All Tied Up – How The Jazz Got Here

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After Oklahoma City confidently secured game one, the Utah Jazz knew they needed to make some adjustments to be in a position to steal the next and come back home to Salt Lake with an even series. They did so and now have home-court advantage in this best-of-seven first round match-up between the 4th and 5th seeds in the crowded Western Conference.

As they leave the Oklahoma City Airport, the Jazz are packing their suitcases with confidence, defense, and some game plan adjustments in their favor. Here’s what changed between the two games and how the Jazz arrived at this 1-1 split.

ICYMI: Two Jazz players are in the conversation for end-of-season awards and it’s time to make their case. For Rudy Gobert, is he an All-NBA center and Defensive Player of the Year nominee or did injuries deter the legitimacy of his candidacy? For Donovan Mitchell, people outside of Utah may wonder why we are infatuated with this guy, but he healed our heartbroken souls of 2017 and is giving us a glimpse of excitement, stardom, and passion we haven’t had in awhile.

Derrick Favors – A No Show and then a Firework Show

Derrick Favors was easily a game MVP in the Jazz win on Wednesday night. He lit up the skies of the midwest as he finished with 20 points and 16 boards, eight of which were offensive and led to second chance opportunities for his boys of the Wasatch. He played with energy and passion, something he hopes his crowd reciprocates on Saturday and Monday.

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In quite the contrast, his 2018 playoff debut was essentially a no-show.

Rudy Gobert drew early foul trouble in that tip-off last Sunday, which meant Favors needed to spend more time at the center position, matched up against beast Steven Adams. Favors looked a step slow and out of place as it was Adams securing second-chance boards and even displaying some offense. Out of everyone on the floor, Favors was the one who looked most out of place and played the worst, which his +/1 of -12 can testify.

The Jazz simply needed more from their veteran big man and he simply delivered. He was a step above his peers on rebounds and displayed a nice touch around the rim to bang in some points. He also continued to show glimpses of his range, connecting on two of his three corner three attempts. We needed Favors to play ball and he balled out.

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Paul George and Joe Ingles – Trash Talking Frenemies

Oklahoma City’s Paul George (13) shoots over Utah’s Joe Ingles (2) during Game 1 in the first round of the NBA playoffs between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Utah Jazz at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, Sunday, April 15, 2018. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman –

Billy Donovan won the first coaching matchup of the series by placing All-NBA defender Paul George on Joe Ingles, instead of All-Rookie Donovan Mitchell. Many thought George would have the task to harrass and slow down the offensive threat of 21 but was chasing around Slow-Mo-Joe instead. On the other end, Ingles took the defensive assignment on George, as expected.

It may not seem as such but, by pitting George on Ingles, OKC is cutting the head off the Jazz’s offensive snake. Yes, Ricky Rubio runs the point and yes, Donovan is the best scorer but Ingles is the main facilatator. In fact, Ingles running the pick-and-roll with a big is nearly automatic. Ingles makes good decisions and is a great passer that he gets the ball moving, and usually effecitvely. On top of that, when Joe is clicking from the corner, the Jazz are hard to beat. By plugging that area up, the Jazz offense stalled which is what the Thunder wanted.

Doing so, the Thunder won game one 116-108. Ingles had 13 points, but couldn’t get the Jazz offense humming and was a -6 from the floor. Perhaps more impactful was that George was glued to Ingles’ hip, and ear. The two were constantly trash-talking, but George had the game to back it up.

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Since Ingles doesn’t cross as much terrain as Donovan Mitchell would, Paul George gets to hide out a bit, too which helps him later on the offensive end. Ingles, too, must exert energy to play defense, which is harder to do on a guy like George who can score from anywhere with a variety of moves. In game one, George hit 8/11 threes, effortless, and had a game-high 36 points. Ingles was a cat chasing its tail, spun out of control and exhausted by halftime.

Game two, George still was on Ingles and Ingles had a rough stat line: 3 points and 2 assists. BUT, he was a +21 from the floor as he found other ways to make a difference. Sure, he didn’t fit in offensively but the guys around him made up the difference, which is the best way to counter this positional mismatch.

What helped this time around defensively was that Snyder adjusted his defensive rotation and Donovan Mitchell and Jae Crowder primarily squared up with PG-13 to help Ingles get back to his basics as shut down and help defender. Perhaps PG13 is too big for Ingles? Perhaps Ingles isn’t quick enough to fight through the screens for PG13? Anyway, the switch limited George’s impact in the second tilt between the two as he finished with 18 points, which is more in line with his season average.

Clint Johnson, of Salt City Hoops, wrote: 

Ingles and Crowder have been completely dominated by George so far this series, yet Utah is coming home with a split. If either of these Jazz forwards starts contributing even moderately by their standards on the season, how will the Thunder counter, especially on Utah’s home court?

He adds one other interesting anecdote:

This series would be completely different if Andre Roberson wasn’t hurt. George has been the most difference-making defender in this series (yes, more so than Gobert), effectively locking Ingles and Crowder out of the game. Yet Mitchell has set scoring records for a rookie in his first playoff experience. If Roberson were available to check Mitchell, it’s hard to see how Utah could score enough points to win this series. Without him, one has to wonder if George can keep up the smothering defense when he will likely need to lead his team in scoring most nights for the Thunder to be favorites to win. That’s an awfully tough burden for even a player of his caliber.

For the whole series, Ingles has a raw deal and is involved in a critical matchup on both ends of the court. This is why the Jazz paid him the money in the summer of 2017 though as his intangibles, impact without scoring, and grit are invaluable. It’s worth tracking his defensive assignment as the series moves forward.

Jonas Jerebko – a New Playoff JJ for the UJ

Another weak link Sunday afternoon was that of Jerebko’s impact in his four minutes in the first quarter against Carmelo Anthony. Jerebko was the first big off the bench, perhaps hoping to stretch the floor, and was pinned against Anthony who exploited him like varsity vs JV. Melo blew by him on spin moves and fadeaways and looked like a former All-Star. Remember, the Jazz built an early lead on OKC on Sunday but, by the end of the first quarter, it was tied 25-25 because Melo was taking advantage of Jerebko, who also couldn’t get it done on offense. He missed both his shot attempts and ended his four-minute stint at -7.

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Prior to Wednesday’s game, many wondered if he had seen his last minutes in the playoff series and then many cringed as he popped off the bench due to Jae Crowder’s early three fouls.

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This time around, Jerebko held his own. I, for one, breathed a sigh of relief.

10 points, 5 rebounds, hands in Melo’s face, and a +19 in 13 minutes of play.

Whew.

If the Jazz can continue to maximize his minutes, and if he can hold his own during the rest of the series, it will be advantageous for Utah. A key to the series is depth as the Jazz’s bench is better than OKC. Guys like Crowder, Jerebko, or Dante Exum have the opportunity to be X-Factors every night. To win the series, the Utah bench has to win out like they did on Wednesday.

Revisiting How It Can All Go Right

Prior to the series starting, I wrote what keys and matchups I was looking forward to in order for the Jazz to secure the series win. I predicted the Jazz would win in six and would need to do four things to get there. Let’s check for progress.

One: Coaching

Specifically, how would Coach Snyder handle freight train, Russell Westbrook? In both games, it seems the game plan is to let him do his thing as that means he is a usually a minus from the floor.

In addition, Coach Snyder wants to be physical with Russ, which is what he asked Rubio and Ingles as his primary defenders. Consequently, Russ was -1 on the floor in game one and -5 in game two.

I get it, he is the reigning MVP and really explosive and good. But I also believe he doesn’t make his team or teammates that much better. He hunts for stats and whines when things don’t go his way (like most of the NBA), and sometimes falters under pressure like he did game two when he went 0/4 in the fourth quarter.

Snyder is focusing his defensive energy elsewhere right now, and I’m sure a big game from Russ is in store, but right now we are living, and they are dying, with Westbrook being Westbrook.

What are you seeing from Coach Snyder’s plan versus The Brodie?

Two: Rudy’s Impact.

Would he be able to stay on the floor amidst shooters and defend in space? Would he continue to be bullied around by Adams, as has been the case in the New Zealander’s 10-2 head-to-head record?

The answer is yes…..and yes.

It’s a tale of two games as Adams did win the matchup in game one, which helped OKC take the opening win. In game two, however, Gobert was instrumental in pounding the paint and getting into Adam’s chest, even drawing the decisive sixth foul that took Adams out of the game. He played 35 and 33 minutes in each game, so he can stay on the court, and had similar stat lines in each: 13/14 points and -5 from the floor.  The biggest difference in game two was racking up 15 rebounds (compared to 7) and going 7/12 from the foul line (compared to 2/6). The free throws were especially timely, as they helped the Jazz maintain a two-possession lead in crunch time.

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The one-on-one situations in space aren’t occurring too frequently as the Jazz have been smart to switch and rotate as quickly as possible to get him moving back to his place, but he has been matched up with George who has been 50/50 in exploiting the big man.

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So far, Rudy has held his own, as we would expect, and been a key cog down low. These series (vs OKC and in the future vs Houston or Golden State or whatever) are hard for him but he has to prove his worth in order for the Jazz to continue to build their identity around him. Can he truly thrive as a defensive force and focus as the NBA evolves towards more shooting and space? We’re finding out now.

Three: Mitchell’s Moment.

D-Wade 2.0 is fine. Fine.

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Yup, just fine.

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Four: Win a Road Game

Chesapeake Energy Arena is a tough place to play, which is why I’d be scared to go there for a decisive game five tied 2-2 or a winner-take-all game seven. The Jazz got lucky last year to play a team in the playoffs that has no energy at home, but the Thunder is a windstorm hard to tame. For the Jazz to win in six, as I predicted, they would have to win one of these first two games in OKC.

I wasn’t discouraged after the first rodeo, but was nervous for Wednesday’s game to see if the Jazz could overcome their faults and get that needed game. Paul George was out of his mind game one and the Jazz’s defense was out of sync, compared to their season average. There were things in their control that they could fix, which is why I was hoping game two would be a different outcome.

And it was, thanks to an all-around team affair. Quin Snyder said postgame that :

“the biggest strength of our team is our team.”

Collectively, they did what they needed to do so that flight to the Great Salt Lake feels sweeter.

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