The sky is falling. The Utah Jazz remain winless thus far in November, on the cusp of a six-game losing streak. The team is shooting 27.6% on wide-open threes and has been trailing the bottom of nearly every statistical category. But just maybe, just maybe, all they need is a good ol’ NBA Cup Tournament match to light a competitive spirit under them.
That’s right, the Dallas Mavericks host the Utah Jazz at the American Airlines Center for an Emirates NBA Cup West Group A showdown. Dallas has already
gained an early 1-0 advantage in the Cup standings in their 116-111 victory over the Rockets just last week. The NBA Cup has not been favorable towards the Jazz since its inauguration; in fact, it’s given teams more of an excuse to continue brutally beating up tanking teams — point differential matters!
Over the past few years, the Jazz have held records of:
- 2023-24: 2-2
- 2024-25: 0-4
- 2025-26: 1-3
But now that they’re playing for wins (or so we’ve been told), we could see the script flipped. After all, it’s a ‘blank slate’ for this young team. They’ve battled through injuries, have been a part of two overtime games, and have been through some of the worst shooting woes in years. But that’s only temporary, right?
Dallas has likely been content with the Cooper Flagg-Kyrie Irving pairing, given that their team is 4-4 and has lost to some of the league’s best. The Mavs play an incredibly fast brand of basketball, ranking among the league leaders in overall pace and fast-break points.
Injury Report
You have to put a lid on Cooper
Obviously, Utah won’t be able to put the reigning Rookie of the Year to a complete stop, but this team has to make an effort to command their presence in the paint. The Jazz allowed an unanswered 12-0 run by New Orleans in overtime just 48 hours ago, exclusively inside the arc. We saw them hold Zion Williamson completely scoreless in the first half, but all hell broke loose after they surrendered a 13-point lead. We’ll have to hope that they can put out the same energy as they did against a conference foe like Flagg.
You could consider Cooper Flagg as an honorary ‘Jazz Killer’. In his two career matchups, he averages 34.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists. Though, the Jazz have won both of those matches. Now, with a reinforced Mavs squad around him, Utah can’t roll into Dallas with a smug grin.
The numbers don’t lie; Flagg has struggled tremendously from deep early into the season, shooting 7-of-33 from outside this season. Utah will have to force Flagg into uncomfortable shots that take him away from the line, where he converts 55.9% of his two-point attempts.
Because of his promoted role as a secondary playmaker, they should also employ a player like Ace or Okogie to pressure him into his loose handle and perhaps cough up a few turnovers — Flagg is averaging 3.1 turnovers per game in the early going of the season.
As one of the rising superstars in the West, he’s transcended a typical ‘sophomore slump’ to turn Dallas into a legitimate playoff team this year. Finding a way to slow down this multifaceted star will be a burden on this team for the foreseeable future.
How can you get your #2 pick more involved?
This has been a popular piece circulating Jazz Twitter:
Through the first eight games, the furthest milestone Peterson has achieved is really only being thrust in the starting lineup. He’s averaged an honest 30.3 minutes per game, but the question is, why hasn’t it felt like it?
He shares the ball with a dominant guard like Keyonte George, who completely dictates the tempo of the offense. Peterson’s role shifts to that of a more complementary piece — a player that the team can chuck the ball to throw up a Hail Mary before the shot clock expires. Coach Hardy runs an egalitarian, pass-and-cut offensive system where Peterson is used to distort the defense rather than being a centerpiece.
Of course, he has his rookie mistakes too: he’s hitting just 35.4% of his field-goal attempts, struggling to find a consistent rhythm inside the arc, particularly on his floater attempts. That could look particularly concerning, considering that he was noted for his lack of vertical burst coming out of the draft.
But after looking at the Darius Acuff Jr. template over at Sacramento (not recommended if you want to win basketball games), the coaching staff needs to realize they have DARRYN PETERSON on their squad. This is to hope they could have more plays run for him: perhaps using him more as a post-up guard, or having him be the one to leak up the court in transition.
If the Jazz are going to be without Jackson Jr. for a couple of months at least, and if Lauri Markkanen is unable to break out of his shooting slump, Peterson will need to play an integral part of the offensive flow moving forward.
Escaping the Cold Zone
Speaking of Lauri, the most unprecedented story coming out of this 1-7 start has been the Finnish Star’s efficiency. Of course, we all saw him injure his wrist in the showdown against the Grizzlies, which has had lingering issues due to the dependence on his wrist snap & flick, but this is going to be an integral year for Lauri.
The drop-off has been stark: he’s averaging 17.1 points per game — down significantly since his career peak and is converting just 38.7% of his field-goal attempts. The Hardy revolution has completely eradicated Markkanen’s inside-the-arc scoring, having him attempt a wild 8.3 three-point attempts a game.
He’s also been forced to occasionally shift as a small-ball center due to the banged-up injuries of Jackson Jr. and Nurkic, which was noticeably felt when the Pelicans destroyed the Jazz in the paint during the OT period.
“I think he’s playing through a lot of pain right now. I think he’s really battling for his teammates and us”, Will Hardy said about Lauri Markkanen on Wednesday.
Of course, Markkanen will not have as wild a slump as he does for the rest of the season. He’ll regain his efficiency. His wrist will eventually heal. Really, it’s just a tough spot to be in when your team’s record is 1-7.
