Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s 131-118 win over the Milwaukee Bucks from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.
1. The 3-point attack
The Jazz set a new franchise record with 25 3-point makes tonight on 53 shots, well eclipsing their previous record of 22.
This makes sense. The Bucks have been the best defensive team in the league in the past two seasons on the back of a strategy which protects the rim at all costs. They have Brook Lopez down there protecting the rim, and Giannis Antetokounmpo playing free safety, protecting the rim and generally using his length to make a huge impact everywhere on the floor.
But when the Bucks’ defense collapses down low, there are 3-point opportunities; they have also allowed the most 3-point shots in the league. They get away with this because they are experts at helping off the opposition’s worst 3-point shooters, who are reluctant to take those looks.
The Jazz don’t have any bad 3-point shooters. They have Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O’Neale and Jordan Clarkson and Georges Niang, all of whom can all knock down open threes with ease. So the Bucks don’t have anyone that they can slack off of, and that makes the Jazz really hard to guard.
But the Jazz do have to execute well in order to make it happen — in particular, how they space the floor in transition and when a teammate is driving. Quin Snyder explained in his post-game press conference — he said “Our spacing makes all of the difference in the world,” then gave three examples of things he wants to always see but hasn’t always seen this season:
• “When we’re not playing pick and roll with our bigs, that they’re flat on the baseline.”
• “The wings are not six feet out of the corner, at the break. They’re literally in the corner.”
• “The guy in the high quadrant has to be up high, so those passes are able to be made.”
When the Jazz are sluggish, or when they turn the ball over a lot, very frequently spacing is a silent killer. But when the Jazz nail it, they’re a lot more difficult to guard.
Or as Snyder wrapped it up, “The precision of our spacing allows us to be more accurate with our passing. And I think you saw that tonight.”
2. Favors/Gobert minutes
For the first time since Derrick Favors returned to the Jazz, we got significant, meaningful minutes with both Favors and Rudy Gobert on the floor. It’s just like 2016 again!
And just like for the years and years we saw this lineup, we saw two things from it:
• The spacing was pretty rough. Opponents felt pretty comfortable leaving Favors to send more help to the strong side.
• It was absolutely lights-out defensively.
Especially in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, the Bucks scored a grand total of zero points. Keeping your opponent scoreless for that long will win you a lot of games, and it proved decisive tonight.
Now, I’ll be honest, upon rewatching those five minutes, Gobert and Favors didn’t especially combine to create defensive problems for the Bucks. Gobert protected the rim sometimes, and Favors did other times, but mostly, the Bucks struggled with bad turnovers and missed threes. It wasn’t a swarming, compounding effect.
That being said, I think it’s a lineup that the Jazz will have the opportunity to use a little bit more. There will be games where it will be just 100% unplayable, especially against stretch fives. But against teams like the Nets and the Knicks, I would have been curious to see if the Twin Tower lineup could have done any better dealing with the parade of rim attempts that we saw.
3. Royce O’Neale watch
I’ve written way too much about Royce O’Neale in the Jazz’s early season play. He is not the biggest reason the Jazz win when they win, and he is not the biggest reason they lose when they lose. And yet, I also feel a duty to treat a player fairly — if I’m going to criticize him when he plays poorly, I have to point out nights where he is a difference maker.
And man, he was fantastic tonight. He scored 18 points solely through 3-point shooting — six of eight from three were the only shots he took all night. It’s one point off of his career high, in fact.
While you like that he made the threes, you love that he took them. O’Neale has only shot the ball from three eight times or more in his career twice before tonight. Twice! And yet, he plays a big role in the Jazz’s rotation and is certainly open enough to be taking eight threes on a regular basis; he just usually passes up open looks. If he takes his open shots, the Jazz will be a lot better off.
Tonight, he seemed ready to take them, perhaps because Snyder knew what Milwaukee’s defensive strategy would be, and prepped him for the opportunity.
But he was also very good on the defensive end — he had three steals, a block, and was a difference maker for the Jazz on Antetokounmpo in the second half (two of those steals were from the MVP). Again, he’s showing his ability to guard bigger players with more ability than quick guards.
Here’s an example, where he’s matched up on All-Star Khris Middleton. He pokes the ball away from behind and gets the steal.
Now, does a guard give O’Neale this chance? Middleton’s very good, but he’s also going to be dribbling much higher and slower than a guard. A guard will get all the way around that screen and leave O’Neale in the dust, but Middleton leaves an opportunity O’Neale can take advantage of.
I also want to point out that O’Neale is, by a significant distance, the best Royce in NBA history. Indeed, there are only two Royces in the long history of the league, and Royce White only ended up playing three games for the Sacramento Kings.
The name Royce is making a comeback in recent years, though, as we see Royce rise through the ranks.
Popularity of Royce as a first name, for the last century and more. (Source: https://www.babycenter.com/baby-names-royce-3922.htm)
But it’s too soon to see another Royce now, and we probably won’t for another half-decade or so. The only Royce in college basketball right now, Royce Hamm, only plays marginal minutes at Texas.
For now, Royce O’Neale is the Rolls Royce of Royces.
