NBA Match Preview: Utah Jazz vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Having met in the last week of last month, the Utah Jazz and Milwaukee Bucks prepare for their second meeting of the season tonight. The Bucks host the Jazz at the Bradley Center.
Standing at a win loss mark of 18-9 for the season, the Jazz’s recent performance on the road has been somewhat disappointing. Looking to avoid their third straight loss on the road, the Jazz visit the Bucks tonight. Jazz’s road
record for the season starts at an acceptable 7-4 so far.
Having played only two matches in the week so far, the Jazz are standing at a level 1-1 mark for the week. Their recent loss on the road came last night when they visited the New Orleans Hornets. In their worst performance of the
season so far, the Jazz lost to the Hornets by a margin of twenty-nine points with the scoreboard showing 71-100.
Friday was a bad day for the Jazz indeed. Although they played their star centre Mehmet Okur, he only played for ten minutes registering two points with one rebound. Okur returned to the court for his first game after rupturing
his Achilles’ tendon in last season’s playoff. Similarly, Deron Williams made only 4 of 12 shots with only 10 points in the game. Williams has averaged 32.0 points with 29 of 55 shooting in his previous three games.
Talking about the game Okur said, “It could have been better, but I'll take it because it's the first game. We just have to work harder and move on. This is one of those games that nothing went right for us from the start.”
The Bucks on the other hand are looking to extend their two game winning streak at the Bradley Centre tonight. The Bucks defeated the Indiana Pacers (97-95) on 8th Dec and then the Houston Rockets (97-91) on 10th Dec
to enjoy their longest winning streak of the season.
Coming back from a two game road trip this week, the Bucks are sporting a level 1-1 for the mark. Defeating the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, the Bucks lost to the conference toppers, the San Antonio Spurs to stand at an embarrassing
3-9 on the road.
The Bucks home record, however, shows much promise. Sporting a 7-5 at the Bradley Centre, the Bucks truly capitalize on their home court advantage. Betting on this the Bucks might just send the Jazz packing tonight.
However, with the Jazz leading the head to head by 1-0, they truly enjoy the psychological c*m statistical advantage over the Bucks. The Jazz are however much wise in not underestimating their opponents.
Jazz’s power forward, Al Jefferson said, "(Milwaukee is) a great team. When they're healthy, they'll be really good. That coach (Scott Skiles) makes every team he ever coached play hard." Jefferson recorded 22
points with 11 rebounds against the Bucks last month.
Will the Bucks succeed in levelling the head to head or will the Jazz go 2-0 for the season tonight? Only tonight’s result will tell.
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