Game 26: Hornets vs. Jazz

2010-11 NBA Regular Season
15-10	vs	18-8
December 17th, 2010
New Orleans Arena
7:00 PM CST
TV: CST, NBALP
Probable starters:
Chris Paul	>	Deron Williams
Marco Belinelli	>	Gordon Hayward
Trevor Ariza	<	Andrei Kirilenko
David West	=	Paul Millsap
Emeka Okafor	<	Al Jefferson

Your Pregame Moment of Zen

The Jazz Outlook

26 games into the season, the Utah Jazz are rolling strong. Basketball Reference's SR system indicates that the Jazz are probably a top-6 team in the early going, and I can't disagree with that. While Al Jefferson's play has continued to be down a tick, relative to his Minnesota days, the emergence of Paul Millsap continues. He's rebounding like a center, scoring with tremendous efficiency, and is even finding teammates without turning the ball over.

Subplots

• There's obviously the obvious. Chris Paul vs. Deron Williams. CP is dominating All-Star voting right now, and it would be nice to see him put up a good game against his biggest nemesis.
• Gordon Hayward has gotten a few starts at guard for the Jazz. He's really struggled to make a mark (42% true shooting, 21% turnover rate, -0.3 offensive win shares), so it would be a shame to see him exploit a shorter defender in Belinelli tonight and turn things around.
• @AllThatAmar of SLCDunk noted to me via Twitter that Raja Bell- sidelined with a strained right abductor- is a game time decision and could bump Hayward back to his usual third string role.
• The Jazz's biggest strengths are taking care of the ball and going to the free throw line. Their biggest weaknesses are defensive rebounding and a tendency to foul way too often. If we want to avoid the blowout, we need to be aggressive going to the hoop and at least consider changing up our avoid-offensive-glass-at-all-costs mentality. 
• Vote in tonight's Jersey Contest here.
• Go Hornets.