Quin Snyder’s Points Of Emphasis Checklist

November 21, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder instructs during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Jazz 101-88. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

We’ve chronicled Quin Snyder’s new system and goals quite a bit here at PnB. However, most notably in losses, those points of emphasis have largely failed, especially on the defensive end — that latter what made the difference in the hiring of the fiery head coach.

Rather than playing the exciting new brand of basketball so highly touted by PR and anticipated by fans, the Utah Jazz often fall into patterns of isolation play and poor defensive habits. A quick reminder of how the Jazz are supposed to be playing, according to Quin:

• Play with purpose

• Play with pace

• Play with the pass

• Defense

“Why isn’t it working?” is an interesting question worth asking. You’re likely to get a variety of answers ranging from “Bad habits,” “Poor coaching,” “The players just aren’t that good/smart/experienced,” to even “They’re tanking.”

Purpose

Nine of the Jazz’s 12 losses have been by a margin greater than ten points, and during the recent five game losing streak we’ve heard a lot of talk about effort level. That is, that the team has been found wanting in their desire to win when things get a little tough.

Quin Snyder asked his team to get up and start guarding their man when they cross half court against the New Orleans Pelicans. Instead, after not getting a call at one end, Derrick Favors set a poor example by walking up the court with shoulders slumped resulting in a career high for Anthony Davis.

Derrick Favors slacks off on defense, frustrated by Anthony Davis

That play happened at the 5:00 minute mark in the embedded video below.

But Favors, once touted as a potential future Defensive Player of the Year candidate by some, was beaten all night long by Davis.

Bad body language was often noted as a problem for Gordon Hayward last year, an area he’s improved in this season by leaps and bounds. As a co-leader of the team on the court, Derrick Favors will need to work on this. You can’t set a good example of playing with purpose with sulking body language.

Pace

The young Jazz were expected to run a wide open, fast-paced offense that would take advantage of their strengths and youthful athleticism.

Instead we find Utah often falling into isolation plays late in the shot clock, the same type of play we’d grown accustomed to over the last few years, only the former Jazz players were more successful and experienced at creating points in iso situations.

Utah is the fourth-slowest paced team in the NBA, according to BasketballReference, getting nearly three less possessions a game for it. The league average for possessions in a game is 93.3. The Jazz are averaging only 90.6 possessions per game.

Reasons for a slow pace can be intentional, although in this case, as a direct Quin edict is to play with pace, it seems more likely that the Jazz are simply inept when it comes to breaking down opposing defenses. The result is too often a late heave or a rushed, contested shot with a shot clock running dry.

The Jazz are scoring the 12th-most fastbreak points per game, 13.5.

For all the complaints about how boring and slow previous Jazz seasons have been, this year’s Utah team is the slowest paced since 2005-06.

Pass

The new Snyder system was supposed to emulate the San Antonio Spurs roots he blossomed in. Gregg Popovich teams pass the ball as if it were a prickly pear on fire on a Texas summer day.

Snyder’s Jazz are currently 19th-best in the NBA, only 20.8 assists per game. This represents the second-lowest assists per game average by a Jazz team in the last ten years.

For all the complaints about how boring and slow previous Jazz seasons have been, this year’s Utah team is the slowest paced since 2005-06

Again, the Jazz fall into isolation ball far too often. This could be a result of:

• Poor habits by players

• An offensive scheme they don’t yet comprehend

• Opposing defenses that are simply better than the Jazz’s offensive capability at this point

• Players playing outside of the intended scheme

Whatever the case, it’s Quin’s job to rectify any and all of the above should he wish to succeed and impose his will on opponents with his points of emphasis.

Defense

Oh boy. I’m not even sure where to start here. The Jazz defense is leakier than Larry H. Miller at a press conference.

The Jazz are currently the third-worst defensive team in the NBA, according to NBA.com Stats, with a 108.8 defensive rating.

Gotta start somewhere, so we’ll just highlight a few areas Utah’s getting killed the worst in.

It’s been reported numerous times that the Jazz work on transition defense daily. “Get back and build a wall,” Snyder says. The Jazz are giving up the ninth-most fastbreak points per game to opponents, 12.9.

They’re letting opponents get nearly one-fifth of their point totals from turnovers alone, 19.5 points per game

Most fans have noticed a poor ability to garner defensive rebounds this season, especially at key times in games when the Jazz could seize the momentum with another basket after a defensive stop. Defensive rebounds are absolutely critical to defensive success, and Snyder’s guys are giving up the fifth-most second chance to opponents, 14.5 per game.

Most glaring might be points off of turnovers. While the Jazz have a positive differential in terms of their own turnovers as compared to their opponents, Utah gives up the second-most points off of turnovers per game. They’re letting opponents get nearly one-fifth of their point totals from turnovers alone, 19.5 points per game.

Better transition defense, rebounding and ball care is a good place to start shoring up a glaringly bad defense.

There’s been some individual baby steps in recent games, such as Enes Kanter improving his defense a little, but there’s clearly a long way to go in reaching Quin Snyder’s goals and points of emphasis.

The Jazz have been blown out by a combined 58 points on their five game losing streak, including four losses by double digits.