Utah Jazz Vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Q&A
By Spencer
Jan 10, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz point guard Trey Burke (3) defends against Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving (2) during the first half at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
With the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James coming in town this week, Utah Jazz fans are clearly excited. LeBron is 1-4 in his last visits to Utah, and the Jazz seem to always give it all they have in this match-up. I had the opportunity to participate in a Q & A with Cleveland’s Fansided affiliate, King James Gospel. I was lucky enough to get Josh Hill, King James Gospel writer, to answer some questions of my own. Have a look at what he had to say about the Jazz – Cavs match-up.
Q: Coming into this free agency, did you expect you would land LeBron James AND Kevin Love?
There was a hope that LeBron James would at least entertain the idea of coming back, but that was nothing new. As soon as 2011-12 rolled around, and LeBron helped win Gold at the London Olympics, Cavaliers fans lightened up and went from hating LeBron to counting down to when he could opt out of his deal in Miami. The idea of getting Kevin Love never occurred to anyone though, which his why that remains the most surprising part of the offseason. LeBron coming home was a huge move, but it was sort of expected whereas Love was a total surprise.
Q: Which player on Utah’s roster would you most like to have on your team? Why?
Derrick Favors — hands down. The Cleveland Cavaliers need a rim protector and Favors is one of the best young big men in the NBA. There were those rumors about the Jazz wanting to trade Favors for the No. 1 pick, and it was exciting to think about getting him on the team even before LeBron, Love and all that happened. Now that the CAvs depth at center consists of the streaky Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson, Favors looks like an even better fit than he did before.
Q: What is your perception of how the Jazz have moved on from the Deron Williams era?
I really like the Jazz and I’ve been high on them for a while now. The NBA is a slow growth league when you’re trying to win like the Jazz are which is building through the draft and not through free agency. They have some really solid pieces in Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Alec Burkes and the young guys like Trey Burke and Dante Exum. It took them a while to rebound, but the Jazz are looking like a team ready to pop which is something I think the NBA needs.
Q: Outside of the Big 3, which player should Jazz fans be most concerned about in this match-up?
Watch out for Dion Waiters tonight. He hasn’t really had a breakout game yet and he’s looking to have that sort of a season. His incentive is gone with his option picked up for next year, but Waiters is a guy many are pegging as a fourth All-Star on this team and he could start that campaign tonight. With the other guys sluggish and tired, Waiters is primed to go off at some point this season and that could be tonight against the Jazz.
Q: Who wins tonight and why?
There is no way the Cavaliers drop two straight games, even if they’re on the road. No offense to the Jazz, but they’re not the Portland Trail Blazers and won’t hustle the Cavs like we saw on Tuesday night. That being said, I wouldn’t write off the Jazz going on a run in the game where they look really good. Like I said, this is a solid roster of talent that knows the eyes of the NBA world are upon them tonight. That could be a motivating factor for them to want to win extra bad, especially given their record. In the end, the Cavaliers win this one rather comfortably but it should still be a competitive showdown.