This has been a less than stellar start to the season for the Utah Jazz. Expectations were extremely high coming into the year, and many experts even projected the team to finish as high as the number two seed in the West. Needless to say, things have not gone according to plan, as the Jazz are now 8-10, and have suffered multiple embarrassing losses.
The biggest worry for many has been the seeming lack of effort at times, paired with defensive woes. This past week in particular has not been pretty. Starting with a 50-point loss to Dallas, then a 121-94 loss to an Indiana Pacers team playing without their best player, and most recently, the team was run off the floor at home by the Sacramento Kings.
Similar to last season, the NBA schedulers did the Jazz no favors in regards to the first half of the season. Currently tied for the most road games played in the NBA, and having played the fourth hardest schedule in the league per basketball-reference, the rough schedule is only going to continue as we enter into December and head to the New Year.
All that said, there are still reasons for optimism and hope if you are a Jazz fan. It may be hard to see now, but it is there if you look hard enough.
I went through and compared the statistical breakdown from both the wins and the losses to see what the major differences were, and perhaps to see what is the reasoning for the Jazz struggles early in the season. The following are the three main areas that determine whether the Jazz have been winning or losing this year.
@jaredwoodcox
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<p>— The J-Notes (@TheJNotes) <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-lessons-learned-from-this-seasons-wins-and-losses/"https://twitter.com/TheJNotes/status/1063870691768856576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>November 17, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Despite the Jazz often taking the right shots, sometimes you don’t have the horses. Not to toot my own horn, but during free agency I was preaching that the Jazz needed to target shooting, shooting, and more shooting. They didn’t do it. While I understood the decision to stand pat, it is beginning to backfire on the team.</p>
<p>In the article linked above, Jared Woodcox explained this issue well:</p>
<blockquote><p>Part of this trend has to do simply with misfortune. The Jazz won’t continue to shoot under 20 percent from three, I can almost guarantee it. They’re simply in a bit of a slump. But another part of it is that they simply don’t have the shooting necessary or the spacing on offense to be a force from the 3-point line or really anywhere on the floor.</p></blockquote>
<p>With the defense struggling, the Jazz need to find a way to resolve their shooting woes, because it has shown to be one of the biggest variances to winning and losing right now.</p>
<p>In their wins, the Jazz are shooting an impressive 48.5 percent from the field, including 35 percent from the three-point line, and an effective field goal percentage of 55.4 percent.</p>
<p>On the flip side, they are shooting just 43 percent overall, 30.9 percent from three, and their effective field goal percentage drops to 49.1 percent during losses this season.</p>
<p>One of the most shocking percentages though, is that the Jazz are shooting 76 percent from the free throw line in their wins, compared to a putrid 66.5 percent in their losses. At nearly 28 attempts per game, that is a lot of free points left on the table. For the month of November, they are only shooting 67 percent at the line.</p>
<p>Whether through a trade or practice, the Jazz need to improve their shooting consistency.</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/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-lessons-learned-from-this-seasons-wins-and-losses/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Pace of Play </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">HOUSTON, TX – OCTOBER 24: <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-lessons-learned-from-this-seasons-wins-and-losses/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/burksal01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Alec Burks</a> #10 of the Utah Jazz drives to the basket defended by PJ Tucker #17 of the Houston Rockets and <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-lessons-learned-from-this-seasons-wins-and-losses/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/cartemi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Michael Carter-Williams</a> #1 in the first half at Toyota Center on October 24, 2018 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Faster Pace = Winning</h3>
<p>One of the common complaints I am seeing among Jazz fans, is the lack of intensity the team seems to be playing with during their losses. The pace of play discrepancy would definitely back that complaint up.</p>
<p>During their wins this season, the Jazz have a pace of play of 101.56, which would rank about 13th in the league. In their losses, that number drops down to 98.8, which would rank fourth to last.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Final: Pacers 121, Jazz 94. Don't know if it's wrapping up a five-game trip or what, but Utah looked tired and slow for most of the night. Rubio had 28 on 10-13 shooting; nobody else did much. Sabonis put up 19-9-9 for the Pacers, who were without Oladipo, but not missing him.</p>
<p>— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-lessons-learned-from-this-seasons-wins-and-losses/"https://twitter.com/tribjazz/status/1064703430407536640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>November 20, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>During the preseason, the Jazz looked like they were going to be one of the faster teams in the league. Slowly but surely, they seem to have lost that, and are morphing into an entirely half-court team. In a league that is playing faster and smarter, it would be nice to see the Jazz pushing the pace to where they are consistently at or above a pace of 100.</p>
<p>They would also do well to slow the pace down for the other team. Transition defense was once a staple of this team. They didn’t bother for offensive rebounds, but instead would get back on defense and would force teams to score on them in the half-court. This season? Things like the below video are happening much too often.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Blink and De'Aaron Fox is already dunking on the other side of the court (via <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-lessons-learned-from-this-seasons-wins-and-losses/"https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@SacramentoKings) <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-lessons-learned-from-this-seasons-wins-and-losses/"https://t.co/vgrBIxDYRf">pic.twitter.com/vgrBIxDYRf
<p>— SLAM (@SLAMonline) <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-lessons-learned-from-this-seasons-wins-and-losses/"https://twitter.com/SLAMonline/status/1065450526731587584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>November 22, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>That was after a miss, but you can see that the team defense was simply getting back too slowly and not playing with the intensity needed. With an inconsistent offense, and a defense that is not currently living up to their standards, playing at a faster pace could open things up for the Jazz offensively. On the flip side, they need to play to their strengths defensively by getting back quickly and forcing teams to beat them in the half-court.</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/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-lessons-learned-from-this-seasons-wins-and-losses/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Defensive Rating </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – NOVEMBER 17: <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-lessons-learned-from-this-seasons-wins-and-losses/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/goberru01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Rudy Gobert</a> #27 of the Utah Jazz looks on during the third quarter of the game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on November 17, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>What happens to the defense in losses?</h3>
<p>The largest statistical variance I found for the Jazz was when you look at the Defensive Rating in wins versus losses. It is staggering. During wins for the Utah Jazz this season, they boast a defensive rating of 100.1. That would easily be the best defensive mark in the league. During their losses? The defense is non-existent, and drops to a meager 116.6, which would be by far the worst mark in the league.</p>
<p>That is just mind blowing. A difference of 16.5!</p>
<p>Last season, the Jazz still managed to have an average defensive rating of 110 in their losses. Something is just not quite right with the team this season on the defensive end, and it is particularly prevalent in their losses.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Oh boy. The <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-lessons-learned-from-this-seasons-wins-and-losses/"https://twitter.com/utahjazz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@utahjazz got scorched again on defense and a Sacramento Kings team they used to book wins in advance against beat them at the Viv Wednesday night. <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-lessons-learned-from-this-seasons-wins-and-losses/"https://twitter.com/andyblarsen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@andyblarsen sorts through the latest Jazz mess in the Triple Team. <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-lessons-learned-from-this-seasons-wins-and-losses/"https://t.co/LsDkc93DCP">https://t.co/LsDkc93DCP <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-lessons-learned-from-this-seasons-wins-and-losses/"https://t.co/NvuBcQ7nfr">pic.twitter.com/NvuBcQ7nfr
<p>— Salt Lake Tribune Sports (@sltribsports) <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-lessons-learned-from-this-seasons-wins-and-losses/"https://twitter.com/sltribsports/status/1065633825399570432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>November 22, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Defense and toughness are what made this team great last season, and for the Jazz to be great again, they will have to reestablish that identity.</p>
<p>When we think Utah Jazz defense, we think Rudy Gobert. So it is easy to just assume that he is to blame for the defensive woes. I don’t blame Rudy Gobert. It seems like he has been fairly dominant all season. I point the blame at our guards. Too often it feels like there is limited perimeter resistance. They are either allowing uncontested shots, or playing matador defense and relying on Gobert to stop everything.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Utah Jazz: Three things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving" data-url="https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-three-things-thankful-thanksgiving-2/" 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/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-lessons-learned-from-this-seasons-wins-and-losses/"https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/22/utah-jazz-three-things-thankful-thanksgiving-2/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Utah Jazz: Three things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving </a> </div>
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<p>The Jazz need everyone’s collective effort to improve the issues that have been far too common on defense. It starts with the guards protecting the perimeter.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">