Key #1 – Play with the right frame of mind
It’s easy to look through a box score and nit-pick on what went right or wrong on any given night. However, there are always several intangibles that don’t show up in the stats that often have more impact on the game than even the numbers can tell. In my opinion, this has been absolutely evident for the Jazz.
On some nights, despite solid shooting percentages or success in other areas, they’ve still fallen short because they haven’t seemed to be playing with the right frame of mind. By that I mean playing with confidence while also bringing energy, effort and intensity. In games where Utah has looked sluggish or come out of the gates flat-footed, they’ve seldom been able to recover and emerge victorious.
However, on the other hand, when they’ve played with energy on both ends of the court, it’s led to them moving the ball well and getting good lucks as well as playing suffocating D and forcing several opponent turnovers. The Jazz’s energy and confidence are what willed them to each of their three most recent impressive wins over the Boston Celtics, San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers and has been notable absent in recent embarrassing losses.
Great win to end the year fellas 🔥🔥🔥!!! #ontothenextyear
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) December 31, 2017
Therefore, if they’re to topple the Pelicans yet again this time around, they’ll need to come out swinging, play with a swagger and belief that they can win, and energize the home crowd from the game’s onset to get the fans behind them all game long.
Considering how solid the Jazz have been at home overall, if they’re able to get all that going for them, they will be extremely tough for New Orleans to stop.