Philadelphia 76ers
76ers are on a westcoast trip right now, they play Jazz and the Nuggets as the last games before going back to Philly to go up against the Hornets on Sunday. Really tough games against teams that have disciplined defensive schemes in place and the 76ers lost last game against a scorching hot Suns team. I believe they will have a tough time recharging their battery when going up against the Jazz tonight. 76ers have, like I said before, done a great job in free agency with the signing of Al Horford who has been one of the best players on the team this far in to the season, his defensive capabillitys very important for this team. He will be a important piece tonight aswell ofcourse if not the most important. Jazz likes to run the pick and roll with Gobert and Horford/Embiid needs to be synched up when this happens to avoid easy points in the paint. It's the defense outside of the paint that is a concern, Philly have problems containing perimeter players like Booker lighting them up with 40 points last game. Jazz maybe doesn't have as strong a three point shooter in Donovan Mitchell but he can still get his on this Philly defense. They have good defensive players on paper like Simmons and Richardson but they can slack off a bit too much at times, mostly Simmons. But overall Philly looks like a good team. They won against Portland but they had to give it their all and I think Jazz will follow suit and make it as tough as Portland did, nothing will come for free in this game.
I don't feel like Philly have found the right melody on offense yet with Embiid on the floor with Horford. Simmons is ofcourse a big problem with his none shooting and it feels like it's to many people in the same space when for example Embiid is posting up. He takes his time, a bit too much at times, and when he gets double teamed he has a tendency to throw the ball away a to often, I thought that he would learn to not do that after 3-4 years in the league. Embiid goes up against Gobert who is the leagues best defensive player in the paint and Embiid hasn't really dominated him like he does with other players. Even if Joel has had 23 points the last 2 games he has shot 16/37 shots which is not that great. Embiid will have it tough in his comeback after the suspention after the fight with Towns.
One player that I think will have a good matchup tonight is Tobias Harris, he is a allround player who likes to operate on the perimeter but also likes to take a few steps in and shot the midrange. He will have space to do work when Embiid and Horford is drawing the defensive to them. If they can get Harris going they have good chance keeping this close as other players don't really have as good a matchup as Harris has against Bogdanovic.
Utah Jazz
Jazz like last season, especially Mitchell, have had a bit of a downswing in production on offense which is normal in his sophmore year when teams have a clearer picture of you as a player. Jazz defense haven't changed though and their identety is still intact but they really need to find a rhythm on offense. Mike Conley, the new addition via trade from the Grizzlies, has had a poor start to this season but tonight he has a good matchup against Ben Simmons. Simmons is a good defensive player when he wants to but it's seldom that he makes an effort and when he does that it will look like it did against Phoenix and Portland where Booker/Lillard just lights them up. Conley and Mitchell need to be mentaly strong in this game beacuse they have a advantage both matchup and schedule wise.
Like I said the Jazz have it tough on the offensive end right now and they will go up against one of the best defensive teams in the league. Jazz needs to abuse the Simmons and Harris matchups as this will be the best opportunity to score. They are okey defenders but far from lockdowns. Mitchell needs to keep going to the freethrown line like he has at the begin of the season, he needs to get Embiid and Horford into foultrouble early and to just attack the basket. Disrupt 76ers starting five and you have a good chance of winning. Jazz bench will also have a good matchup against the 76ers bench. It maybe doesn't look like it but with Ingles playmaking, Greens shooting and O'Neales defense they will pose a good threat to the Philly bench who don't really have the size and hustle the Jazz have. This game will be grit and grind both teams play at a slow pace and it will not be a surprise if they don't get over a 100 points any of the teams.
Bet
Phily have a tough roadtrip right now and the Jazz have gotten what they asked for. Tough game in Portland and a loss to the Suns. Jazz have rested for 2 days and they have a chance to tire out the Sixers even more with their physical style. 76ers have four wins in a row against the Jazz and I think they have a bit of revange to take care of. Utahs offense is a big part for the slow start, they don't even touch a 100 points most of the time but against the Sixers they have good matchups with Conley/Mitchell and Bogdanovic on Harris. Jazz needs to just focus on getting buckets. 76ers are a tired team and I think it will play a big part at the end of the game. Both teams are equal in clutch stats this season but I like Bogdanovic's chances if it comes down to the wire. My play tonight is Jazz -2.5 @1,94 at Unibet.
