Jazz vs. Hawks NBA Preview and Best Bet (Archive)
Utah Jazz and the Atlanta Hawks face off in a Thursday night marquee matchup. Which team should you wager on to make the right NBA pick? Let’s see the NBA odds.
Utah Jazz vs. Atlanta Hawks
Thursday, November 4, 201 – 7:30 PM EDT at State Farm Arena
Utah Jazz
By all metrics, the Jazz is off to a great start this season. They are 6-1, 7th in scoring, 4th in defense, and have a net rating of 11.9. Other than a flat performance against the Chicago Bulls, sandwiched in a road trip on Halloween weekend, the Jazz has been one of the best teams in the NBA this season.
The Jazz defense is anchored by Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, who is averaging an astonishing 17.6 rebounds per game. Donovan Mitchell carries the load on offense averaging 25 points per game and 5 assists. The Jazz has a deep bench roster. This team has been together for a couple of years and the team shows both continuity and fluidity.
Mike Conley is an integral part of this team. Conley dropped 30 points in the win over the Kings on Tuesday night. He is doing a great job of controlling the tempo and feeding the other Jazz players when needed. He also knows when to just let Donovan Mitchell go to work and to feed Mitchell repeatedly when he has the hot hand.
Conley also did excellent work on the defensive end, shutting down Kings star point guard De’Aaron Fox. Fox is 9 of 34 in two games against the Jazz with Conley being tasked as his primary defender.
The Jazz can do it all. They play excellent defense. They are three-point marksmen. They can generate good looks in almost any half-court set. With the West looking more open than in previous years, this could be the year the Jazz finally step up and make the NBA Finals.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks can dream of an NBA Finals appearance as well. While they fell short last season in the Eastern Conference Finals to the eventual Champion Milwaukee Bucks, they are back with another year of experience and development for this talented young roster.
The Hawks look to grow on this success, and similar to the Jazz, have a deep roster with a dynamic playmaker. The defense is anchored by Clint Capela, a shot-blocking center that provides excellent rim protection. Hawks GM Travis Schlenk came from the Golden State Warriors. At first, it looked like he was assembling “Warriors Lite” with Trae Young playing the role of Steph Curry, and Kevin Huerter stepping in as Klay Thompson.
Now I believe this Hawks team resembles the Jazz more than the Warriors. They have a deep roster that can all defend and shoot threes. They’re anchored by a strong defensive Center. They have a dynamic playmaker to get things done in the half-court. This game will be fascinating to see two very similar teams try to outdo each other playing the same brand of basketball.
The Hawks only have a 1.3 net rating, but we have yet to see this team at full strength. Coming off a long offseason run postseason run, this team has been banged up to start the season. Bogdan Bogdanovic, John Collins, and Trae Young are all game-time decisions.
While I think these players all play, they are not a hundred percent and they are gritting through it to try and get their season off to a strong start. The Hawks have looked good so far, but keep in mind, this is not the fully realized potential of this team.
Key Matchup
Donovan Mitchell vs Trae Young. I do not think these players will be directly guarding each other, but they will be dueling each other towards the end of the game. This game will be decided by these 2 young dynamic playmakers. Who will get to the rim or knock down a crucial 3-point shot? Both players will rely on their supporting cast most of the game, but as the minutes wind down, they both will take over their team’s offense.
Whichever player is able to be more efficient and effective in these crunch-time possessions when the game is close will end up on the winning end. This is a battle between two emerging superstars. Whoever can find their mark at the end of the game will end up the victor.
Best Bet
The Jazz is the better team at this point in the season. This team is in great form and is gunning for that number one seed in the West. Atlanta is still figuring some things out and not playing to their full potential. Even on the road, we will take the team in better form. Today’s best bet is the Utah Jazz
NBA Pick: Utah Jazz -1 (-110) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
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