The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz at Golden State Warriors 12/27: Picking up the pieces

By Tyler Crandall

OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 25: Kevin Durant #35 and Jordan Bell #2 of the Golden State Warriors slap hands after Durant blocked the shot of LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers late in the fouth quarter of an NBA basketball game at ORACLE Arena on December 25, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 25: Kevin Durant #35 and Jordan Bell #2 of the Golden State Warriors slap hands after Durant blocked the shot of LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers late in the fouth quarter of an NBA basketball game at ORACLE Arena on December 25, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Utah Jazz Ricky Rubio
BOSTON, MA – DECEMBER 15: Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz handles the ball against the Boston Celtics on December 15, 2017 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Key No. 1: Win the first quarter

The Utah Jazz have been slumping and it starts in quarter number one. In 20 losses this season, the Jazz average 21.1 points while allowing opponents to score 27.5 in the opening carom. Since math is hard, my calculator tells me this is bad.

The Jazz also average over four turnovers in first quarters when they lose.

There’s clearly an issue of focus to start games. We used to all point at “lineups” with Ricky Rubio, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert sharing the floor and the stats associated with those lineups.

Something tells me Quin Snyder may have been onto something when he showed he believed the lineup wasn’t the issue by not changing things around.

The Jazz are now using the lineup that was used during that really unbelievable two-week stretch where the Jazz won 9-of-11 and they’ve now lost 9-of-11. Again, schedule is key here. IF the Jazz had played well, they’d be looking at maybe two more wins than they have now.

Bottom line: regardless of who starts the game for Sndyer, they need to execute and bring intensity to both sides of the ball or it’s not going to go well.

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