What is to blame for this Utah Jazz losing streak?
In the National Basketball Association, even a contending team like the Utah Jazz can’t assume a victory. Nonetheless, fans of the team could be forgiven if they were banking on a win vs the Detroit Pistons in last night’s contest. They were simply mistaken in doing so.
The Jazz were up by as much as 21 in the first half. They still lost by a final score of 126-116 to, by record, the second worst team in the NBA. It was the team’s third consecutive loss. For a Utah Jazz club with championship aspirations, this was as bleak as it gets.
Who, or what, is responsible?
Utah Jazz struggling to weather Rudy Gobert’s absence
The first of those three straight losses came in a contest where the Jazz were substantially undermanned. It was hard to blame anything outside of luck on their loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Since then, they’ve regained all of their starters outside of Rudy Gobert. One would imagine that equipped them with enough firepower to overcome the Indiana Pacers or Detroit Pistons. One would be wrong.
Quin Snyder’s defense scheme is reliant on aggressively funneling ball-handlers into the paint, where Gobert awaits them. Over the past 3 games, it has become apparent that Hassan Whiteside is not equipped to fill Gobert’s shoes.
That’s not a knock on Whiteside. He came to the Utah Jazz to sub in for Gobert for stretches, not outright replace him. Regardless, the Jazz are sorely missing Gobert’s impeccable instincts and timing. Whiteside finds himself out of position on occasion. The same could be said of many NBA centers, but not Rudy Gobert.
The discrepancy in their respective court awareness is allowing opponents to enjoy field days against the Jazzmen. Rookies are not supposed to be scoring career highs against this club.
Utah Jazz can’t contain Cade Cunningham
Regardless, that’s exactly what happened last night. Recent number one overall pick Cade Cunningham went for a career high 29 points on 10/17 shooting from the field and 5/9 shooting from beyond the arc.
Cunningham is a special talent, but it’s not hard to conclude that he’d have been unlikely to hit a career high with Rudy Gobert protecting the paint. He made his way to the paint at will, which in turn opened up easy three-point opportunities against a scrambling Jazz defense.
In fact, this entire Pistons offense opened up in the second half. They finished this game shooting 51.6% from the field and 51.4% from three-point range. Saddiq Bey chipped in 29 points on 10/14 shooting from the field and 5/7 shooting from three-point range.
Bey, like Cunningham, is a promising young player. That doesn’t account for him putting up NBA2k22-on-rookie like stats vs the Utah Jazz.
What’s next for these Utah Jazz?
At this point, it is unclear when Rudy Gobert will return to action. The Jazz will have to make a schematic change to adjust to his absence. If they couldn’t contain the 9-30 Detroit Pistons without him, it’s hard to imagine who they’ll stop.
The NBA schedule, on the other hand, stops for nobody. The Utah Jazz square off with the Cleveland Cavaliers tomorrow night. They’re certainly a more formidable challenge than the Pistons.
