Quick Thoughts on Utah Jazz Loss to Warriors

After a disappointing loss despite a miraculous effort, here are my quick thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s effort against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.

I’m going to apologize in advance for my lack of cohesion and flow in this here piece. But after watching the Utah Jazz’s hard-fought 106-99 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, my mind is flying in a million directions at once.

And for the sake of not leaving anything out, I’m going to go ahead and hit you with my thoughts from the game in “Twitter-like” style minus the whole 140 characters thing, because let’s face it, I can be long-winded.

As I put these thoughts down immediately following the game, I suppose you could consider this my post-game interview with nothing but raw emotion shining through after a tough loss. Hopefully I won’t get fined by the league. Without further ado, here’s my quick thoughts:

• First of all, what an effort! The Jazz were down big right off the bat and could have easily hung their heads and let their tails hang between their legs. Instead they kept fighting and had a few shots and perhaps a few whistles gone their way, this could have been the most David vs. Goliath comeback and upset in recent memory.

• Props to the Jazz defense. Golden State came into this game averaging 120 points per contest and the Jazz held them to 106 even though the Warriors had 35 points in the first quarter in what was a rough 12 minutes for the Jazz. Truly the defense was good enough to win the game but without their top three scorers in action, there just wasn’t enough offensive firepower to win the game.

• But there also easily could have been enough offensive power if it weren’t for all the missed layups! Dante Exum, Shelvin Mack and Joe Johnson were the most guilty culprits but there were some easy shots missed across the board.

• Dante Exum killed us. He had a few solid defensive possessions but between silly fouls and horrible offensive execution, I would have honestly liked to have seen Raul Neto log more playing time. Exum went 1-of-11 from the field and lots of those misses were from close range.

• I would have liked to have seen a lot more Rudy Gobert pick and rolls. It seemed like they worked nearly every time the Jazz tried it but then they’d go away from it. Gobert can cause problems for this Warriors team and I can’t wait to see him and Favors in action together once again.

• But back again to Utah’s incredible effort. A starting lineup of Dante Exum, Shelvin Mack, Joe Johnson, Boris Diaw and Rudy Gobert lost by a mere seven points to Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green. Honestly, if the roles were switched and those four guys were out for the Warriors and the Jazz were at 100% full strength, I would expect a 20-point Utah win. I can’t say enough about this team’s heart. The Utah bench can be infuriating at times, but they’re a lot better and have a lot more fight in them than fans give them credit for.

• Switching gears here, I really, REALLY do not like this Golden State team. It’s unbelievable how quickly I’ve flipped on them. Two years ago I was cheering for them all out in the Finals. I loved Curry and Thompson during the Mark Jackson years. But in two quick years, they’ve completely transformed.

• One play that really personified my dislike for them was when Curry was cleanly stripped by Joe Ingles and rather than get back on defense and prevent the fast-break points, he stood there sulking and went instantly to complain to the ref, allowing the Jazz to get an easy two points. What was once an enjoyable team of stand-up pros who played a fun brand of basketball is now a bunch of entitled punks whose whining rivals that of the Clippers. They’re either showboating or complaining after nearly every play and it’s infuriating to watch.

• And don’t even get me started on Kevin Durant. I’ll keep it brief, but his new attitude on this Warriors team drives me crazy.

• And speaking of Durant, that vintage Gasol-like arm flail he pulled to draw the three-point phantom foul on Joe Ingles was an absolute joke. As was the time when Joe Johnson was called for a foul when Durant and Curry had their arms locked with one another. Those are more on the refs, I suppose, but Durant has definitely fallen from my graces since leaving OKC.

• But alright enough of that venting, let’s wrap things up by saluting the Jazz once more. Joe Ingles was the man off the bench logging a career-high 21 points thanks largely to five made threes. He had some fire in his eyes tonight that was great to see. Hopefully he can maintain that spark once his teammates get healthy.

• Then of course let’s not forget about Rudy Gobert who was 8-of-8 from the field for 20 points and 17 rebounds. He has turned into the lifeblood for this Jazz team. Gobert was the real deal and will be the key to beating this Warriors team in the rematches when hopefully the Jazz boast a healthier roster.

• Last of all, I hope that Jazz fans appreciate this effort tonight. It’s a drag having guys injured like this, but it’s incredible to have a team that never gives up no matter what the circumstance. It truly is a rarity in today’s league.

More from The J-Notes

• With the FIBA World Cup over for Simone Fontecchio, it’s clear he deserves minutes for the Utah Jazz
• Best, Worst and Most likely scenarios for the Utah Jazz this season
• Hoops Hype downplays the significance of the Utah Jazz’s valuable assets
• 3 Utah Jazz players who have the most to gain or lose this season
• Former Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gay is a free agent still and it shouldn’t surprise anyone

So there you have my quick thoughts on the Jazz loss. It was disappointing, to be sure, but I’ll take disappointing over embarrassing any day. Had Utah gotten off to a better start or done a few little things a tiny bit better, it might have been an entirely different game.

Nevertheless, Utah falls to 14-10 on the season and will look for revenge on December 20th at Oracle Arena, where hopefully they’ll have a couple more starters on hand to challenge the Warriors.