Utah Jazz: Why Do They Play So Slow?
It’s been said that speed kills. Matter fact here’s a random fact about speed.
Kangaroos can obtain a speed of 44 miles per hour for nearly two kilometers. They cover large distances in a short amount of time because of their long legs. The Utah Jazz otherwise have one of the slowest teams in the NBA, and don’t cover their 94-foot court distance well, or yet they don’t attempt to.
The Jazz have the second-youngest team in the NBA with an average age of 24.1 years, but yet they have one of the slowest teams in the league. According to basketball-reference the Jazz have the 26th-slowest team in the NBA. Coach Quin Snyder should use his youth to his advantage and let his team push the tempo more and get even easier scores.
Against the Chicago Bulls, a more veteran-laden roster, the Jazz trailed 56-41 at halftime. The Jazz went back to the drawing board and even took themselves by surprise with their next chess move.
After taking their first half beating, the Jazz adjusted. Instead of playing slowly, the Jazz did something a little more unconventional, they sped up.
The Jazz started going off in the third quarter because of the speed of the game. At one point the Jazz shot 62 percent in the third quarter, while players such as Trey Burke who only scored had four points and three assists in the first half, played marvelous in the third quarter.
Entering the fourth quarter the Jazz found themselves only down by one point, 78-77, their tempo idea succeeded.
Snyder’s decision paid off and Burke went off in the third quarter. He made 5-of-6 shots, including one three-pointer. He also had five assists, and a steal. Burke scored 12 points in the third quarter and showed more better he is when the game gets sped up. The
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The Jazz are doing well when they push the ball. They are ranked as the 13th best team when it comes to fastbreak points. What’s the reason they don’t push the ball more?
Due to the Jazz playing at a slow pace, they’ve been hampered offensively and only score around 97 points a game, which is good enough for the 22nd-best overall ranking.
The Jazz need to discuss their offensive problems.
Running a two point guard set more often for the Jazz could yield invaluable results. A lot of teams in the NBA such as the Phoenix Suns (Bledsoe, Dragic) and Boston Celtics (Bradley, Rondo) have started running a two point guard set and they are within the top 10 of scoring in points per game.
Even teams such as the New Orleans Pelicans with Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday, as well as the Dallas Mavericks with Jameer Nelson and Monta Ellis, both use lineups with two ball handlers.
Unlike most teams in the NBA who don’t have the people to run a two guard lineup, the Jazz do. A solution to some of the Jazz’ offensive woes can get addressed from their bench.
I alluded to this last Saturday when I suggested rookie Dante Exum should come in and play with the starting lineup and Alec Burks should get pushed to the bench.
Exum should come into the starting lineup because of his length, athleticism and court vision. With his basketball skill the Jazz can exploit defense by letting him operate uses the pick and roll in the half court and have him push the ball with Gordon Hayward and Trey Burke in the full court.
They say that a team is only as strong as their weakest link.
The Jazz have one of the best starting line ups, in fact they have the number nine ranking when it comes to points per game. Their bench though is the complete opposite. The bench of the Jazz have the No. 27 ranking when it comes to points per game.
If the Jazz can get Burks to come off the bench it will bolster the strength of their team. Burks would come into the game and get to score as many points as he could and dominate against the second team.
The Utah Jazz need to speed up their team, or they could get left in the dust.
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