The Utah Jazz are now in a 3-1 hole against the Houston Rockets, but their season isn’t over just yet.
Donovan Mitchell put the team on his back again in Game 4 of the second round clash between the Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets, but it wasn’t enough to get the job done. Despite erupting for a team-high 25 points, the rookie out of Louisville just can’t do it alone (especially not on 8-of-24 shooting).
The tandem of Chris Paul and James Harden seems to be too much for the Jazz to handle, but they are still holding on to some sense of hope as they head back on the road for Game 5 Tuesday night. Paul led both teams in scoring with 27 points, while Harden contributed 24 of his own en route to nabbing a 3-1 series advantage.
Utah still has a chance to win this series, regardless of how many folks think this assertion is crazy. Mitchell did all that he could to help his team win, but needs more help from the second unit in order to keep the dream alive for what has turned out to be an incredible team and an incredible season.
Jonas Jerebko and Alec Burks did nothing to help the cause on Sunday, with 14 and nine minutes, respectively, and zero points to show for it between the both of them. Raul Neto, Daunte Exum, and Derrick Favors were the only bench contributors in terms of scoring, as the three of them were able to muster 23 points altogether.
To put things in perspective, a quick glance at the box score sheet for Game 2 — their only win of the series thus far — shows how they were able to get a win. Jerebko didn’t play any minutes, Derrick Favors was still healthy, and Burks put on a tremendous performance en route to tying the series at one game apiece.
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Favors remains questionable moving forward, but that doesn’t excuse the lack of production in Game 4 from Jerebko and Burks. To further that point, Burks dropped 17 points in Game 2, tied with Donovan Mitchell for the second-most points that night behind 27 from Joe Ingles.
There’s no doubt that Mitchell can handle his share of things in the starting lineup. Rudy Gobert is about as good of a big man as they come, so he’s also without excuse, while Ingles needs to find a way to get hot from downtown.
But this still doesn’t save the Jazz if their bench production is practically invisible like it was on Sunday.
Thankfully, it’s not just up to them if this series moves past Tuesday night in Houston. We have to remember that the real pressure is on the Rockets, and particularly on Chris Paul. When Paul is not playing his best basketball, the Rockets don’t have as much of a safety net as they would if he were playing at his highest level.
The thought of getting into the conference finals for the first time in his career is so close, and Utah knows it. The Jazz have absolutely nothing to lose, even though they’re down 3-1. Paul is well aware of the situation, and he knows that the last time he was up 3-1 in the second round it didn’t end well for him or the Los Angeles Clippers.
If we’re honest, Utah is the last team that anybody should want to put in this position. Because when they’ve got nothing to lose, they play their best basketball. We saw it once in the regular season when they went from well below .500 to nearly the third seed.
Next: Full two-round 2018 NBA Mock Draft
This is the team that went 22-3 for a spurt after starting 19-28. They can figure things out, and this is the perfect opponent for them to prove how dangerous they really are.