What to watch for: Utah Jazz vs Miami Heat
Royce O'Neale (23) guards Jimmy Butler (22)
The Utah Jazz broke their franchise record for best start to a season Friday night, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 129-115. The league leading Jazz will welcome the Miami Heat to town on Saturday night, in hopes to extend their six-game winning streak.
Jazz vs Heat Throwback:
In the 66-games these two teams have matched-up, the Jazz hold the upper-hand 37-29. In the last two-seasons, these two squads have split the series one game apiece.
Only a month before Covid-19 put a stop to play during the 2020 season, the Jazz beat the Heat 116-101 in Salt Lake City. During the game, the Jazz had three players score north of 20-points with Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Jordan Clarkson dropping 26, 22, and 21-points respectively. Joe Ingles also led the team with nine assists.
Key Players:
Keep your eyes out for Donovan Mitchell and Jimmy Butler to play big roles for their respective teams on Saturday night.
Mitchell leads the Jazz with 24.1 points per game and is currently second behind Mike Conley in assists with 5.2 per game. His passing has been key recently. Last night, after receiving a behind-the-back pass from Bogdanovic, Mitchell’s Houdini toss cross-court to Ingles was one of the main highlights of the game. Watch for Mitchell to make crucial decisions and lead the way for the Jazz, whether those decisions show up on the stat sheet or not.
Butler leads the Heat in assists and steals per game, with 7.1 and 1.8 respectively. He also ranks second on the team in points with 19.5 per game and rebounds with 7.2 per game. Butler’s playmaking ability as a forward is exceptional. Keep your eyes out for him to make clutch shots and find key passes during tonight’s matchup.
Fun Facts:
For the first time since February 5, the Jazz will wear something other than their home-white uniforms. Tonight, against Miami, they will break out their new “Dark-Mode” City Uniforms. This will be the sixth time the Jazz have worn these jerseys this year. Utah currently holds a 3-2 record while wearing these uniforms with wins over the Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Conley has been ruled out for tonights game against the Heat, and Georges Niang is listed as day-to-day on the Jazz Injury report.
The Jazz 21-5 record is still king in the NBA, and with that record, also comes a new king in franchise history. The 2020-2021 Jazz (21-5) have officially moved passed the 1996-1997 Jazz (20-6) after their win Friday night against the Milwaukee Bucks. They currently hold a half-game lead over the Lakers in the west, while also holding a two and a half game lead over the 76ers in the east. Utah is currently riding a six-game winning streak and are 17-1 in their last eighteen games.
Friday night, the Jazz also broke another record with four players scoring above 25-points in a game. Ingles and Rudy Gobert led the sharp-shooting with 27-points each, while Mitchell and Clarkson chipped in 26, and 25 points of their own to break the record.
The Miami Heat are currently on a four-game winning streak and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. Their most recent win came against the Houston Rockets on Thursday night, where they won 101-94.
NBA All-Star Voting ends next Tuesday. As of Friday morning, Donovan Mitchell is the only Utah Jazz player within the All-Star Game leading vote getter's. You can vote for your favorite Jazz players by filling out a ballot on NBA.com, or by using Twitter. Also, on Saturday your one tweet or ballot counts as two votes for your favorite Jazz players. So vote away, and let’s see some representation from Utah in the NBA All-Star Game.
How to Consume:
The Utah Jazz and Miami Heat will face-off at 7PM in Vivint Smart Home Arena. The game will be televised on AT&T Sportsnet as well as NBA League Pass. Jazz listeners can also tune into David Locke and Ron Boone’s radio broadcast on 1280 The Zone or 97.5 FM.
Jordan Clarkson (00) takes on Bam Adebayo (13)
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