Utah Jazz: 3 takeaways from Game 3 vs. Thunder
By Mason McFee
3. Jazz capitalize on an absence down low
Steven Adams doesn’t stick out. He holds career averages of 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.7 personal fouls per game. Entering Game 3 last night, he was averaging 10.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.5 personal fouls per game in the series.
At the 9:20 mark of the second quarter, Adams picked up his third personal foul. That brought his series total to 10, but those numbers are a bit inflated, as Adams fouled out in the game prior, accounting for six of the 10. For Utah though, that was great news, as they went on a 30-14 run to close the half.
I noted in my last piece that when Adams goes out, Billy Donovan doesn’t have anyone else that matches up height-wise with either of the Jazz’s starting big men. While the run was huge for momentum for the Jazz, it highlights something they can use to their advantage — Adams’ aggressiveness.
Adams is seven feet tall, and weighs 255 pounds. There are few guys in this league that can match up with him size-wise. Rudy Gobert is one of the guys that can, and the more that he is on the court with Adams on the bench, the better.
Utah was able to play Gobert a bit longer in the third than normal, as Adams would pick up his fourth foul at the 8:33 mark in the third quarter. Gobert responded with a monstrous block on Russell Westbrook:
Bottom line: less Adams means that OKC has to play small. While the league has embraced small-ball, the Thunder need their big guy. Utah is happy to make the Thunder feel very small.