SALT LAKE CITY, UT – MARCH 28: Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz handles the ball against the Boston Celtics on March 28, 2018 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Utah Jazz will look to get back to .500 as they take on the Boston Celtics in the Gordon Hayward’s much-anticipated return.
Can you hear that? It kind of sounds like the whistling the wind makes sometimes? That is actually the sound of Utah Jazz fans everywhere practicing to boo Gordon Hayward upon his return to Salt Lake City.
Real quickly, let me just share my two cents about the Hayward return. The way that Gordon Hayward left the Utah Jazz was definitely not in the best taste. He didn’t give them a reasonable understanding of what his thoughts were, the news was broken early and he quickly denied them only to announce his decision in a lengthy players tribune article a few hours later. We later learned that he never contacted many in the Jazz organization to announce this news, most notably, Gail Miller.
When it comes to free agency, I have always been on the side of the players. The whole reason the NBA has free agency is so players can have a fair chance to play wherever they would like. If Gordon Hayward did not want to play in Utah, we should not have wanted to have him play in Utah.
In addition to that, if teams can trade a player at a moments notice with no regard for the person, why shouldn’t the player be able to do the same to the team?
At the end of the day, I think Jazz fans deserve the chance to boo Gordon Hayward. He deserves to truly know how Jazz fans everywhere think about the way he left things. After we have booed him though, I hope that we can move on. I always hated when we continued to boo Deron Williams six years after he essentially forced a trade from the team.
Now, on to the reason we are actually here. The game.
The Utah Jazz got off to a fairly promising start to the season. While there were definitely some kinks to iron out, they jumped out to a 4-2 record, and were a buzzer-beating tip away from downing the Warriors and being 5-1. They then proceeded to lose four in a row, and looked completely lost at times.
Looking to right the ship and hoping to carry on the momentum after a solid win over the Dallas Mavericks, the Jazz will be taking on the Boston Celtics. The Celtics boast one of the most talented rosters in the entire league, and the Jazz will need to be firing on all cylinders to compete with them.
There are two things that they will need to accomplish to magnify their chance at spoiling the return of Hayward.
@E_Woodyard <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/09/utah-jazz-vs-boston-celtics-keys-to-spoiling-haywards-return/"https://t.co/syUj5sMD9J">https://t.co/syUj5sMD9J <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/09/utah-jazz-vs-boston-celtics-keys-to-spoiling-haywards-return/"https://t.co/NYvCHatWKy">pic.twitter.com/NYvCHatWKy
<p>— Deseret News Sports (@desnewssports) <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/09/utah-jazz-vs-boston-celtics-keys-to-spoiling-haywards-return/"https://twitter.com/desnewssports/status/1060557073912520704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>November 8, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>When it comes to free agency, I have always been on the side of the players. The whole reason the NBA has free agency is so players can have a fair chance to play wherever they would like. If Gordon Hayward did not want to play in Utah, we should not have wanted to have him play in Utah.</p>
<p>In addition to that, if teams can trade a player at a moments notice with no regard for the person, why shouldn’t the player be able to do the same to the team?</p>
<p>At the end of the day, I think Jazz fans deserve the chance to boo Gordon Hayward. He deserves to truly know how Jazz fans everywhere think about the way he left things. After we have booed him though, I hope that we can move on. I always hated when we continued to boo <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/09/utah-jazz-vs-boston-celtics-keys-to-spoiling-haywards-return/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/willide01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Deron Williams</a> six years after he essentially forced a trade from the team.</p>
<p>Now, on to the reason we are actually here. The game.</p>
<p>The Utah Jazz got off to a fairly promising start to the season. While there were definitely some kinks to iron out, they jumped out to a 4-2 record, and were a buzzer-beating tip away from downing the Warriors and being 5-1. They then proceeded to lose four in a row, and looked completely lost at times.</p>
<p>Looking to right the ship and hoping to carry on the momentum after a solid win over the Dallas Mavericks, the Jazz will be taking on the Boston Celtics. The Celtics boast one of the most talented rosters in the entire league, and the Jazz will need to be firing on all cylinders to compete with them.</p>
<p>There are two things that they will need to accomplish to magnify their chance at spoiling the return of Hayward.</p>
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<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/2018/11/09/utah-jazz-vs-boston-celtics-keys-to-spoiling-haywards-return/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Pace of Play </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-73664" src=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/09/utah-jazz-vs-boston-celtics-keys-to-spoiling-haywards-return/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F11%2F1058982722-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/11/1058982722-850x560.jpeg 850w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/11/1058982722-768x507.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">SALT LAKE CITY, UT – NOVEMBER 07: Dante Exum #11 of the Utah Jazz drives to the basket against the Dallas Mavericks in the second half of a NBA game at Vivint Smart Home Arena on November 7, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Establish a high Pace of Play</h3>
<p>The Utah Jazz have been known for being one of the slowest teams in the league under Quin Snyder. They primarily have preferred to play in the half-court, they incorporate heavy ball movement, and they tend to shoot late into the shot clock.</p>
<p>This season though, they have actively looked to turn the corner. They are playing with more pace and purpose. Currently they are at a pace of close to 102 compared to 96.7 last season.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">That breathing room 3️⃣<a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/09/utah-jazz-vs-boston-celtics-keys-to-spoiling-haywards-return/"https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamIsEverything?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>#TeamIsEverything</a> <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/09/utah-jazz-vs-boston-celtics-keys-to-spoiling-haywards-return/"https://t.co/mjB3umq0Jy">pic.twitter.com/mjB3umq0Jy
<p>— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/09/utah-jazz-vs-boston-celtics-keys-to-spoiling-haywards-return/"https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/1060389702413373440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>November 8, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Ricky Rubio has been one of the main promoters of this. He consistently looks to push the pace of misses, and will look to kick the ball to open shooters. We can see from the game against Dallas that he whenever there is a long rebound, he is going to look for an opportunity to get an easy basket. Here, he runs the break and intentionally runs it into the teeth of the defense to create the open look for Mitchell.</p>
<p>The Boston Celtics are playing on a back-to-back on the road, and they had to come back from 22 points down to force overtime against the Phoenix Suns before ultimately winning. For all intents and purposes, they should be exhausted. If the Jazz can intentionally look to push the pace a bit more, they may be able to catch the Celtics with some tired legs.</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/2018/11/09/utah-jazz-vs-boston-celtics-keys-to-spoiling-haywards-return/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Protect the Three-Point Line </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-73670" src=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/09/utah-jazz-vs-boston-celtics-keys-to-spoiling-haywards-return/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F11%2F1052642982-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 20: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics shoots the ball against the New York Knicks on October 20, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Limit open 3-point shots for the Celtics</h3>
<p>This one may sound simple, but at 36.7 attempts a game, the Celtics take the fourth most threes per game in the league. With those attempts, they are making 13 threes per game, which is good for third in the league.</p>
<p>In contrast, the Utah Jazz are tied for third in the NBA at only allowing 27.6 3-point attempts per game.</p>
<p>Like I said, it sounds too simple, but if you can force the Boston Celtics out of their comfort zone by limiting the amount of threes they take and forcing them inside the perimeter. Once they get into the perimeter, good to finishing around the basket with <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/09/utah-jazz-vs-boston-celtics-keys-to-spoiling-haywards-return/"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> protecting the paint. All that this leaves teams is floaters just outside the paint, or the mid-range pull-up.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Utah Jazz to honor Gordon Hayward in game he claims ‘there was no way he’d miss’" data-url="https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/09/utah-jazz-honor-gordon-hayward-game-claims-theres-no-way-hed-miss/" 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/2018/11/09/utah-jazz-vs-boston-celtics-keys-to-spoiling-haywards-return/"https://thejnotes.com/2018/11/09/utah-jazz-honor-gordon-hayward-game-claims-theres-no-way-hed-miss/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Utah Jazz to honor Gordon Hayward in game he claims ‘there was no way he’d miss’ </a> </div>
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<p>Those are the best shots that the Jazz can hope for the Celtics to take, but even then, you have to contest everything with this Celtics team. With capable shooters like Jayson Tatum, the Celtics have a team that can score off of whatever the defense gives them. This will need to be an elite defensive night for the Jazz. Forcing them off the three-point line would be a good start.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">