Dorell Wright breaks down Utah's 'upset' chances


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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz played the Portland Trail Blazers Wednesday, and Dorell Wright, brother of Runnin’ Utes star guard Delon Wright, was in town.

Wright has followed the Utes all season and has even attended a few games — all losses. He knows a thing or two about competitive basketball and what it takes to get a win. So here’s a look at what the older Wright believes needs to happen for the Runnin’ Utes to claim an upset win over Duke and advance to the Elite Eight.

“I think they’ve got the opportunity, the fire power and the players to get a big upset,” he said. “A lot of people, I’m pretty sure, are counting them out. They have the guys to get it done.”

Foul trouble

Wright pointed to Jakob Poeltl as one of the main aspects of the game necessary for Utah to have a chance: “Jakob needs to stay out of foul trouble," he said.

In the last few games of the season, particularly in the Pac-12 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, when Poeltl stayed out of foul trouble, Utah is a completely different team. Not only does he provide a big body to matchup against the opposing team’s post players, but he’s also one of the most effective offensive players in the country, shooting 69.1 percent from the field — third best in the nation.

In the first two games of the NCAA Tournament, Poeltl was a combined 12-of-13 from the floor for a total of 30 points. Against Stanford in the Pac-12 Tournament, he was 5-of-7 from the floor for 16 points.

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Although points won’t come just because Poeltl remains out of foul trouble — he was only 2-of-7 against Oregon and no fouls in the Pac-12 semifinal — it’s a clear advantage to have him on the court on offense and defense.

Wright added that Utah needs to get Jahlil Okafor out of his comfort zone and force him to commit fouls.

“I think the biggest thing is trying to get their big guy in foul trouble,” he said. “He has a craftiness to get by guys and run into guys and get fouled and get to the free-throw line. So he’s just using that to his advantage.”

Exploiting Duke’s defense

Wright said running an effective pick-and-roll on offense is a second way for Utah to have success against Duke.

“Delon, he has to be smart on the pick and roll because I know (Duke’s) pick-and-roll defense is not that good,” Wright said. “So (Delon’s) got to play a damn-near perfect game and find his guys and get to the rim.”

While rating a particular team’s pick-and-roll defense is difficult to track, especially in collegiate basketball, Duke features a subpar overall defense, despite its success this season. Duke allows nearly one point (0.95) for every opponent possession, ranking the Blue Devils tied for 53rd in the country and tied for 125th in opponent field-goal percentage, allowing teams to shoot 42.4 percent from the field. Despite Okafor’s size in the post, Duke is allowing teams to shoot 46.5 percent inside the 3-point line, ranking it tied for 118th.

Conversely, Utah features one of the best defenses in the country, allowing 0.89 points per possession (sixth in nation), an overall field-goal percentage of 38.3 (sixth) and 41.2 percent from inside the 3-point line (fourth).

Facilitate the ball

Although Delon Wright can do it all for the Utes, and typically has, his brother said the ball needs to be moving and getting other guys open looks and some confidence.

“He’s letting the world know that he’s not just a scorer, but that he’s a facilitator,” Wright said. “He’s a true point guard, and he’s going to make the right play each and every time. If he feels like a guy’s open, he’s going to make the extra pass. That’s the type of guy you need on your team.”

Utah has had tremendous success this year with its motion offense by setting up several players to be in position to score when the ball comes their way, particularly from behind the arc. Most of the team’s success this season has come when the ball has moved well around the perimeter and inside the post — exploiting a team’s inability to keep up with the ball — and finding a wide open man.

Utah ranks in the top five nationally in 3-point field-goal percentage, shooting 40.8 percent from behind the arc. For Utah, though, it's not about speed, but finding the right shot — as long as the shots are falling.

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