Three things the Utah Jazz need to prove in Game 5, win or lose
Joe Ingles has to show he’s unafraid to let it fly
In Game 1 against the Houston Rockets, Joe Ingles was frustratingly timid. He put up just three attempts from behind the arc and converted on just one. In Game 2, it was the complete opposite. Joe was calm and confident, putting up 27 points while converting on 7-of-9 three-point attempts. Although Mitchell was praised for his heroics, it’s no stretch whatsoever to say that Ingles was the real hero of that game.
Since then, he’s had a good number of attempts – seven in both Games 3 and 4 – but has gone just 2-of-7 in each of those contests. Some of those have been good looks that haven’t gone down. Others haven’t been great shots. Nevertheless, seven to nine attempts is exactly where Ingles needs to be. He’s one of the greatest three-point shooters in the league and he has to continue to let them fly as such.
Joe Ingles sinks an #NBAPlayoffs franchise record 7 triples (27 PTS) to help the @utahjazz even the series at 1! #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/PlncVDPRlM
— NBA (@NBA) May 3, 2018
Ingles’ lack of efficiency has really hurt the Jazz the past two games, especially in Game 3 where he also went just 2-of-10 from the field for six points. However, he still needs to reestablish himself in Game 5 as the legitimate sharpshooter that he is by being confident and continuing to let them fly from behind the arc.
He’s proven to be capable of that all year long, and to either go out with a bang or force a Game 6, the Jazz will need for him to do it again.
Next: Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets: Game 4 instant reactions
Games 3 and 4 were disappointing not only because we saw the Jazz lose both contests, but because this trio of typically steady players – Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles – all appeared to crumble in one way or another. They’ll be playing for their lives in Tuesday’s Game 5 contest, and as such, they need to leave everything out on the court and disprove some of the glaring negatives that have crept in during this series.
We all knew that Houston was the more talented team of these two going into the series. However, the Jazz are also better than they’ve displayed the past two games. Win or lose on Tuesday, I’m looking forward to the entire team showing some fight and for the trio of aforementioned Jazzmen to all bounce back in a big way and prove the recently surfaced doubters completely wrong.