Positives Coming Out of Utah Jazz Loss to Lillard, Trail Blazers

After the Utah Jazz failed to match Damian Lillard in the fourth quarter, how should the team and its fans react?

The predictable backlash from losing a game happened again on Tuesday as the Utah Jazz came up just short in Portland. The injuries to Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors really hurt their depth and there just wasn’t enough left in the tank to finish the fourth quarter.

Should we temper our expectations after losing a close game to a close rival?

The Utah Hipster Internet Heroes are 0-1 - I can't wait to see @dannychau tomorrow at work.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) October 26, 2016

How many “Utah is on pace for an 0-82 record this season” jokes did you see online last night? (Not half as many as there were for the Golden State Warriors, but the point still stands). Nevertheless, I was very impressed with how easy Utah was getting into their offense early. The ball moved freely, everyone was taking open shots and they were going in.

In the third quarter, Joe Johnson jumped into the DeLorean and gave a retro “Iso Joe” performance that the Jazz rode into the final period. Rodney Hood was also fantastic; he gave us everything we would have wanted from him, including the highlight of the night for everyone except Evan Turner.

Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports

For a team that struggled to score at times last year, the offense does look better. The raw numbers are very similar to last season–

Last night, versus the Blazers:

49 percent shooting on 82 FGA, 8-of-24 from three-point range for 33 percent shooting, a perfect 1616 from the line.

Last year’s per game averages:

45 percent shooting on 80.4 FGA, 8.5-of-24 from three-point range for 35 percent and 74 percent from the line on 17 FT attempts.

It’s a great indication that the offense is more efficient, even without the two most consistent offensive players on the team. Jazz coach Quin Snyder put a huge emphasis on free throws this year and after a short preseason and last night’s opener, the early results are very encouraging.

George Hill was also as good as advertised, even if he didn’t shoot as well as he is capable of. One turnover in almost 40 minutes? The man is just a professional.

Given all they had going for them, Utah may not have gone as flat as they did if Hood hadn’t tweaked his ankle in the fourth. He deflated afterward and the Jazz simply didn’t have the offensive power to replace him.

Having said that, the Jazz missed Favors the most. Boris Diaw struggled in his first start and Rudy Gobert wasn’t always making himself available rolling to the basket after picks, as Favors does so well. There is no one on the Blazers roster that could have dealt with a healthy Favors and that is the difficulty with injuries.

The “next man up” cliché is great to say, but when the two closest things Utah has to All Stars are sitting on the bench clapping, losing this way to a close rival hurts.

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Ultimately, though, the real reason the Blazers won is because of the guy wearing the “letter O” on his jersey. Damian Lillard finished with a 39-9-6 line in 35 minutes of play. More importantly, he dropped 16 points in the final quarter when Utah ran out of gas late.

C.J. McCollum and Allen Crabbe also combined for a very healthy 43 points going 6-of-7 from three-point range. Utah played well, but Portland is a difficult road game even when healthy.

When they shoot 68 percent from distance, hit all of 22 their free throws and the Jazz missing are missing three rotation players, it’s safe to say the game was closer than it could have (and probably should have) been.

There is no shame losing to a good team with a great player while short-handed on the road. I’m just as optimistic about the season today as I was the morning before the game. We just have to wait for Gordon and Derrick to get back.

The most important thing to remember here… BASKETBALL IS BACK!