The Utah Jazz have dropped 5 of their last 6, including a horrendous 1-4 road trip and a 25- point pummeling from the Lakers. How do they turn it around?
On paper, the Utah Jazz have one the most well-composed rosters in the league.
Theoretically, their starting lineup features a veteran point guard that can space the floor, pass the rock and defend in Mike Conley, an elite scoring 2 guard in Donovan Mitchell, two snipers from the wings in Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O’Neale and a Defensive Player of the Year manning the middle in Rudy Gobert.
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Off the bench, they have Ed Davis, one of the best rebounders in the game; Joe Ingles, an effective shooter and playmaker; as well as Jeff Green and Emmanuel Mudiay, who can each put up points in a hurry, along with young players brimming with potential such as Dante Exum and Tony Bradley.
Despite the level of talent on this Jazz squad, the team is performing at a level far beneath the sum of their parts, particularly in their last six games. They are 12-10 and are looking more like first-round fodder that barely claws its way into the playoffs than the championship contenders that were advertised.
Following a disappointing 1-4 road trip, the Jazz returned home to a 25-point drubbing at the hands of the Lakers. With two more games at home against the Grizzlies and Thunder before playing four of their next six on the road, what do the Jazz need to do to right the ship?
Right now, the Jazz are one of the worst teams in the league offensively. Granted, they aren’t renowned for their scoring prowess, so what’s most concerning is the slip in their defense, around which they’ve anchored their identity. During their recent skid, Utah has allowed an average of 115.2 points per game, ranked just 22nd in the NBA over that span.
Moreover, during the last six games opponents have shot 41.0 percent from deep and 62.0 percent from within six feet, good for 26th and 20th worst in the league respectively over this period.
Clearly, the Jazz need to tighten things up most on the perimeter, but for a team that ranked second in defensive field goal percentage within six feet last season, improvements are certainly needed near the basket as well.
ON. A. MISSION.#FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/rP3kXpykBL
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 26, 2019
To compound their problems with defending the paint, Utah has been consistently outrebounded and it’s hurt them through second-chance points. Over their last six, opponents are getting 16.3 second-chance points per game, which lands the Jazz at 26th in the league.
In the above play, five Jazz defenders are in the paint waiting for a rebound, yet the lack of boxing out leads to an easy offensive board and flush for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
As always, interior defense starts with Gobert, but frankly, the Stifle Tower has kept the paint locked down more than Fort Knox. During Utah’s recent losing spree, opponents made just 37.8 percent of their attempts overall and 45.7 percent of their looks within six feet when guarded by Gobert.
The rest of the team, however, fared much worse at keeping opponents out of the lane.
Within six feet, opponents shot 86.7 percent against Ingles, 81.0 percent against O’Neale, 77.8 percent against Conley, 70 percent against Davis, 68.0 percent against Bogdanovic and 66.7 percent against Mitchell. When Gobert wasn’t in the way, taking it to the hole was as sure a bucket as any during this awful stretch for the Jazz.
https://twitter.com/sixers/status/1201667569477967872
The Jazz are hemorrhaging points from the perimeter and in this play, Gobert bites hard on the pump fake, forcing O’Neale to rotate and help in the paint. This is a great rotation by Royce, however Bogdanovic is caught watching Al Horford, leaving James Ennis wide open to slip out behind the arc for the open 3.
During this six-game stretch, opponents shot 43.8 percent from 3 when guarded by Conley and torched Mitchell, O’Neale and Bogdanovic to the tune of 48.1 percent, 41.7 percent and 39.3 percent respectively.
Utah needs to tighten up its closeouts and get hands up against shooters more often. Over their last six games, they only contested 2.5 3-point attempts per game. Meanwhile, opponents’ other 28.9 attempts per game were either open (nearest defender four to six feet away) or wide open (more than six feet away), which can’t happen against the league’s best.
This isn’t merely a recent problem either; the Jazz rank at the bottom of the league this year in terms of both contesting shots and hustle stats. They are 25th and 27th in contesting field goals and 3s respectively, 28th in deflections and 30th in recovering loose balls. Despite this, the Jazz are still a top-10 defense.
If they can fix some of their effort issues, and communication issues when switches occur and guys leave their man to help on drives, they should be able to shore up their defense and regain their identity as the best defensive team in the league.
https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/1202431268379512832
Currently, the Jazz rank 24th in points per game and 24th in offensive rating, neither of which is ideal for any championship contender. During their six-game skid, they shot a solid 37.5 percent from 3 and an abysmal 55.3% in the restricted area, landing them at 11th and 28th in the league respectively during this time frame.
The Jazz have two extremely talented scorers in Mitchell and Bogdanovic, yet the team completely lacks an identity offensively. On the season, Utah is 29th in field goal attempts, 20th in field goal percentage, 27th in assists and 26th in turnovers.
They don’t shoot the ball often, they don’t create solid looks for one another and they end a lot of possessions empty handed, either as a result of missing or from turning the ball over. They struggle to create looks in half-court sets, yet also fail to play up-tempo and get out on the break,(they rank 15th in pace and 26th in transition points per game).
The Jazz also don’t press their advantages offensively. Their personnel necessitates driving and either finishing at the rim or kicking it out for a 3. Utah drives more than any team in the league and attempts the most shots off drives in the NBA. At the same time, they’re 24th in field goal percentage on these looks, and only pass on drives 36.1 percent of the time (19th in the league).
It’s a major problem to force shots off drives and pass out infrequently when your team ranks fifth in 3-point percentage (21st in attempts) and fourth in catch-and-shoot 3-point percentage (last in attempts).
The team has capable shooters throughout their starting lineup, they just need to use them more frequently. Bogdanovic is leading the way, shooting 45.9 percent from 3, O’Neale is shooting 43.1 percent, Mitchell is at 37.2 percent and Conley, despite his overall percentage, is at 37.4 percent from deep.
Joe Ingles turned a corner as well by shooting 35.7 percent from behind the arc over the Jazz’s six-game struggle. While it might be easier said than done, the Jazz need to give more looks to their talented shooters, which should in turn open up the lane for easier looks at the rim and more frequent lobs to Gobert.
With two games left on their homestand, the Jazz will have the chance to reset and figure things out before they head back on the road. It’s still early in the season and Utah has ample time to make adjustments and regain its championship contender status.