Three thoughts on the Jazz’s 135-126 win over the Chicago Bulls from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.
1. Just a drastic offensive difference tonight
I thought Will Hardy used a really good word for what the Jazz were missing on offense before tonight: “tempo.” Yes, pace (the number of possessions you’re able to get in a game) is important, but how you use those possessions is more important. If you move the ball around quickly, move the offensive players around quickly, you can get the defense moving around, gain an advantage, and use that to score.
And in the last six games, all losses, I thought the Jazz‘s offense was very low tempo — about as sluggish as can possibly be. The Jazz were walking through plays, not sprinting through them. They were hinting at setting screens, not laying them down with purpose. Perhaps most importantly, they were looking for their own, rather than their team’s, success.
That changed tonight in a very real way.
“I felt like there were very few possessions tonight where we overdribbled. That has been kind of our — not kind of — that has been a massive issue the first six games of the year," Hardy said. “And so, tonight it was just: move the ball, pass early. The guys did a great job.”
Keyonte George put it in his own words:
“I like to say the basketball gods are gonna bless us if we continue to share the ball and respect the game.”
The Jazz actually surpassed their previous season high for a game in terms of assists in the third quarter of this one, which goes to show just how different this performance was.
So why? Hardy hinted at some spacing and playcalling changes made by the team before the game. But everyone agreed that more than anything, the key was the Jazz simply being tired of losing. Only a different approach would turn it around.
Will this good play continue? I do think there are some Bulls characteristics that made it easier for the Jazz than with other opponents. Chicago has zero rim protection, and their perimeter defenders are up and down. Talen Horton-Tucker played 28 minutes, for goodness sakes.
But for our sake, as we watch 75 more of these games, I hope it continues, because it provided some really watchable basketball tonight.
2. Keyonte George’s career-best game?
Was that the best game of Keyonte George’s career?
I suspect so: his 33 points tied for his career high; his nine assists would rank fifth in his career games. He also only committed two turnovers despite running the show for 39 minutes. Here’s the full highlight reel:
I‘m not sure there’s a lot different about the shots he took, at least not beyond the arc. Many of them were the kind of off-the-dribble or in-motion threes that he has largely missed in the first six games, and he made half of them tonight. That‘s the variance we’ve talked about in previous games in action, but just going the other way.
He did read pick and roll really well tonight, though. In pick and roll in articular, the Bulls were putting pressure on the ballhandler often tonight, then sending help from the weak side of the floor, preventing the roll man from catching the lob. That was true even if the Bulls already had help in the paint, like here:
But credit George for making those passes, reading how he was being defended and kicking it to the corner.
After the game, George was extremely excited — even shouting through the United Center hallways. He said he was more excited about the win than his individual performance, and I actually believe him. It just does such a world of good for this team to forget about the possibility of going 0-82.
3. Playing John Collins as a 4?
John Collins played the entire game as a power forward tonight.
The Jazz had come into the season essentially planning to play Collins near-zero power forward minutes, instead playing him at the center. This came about because of the disastrous minutes Collins had played at power forward for the team last year: with him on the floor at that spot, the offensive spacing was all wrong and the defense was even worse.
But now, the Jazz are playing without the power forwards they planned on playing for 48 minutes a night: Lauri Markkanen and Taylor Hendricks. Their third power forward, Kyle Filipowski, now starts. They have a semi-competent third center in Drew Eubanks, so you might as well move John Collins down the positional chain.
It‘s working, though! Collins played 31 minutes tonight, shooting 12-17 from the floor for a whopping 28 points. He also rebounded the heck out of the ball, getting 13. So what’s working better this time?
First, I think a lot of it is the absence of Lauri Markkanen. With Markkanen and Kessler on the floor, you want them to be involved in the actions as much as possible, meaning Collins rarely gets a chance to screen. Without him on the floor, Collins gets many more screening opportunities.
And when those screening opportunities come, defenses often just switch, allowing Collins to attack mismatches. Tonight was even better for Collins: they just left him open to double the ballhandler, letting him just catch the ball with a head of steam towards the rim:
John the Baptist.
Markkanen still expects to be back sometime on this trip, so this may not last for long. If it does, maybe Collins only plays the four when Markkanen is off the floor. But what we’ve seen over the last couple of games is an interesting change from expectations, and these minutes have worked reasonably well so far.
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