3 Utah Jazz Players to Watch in NBA Cup Opener vs. Mavericks

The Utah Jazz have their first NBA Cup game of the new season on the horizon against the Dallas Mavericks for Friday night.

And there's no doubt that the Jazz will be hungry for a victory in this one. Not only will Utah want to start their NBA Cup slate on a positive note, but more importantly, this group is certainly desperate to climb out of their current lengthy losing streak of six straight.

For the Jazz to make that turnaround happen, though, it'll rely on a select few players around the roster to carry their weight in this matchup against Dallas.

Especially as Utah is dealing with injuries to a couple of starters in Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee) and Jusuf Nurkic (foot), the margin of error for everyone else left in the lineup becomes a whole lot smaller as a result.

With that in mind, let's sort through three Jazz players to keep an eye on for Friday night's NBA Cup matchup vs. the Mavericks:

Keyonte George

George is coming fresh off one of his best performances in recent memory in the Jazz's last game against the New Orleans Pelicans, where Utah came up short in an overtime loss, but saw George finishing with 39 points, nine assists, and four steals in 44 minutes.

So how does George follow up that performance on Friday in an NBA Cup setting?

He'll likely have to shoulder a good portion of the Jazz's scoring to lift up this offense that currently ranks in the bottom 10 of the league for offensive rating. But he'll also have to find his way to a bit better shooting efficiency compared to what he's seen through eight games.

George is shooting a career-low 32.7% from three on over 50 total attempts in the first eight games of the year. Those numbers fall pretty closely to how the Jazz have shot as a team from deep––an even lower number of 31.5%.

Darryn Peterson

Darryn Peterson hasn't been able to hit the ground running to start his rookie season as many had expected heading into the year.

He's struggled shooting the ball at just a 35.4% clip from the field, and the Jazz are still finding the best ways to consistently integrate him into their offensive game plan. Last game against the Pelicans, it was Peterson's worst night of the year so far, finishing with just seven points on 2-8 shooting.

So there's no doubt that Peterson is eager for a bounce-back performance here against the Mavericks. Not only are there heightened stakes with the NBA Cup implications, but the Jazz desperately need to find a way out of their six-game losing streak that's dropped them to the bottom of the West.

If Peterson is able to turn in a solid performance by being more involved and impactful on the offensive end, the road to a victory here against Dallas becomes much easier to imagine.

Mo Bamba

One name who's been a bright spot in the Jazz's rotation amid their multiple injuries to the frontcourt has been Mo Bamba: a stat sheet stuffer who's provided Utah with an extra dose of rebounding and rim protection at a time when it's at a premium for this roster.

And now knowing that the Jazz will continue to be without Jusuf Nurkic for at least the next two weeks as he continues recovering from his preseason foot injury, it puts the spotlight on Bamba to continue producing as Utah's best option at backup center.

This matchup against the Mavericks is also one where Bamba can take advantage of the size mismatch he creates. Dallas will be without both of their typical 7-footers in the lineup due to injury in Dereck Lively and Santi Aldama, leaving their center options down to just Daniel Gafford and rookie Morez Johnson Jr.

That puts Bamba squarely on the radar for a double-double for Friday night, if the Jazz continue to expand his minutes in the second unit.

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