Atlanta Hawks vs Utah Jazz Prediction & Match Preview - November 9th, 2021 | NBA Season 2021-22

The Atlanta Hawks' road trip will bring them to Salt Lake City for a rematch with the Utah Jazz on Tuesday. [Photo: Peachtree Hoops]

The Atlanta Hawks’ brutal West Coast road trip continues on Tuesday (November 9) in Salt Lake City for a matchup with the Utah Jazz.

Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks are reeling. They have lost six of their last seven games, highlighted by a current four-game losing streak. They just lost 127-113 to the Golden State Warriors behind the scorching hot Steph Curry, who dropped a 50-piece on the Hawks.

The Atlanta Hawks’ schedule is not going to get easy even when they go back home, so every win definitely counts. They played well enough against the Warriors, but could just not overcome Curry’s insane shooting. The Hawks have to be more resilient and show more effort in a back-to-back against another elite team in the Utah Jazz.

Steph Curry drops 50 and the Warriors battle back from a 15-pt deficit to defeat the Hawks. The Dubs are now 9-1, the best record in the NBA. @kron4news #dubnation https://t.co/uHV0Y1Esuc

Coach Quin Snyder’s team is also in a funk of its own. After racing to a 4-0 start, the Utah Jazz are 3-3 since with consecutive losses to the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic recently. Their once stout defense is showing cracks and has to be fine-tuned to get back to form.

The Utah Jazz will begin a five-game homestand against Eastern teams. Catching the weary Atlanta Hawks might be the best way to kick off their home schedule.

Match Details

Fixture: Atlanta Hawks vs Utah Jazz | 2021-22 NBA season.

Date & Time: Tuesday, November 9th; 9:00 PM ET (Wednesday, November 10th; 7:30 AM IST).

Venue: Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, UT.

Atlanta Hawks Preview

Trae Young went on record to say that the Atlanta Hawks find it boring to compete in the regular season after reaching last season’s East Finals. If their successive losses and 4-7 record are true indications of boredom, then coach Nate McMillan has a serious problem on his hands.

Trae Young on the difficulty of sacrificing early in the season: "I think guys are learning that. We're no longer the hunters. It's regular season. I'm not going to lie, it's a lot more boring than the playoffs. You got to find that motivation to play like the playoffs."

The Atlanta Hawks posted a 100.5 defensive rating in their first four games, where they finished 3-1. In their last seven games, it has dropped to a horrific 120.8, which would be the worst in the league by a ridiculously wide margin. Overall, they have a 111.5 defensive rating, which is good for 27th in the league.

Defense requires effort and energy. If they can’t find the effort and energy, they’re not likely to get out of their losing streak anytime soon. The NBA is just too good for the side to be lackluster on defense.

Key Player - Trae Young

Trae Young’s scoring has been dropping since his lone All-Star season in 2019-20. From a shade just below 30 PPG, Young is now at 23.3 PPG, which is still the best in the team. He is, however, dishing a career-high in assists with 9.6 a game.

The Atlanta Hawks’ struggles could also be directly related to Young’s inefficient shooting from distance. From 34.3% last season, it’s at a ghastly 28.6% this year. His true shooting percentage of 58.9% last season has crashed to 51.7%.

The one-time All-Star has also found it hard to play his usual trickery going to the basket. Young has been trying to adjust to the new rules regarding non-basketball moves. The drop in free throw attempts and makes is one reason why his production and efficiency have taken hits.

Atlanta Hawks Predicted Lineup

G - Trae Young | G - Bogdan Bogdanovic | F - Deandre Hunter | F - John Collins | F - Clint Capela.

Utah Jazz Preview

The Utah Jazz are looking to end a two-game slide against the Atlanta Hawks at home. [Photo: ESPN]

The Utah Jazz’s gameplan this season has been quite straightforward: play hard-nosed defense, crash the boards and limit turnovers. That plan worked flawlessly over the first few games but has dipped a little bit in recent times.

Utah is still ranked second in the NBA in rebounding and although the defense has slipped a little, it’s still in the top ten. It’s the turnovers that have been killing the Jazz of late. While they have been superb in getting more possessions with hard-earned rebounds, some of these possessions have been carelessly thrown away.

The Utah Jazz’s turnover-prone ways have to be amended if they want to end their losing streak. They should improve their communication on offense and clean up their offensive sets. Utah has always been a machine in the regular season, and it continues to be so this campaign.

With little adjustment and more focus, they should right the ship in no time.

Key Player - Donovan Mitchell

Stopping Donovan Mitchell goes a long way in keeping the Utah Jazz at bay. In the team’s losses this season, the two-time All-Star is averaging 29.3 points. However, Mitchell fired blanks from three-point distance in those losses and shot a horrific eight out of 48 or 16.67% from beyond the arc.

Donovan Mitchell tonight:

37 Points
7 Assists
2 Steals
50% FG https://t.co/kwYFYD4wpU

Mitchell’s team-leading 25.8 points, 5.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game are guiding the Utah Jazz to another splendid regular season campaign. In addition to being his team’s best offensive player, the 25-year old is finally displaying his defensive chops.

The Jazz continue to be a legit title contender partly because of Mitchell’s improved all-around game.

Utah Jazz Predicted Lineup

G - Mike Conley | G - Donovan Mitchell | F - Bojan Bogdanovic | F - Royce O’Neale | C - Rudy Gobert.

Hawks vs Jazz Match Prediction

The Atlanta Hawks are in disarray and in the middle of a punishing road schedule. They also have a ton to address when it comes to their effort and focus on defense. Playing against the well-rested Utah Jazz is only going to make their trip harder.

Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz will undoubtedly try to bounce back in a big way against the road-weary Atlanta Hawks. If the Jazz takes care of the ball and plays their usual way, they are big favorites to come out with the W. Quin Snyder’s team should catch the Atlanta Hawks at a vulnerable time.

The Jazz could take care of business at home and end their losing streak.

Where to watch Hawks vs Jazz

AT&T SportsNet and Bally Sports Atlanta will air the matchup between the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz live. The NBA League Pass will also feature the same game on their live stream.