EMPTYING THE NOGGIN

Summary: The Indiana Pacers took control of the game early and as long as Victor Oladipo was on the floor were in complete control on their way to a 109-94 win  over the Utah Jazz.

• The Indiana Pacers might be really good.  They are now 24-20 but when Victor Oladipo plays they are 24-15.  Tonight they were the superior team.

• The Jazz made two runs in the game and both times were when Victor Oladipo was off the floor. The Pacers have been considerably better all season when he is on the floor, but tonight it was ridiculous as the Pacers were +27 when Oladipo was on the floor and -12 the 13 minutes he was on the bench.

• The Jazz offense is really struggling. They came in 30^th over the last 15 games and were missing wide open looks for much of the night.  It feels a bit collective right now.  They are getting looks.  Donovan Mitchell, in particular, is getting enough attention to get guys open looks, but they are not going down.

• Jazz were down 20 going to the 4^th quarter 85-65.  Neither side of the ball was strong.  Ricky Rubio was 1 for 7.  Rodney Hood was 3 for 10, Royce O’Neale was 2 for 6, Jonas Jerebko was 2 for 6,  The Jazz collectively were 5 of 24 from three.

• Thank goodness for Donovan Mitchell. He had another superb night.  He had 23 points on 8 of 16 shooting.  He continues to find a way to score in an efficient manner.

• Derrick Favors was a beast around the rim tonight, going 8 of 12 from the field. The defense was not good when he was on the floor tonight as the Jazz were outscored by 30 points when he was on the floor.

• Joe Ingles has been awesome all year extending himself to 30 plus minutes a night and giving the Jazz everything he has. However, he seems to be on empty.   He didn’t score in 20 minutes or get a rebound.  Ingles is not always a big scorer but he is a crocked box score guy with lots of diversity to his game and right now that is not with him.

• The Jazz looked worn out. No other way to say it. It was a tough night for the Jazz.