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Detroit Pistons vs. Utah Jazz preview

By Justin Brouckaert

Jan 13, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) starts a fast break with Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) trailing during the fourth quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Utah Jazz won the game 110-77. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 13, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) starts a fast break with Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) trailing during the fourth quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Utah Jazz won the game 110-77. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports /
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After a 128-96 shellacking at the hands of the world champs, the Detroit Pistons (33-34) return home to face the Utah Jazz (42-25).

Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy didn’t have time to break down Tuesday night’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs shot the lights out, the Pistons couldn’t keep up, and that was that.

Meanwhile, the formidable Utah Jazz were already en route to Detroit.

It’s that time of the year when everyone’s banged up. Everyone is working through brutal schedules and jockeying for playoff (or lottery) position. Welcome to the stretch run in the NBA.

For the Detroit Pistons, that stretch run could be much tougher. For starters, they’re lucky to be relatively healthy (though the team is only just now coming together after the far-ranging effects of the Reggie Jackson injury). Seven of their final 15 games are at home, and nine come against teams at or below the .500 mark.

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But before they can get into that cushier Brooklyn/Chicago/Orlando/New York part of the schedule, they’ve got to get past the nasty gauntlet of a Cleveland/Utah back-to-back. And then there’s a Friday date with the Toronto Raptors.

First thing’s first: it’s a pretty bad time to catch the Utah Jazz.

Set aside, if you can, Utah’s 110-77 destruction of Detroit in January (on the second night of another brutal back-to-back, following a blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors). The Jazz have won eight of their last 11, including victories over the Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets. They also notched a big win against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night, strengthening their hold on the fourth seed in the west.

There’s a reason Detroit only scored 77 points against Utah in January. The Jazz rank third in the NBA in defensive rating, bolstered by Rudy Gobert‘s league-leading 2.47 blocks per game. They likely won’t be as big on the front line as they were in January, though. In that game, Stan Van Gundy started Aron Baynes alongside Andre Drummond to combat Utah’s frontline of Gobert and Derrick Favors (out with a left knee bone bruise). Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was also out with a shoulder injury.

The Jazz average only 100.8 points per game, worse than Detroit’s 102.2 average, but that number is due less to ineffectiveness than to pace. Utah is downright plodding, the slowest of all 30 NBA teams. But the Jazz still rank in the top half of the league (and in the top ten in the last 11 games) in offensive rating.

The Pistons play offense at the sixth slowest pace in the league. But unlike the Jazz, they do get out and run a bit more on the fast break, especially with the Ish Smith-led Voltron group (props to Rod Beard for the bench mob nickname). Neither team allows many fast break points, though. Detroit leads the league, allowing only 10.5 fast break points per game. Utah is right behind, averaging 10.7.

Drummond and company will be challenged on the boards, too. Both teams rank in the top three in defensive rebounding percentage and thus allow few second-half points. They’re both stingy with points in the paint, too.

In other words, don’t expect a barn burner.

The rebounding battle between Drummond and Gobert will obviously be huge. Defensively, the Pistons will have to chase the Jazz off the 3-point line and try to lock up Gordon Hayward. Offensively, it will be important for Reggie Jackson to draw Gobert away from the rim to free Drummond up for lobs and putbacks. Likewise, Smith will need to slither around the big man to find teammates high-percentage shots.

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And if the Pistons happen to catch some of Cleveland’s 3-point shooting magic, that would be nice, too.

Chances are, the Detroit Pistons will catch their second straight L against Utah tonight. Detroit is 3-9 on the second night of a back-to-back this season, and the Jazz are for real.

A win would be unexpected, and thus a huge boost as the Pistons try to finish the season strong.

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