Utah Jazz vs Houston Rockets Instant Reactions: Utah’s identity crisis continues

The Utah Jazz struggled to find a rhythm against a surging Houston Rockets team as they lost their second straight game by a total of 112-101 at home.

On a night like last night, Utah Jazz fans have to dig deep to find the silver linings after a tough loss.

One such victory came even before the Jazz and Houston Rockets tipped off.

In the closing seconds of the Phildaelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers game, Brandon Ingram hit what would be the game winning three with less than a second remaining.

It goes against my very fiber as a Jazz fan to cheer for a Laker, but if it wasn’t for Ingram’s late game heroics on TNT, we would have been forced to watch a Philly/LA overtime instead of the opening minutes of the Jazz game.

Just over a month ago, the Jazz lost to the Rockets 137-110. While last night’s matchup was not nearly as lopsided, Houston clearly showed that they are on a completely different tier than this Jazz team.

Houston, surprisingly, has become a top five defensive squad in the NBA. Combine their newfound defensive identity with their ability to fill the floor with shooters, and you have an extremely dangerous squad.

The Jazz were able to keep it close after two quarters. Utah went into the half only trailing by five. But then Houston came out on fire to open the third quarter and grew their 51-46 halftime lead to 18 points in just four minutes to open the third quarter.

Utah made a few impressive runs late, however, Houston was able to knock down just enough timely threes to keep Utah at a safe distance for most of the second half.

James Harden finished with 29 points for the Rockets and Ryan Anderson added 23 points on an impressive 9-of-11 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from downtown.

Utah was, however, able to snap Houston’s streak of seven straight victories by at least 15 points by falling by just 11 points. #SilverLining

Let’s take a look at some of my instant reactions from last night’s loss:

Don’t panic… yet

Less than a week removed from Utah’s six-game winning streak, the tanking rhetoric has seemed to make its return. I even saw a couple tweets calling for the Jazz to trade Rudy Gobert.

The simple truth is, the Houston Rockets are a VERY good team.

This was always going to be a tough game for the Jazz, even if they were healthy. Remember, Utah is still without Joe Johnson and Rodney Hood.

This is no excuse for the way Utah played last night, especially in the third quarter, but it is a sign of potential improvement for a Jazz team that is still trying to figure out exactly who they are.

Last night was a painfully obvious example of the ineffectiveness of Utah’s offense when Ricky Rubio, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert are on the floor together.

Utah needs to find a way to balance the skill sets of Gobert and Favors more effectively in order to maintain their floor spacing and ability to get open looks from downtown. Utah can’t continue to play with three non-shooters and expect to compete, especially against a high-powered offense like the Rockets.

Many Jazz fans seem to be calling for the benching of Rubio in favor of Raul Neto. I am not opposed to the idea, at least until Hood is healthy. Neto has shown flashes of offensive brilliance and continues to play scrappy defense on the other end.

If anyone can figure out how to get the most out of this current group of Jazz players, it is Quin Snyder. The inconsistency this season has been frustrating, but this team is closer than many might think.

https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/939019167163760640

Utah’s best player?

Donovan Mitchell is Utah’s best player right now and it might not even be all that close.

Whether that is a good or bad omen is still up for debate. One thing is clear, Donovan Mitchell is the real deal and more and more NBA players are taking notice.

In Chris Paul’s post-game remarks he stated that, “Utah got a gem” when talking about Mitchell. Paul also emphasized the rookie’s continued fight in the fourth quarter when the game was all but over.

Add Paul to the growing list of NBA players impressed by Mitchell’s early career.

Paul finished the night one rebound shy of a triple double adding 18 points and 13 assists.

While Paul may have gotten the upper hand last night, this tweet still helped me feel a bit better after last night’s loss.

It isn’t untrue.

Mitchell finished the night with 26 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field. What really impressed me last night about Mitchell was his ability to adjust his game early on when things weren’t going his way.

Mitchell went 0-of-4 from the field in the first quarter, however, he amassed three rebounds and two assists in the opening period. Early in the season, Mitchell may have continued to force shots up. Instead he got teammates involved until the game came to him.

Last night was Mitchell’s eleventh 20-plus point game of the season which leads all rookies.

This kid is something else and will almost certainly be a piece that the Jazz can build around for years to come. There were times where Donovan was Utah’s offense. While he has shown the ability to score from all over the floor, that isn’t a fair assignment to ask of a rookie going up against Chris Paul and one of the league’s best teams.

What’s next?

Utah (13-13) continues their difficult December stretch by taking on the 13-10 Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night on the road. This will be the first of six straight road games for the Jazz.

This will be a tough game for the Jazz who have struggled on the road this season with a 2-8 record away from Vivint Smart Home Arena.

With the schedule only getting tougher, look for the Jazz to try to steal this one in an attempt to springboard themselves to a few other victories over this stretch.

Next: Utah Jazz: Donovan Mitchell breaks another rookie record

Follow me on Twitter @TylerDThorpe for more Jazz updates and analysis.