Donovan Mitchell is having a magical time at Disney Land, and he is looking to lead his Utah Jazz to the second round of the playoffs early. So far, the Nuggets have had absolutely no answer for the ‘Spida’ and the Jazz’s 3-1 series lead is well-deserved.
The Nuggets don’t have any room for error, as another loss would mean a flight back home to Colorado. They have to make their stand in Game 5 on Wednesday, August 25, at 6:30 AM Manila time.
HOME TEAM: #3 Denver Nuggets (1-3)
If only Von Miller could play for the Nuggets. Playing yet again like they’re in desperate need of a game-changer on defense, the Nuggets fell prey for the third time in a row to the Jazz on Monday, 129-127.
The Nuggets’ defense put up the same amount of resistance as a broken turnstile in Game 4, allowing the Jazz to shoot 57.5 FG%. That’s unacceptable in any game, much more in a playoff contest against
Denver tried to remedy its atrocious defense by moving Michael Porter Jr. to the bench, but that configuration obviously didn’t do the trick for the Nuggets, who are shooting 46.2 FG%, thus far in the playoffs.
Of course, we’re not forgetting Jamal Murray’s 50-point explosion in Game 4, which was a great performance for him to build on, heading into a win-or-go-home Game 5 for Denver.
Murray and Jokic (29 points) combined for more than 60% of the Nuggets’ scoring production, which, in other words, is a cry for help from them to get support from their teammates such as Porter. After scoring 28 points in Game 2, Porter has scored just 16 points in the last two games.
ROAD TEAM: #6 Utah Jazz (3-1)
There’s something in the water at Disney World that’s making Donovan Mitchell go off. And go off he did again in Game 4, as he scored 51 points on 15-of-27 shooting with four threes and seven assists.
That performance came less than a week after Mitchell punished Denver’s defense for 57 points during a loss in the series opener. Since the playoffs kicked off, Mitchell is averaging 39.5 points on 56.4 FG%. That efficiency is unsustainable and makes Mitchell a prime candidate for regression.
But, even if Mitchell does regress, there are the likes of Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson whom Utah can lean on – and they can rely on Rudy Gobert to be the usual double-double machine.
Conley has been giving Utah a lift ever since he returned to action in Game 3. He scored 27 points in that game and 26 last Monday. Clarkson, on the other hand, is putting up 19.8 points per game as the team’s main guy off the bench.
Just how much fun are the Jazz are having at the expense of Denver’s defense? Utah has shot 51% or better from the field in each game since Game 2.
PREDICTIONS:
Denver’s defense has so many holes right now and the Jazz are capitalizing on it. Look for the Jazz to close the series out in Game 5, 123-119.
