Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz. Copyright 2020 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
Here are three pros and three cons from the Utah Jazz in their latest loss to the depleted Denver Nuggets.
The Utah Jazz were oh so close to snapping their losing streak. A win would have put them only a game back of the Denver Nuggets for the third seed in the Western Conference standings, and would have evened the season series at one game apiece.
Instead, the Jazz are gonna have to make up ground with a not so friendly schedule.
The worst part of it? Denver was on the back end of a back to back with a walking wounded roster. Only seven players were healthy enough to play, and since the league requires that teams dress eight for the game, they suited up the injured Paul Millsap just to meet league standards.
This was an absolute must-win for the Jazz, and they blew it. With a Clippers win also happening last night, Utah is quickly slipping out of position for the second or third seed in the playoff bracket, which is critical for their hopes of advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
It’s looking clearer every day that the fourth seed is going to end up in Utah’s possession, and we will be staring at a gnarly first round matchup with the small-ball Houston Rockets.
If by some miracle the Jazz get past Houston, they will most likely have to face the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round. I’m not going to sugar coat it, the Lakers have flicked the Jazz like a booger in their two meetings this season.
However, there are still 32 games of basketball left to be played, and Utah has a chance to make me eat crow. It’s only fair to acknowledge the positives as well as the negatives in such a close loss like last night’s.
Here are three pros and three cons from the latest heart breaker in Vivint Arena.
small-ball Houston Rockets</a>.</p>
<p>If by some miracle the Jazz get past Houston, they will most likely have to face the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round. I’m not going to sugar coat it, the Lakers have flicked the Jazz like a booger in their two meetings this season.</p>
<p>However, there are still 32 games of basketball left to be played, and Utah has a chance to make me eat crow. It’s only fair to acknowledge the positives as well as the negatives in such a close loss like last night’s.</p>
<p>Here are three pros and three cons from the latest heart breaker in Vivint Arena.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Pro #1 </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-81733 size-full" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1198878018.jpeg" alt="Utah Jazz" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1198878018.jpeg 3200w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1198878018-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Juwan Morgan, Utah Jazz. Copyright 2020 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Jazz get hot from three point line</h3>
<p>In the first half alone, Utah converted on 11 of their 22 looks from the great deep. When the Denver Nuggets started switching on every Jazz screen, the Jazz made them pay with – you guessed it! <em>The blender!</em></p>
<p>Utah was able to create lots of open three point attempts for knockdown shooters like <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bogdabo02.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Bojan Bogdanovic</a> and <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/clarkjo01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Jordan Clarkson</a>. Clarkson in particular has shown that he likes playing against the Nuggets.</p>
<p>Last time these two teams met, Clarkson hung 37 points including a massive 24 point quarter. He followed it up tonight with 16 points on only seven shots. His smooth handle and quick release are a luxury to have on this Jazz team full of guys that play in slow motion.</p>
<p>https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/1225251828712886274</p>
<p>Bojan Bogdanovic made all three of his triples in the first half, and proceeded to miss his next six. His form his so smooth that I’m genuinely surprised when he misses. They were good looks for Bojan, so I’m not too upset about his down shooting night.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the Jazz couldn’t keep their three pointers falling in the second half. They finished going 14 of 39 (35 percent) on the night, but were it not for those three pointers falling in the first half it would’ve been a much different outcome for this squad.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Con #1 </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-81740 size-full" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2400,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1198879053.jpeg" alt="Utah Jazz" width="1600" height="2400" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1198879053.jpeg 1600w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1198879053-768x1152.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets. Copyright 2020 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Offensive Rebounds</h3>
<p>That picture above tells the whole story.</p>
<p>The Nuggets absolutely crushed the Jazz on the battle for offensive rebounds. On possessions where the Jazz were able to force a Nuggets miss, oftentimes <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/goberru01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Rudy Gobert</a> was pulled out of the paint covering <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jokicni01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Nikola Jokic</a> on the perimeter, meaning the Jazz’s best defensive rebounder was away from the basket.</p>
<p>Other times, Jokic simply dominated. He would be boxed out by one or two Jazz players, yet still find a way to get possession of the ball. His sheer weight and soft touch make him a dangerous weapon for put-backs that give Gobert trouble.</p>
<p>https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1225249695942901761</p>
<p>That’s saying something. There’s not many players in the league that can give Gobert (who has a 9-foot-7 standing reach) a hassle on the glass. In addition to offensive boards Jokic gave the Jazz problems by setting screens as strong as a brick wall.</p>
<p>When you run right into his 250 pound body with his feet set, he’s not going anywhere, and you better get around him before your man is at the rim.</p>
<p>The Jazz have to continue to preach crashing the defensive glass as a team effort. The Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets exposed Utah’s kryptonite of pulling Gobert out of the paint with a stretch 5, and it will take all hands on deck to not get crushed on the offensive glass.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Pro #2 </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-81739 size-full" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1198878022.jpeg" alt="Utah Jazz" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1198878022.jpeg 3200w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1198878022-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Bojan Bogdanovic, Utah Jazz. Copyright 2020 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Fast break points</h3>
<p>The Utah Jazz beat Denver in the fast break points department. Utah had 18 compared to Denver’s 13 on the game.</p>
<p>The Jazz knew the Nuggets were tired and shorthanded, so it was a good strategy to get out in transition. Once again, this is a tale of two halves. The Jazz dominated the fast break points in the first half, but the Nuggets closed the gap in the second.</p>
<p>https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/1225259571922423808</p>
<p>The Jazz play at the league’s 20th fastest pace, and the Nuggets are lagging behind with the 29th fastest pace. When the Jazz play at home they jump up to the equivalent of the league’s 17th fastest pace.</p>
<p>It will be interesting to see if the Jazz use a similar strategy in the remaining two regular season games against the Nuggets and even in a potential playoff series. Nikola Jokic looked gassed after two and a half quarters, and the Jazz may have exposed his weakness.</p>
<p>On one play in particular, <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bradlto01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Tony Bradley</a> almost had the crowd on its feet with a sick euro step dunk, but the dunk flew out of the rim into the hands of the Denver Nuggets. The Jazz have the personnel to make a scary fast break team if they want to, but it would definitely take some practice.</p>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-81741 size-full" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1198879138.jpeg" alt="Utah Jazz" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1198879138.jpeg 3200w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1198879138-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Torrey Craig, Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Denver Nuggets. Copyright 2020 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Jazz allow big runs</h3>
<p>The Jazz went on a 14 to 2 run in the third quarter, giving them their largest lead of the night. But what followed after that was inexcusable.</p><div class="widget fs_ads"> <div class="fs_ad_widget-ad" style="margin:0 auto; width: 300px;"> <div class="fs-ll-ad" data-ad-type="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-vendor="minutemedia">
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<p>The Nuggets trimmed Utah’s 15 point lead down to five points, and were it not for a Jordan Clarkson floater the game would’ve been one point apart heading into the fourth quarter.</p>
<p>Early in the final quarter, the Nuggets held a one point lead until the Utah Jazz went on a 13 to 3 run. Then in the final six minutes of the game, Utah choked.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Joker notches another triple-double!</p>
<p>28, 21 and 10 with 2 minutes remaining! <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://t.co/zSbQPAG8sG">pic.twitter.com/zSbQPAG8sG
<p>— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1225270515880693760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>February 6, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p><a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/murraja01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Jamal Murray</a> was owning <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/conlemi01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Mike Conley</a> and making him look like a poor defender. The electric guards have been causing the Jazz trouble for a while now. Add Jamal Murray to the club of <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lillada01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Damian Lillard</a>, <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/derozde01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">DeMar DeRozan</a> and <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/gordoer01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Eric Gordon</a> who have each hung 30+ points on the Jazz in the last 10 days.</p>
<p>Murray on the season averages 17 points a game. He’s not an All-Star player, but last night the Jazz defense sure made him look like one. Luckily they were able to hold <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/harriga01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Gary Harris</a> scoreless from the field, but they still allowed <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/morrimo01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Monte Morris</a> (an eight point per game scorer) to put up 15 points.</p>
<p>The Utah Jazz defense did well to hold the Nuggets under 100 points on the game, but they can’t afford a visiting, shorthanded team to make such big runs. This is ultimately the biggest failure of last night.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Pro #3 </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-81738 size-full" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2400,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1198878307.jpeg" alt="Utah Jazz" width="1600" height="2400" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1198878307.jpeg 1600w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1198878307-768x1152.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Mike Conley, Utah Jazz. Copyright 2020 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Mike Conley picks up right were he left off</h3>
<p>In the last game against the Portland Trail-Blazers, Mike Conley scored 22 points and looked comfortable and healthy for once.</p>
<p>Last night he followed it up with 21 points and five made treys. When Jokic got switched onto Mountain Mike on the perimeter, Conley made him pay with a slick step back three pointer.</p>
<p>There’s no doubt that Conley’s presence helps the Jazz run a better seven man rotation. He’s good at stopping fast breaks by picking up breakaway ball handlers in the backcourt, and fouling. He gives up some size on the defensive end, especially when paired with <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mitchdo01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Donovan Mitchell</a>, but overall he’s a positive to the Jazz.</p>
<p>https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/1225276711681396736</p>
<p>Conley added eight boards and five assists with only two turnovers. Was it the headband that did the trick last night?</p>
<p>Was it the extra practice sessions he’s got in since being fully healthy? Whatever has been helping Conley the past two games, the Jazz need to find it and make sure Conley is playing well for this critical stretch run.</p>
<p>He has silenced doubters suggesting he should be shipped off this trade deadline, and will continue to do so. The Jazz traded a lot of pieces to acquire Conley, and he simply has to win the point guard matchup more often than not to help the Jazz reach their true ceiling.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Con #3 </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-81744 size-full" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1198879451.jpeg" alt="Utah Jazz" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1198879451.jpeg 3200w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1198879451-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets. Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz. Copyright 2020 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Jazz out-hustled in the clutch</h3>
<p>We can sit here and make excuses for why the Jazz lost this game in the clutch.</p>
<p>Mike Conley was given the ball with 12 seconds on the clock with the team trailing by one point. He got to his spot just left of the free throw line, and had a wide open shot that missed. The excuse would be “that was a good shot that just didn’t go in”.</p>
<p>Then on the Jazz’s final offensive possession they gave the ball to Donovan at the half court line. The Nuggets didn’t give him any driving lanes and he had to be bailed out by a <em>long</em> Bogey three pointer that was on target but too short.</p>
<p>The excuse for that would be “Bogey is a knockdown shooter. I’ll let him take that shot 10 times out of 10”.</p>
<p>But forget the excuses! It was the 50-50 balls in the final five minutes that made the difference between victory and defeat.</p>
<p>At about the two minute mark, the Jazz got lucky and had a missed free throw from <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/doziepj01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">PJ Dozier</a>. As <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/i/inglejo01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Joe Ingles</a> slashed to the hoop he found an opening for a Rudy Gobert alley-oop and took it.</p>
<p>The problem was that a Nuggets player had his feet planted and Joe ran right into him. He took the charge, and that hustle play took away what would’ve been a three point Jazz lead.</p>
<p>The Jazz were able to force a stop on the other end, but as Donovan Mitchell was bringing the ball up the court he got his pocket picked. Monte Morris snuck up behind him and went for the steal, which ended up with the Jazz scrambling to get back on defense.</p>
<p>A missed Jamal Murray three pointer gave the long rebound back to <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/craigto01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Torrey Craig</a>, and the Nuggets were able to regroup and get Nikola Jokic an isolation play in the mid range. Jokic drained that shot with his high release, and the Jazz weren’t able score after that.</p>
<p>This was unacceptable. The Jazz are one of the best clutch teams in the league this season, and when playing on their home floor against a shorthanded team, they shouldn’t allow these kinds of things to happen in the clutch.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Utah Jazz: Team is free falling after winless week" data-url="https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/03/utah-jazz-free-falling/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/06/utah-jazz-three-pros-cons-nuggets-loss/"https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/03/utah-jazz-free-falling/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Utah Jazz: Team is free falling after winless week </a> </div>
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<p>Well it may have been the best win of the season for the Denver Nuggets, it was a gut punch to the Utah Jazz in their quest for a top three seed. Their schedule doesn’t lighten up anytime soon, as they face the Portland Trail-Blazers tomorrow night and then head to Texas for a back-to-back set.</p>
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