Knicks, Heat, Mavericks, Sixers and Bucks. We are not talking about title candidates here, but about teams beaten by the Jazz since one month. Authors of a failed start (7-16), the Utah players have since recovered brilliantly and here they are victorious in… eleven of their last fifteen meetings!
Tested and now at the gates of the Top 10 in the West, Utah (18-20) has clearly gained momentum in recent weeks and, quite surprisingly, it is away that the teammates of Lauri Markkanen have found the right tempo, with six victories in nine matches since December 13.
“ It's good to go on the road and come together collectively » judge thus the Finn, who flirts with 24 points and 9 rebounds on average this season. “ There are no fans behind us and there is only what we have in the dressing room. It’s easier to gather on the road. We didn't get many wins early in the season, but I think it's starting to come. »
Making progress outside
Better: the Jazz's last two away successes actually took place in Philadelphia and Milwaukee. In other words, two of the best franchises in the league!
“ These victories demonstrate that we can compete with the best » believes in this regard Collin Sexton, who has averaged 21.2 points since becoming a starter. “ We can compete with anyone, regardless of our record and regardless of the opponent's. »
A speech which is close to that of Kris Dunnrelaunched by Utah for a year and who are enjoying the team's recent performances.
“ I like to call it 'swag' and our 'swag' is a little high right now » confirms the leader, who is now also the holder and who blends in wonderfully with the Mormon collective. “ We continue to do the right things. We have a lot of talent on the team and if we move the ball and defend hard then good things can happen and that's what we showed during our three game road trip. »
Maintain confidence to climb the rankings
Confidence therefore continues to grow in the Jazz locker room and, for Will Hardythe local technician, his group is going in the right direction with so many big victories scored far from Salt Lake City…
“ It's a great way to build confidence and understand that when we play together as a team, we are capable of beating good away teams. » rightly considers the coach of the franchise. “ At the start of the season, we had two questions. The first: can we be a good team? The second: can we win away? Beating two good teams on the road, but also the success we have had away from home in recent weeks, is important for the team's confidence. »
With now a series of six games at home, before leaving on the road, Utah has every interest in capitalizing on its good momentum at the moment in order to continue to get closer to the play-in. And thus become one of those scratchy teams in the Western Conference again.
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Lauri Markkanen | 28 | 32.6 | 48.9 | 38.6 | 85.5 | 2.5 | 6.2 | 8.6 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 23.5 |
| Jordan Clarkson | 28 | 29.9 | 40.8 | 29.9 | 88.3 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 5.2 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 17.4 |
| Collin Sexton | 38 | 23.6 | 47.6 | 34.3 | 88.5 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 16.0 |
| John Collins | 34 | 28.4 | 49.3 | 37.3 | 76.5 | 2.1 | 5.6 | 7.7 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 14.0 |
| Talen Horton Tucker | 30 | 22.0 | 41.1 | 33.3 | 78.7 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 4.2 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 11.0 |
| Keyonte George | 32 | 25.1 | 37.1 | 33.3 | 79.3 | 0.4 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 11.0 |
| Simone Fontecchio | 36 | 22.5 | 45.3 | 39.3 | 77.1 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 9.1 |
| Walker Kessler | 30 | 24.4 | 63.2 | 25.0 | 53.8 | 2.7 | 5.2 | 7.9 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 8.8 |
| Kelly Olynyk | 36 | 21.3 | 55.9 | 42.4 | 87.7 | 1.4 | 3.8 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 2.8 | 8.1 |
| Ochai Agbaji | 38 | 20.5 | 44.9 | 34.2 | 73.3 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 6.2 |
| Taylor Hendricks | 11 | 15.9 | 38.2 | 31.3 | 75.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 5.3 |
| Kris Dunn | 30 | 17.1 | 44.5 | 35.7 | 68.8 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 4.9 |
| Omer Yurtseven | 21 | 11.7 | 47.9 | 20.0 | 60.0 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 3.8 |
| Luka Samanic | 16 | 6.8 | 37.7 | 25.0 | 88.9 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 3.3 |
| Mike Potter | 2 | 3.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Brice Sensabaugh | 2 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Johnny Juzang | 1 | 4.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
