11/1 Utah Jazz vs. Portland Trail Blazers: Keys to the game

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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – OCTOBER 30: Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz grabs the loose ball in front of Dennis Smith Jr. #1 of the Dallas Mavericks during first half action at Vivint Smart Home Arena on October 30, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) /

Keep the Turnovers to a Minimum

The Utah Jazz have had trouble holding onto the ball early in the season. They are averaging 18.7 turnovers per game, which is 29th in the NBA. To put that into perspective, they are turning the ball over on 20 percent of their possessions. Ricky Rubio is the main culprit. He is fifth-worst in turnovers per game at 4.4 per game.

Snyder on the turnovers: Our decisions just weren't very good. Part of that was because we weren't in the right mindset.
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) October 26, 2017

It was clear that limiting turnovers was a main focus for the Jazz heading into the game against Dallas Mavericks, and the effects were there. They finished with a season-low 14 turnovers, while forcing 24 for the Mavericks.

The Blazers do not force a large amount of turnovers, but they have a high-scoring offense, so the Jazz need to find a way to not add fuel to the fire by giving them additional possessions. Utah is currently forcing a turnover on 18.9 percent of their opponents possessions; third-best rate in the NBA.

Look for Utah to take better care of the basketball, while also forcing turnovers on the other end of the floor. Getting additional possessions through creating turnovers is going to be a key factor in scoring enough points to keep pace with the Blazers offense.

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