Hey, where’d the defense go?
The Jazz gave up 125 points against the Houston Rockets on Saturday night, after allowing 112 points to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday and 132 to the red-hot Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. It’s now been seven games in a row in which the opponent scored 100 or more points, though the four that preceded this stretch were all within the 100-110 range. Teams average 110.5 points per game in the NBA this season, so it’s possible to argue that the 10-out-of-19 double-digit performances the Jazz allowed before that were the bigger outlier.
What’s going on?
First of all, it should be noted: The defensive downturn correlates nearly exactly when the schedule degree of difficulty turned up; the last double-digit scores against the Jazz were the Cavaliers, Pistons, Lakers, and Magic. It’s much easier to prevent those teams from scoring than the likes of the Rockets or Blazers.
But the Jazz do think they’ve lost some of their edge on that side of the floor.
“I think just being a little more ready and focused at the beginning of the possession,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “We need five guys to be engaged right away.”
That’s also been responsible for some lack of discipline in the number of times the Jazz are sending teams to the free-throw line. Houston, with James Harden, is the ultimate example: The Rockets got to the line fully 37 times on Saturday night, with Harden earning (and making) 15 of those himself.
“We know the drill with that, but it’s easier said than done,” Snyder said.
“We didn’t dictate anything with them tonight," Rudy Gobert said. "We should dictate how they’re going to play, and what we can give up. We were a little too passive, a little too scared of [Harden].”
It’s worth noting that the Jazz are still short-handed, too. Dante Exum performed well on defense against the Rockets during last year’s playoffs, while Thabo Sefolosha’s length from the power forward position still provides problems for opponents. But both have been out since early January, Exum with an ankle sprain and Sefolosha with a hamstring strain. Sefolosha will be re-evaluated Tuesday, while Exum will be out through the All-Star break.
