NBA Playoffs 2017: How the Utah Jazz Can Rebound in Game 3

The Utah Jazz struggled to match the LA Clippers energy and fell short in Game 2. How can Utah match up if Rudy Gobert remains out?

The sequel rarely matches up to the original, and Game 2 of the first-round series between the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers was no exception. While Jazz fans were hoping for “The Dark Knight,” we ended up with “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.”

Instead of something new and inventive to accommodate for the loss of Rudy Gobert, Utah instead followed the same story line, hit the same comedic points and settled for a silly cameo.

(Make your own Donald Trump joke here.)

The negatives from Tuesday night were mostly related to Utah being unable to protect the rim. All season long, the Jazz have utilized an original defensive design allowing the long wings to be aggressive on the perimeter and chase teams off the three-point line. This forces, and encourages, perimeter players to drive to the basket into the open arms of Gobert.

That’s a great thing when the guy protecting the rim is the Stifle Tower. It’s very different when the interior defense is Derrick Favors, who is fighting to return from a long-term knee injury, or Jeff Withey. It’s difficult to reinvent the wheel in the playoffs after building an elite defensive system around Gobert. Old dog and new tricks you know. Tough to do.

The usual complaint about back-up point guard minutes remain the same. Shelvin Mack was abused by fat Raymond Felton. Raul Neto remains the best backup point guard on the team and had he been 100 percent, I’m sure he would have been playing. Chris Paul breaks ankles on his own, starting with a sprained ankle? No chance.

My last gripe isn’t really a gripe. CP3 remains one of the best point guards to ever play the game. He will be a problem as long as he’s on the court. (Please note I didn’t say the greatest ever; Paul has to walk past his statue on his way to the arena on Friday night).

https://twitter.com/SMarkHansen/status/849420161715228673

That being said, the Utah wings got to him some in game 2. Five turnovers is double his per-game average. Another big positive was how well Utah has defended the three-point line in both games. I wrote earlier this season how Dennis Lindsey built a roster of long athletic wings who can all switch on D for this exact purpose.

Both JJ Redick and Jamal Crawford have struggled this postseason and that is by design. As a Greg Popovich disciple, the intent is to take away your opponent’s best asset and LA is the seventh best three-point shooting team in the league. LA uses a lot of penetration from CP3 and picks to open up three-point shooters. Utah is all over that, but again without Gobert, the paint is vulnerable.

As a team, the Clippers shoot 36.7 percent from three at home and an even better 38 percent on the road. However, Utah has held them below 32 percent through two games while shooting 41 percent.

I would wager it is a long shot for Gobert to return on Friday. I’m no doctor, but Game 4 is a more realistic return date. In order to win Game 3 at home, the answer is not find another Rudy Gobert. The B-version of him is already on the Clippers.

Home court advantage is huge for Utah. Altitude aside, Utah fans are only Jazz fans. Chris Paul is aware.

Secondly, bombs away. Utah is a much better three-point shooting team at home. Without the interior presence of Gobert, especially his high pick and rolls that force double teams to him as he rolls to the basket, the Jazz need to knock down their shots. If Utah’s only advantage is limiting Clippers threes and making more of their own, THEN SHOOT MORE OF THEM!

Joe Ingles and Rodney Hood both shoot better at home, and the team energy overall was low in Game 2. It is hard to fabricate urgency unless you have it. LA was much more desperate and it showed. Now it’s Utah’s turn.

Lastly, Gordon Hayward needs to be the man. Watch the Cleveland Cavaliers’ games closely and you’ll notice when LeBron James wants to take matters into his own hands he seeks out defensive switches he likes and demands the ball. He finds a match up he likes first and then takes advantage. He doesn’t just put his head down against Paul George every time.

Even LeBron doesn’t force things on good defenders. Make them switch and get to the right elbow where Gordon does most of his iso work.

Zach Harper of Fanrag sports wrote about how Hayward needs to be more demonstrative about getting the ball. It isn’t what he typically wants to do and he isn’t a selfish player. But that’s what Utah needs right now. If he continues to struggle against Luc Mbah a Moute, find a switch he prefers and go to work.

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

While Game 2 was a domination inside by the Clippers, Utah hung tough. In order to win Game 3, they need to exploit their advantages at the three-point line and use the desperation from being the team coming off of a loss.

Winning 51 games as an injured team shows a resilient bunch. We’ve seen them recover and win after losing Rudy already this week. Other teams would crumble with that level of adversity. I’d rather be with this group than say these guys.

Right Gordon?

Apparently the worst thing you can say about the Utah Jazz fans are they are “homers”. Also not surprising Jazz fans find it upsetting. Fans openly still hold grudges against Derrick Fisher (yeah he lied), Mark Jackson (want to piss off a franchise? Just start a beef with their most beloved star that results in that player retiring!) and the Warriors franchise  as a whole (remember all the lying they did as they dressed D-League players while the starters had “surgeries”? That resulted in Harrison Barnes). I’m good with it though. Get riled up, guys!

I’m excited to see the homers out in full force Friday night. Utah needs every advantage they can get.