Key #1 – Continue to Force Turnovers
Although the Utah Jazz were a great team defensively last year, they weren’t exactly known for being disruptive to the extent that they logged a lot of steals and forced several turnovers. However, with guys like Ricky Rubio, Thabo Sefolosha and Donovan Mitchell added to the mix, that could certainly change this upcoming season and if Monday’s victory over the Phoenix Suns was any indication, then the Jazz are certainly off to a good start in that area.
Utah forced an incredible 31 turnovers in that victory which led to an astounding 47 points. Sure, some of that was due to the fact that Phoenix is an inexperienced team that was clearly overwhelmed by Utah’s suffocating defense, but given that the Lakers are a similar squad, the Jazz will hopefully be able to capitalize by doing the exact same thing to them.
The Triple Team! On the Jazz forcing 31 turnoverss, wherefore art thou Rubio?, and Mitchell highlights: https://t.co/2ErvnNJ7yF
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) October 10, 2017
The Lakers have averaged a relatively hefty 18.3 turnovers per game thus far in the preseason, so if Utah can similarly take advantage of that tendency to turn the ball over, they should be in great shape to end preseason with a perfect 5-0 record.