Jazz Win In Comeback Fashion Versus The 76ers; 100-83

Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images/ Brent Asay

While the 76ers were without Joel Embiid in this game, the Utah Jazz had something they hadn’t had since November 6th.  All five of their normal starter.  That’s right, after missing a month with a sprained toe George Hill was back for the Utah Jazz making it only the second game in 33 that they have played that they have had Hill, Rodney Hood, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, and Rudy Gobert all healthy.

The lead tracker from NBA.com paints a good picture of how this battle went as it was a much closer game than the final score of 100-83 really depicted.  The Jazz jumped out to an early lead that they held for a majority of the first quarter.  Unfortunately, they gave up that lead at the end of the first and the Jazz were fighting to get it back until the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Via NBA.com

The big men combinations of Jahil Okafor, Dario Saric, Nerlens Noel, and Ersan Ilyasova combined for 57 points and really hurt the Jazz for moments.  Ilyasova and Saric particularly were able to stretch out the defense with their shooting and cause some issues for the Jazz.

The 76ers are not as bad as they have been in the past and the Jazz needed big games from their best players to get the win.  The Jazz went into the fourth quarter facing a four-point deficit.  They clamped down on defense and turn in a 30-9 quarter and showed a veteran mentality that the 76ers did not have.

Hayward was a force on the offensive end scoring 20 points, getting to the free throw line five times, and handing out three assists.  It is still evident that Hayward is the focal point of opposing defenses efforts, but he is still having success on a nightly basis.  This was also a perfect example of his much-improved defense, as Robert Covington went 0-11 from the field.

Hood had a fantastic night shooting 7-11 from the field and scoring 20 points.  Though he struggled while fighting the flu the last couple games, this season he is becoming more and more consistent.  It also seems that Hood thrives playing with Hayward and Hill as he gets open shots and more space to work with the ball.

It was Hill’s first game back in a month and to the surprise of everyone, he didn’t show a sign of rust.  In every single way he could, Hill impacted this game.  It’s more and more apparent with each game he plays how crucial he is to the success of this team.

While it was not the blowout win in the fashion the Jazz may have wanted, they fought hard and got a win.  These starters still need to learn to play with each other and as they do they will get better.  The bench will also improve as they know what their role is going to be on a nightly basis.  Playoff teams, like the Jazz, find a way to beat teams even on nights where they come out really aggressive like the 76ers did.  This was a good win by the Jazz and hopefully the beginning of a nice run.

Three Major Takeaways

1. Jazz Are Getting Healthy

According to ManGamesLost.com, the Jazz have lost more VORP, or Value Over Replacement Player, to injuries than any other team in the NBA. The Jazz now have Hill back, Favors working his way towards more minutes, and Alec Burks reportedly very close to playing again.  The last game for the Jazz before All-Star weekend is February 15th, from there the Jazz will get eight full days of rest.  If they can stay healthy and win a nice chunk of games before All-Star weekend, they could use the rest to propel them to even more success after the break.

Via mangameslost.com

2. Mental Toughness

The mental toughness and veteran nature of this team continue to be astounding.  They have now won multiple games in the fourth quarter, which was a huge issue for them last year.  In this game, they seemed to look at each other at the start of the fourth quarter down four and said “okay, let’s win this”, and they proceeded to have a 30-9 quarter to win the game.

3. Trey Lyles

This season has not been the breakout season many of us had hoped for Lyles.  However, Lyles showed some of the best interior defense we have seen from him in this game as he contested multiple shots and stripped the ball away.  He finished this battle with one block and two steals, but he was a +22 in +/-.  Seeing this effort on defense was a positive sign as no one questions his talent offensively.

Game MVP

George Hill

21 Points, 8 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 3 Steals, 1 Block, +31, 8-10 FG, 2-2 3P

It cannot be stated enough how much better this team is with Hill.  Mack played hard while he was out, but Hill does everything back does exponentially better.  The things the team can do defensively with his length often go unstated because of how much success he has on the offensive side, but when he is in the game the defense thrives.  According to NBA.com, when Hill is on the court the Jazz have a defensive rating of 96.1, the best on the team.  When he is off the court that defensive rating skyrockets to 103.0.

Offensively Hill has been arguably the most consistent player for the Jazz as he has only scored under 18 points once in a game he has played.  Hill is a fantastic cutter that draws attention from the defense and gets other players open, which fits perfectly next to other playmaking wings like Hood and Hayward.  He makes every player on the court better because he either draws the defensive pressure away from them or sets them up with beautiful passes.

Dennis Lindsey really deserves a standing ovation for getting Hill in a trade this offseason, especially when you look at how poorly this rookie class has been so far.

Honestly, now that Hill’s back, it’s seems really remarkable that they were able to win so many games without him. Mack -14 tonight.

— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) December 30, 2016

Play Of The Game

???@rudygobert27 #NBAVote #PHIatUTA pic.twitter.com/easiHswAhx

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 30, 2016

Playoff Impact

FiveThirtyEight.com gave the Jazz a 91% chance to win the matchup with the 76ers and had them slotted for 50 wins.  This was a game the Jazz could not lose, and they didn’t.  After the game, FiveThirtyEight’s new projection had the Jazz at 51 wins.