Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
The Utah Jazz will face the Detroit Pistons this evening with a great opportunity to build off of last night’s victory in Boston. Here are the keys to a victory.
In case you missed it last night, the Utah Jazz beat the Boston Celtics to make it three straight wins in the TD Garden itself. The Jazz are on a four game winning streak and have a chance to sweep their road trip tonight in Motor City.
Last time the Jazz played the Detroit Pistons, it was during what would become a 10 game winning streak for Utah. Jordan Clarkson and Rayjon Tucker were still in their first couple weeks as Jazzmen, and Detroit was fighting a multitude of injuries.
Fast forward two months later, and the Pistons roster has gone from bad to worse. Their starting point guard Reggie Jackson was bought out, and signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. Their starting center and former best player Andre Drummond was shipped off at the trade deadline.
Blake Griffin is done for the season with a knee injury, and the steady force of this season, Derrick Rose, is out for tonight’s game with an ankle injury. I wish I could say that was it for the report of the team being dismantled, but sadly it’s not.
Former lottery pick Luke Kennard (who was drafted one spot ahead of Donovan Mitchell) is fighting injuries with both of his knees, and the team lost Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers via the buyout season.
So in other words, if you took a look at their roster last September and identified their eight best players, most of them are either off the team now or on the shelf nursing injuries.
I picked this team to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference before the season started, now I’m not so sure if they can win even three more games this season.
Nevertheless, in the NBA anything can happen. No victory is guaranteed, and that’s especially true as the Jazz will be on the second leg of a back-to-back and inevitably tired at the conclusion of a four game road trip.
Here are three keys to a victory in tonight’s game.
fighting a multitude of injuries</a>.</p>
<p>Fast forward two months later, and the Pistons roster has gone from bad to worse. Their starting point guard <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jacksre01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Reggie Jackson</a> was bought out, and signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. Their starting center and former best player <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/drumman01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Andre Drummond</a> was shipped off at the trade deadline.</p>
<p><a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/griffbl01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Blake Griffin</a> is done for the season with a knee injury, and the steady force of this season, <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/rosede01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Derrick Rose</a>, is out for tonight’s game with an ankle injury. I wish I could say that was it for the report of the team being dismantled, but sadly it’s not.</p>
<p>Former lottery pick <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kennalu01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Luke Kennard</a> (who was drafted one spot ahead of <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mitchdo01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Donovan Mitchell</a>) is fighting injuries with both of his knees, and the team lost <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/morrima02.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Markieff Morris</a> to the Los Angeles Lakers via the buyout season.</p>
<p>So in other words, if you took a look at their roster last September and identified their eight best players, most of them are either off the team now or on the shelf nursing injuries.</p>
<p>I picked this team to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference before the season started, now I’m not so sure if they can win even three more games this season.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, in the NBA anything can happen. No victory is guaranteed, and that’s especially true as the Jazz will be on the second leg of a back-to-back and inevitably tired at the conclusion of a four game road trip.</p>
<p>Here are three keys to a victory in tonight’s game.</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/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Intensity </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_82276" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-82276 size-full" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2331,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1197517065.jpeg" alt="Utah Jazz" width="3200" height="2331" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1197517065.jpeg 3200w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1197517065-768x559.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
</div>
<h3>Intensity</h3>
<p>There’s no doubt the Utah Jazz have taken a step back this year as far as intensity and focus go. For me the common theme in both players and coaches interviews is a laid back one, that they’re planning on peaking at the right time and hopefully playing in June.</p>
<p>When the Jazz were really struggling back in December, and rattling off unconvincing wins, Quin Snyder would usually blow it off and note that their win-loss record didn’t reflect a slow start to the season compared to previous years.</p>
<p>When the team had their four game skid in early February, nobody sounded too worried. The responses to the media were typical cliche, “We need to improve that to be a good team”. It was the really bad four game skid after the All-Star break that (hopefully) sent this team a wake up call.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Utah Jazz: Now's the time to put up or shut up in the West</p>
<p>(via … me)<a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://t.co/vJjw5p3bwe">https://t.co/vJjw5p3bwe
<p>— Lucas 'Lucho' Miller (@EchelonCopy) <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://twitter.com/EchelonCopy/status/1221117369000456192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>January 25, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>All year long this team has been able to talk the talk, but can they walk the walk? They’ve done it for short stretches at a time, but can they do it consistently, and when it matters most?</p>
<p>They key for tonight’s game will be bringing an intensity and focus from the opening tip to the final buzzer. If they do that, it could be a lopsided twenty point lead by halftime and a relatively easy victory.</p>
<p>If they fail to do that, this game could be really similar to the New York Knicks game last Wednesday. Allowing your opponent, especially a lesser opponent, to go on large runs and erase double digit leads is unacceptable.</p>
<p>My hope is that Donovan Mitchell and <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/goberru01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Rudy Gobert</a> get some decent rest in this game without having to play and scrap for their usual 30+ minutes.</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/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Slow down Woody </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_82273" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-82273 size-full" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1209386740-1.jpeg" alt="Utah Jazz" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1209386740-1.jpeg 1600w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1209386740-1-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Christian Wood, Detroit Pistons. Copyright 2020 NBAE. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
</div>
<h3>Christian Wood</h3>
<p>If the Jazz are going to get the victory they want tonight, they need to stop <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/woodch01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Christian Wood</a>. Since his team has been dismantled, Wood has stepped up and taken advantage of extra playing time and touches.</p>
<p>Wood shockingly went undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, but has quietly developed into a nice NBA player the past five years. He made a jump from a fringe rotation guy to a role player last season with the New Orleans Pelicans, and has maintained his solid play this season.</p>
<p>In a lot of ways this reminds me of the situation of the Golden State Warriors and <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/pascher01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Eric Paschall</a>. They didn’t plan on playing Paschall extended minutes as a starter when they acquired him, but when they had no choice but to do it, the young power forward was a pleasant surprise.</p>
<p>https://twitter.com/DetroitPistons/status/1235398911063404547</p>
<p>Wood was a name a couple of Jazz pundits had on their wishlist for the trade deadline, and I don’t blame them. He can play the stretch four position without giving up too much defensively, the type of player the Jazz have a glaring hole at on their roster.</p>
<p>Since the All-Star break, he is averaging 22 points, 10 rebounds, and a block per game on 52/43/82 shooting splits. Not too shabby at all.</p>
<p>As for who should take on the defensive assignment, he might cause a little trouble for <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/onealro01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Royce O’Neale</a> given the six inch gap in height. It’ll be interesting to see how the Jazz choose to contain him, especially since he plays in a front court with <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hensojo01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">John Henson</a> (33 percent shooter from deep).</p>
<p><a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/portibo01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Bobby Portis</a> went off for 21 points when the Knicks played the Jazz, and <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/randlju01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Julius Randle</a> went off for 32 points. The Jazz have had trouble containing mobile power forwards of late, so hopefully they can get it together and lock down the paint and perimeter tonight.</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/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Take care of the ball </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_82275" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-82275 size-full" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1066,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1200020299.jpeg" alt="Utah Jazz" width="1600" height="1066" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1200020299.jpeg 1600w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1200020299-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Bojan Bogdanovic, Utah Jazz. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
</div>
<h3>Cut Down Turnovers</h3>
<p>Over the last five games, Utah is 24th in the league for turnover percentage. It was apparent in last night’s game against the Celtics that they could not take care of the ball that well.</p>
<p>In the opening minutes of the game, there were two major unforced errors, specifically passes to the corner that were way off target and went into the stands of the crowd. It’s good that the Jazz are looking to be unselfish with the ball and create open looks from deep, but not if that’s the result.</p>
<p>Donovan Mitchell had three turnovers last night, and <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bogdabo02.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Bojan Bogdanovic</a> had five. That’s a big reason why they couldn’t get going last night with their usual 20+ points, is a lack of confidence handling the ball and driving to the lane.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="light" data-text="Scouting out major weaknesses of the Utah Jazz" data-url="https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/23/utah-jazz-scouting-weaknesses/" data-call-to-action="Related Story"> <div class="story-link-team-logo"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: " data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://thejnotes.com/2020/02/23/utah-jazz-scouting-weaknesses/"> <img src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_108,h_108,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.fansided.com%2Flogos%2Fnba%2Fjazz__108x108.png"> <div class="story-link-text-box"> <span class="call_to_action">Related Story</span> <h3 class="title-text" style="color: #00265D;">Scouting out major weaknesses of the Utah Jazz</h3> <p class="read-now">Read now >></p> </div> </a> </div>
</div>
<p>Luckily <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/conlemi01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Mike Conley</a> was able to bail them out with his six made treys, but even Mountain Mike had five turnovers himself.</p>
<p>The Pistons are even worse in the turnover department, ranking 29th in the league over the last five games in turnover percentage. Forcing the Pistons to turnover the ball while limiting giveaways themselves will lead to big runs for the Jazz tonight.</p>
<p>Over the last five games, the Pistons are 10th in the league for steals per game, and the Jazz are 27th. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Jazz lose tonight’s battle with turnovers, and as a result let the Pistons stay within striking distance the whole game.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Conley in top form at right time for Utah Jazz" data-url="https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/mike-conley-form-right-time-utah-jazz/" 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/2020/03/07/utah-jazz-intensity-fifth-straight/"https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/07/mike-conley-form-right-time-utah-jazz/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Conley in top form at right time for Utah Jazz </a> </div>
</div>
<p>Cleaning up bad passes and slow-footed rotations on offense will be critical in preparation for the NBA playoffs this spring. My final prediction of the score tonight will be a 102 to 93 win for the Utah Jazz.</p>
<p> </p><!—pageview_candidate—>">