How often does LeBron James skip games vs. Utah Jazz?

1. Let’s talk about the defense

The reason the Jazz lost this game was poor defense — okay, some very good offense from the Lakers, but the Jazz’s defense certainly played a role. The Jazz allowed a 138 defensive rating tonight, which is about 2nd percentile among all games in the NBA this season.

What’s going on?

1. The Jazz have stopped playing zone over the last two games. I don’t know why this is — for the season, the Jazz’s zone defense has allowed a 96 DRtg, while their man defense has allowed 101. I thought it was a good weapon for the team. But over the last three games, they’ve ran zero zone possessions on defense, according to Synergy Sports.

2. In that man defense, their pick and roll defense is so suspect... tonight, just running half-court pick and roll got the Lakers 1.4 points per possession. The Jazz’s defensive lineups just nearly always have a player that opponents feel comfortable attacking, and running pick and roll essentially allows the Lakers to pick which Jazz defender they want to play against.

3. The Jazz’s defense just is not forcing turnovers right now. For 12 games in a row, Jazz opponents have had a below-average turnover percentage. But the Jazz have only three players who have above-average steal rates: Kris Dunn, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Taylor Hendricks... and all of those guys are in the teens in terms of minutes. Keyonte George, Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson, Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, and even Walker Kessler are all below-average steal guys for their positions.

The Jazz have a big front court right now, but they play pretty small defensively as a unit. And as a result, they’re getting run over a bit right now in half-court defense.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) battles for a rebound against Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks (0), Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton (2) and Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) during an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Salt Lake City.

2. LeBron’s avoidance of Utah

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The Triple Team: Jazz struggle on defense vs. Lakers; how often does LeBron skip trip to Utah?

Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s 138-122 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.

1. Let’s talk about the defense

2. LeBron’s avoidance of Utah

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