This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Gordon Hayward simply shrugged and said "it's something to build on"
That "something" would be his jump shot, which conveniently made a return on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City at the most opportune time. Hayward, in the fourth quarter of a win over the Toronto Raptors, scored nine of his 17 points in the clutch and that included two deep 3-pointers. It's significant because his jumper has been missing in action for most of the season.
But it was back against the Raptors, and Jazz fans can only hope that Hayward has turned a corner and his shot is here to stay.
On Friday night, Utah faces the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. That means Hayward has a return matchup with old teammate Deron Williams. And Wes Matthews. And Jeremy Evans. And Devin Harris. Yes, the Mavericks are stacked with former Jazz players.
Dallas is playing very well so far this season, having won six consecutive games and pushing its record to 8-4. Most encouraging for the Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki is still Dirk Nowitzki, even at 37 years old. The seven-foot power forward is having a great start to the season, averaging 18.5 points a night, with seven rebounds a night. He's shooting 52 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range.
That means he's still an all-star caliber offensive player. Still a difference maker and still a guy capable of carrying a team on his back.
This puts a ton of pressure on Favors to be great defensively tonight. He's got to track Nowitzki out to the 3-point line. He's got to put pressure on him and keep him uncomfortable 15-18 feet away from the basket. And he's got to keep him away from the free-throw line. Oh, and for the Jazz to have a chance to get a road win, Favors has got to score and rebound as well.
Utah comes into tonight with a 6-5 record, having won consecutive games over the Atlanta Hawks and the Raptors. The Jazz are turning out to be a balanced scoring team, a team that customarily puts five players in double-figures. Intriguing tonight will be how much Utah coach Quin Snyder plays his three-wing lineup, or if the Jazz go small when the Mavericks go small - and the Mavs will go small.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle plays unique groups. He has a bundle of solid and experienced point guards - Williams, Raymond Felton, Jose Barea, Devin Harris - and he plays them all in his rotation, spreads the floor out and creates spacing and shooting.
How the Jazz handle that could very well decide the outcome of tonight's matchup. Other than Nowitzki, the Mavs will struggle to match up well with Utah on the interior. So Dallas has to exploit it's speed advantage if it wants to win. And the Jazz have to counter that, if they want to win.
In a game of contrasting styles, the team that can impose its will should have the best chance at coming out with a victory.
Tony Jones