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Key: Head for the Mountains
The Cavaliers and Jazz meet on Friday night as a pair of teams on different trajectories.
Despite a win over Los Angeles on Sunday night, the Wine & Gold have dropped 13 of their last 14 and come to Salt Lake City on the fifth game of a six-game road trip.
The Jazz have won five straight – topping their foes by an average of almost 13 points – and are beginning another four-game homestand after wrapping up a previous four-game homer.
On Wednesday night in Portland, the Cavaliers dropped their sixth straight meeting at the Moda Center – hanging on though the first 24 minutes before a big third-quarter push sent Cleveland packing – with the Blazers drilling 16 three-pointers and all five starters netting double-figures.
The Jazz are coming off a blowout win over the Clippers on Wednesday night in L.A., with Donovan Mitchell leading the way with 28 points.
Like Portland, Salt Lake City has always been a tough place for Cleveland to play – regardless of record. The Jazz have taken eight of the last nine against the Cavaliers here at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
The Jazz also handed this year’s squad a 26-point drubbing back on January 4 at The Q, getting eight double-digit scoring performances while holding the Wine & Gold to 39 percent shooting.
Key: Next (Big) Man Up
With Larry Nance Jr. is still rehabbing from a right knee injury and Tristan Thompson is on the shelf tonight after experiencing foot soreness, sophomore big man Ante Zizic gets the call on Friday night.
And he’ll have his large hands full – taking on the league’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert.
One of the league’s best shot-blockers, his numbers in that category have taken a slight dip, but he’s improved across the board in every other category in his sixth season with Utah. Gobert is currently tied for the league lead with 36 double-doubles and is coming off a 23-point, 22-rebound, four-block night in Utah’s recent win over the Clippers.
Gobert has doubled-up twice in his career against the Cavs, but had a relatively quiet night against Cleveland in the January 4 visit – finishing with 12 points and seven boards. He still finished with five swats – four more than the Wine & Gold tallied as a team.
Ante Zizic has had an up-and-down sophomore season, but has seen more action on the recent roadie, netting double-figures in three of the four games so far, averaging 11.0 points and 6.0 boards per despite going scoreless in Sunday’s win over the Lakers.
He’ll need to be at his best against his French counterpart on Friday night.
Key: Straight to the Point
The Jazz come into tonight’s game with their three point guards – Ricky Rubio, Dante Exum and Raul Neto – all on the shelf with injuries.
But it hasn’t slowed down Utah one bit – going with their young superstar, Donovan Mitchell, at the point. This transition has made the sophomore from Louisville more effective as a scorer – having now topped 25 points in seven straight games, tying a mark Karl Malone set back in 1998.
Mitchell has gone for 28 points in each of his last two outings and topped the 30-point mark in the previous three.
Mitchell didn’t have a big night against Cleveland earlier this month – finishing with 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting – but was deadly against the Cavs last year, averaging 27.5 points on 64 percent shooting in the two meetings.
Collin Sexton is coming off his 38th double-figure scoring performance of the season – tying him for second-most among all rookies – finishing with 11 points on 5-for-11 shooting on Wednesday night in Portland.
In a season filled with injuries, the Young Bull has been Cleveland’s iron man, appearing in all 45 games this year. The former Alabama star is the top free throw shooter (.866) in his class, ranking fourth in scoring (14.6 ppg) and tied for third in assists (2.8 apg).
Key: Jazz Hands
Friday’s matchup is somewhat of a homecoming for a pair of Cavaliers – Rodney Hood and Alec Burks. It’s also the second time Kyle Korver will face his former squad in less than a month.
Hood, who arrived at the Trade Deadline last February, has tallied double-figures in 28 games so far this season, six of those topping the 20-point plateau – including Wednesday’s loss in Portland, finishing with 20 points, four boards and a pair of assists.
Over his last two games, the former Duke standout is averaging 19.0 points per.
Alec Burks, who was dealt for Korver back in late November, has been very good with the Wine & Gold – averaging 14.1 points per over his last 10 games, netting at least 17 points in six of them before struggling on Wednesday night against Portland.
Burks, who spent most of his first eight years in the league with Utah, notched one of those 17-point performances against his old squad back on January 4 at The Q – going 6-of-13 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Key: Bench Trial
The Cavaliers bench has done much of the heavy lifting offensively this season – and that’s been the case through most of their recent road trip.
Cleveland’s second unit is averaging 53.5 points per through the first four games, and that includes a 14-point combined effort against the Lakers.
In Wednesday’s loss in Portland, the reserves tallied 66 points and have already gone for 59 against the Rockets and 75 in the trip opener against New Orleans. Cleveland’s second unit has now registered 50-plus points in 16 games and 60-plus in four more.
The group currently ranks fourth in NBA with a 44.1 average.
The guy that’s led the way for most of the season is the squad’s top scorer, Jordan Clarkson, who’s coming off a team-high 22-point showing on Wednesday night – going 9-for-17 from the floor with three assists. That effort was Clarkson’s 15th game of 20-plus points, and over his last 17 games the fifth-year man from Mizzou is averaging 18.8 points per.
Cameron Payne, who inked his second 10-day contract with Cleveland earlier this week, finished with 12 points against Portland, his third double-digit scoring performance since joining the Cavs.
Jaron Blossomgame finished with eight points in Wednesday’s loss, but led the Wine & Gold with 10 boards, his third double-digit rebounding performance since joining the squad.