Utah Jazz vs Atlanta Hawks Prediction: Jazz to make use of their advantage in size

The Jazz did not select a single player in the first round of the recent NBA draft, so they will have a tough time breaking their losing streak in the Summer League. This time, Utah will face Atlanta. The Hawks are considered favorites. Will they confirm their status?

Utah Jazz

The Jazz's future seems unclear right now. After the Rudy Gobert trade, the club may very well go into a rebuild. For now, though, the team doesn't rely heavily on youngsters, so it's all about undrafted basketball players in the NBA Summer League. Only Bruno Caboclo was selected in the first round, but that was back in 2014, and along with Tacko Fall and Vic Law, he is the oldest player on Utah's roster. Caboclo, along with Jared Butler, were the highest scorers at the Salt Lake City tournament, averaging 16+ points, but that didn't help the Jazz as they suffered 3 straight losses.

Utah lost to Memphis 84-95 last game. Caboclo and Butler combined for 34 shots on less than half of those plays, with Butler scoring on just 9 of his 21 attempts. The Jazz threw 43 three-pointers, but only 25.6 percent were successful. Kofi Cockburn was the most effective, scoring 12 points on 5-of-6 from the game.

Atlanta Hawks

Despite the serious challenges, the Hawks have been selecting players in the first round of the draft for the last year in a row. This time, the club added AJ Griffin, who was highly touted in the mocs, to the roster. Griffin is not a bad scorer and will likely be Atlanta's leader in Las Vegas. Sharife Cooper and Chris Clemons, who is almost an NCAA legend in his last college season, will try his hand at point guard, averaging 30+ points. One of the biggest problems might be the lack of available centers: there isn't a single player on the roster who is even 7 feet tall. 

Head-to-head encounters

The teams' only Summer League encounter was in 2018. Back then, Utah defeated Atlanta 95-84 in Salt Lake City.

Expert Betting Tips

Atlanta can become almost the most convenient opponent for Utah, with a burning desire to break the series of three defeats in a row. The Jazz have two seven-footers on the roster, and Tacko Fall and Kofi Cockburn should take advantage of the Hawks' lack of size. Jared Butler and Bruno Caboclo were generally decent in the last game and it could be enough to win this one. Atlanta has a number of good offensive players, so it is reasonable to expect a very entertaining game. I suggest betting on the following outcomes:

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