· This was a really solid performance by the Utah Jazz. The Cavaliers have been blasting people. They have lead by 10 after the 1st in 10 games, they have lead by 10 in 17 games at the half, they have lead by 20 after 3 in 7 games. The Jazz stayed in the game without John Collins and Keyonte George. They really battled.
· The Jazz were within 2 at the end of 1 within 3 at the half and then the Cavs hit 9 three pointers in the third quarter (season high) but the Jazz got it back to one in the 4th quarter
· Down the stretch the Cavs shot 5 of 6 and the Jazz shot 1 of 6 and that was the difference.
· The Jazz hung tough. That maybe shouldn’t be that surprising since this was a game for the veterans. Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson carried the offense. All three former Cavaliers that were fully engaged and really solid games.
· Walker Kessler was terrific. He was a dominating force on the offensive glass. He is holding his ground so well that he is now able to use his length to impact rebounds and he was tipping and keeping balls alive. He also had a nice basket when he came from under the glass back into the floor of play to make a layup. He dominated Jared Allen and the Cavaliers closed the game with Evan Mobley rather than Allen late because Kessler had dominated Allen all night.
· The Cavaliers played hack a Kessler with 3:00 left and the lead. The smart play here is to do this with the lead because you prevent the Jazz from hitting the threes they need for the comeback. Kessler went 1 of 6 from the line on this free throws. Let’s remember this and see how it impacts him moving forward.
· Too bad this is probably what Kessler will remember most, because he was really great in this game on both the offensive glass and the defensive rim. These are the things that are going to make Walker great.
· With Keyonte George and Taylor Hendricks out and Cody Wiliams not in the rotation their were limited minutes from Isaish Collier, Brice Sensabaugh and Kyle Filipowski The three are struggling enough that it is hard for Will to simply roll them out just to give them minutes. Isaiah is so good at getting in the paint and has a chance to be really great defensively. However, his lack of shooting makes it hard for him to have an impact. Kyle Filipowski showed some real flashes and since the NBA scouting report has surfaced on him it feels as though he is having less and less impact. Brice is a great spot up shooter. He needs to add a drive game. You can’t be only a shooter anymore and he is not fleet of foot on the defensive end. There time will expand, but I can understand where Will is having a hard time stretching them out past 15 minutes a night.
· The three point shooting in this game was incredible. These players are so remarkably skilled. The two teams shot 39 of 90 from three. That is 42% and both teams took nearly 50% of their shots as threes. The talent level and the shooting is just amazing. Remember the league is also at all time high for dunks in a game as well.
