Key #3 – Take good shots and get them to drop
This third and final key has less to do with the opposing Miami Heat and more to do with an absolutely critical necessity for the Jazz. Utah’s offense has been utterly abysmal in recent games as they’ve struggled to get their shots to fall. In their last three contests, they’ve gone just 34.3 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from deep. While that in some ways is the nature of basketball, there’s also no questioning that it’s a disturbing trend.
And part of the reason for the missed shots hasn’t just been bad luck, it’s been due to several Jazz miscues. One of those is a lack of confidence in their shooting ability. At times several Jazzmen have looked reluctant to shoot and have been much too passive, giving up good, open looks to either pass the ball or dribble into a much less intelligent shot.
Rodney Hood has been one of the main culprits of this, but Joe Ingles has also passed up good looks from deep and Derrick Favors hasn’t been nearly as aggressive as the team could use him being.
Rodney Hood probably should have taken this layup and not casually dribbled the ball out for a three pic.twitter.com/3fg0m0ib5q
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) November 8, 2017
However, some guys on the team fall in the absolute opposite category in that rather than being gun-shy, they’re hoisting up some unwise and unnecessary shots. This at times includes both of Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell. Now, don’t get me wrong, some of their missed shots are nothing more than just that – missed shots. But at other times, they’re putting ill-advised shots up too early in the shot clock or that are relatively well-defended rather than looking for a better opportunity.
Meanwhile, Rodney Hood seems to be the odd one that finds himself in both categories as at times he’s too passive and other times his decision-making is questionable.
In short, the Jazz have to do a better job of taking smart shots and by putting themselves in a more optimal situation, they should be able to then convert at a higher rate. That in turn should also help them have more energy and focus on defense which ought to completely revolutionize what have been dismal showings for the Jazz in recent games.