talen Horton-Tucker, Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, Walker Kessler

Cavs projected starters: Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, Jarrett Allen

Hardy quotes: Said they are trying to keep Sexton off the ball and as a second-side scorer, said THT and Sexton “argue like brothers when they’re on the bench”.

Bickerstaff quotes: Said Sam Merrill showed guts, grit, and that he was always ready to go, said he liked the small-ball lineup despite some rebounding issues, said he wanted more shooting with Merrill because Merrill moved so well off the ball, said Jarrett Allen got smacked in the face and that was it.

Stats and Notes: 

*The Jazz continue to be one of the best teams to attack on defense with their league-worst transition defense and their worst PNR handler PPP. They did play one of their better defensive games on Monday, and the Nets weren’t really able to generate much interior scoring. In certain spots over the course of 2023, We’ve seen this Jazz team protect the rim OK, and going back to Kessler in the first unit could make them OK around the basket. Still, the perimeter players from the Cavs should handle their business. The Cavs did give up 130 to the Rockets, but overtime was a big factor and overall they’ve still been able to protect the basket even without Evan Mobley — a 127.5 D rating is bad, though. The Cavs have been one of the best defenses against PNR handlers, but that has been a little worse lately. I’d expect the Cavs to be a tough matchup with the team they are rolling with right now.

*Collin Sexton is turning it up right now with a mix of spot-up shooting, driving, and rim pressure. His on-ball role hasn’t been there to take away some of the assisting, but getting to 16 drives with 12.5 points off those will overshadow his touch time. He also made his touches count with 12 potential assists on Monday. He gets a revenge game, but the matchup isn’t great even without Mobley. I’d still expect him to perform well in this spot.

*Lauri Markkanen also gets a revenge game, and he’s likely going to run into some tougher matchups in Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade. Markkanen still looks to be on a limit and hasn’t hit 30 minutes since returning from his hammy. The Jazz are on a B2B and will probably just sit Lauri tomorrow, but that’s another layer of risk for him.

*Talen Horton-Tucker took on a huge handling role in his start on Monday with 17 drives, 6.9 minutes of touch time, and 11 potential assists. The Cavs are unlikely to use one of their main perimeter defenders on him, but he will have to deal with Jarrett Allen for his rim finishing. Still, the role is enough to take some shots on THT.

*Walker Kessler gets a tough matchup here against Jarrett Allen, so this isn’t the spot for him. The same for John Collins, who may still be on a minutes limit after missing 1.5 weeks for an illness.

*Donovan Mitchell gets a huge spot here. He did ding up his shoulder on Monday, but he’s not on the injury report. The Jazz are the worst transition defense in the NBA, and Mitchell ranks second in the NBA for transition scoring per game (SGA). He’s also 10th in PNR handler points on the year, and that should go up even more with Garland out.

*Jarrett Allen’s matchup is not great with the Jazz having most of their size out there. His role should be excellent as the main screener with so many low-usage players.

*Max Strus should be asked to up his creation in this offense, and he’s seen 40 frontcourt touches per game in the last two. The Jazz will likely put a weaker defender on him to help him out, and the minutes should be there. The matchup is a little better for Caris LeVert despite losing some minutes to Sam Merrill. LeVert’s slashing style should be in a great spot, so he could benefit if the Jazz did load up on Donny.

Great matchups: Donovan Mitchell

Good matchups: Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, Lauri Marrkanen

Bad matchups: Walker Kessler

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Charlotte Hornets at Indiana Pacers