Royce O’Neale has to step up against PG
Particularly without the services of Thabo Sefolosha – something I talked about in detail on Monday – the Utah Jazz’s perimeter defenders have their work cut out for them. With the likes of Westbrook, George and Carmelo Anthony chomping at the bit to knock down three-pointers, the Jazz have to be ready to contain all three of them.
As such, both Joe Ingles and Royce O’Neale were expected to step up big time in the series, something they unfortunately weren’t able to do in Game 1. Meanwhile, Paul George, or “Playoff P” as he has dubbed himself, stepped up immensely by putting up 36 points on a mind-blowing 13-of-20 outing from the field and 8-of-11 from deep.
If George is allowed to continue in that fashion, this series will simply be over real quick. Granted, PG made some tough shots on Sunday, so even if Utah played defense at the same level as in Game 1, I have a hard time believing he’d be able to match his 8-of-11 three-point shooting performance once again. Some nights you just have the hot hand and George certainly had it then.
However, even though PG will likely come back down to earth to some extent, that doesn’t change the fact that Utah’s defense absolutely has to improve. And that needs to start with Royce O’Neale, the undrafted rookie who has separated himself as arguably Utah’s most daunting perimeter defender.
Royce O’Neale describes the tough challenge of defending Paul George (aka Playoff P). pic.twitter.com/C0orBMZRnZ
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) April 16, 2018
Everyone knows that O’Neale didn’t perform well enough against PG on Sunday to help shut him down. The man who knows that more than anyone is Royce himself, as the Salt Lake Tribune’s Tony Jones noted in an excellent article from Tuesday afternoon. O’Neale struggled all night to contain PG, resulting in 15 of his 36 points coming while being defended by the undrafted rookie.
O’Neale will have to do a better job of denying George the ball and going over the top of screens while defending him. PG is capable of hurting opponents in a number of ways, but after cashing in on 8-of-11 three-point attempts on Sunday, it’s pretty obvious that O’Neale and company need to run him off the line and force him to find other ways to beat the Jazz.
Fortunately, not only is O’Neale the first one to admit that he didn’t perform well against George on Sunday, he’s also quick to fess up to his struggles and simply dedicate himself to rising to the challenge in the second bout. Per the aforementioned Salt Lake Trib article:
“I have to take the challenge. I have to watch film, see what I did wrong.” O’Neale stated. “I have to limit his touches and try and take away some of the shots he was getting.”
One day, an 8 year old @BucketsONeale00 told his mother he can play defense.
— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) April 17, 2018
His mother made him defend her in the family driveway
Here's a story on how Royce took that and translated it to an NBA career - https://t.co/VtweergW6n
After playing in his first ever postseason contest, it comes as little surprise that he’d be a little shaken up. But O’Neale’s entire career has been one of resilience and bouncing back, and 2017-18 has been a microcosm of that as well. I expect that he, with the help of head coach Quin Snyder, will make the necessary adjustments to be much more prepared to face off against and slow down Paul George in Game 2.
At least such better be the case, because Utah’s playoff lives absolutely depend on it.