Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s 105-97 loss to the Phoenix Suns from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.
1. Quin Snyder’s postgame presser
There are probably two defining Quin Snyder press conferences per year. Maybe three. They’re press conferences when he comes out with more urgency: a message to deliver, and passion in his voice.
I realize this is an absolutely absurd comparison, but he’s a little like Lincoln. Most of the time, he’s in lawyer mode, using press conferences to his advantage, but just mostly trying to get through them — he’ll just talk his way through it without saying much. But sometimes, he’ll get up there use those same lawyer skills to deliver some resounding messages.
Tonight was one of the defining pressers.
First question, from Tony Jones: “What did you see on that Hassan Whiteside play?”
Snyder: “What I saw was Booker had 21 first quarter points.”
Okay then! He continues.
“We didn’t run back with the level of intensity that it takes to win the game. We fouled, gave up six points, give up three on an offensive rebound, and we were down 20. It’s our ability to focus, and prioritize those collective things that ultimately win and lose games.
“Mike Conley just spilled his guts on the court. Like anybody that watched that game, you watched every possession where he was getting bumped and held, knocked down, got back up, fought, competed. But we gave a 20 point lead up in the first quarter because we weren’t focused on the things that we need to be focused on to win.”
That’s a pretty clear signal to me — he needs the rest of his team to play with Conley’s level of focus and desperation to win.
“Us talking to the officials and pleading our case, we didn’t do that when we were coming back. We played through contact. We adjusted to the way the game was going to be called. Any time there’s mental errors in the game, guys have to keep their cool.”
Ben Anderson begins a question: “Teams that have lost nine of 11 or whatever it is, can go one of two directions...” Quin interrupts.
“We’re going one direction. It’s not down.”
“I can be angry. We can be disappointed. But I’ll say it again, I want us to be the best version of ourselves at the end of the year. ... We’re playing without Rudy and Donovan right now. That doesn’t mean we can’t run back. This isn’t about winning and losing, this is about committing to the things consistently that allow you to win.”
Later:
“You’re going to have a game of mistakes, there’s going to be breakdowns, but it’s what you do with them and how you respond to them and we can’t. We can’t have stretches that bury us like that.”
That was basically my thought, too: I’m okay if the Jazz get out-talented without Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Right now, they’re asking Bojan Bogdanovic to be a No. 1 scorer, they’re asking Hassan Whiteside to be a starting center, and so on. Neither of those guys are those things. Joe Ingles is a bench player at this point, Trent Forrest is a two-way guy asked to do a lot, and so on. Missed shots? Times when they’re outsized? It’s okay.
Times when they’re not giving effort? That’s not okay. Times when they’re not boxing out, not running back, playing selfish basketball offensively? That’s not okay. And tonight’s loss, even though it was a close one, even though players were missing, it was not okay. I’m glad Snyder agrees.
Now, can he — and they — do something about it? We’ll see.
2. What changed the game?
The Jazz had made a Jordan Clarkson and Mike Conley-fueled comeback, shortening the 21-point first-half deficit to 10 by the fourth quarter, and to just two points by the time there were two minutes left. Without their two best players, the home team had a real chance to steal the win.
And then this:
That’s a real easy shot for Paul, one of the best practitioners of that particular shot in NBA history. Is it a communication issue where Hassan Whiteside doesn’t know he should switch out? Is it an effort issue? Is it a focus issue? Whatever it is, the Jazz need to do much more to stop it.
Next play: Jazz can still stay attached with a bucket here. Instead, this:
Whiteside’s interpretation of the play: “Dude just jumped out in front of me and just fell over, and that call was bull----, and I stand by that.”
My eyes’ interpretation of the play: “Whiteside pushed a guy for no real reason, then got mad enough at the ref that he called a technical in the last two minutes of the fourth.”
So that’s not great.
Next play: Devin Booker hits this shot over Royce O’Neale. I give O’Neale a lot of criticism, so I’ll give credit where it’s due here: This is pretty stellar defense. O’Neale stays in front, doesn’t foul, contests the shot. Booker makes it anyway, because he’s an All-Star-level player.
That’s the thing, though: in the playoffs, there are a lot of All-Star-level players making tough shots. The Jazz will need to do the other things to win before that — like avoiding silly fouls, contesting the shots they can, and, well, giving an effort for all 48 minutes of the game.
3. Bracketing offensive rebounders
The Jazz weren’t terrible on offensive rebounds tonight, but there was one play that I thought made a difference — that I can also use to show off what the Jazz can improve on.
So Booker is isolating up top on Paschall, and ends up taking a three — probably the best the Jazz can hope for in that situation. Now, it’s time to get the board.
Generally, NBA teams only send one guy to go get an offensive rebound, maybe two. That means, essentially, that the Jazz have one guy to really worry about down low, along with basically the responsibility to make an effort on the perimeter.
Here, O’Neale is doing just about the best he can to fight off Jalen Smith for the board. But he needs help! Jordan Clarkson can come on the back side and make his life tougher than this while getting the rebound. Instead, Clarkson just watches.
I know he can do it! For example, he does exactly that on this play: shot goes up, and Clarkson makes contact with the back side of Smith to get the rebound.
This is especially important when you have a good idea of where the rebound is going, like shots from the wing or the baseline. Kirk Goldsberry showed where rebounds fall in this Grantland article from 2014.
Again, it’s just about consistent focus. That first play, for example, is worth two points, and the Jazz need to use that fight throughout the game in order to win, especially shorthanded.
