Second Quarters Continue to Sink the Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz have been strong out of the gate in recent games, only to watch big leads evaporate in the second quarter.

In Tuesday’s 91-84 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks, the Utah Jazz followed an all-too-familiar script. The team’s versatile, young starting five stormed out of the gate, putting points on the board and playing suffocating defense to build a nice lead.

Then the second quarter began.

After outscoring Atlanta 27-15 during the first period, the Jazz were outscored by 10 in the second (and 10 more in the third) to put themselves into a major hole. The Jazz fought valiantly to narrow the gap as the game wore on, but couldn’t overcome the deficit in the end.

Some have pointed to Utah’s inability to close out games as the Achilles heel while the losses have continued to mount. While failure in the clutch is an accomplice, the damage done during the middle quarters of games is holding the smoking gun. Specifically, it’s the ineffectiveness of the bench during second quarter droughts that is making life hard.

The numbers are startling; in the last ten games, the Jazz are getting outscored by 24 points per 100 possessions in the second quarter. They’re also shooting under 40 percent and committing five turnovers per game in the same period.

Let’s contrast that with the starters; the Jazz are outscoring opponents by the same 24 points per 100 possessions, while shooting nearly 52 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range in the first quarter.

That’s a double-digit point swing in the wrong direction and it’s happening with incredible frequency.

While the Jazz could be better at finishing games in the clutch–they are getting outscored by a bucket per game in the fourth quarter–they would probably have a better ability to do so if they weren’t fighting tooth and nail to even get back into games after the inevitable second quarter slump.

It’s been the scapegoat for many of the team’s failures this season, but it holds true here as well–a lack of depth across the board has hamstrung the Jazz. After the starters fire their shots in the opening quarter, Jazz coach Quin Snyder is left with an empty quiver in the second.

The Jazz starting five of Shelvin Mack, Rodney Hood, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert has posted a net rating of 11.3 in the aforementioned 10-game stretch. However, the second unit just doesn’t have the same kind of sizzle.

Simply put, there’s just not enough meat on the bones of the Jazz roster.

Snyder has attempted to shuffle lineups and keep some of his big guns on the floor with the reserves, but the doldrums of the second 12 minutes have continued. A coach can use whatever clever machinations he wants to compensate for it, but, in the end, a thin roster is a thin roster.

Next: Alec Burks' Return Won't Ensure a Playoff Berth

Until that changes, we can probably expect more of the same from the team for the forseeable future. Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey will inevitably seek to remedy the problem in the offseason, be it through free agency, the trade market or the draft.

In the meantime, the Jazz will continue to sing the second quarter blues and the team’s playoff ambitions will remain just that–ambitions.