Utah Jazz need more out of bench to take decisive 2-1 lead

The Utah Jazz will likely need their bench to step up in Game 3 if they are to take a decisive 2-1 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Utah Jazz accomplished their mission in Oklahoma City by winning one of the two contests to wrestle home court advantage away from the Oklahoma City Thunder and take a 1-1 split in the series. Now, as they head to Salt Lake City for an important Game 3 on Saturday night, they have an excellent opportunity to take a decisive 2-1 lead as my J-Notes partner-in-crime Ryan Aston mentioned on Friday night.

And along with the fact that Utah will get to play their next two games on their home court within the raucous environment of Vivint Smart Home Arena, as Ryan pointed out in that aforementioned piece, Jazz fans should feel optimistic because of the fact that the team has yet to even play as well as they’re capable of in either contest.

There’s plenty of things they can shore up to help them gain an extra edge on the Thunder, but one that stands out the most to me is the play of their bench. In the first two games, the Jazz have received few contributions from their reserve unit, which is something that will likely need to change dramatically if they are to win Game 3 and take a 2-1 victory.

In fairness, Dante Exum had a relatively solid Game 1 with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, but it came with three turnovers and a plus/minus of minus-1. Meanwhile, after a horrendous Game 1, Jonas Jerebko was the star off the bench for the Jazz in Game 2 with 10 points of his own on 5-of-9 shooting and was an astounding plus-19.

Beyond those two bright points, though, the bench has largely underwhelmed. That’s particularly been the case for Jae Crowder, who was Utah’s sixth man for the latter half of the regular season and put in some exceptional minutes. In the pair of postseason contests against the Thunder, though, he’s largely been a non-factor.

He’s shooting just 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from the field and 25 percent (3-of-12) from three. He put up a respectable 13 points in Game 1, but went on to score just one point in Game 2. He was a minus-four in the first outing and a minus-14 in the second. His decision-making on both ends of the floor simply hasn’t been up to snuff and it’s significantly hindered Utah’s second unit.

It’s true that rotations tighten up and bench units don’t typically play quite as big of a role in the playoffs, but Crowder had been an important part of Utah’s run to end the season as their most reliable bench player, and they’ll need him to round back into form.

But placing all the blame on Crowder is far from fair. Outside of Jerebko, Utah’s bench combined for just six total points in Game 2. In Game 1, the reserves who played at least four minutes finished a combined minus-14. Royce O’Neale, who was a solid perimeter defender throughout the regular season, has struggled to make an impact thus far in the series. Along with scoring just four total points in the two games, he’s also averaged a team-low plus/minus of minus-10.

Having the unenviable task of covering Paul George certainly hasn’t helped him, but while he isn’t necessarily expected to “win” that matchup, the Jazz will need him to produce more than he has.

Last of all, perhaps what’s been most disappointing about Utah’s bench is that they haven’t been able to capitalize on the weak bench of the Thunder. Despite the fact that OKC’s reserves aren’t exactly known as a powerhouse group, the Jazz have still failed to take advantage while the second unit is on and the Thunder stars are off.

If that trend is reversed, and Utah can get some more solid production from all their bench players, but especially two who were so important in the regular season – Royce O’Neale and Jae Crowder – Saturday’s Game 3 could turn out to be less of a slug-fest and more of a dominant win in Utah’s favor.

Next: Utah Jazz can take control of series with Game 3 win over OKC

The Jazz certainly have the momentum heading into the upcoming contest to go along with a daunting home court advantage inside of Vivint Smart Home Arena. If along with all that they can get solid contributions from their bench as well, they could very well take the Thunder by the throat with a commanding 2-1 series lead.