3 Keys to a Jazz Victory Over Raptors During Extended Road Trip

The Utah Jazz have the chance to secure two straight wins on Saturday night.

After escaping the scary trap game on Thursday, the Utah Jazz look to continue their lengthy road trip against the Toronto Raptors in Scotiabank Arena.

Playing on the road has been a bit of a struggle for the Jazz to kick off this season, amounting to a 3-13 away record so far into the year. It won’t be any easier traveling up north to take on a team like Toronto. However, the Jazz do have enough tools on hand to change the narrative and secure what would be their second-straight victory and 12th of the season.

With that, here are three keys for the Jazz to secure a victory against the Raptors on Saturday night:

Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports

Take Advantage From Distance

An area in which both teams fall short is their efficiency in shooting the three-ball. The Raptors ranked 27th in the league for three-point percentage (33.7%), while the Jazz sit not too far behind them at 23rd (35.3). Utah can’t afford to bet beat from beyond the arc against a team that doesn’t shoot that proficiently.

The Jazz have guys on hand who can contribute effectively from three, whether it be within starters like Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson, or even further down the bench when looking at guys like Kris Dunn and Simone Fontecchio who have shown success from deep early this season.

If the Jazz can find and execute on open looks from three, it makes the pathway to a victory on Saturday much more attainable.

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Lean Into Lauri Markkanen Offensively

Thankfully, the Jazz will finally be getting the services of Clarkson back into the lineup after missing the past two weeks with a hamstring injury. However, when it comes to Utah’s offensive focus, all eyes should be on Markkanen to be the lead contributor.

Since returning from his injury that sidelined him for eight straight games, Markkanen has averaged 21.8 points on 48.3% shooting from the field and 37.0% from range. While these stand as respectable numbers, they’re a bit lesser than what we saw both last season, as well as during his first 15 games this year.

For this Jazz team to be at its best, this offense should flow through Markkanen. He’s fresh off a 26-point performance on Thursday, so the hope would be to build on top of that success. With Toronto lacking a bit of size on their roster, it’s a matchup in which Lauri can take advantage of, and potentially be in for the best performance we’ve seen since being sidelined earlier in the season.

Dec 13, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton (2) drives to the basket against New York Knicks center Jericho Sims (45) during the third quarter at Delta Center / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Emphasize Ball Security & Limiting Mistakes

One of the most prominent shortcomings of this Jazz team through the first third of the season has been the sheer amount of turnovers they give up. Through their first 29 games, they lead the NBA in turnovers, averaging a staggering 16.9 a night. That’s more than the Detroit Pistons (16.6); they’ve lost 25 straight games.

Simply, for the Jazz to have consistency in the wins column, it starts with taking care of the basketball better. We saw some positive signs during their last matchup against Detroit in which they won the turnover battle 12-20. Lo and behold, it was a game they handled business in.

The Raptors also rank toward the bottom half of the league in turnovers (14.1, 19th in the NBA). If the Jazz can capitalize off Toronto’s mistakes while limiting their own, their path to a win should be much easier.

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