#7 Favors didn’t get nearly enough playing time in Game 5
After three woeful games, the harsh reality for the Utah Jazz was that in order to win the series, they’d have to do something that no team had done before – overcome a 3-0 deficit. That seemed highly improbable (as it ultimately ended up being), but after Game 4’s dominant performance, there was at least a glimmer of hope that the Jazz could be the first team to pull off the impossible.
That Game 4 win came largely as a result of an incredible fourth quarter in which the Jazz outscored Houston by a count of 31-12. And though Donovan Mitchell was lauded as the hero of the period in which he scored 19 of his 31 points, another player deserved just as much, if not more, recognition – Derrick Favors.
Favors was an absolute beast the entire game, but especially in the fourth quarter where he pulled down a slew of crucial offensive rebounds which led to big opportunities. Derrick finished the game with 12 points and 11 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end, and a plus/minus of plus-14, the highest of any Jazz frontcourt player. And he did so while logging more minutes than Rudy Gobert; Favors played 24 while Rudy logged 23.
Lots of "what ifs"
— Austin Horton (@austinhorton) April 25, 2019
-Donovan's 18 missed shots (0/9 from 3)
-Team's 3-pt shooting (9/38)
-Not enough Favors in the 4th quarter (18 minutes, just 3:52 in the 4th)
Ultimately the better team won, but I really feel there's enough opportunity to improve this off-season
In Game 5, I expected Quin Snyder to ride with Favors once again, especially down the crucial stretch of the game. Instead, the Jazz opted to go with Gobert, and it didn’t exactly work out as Utah fell short and Rudy couldn’t step up in the clutch.
If Favors had been in the game, there very well could have been a different outcome thanks to his offensive rebounding and better ability to control the ball. Not only that, but by and large Favors is merely a better fit against the Houston Rockets than Gobert. And as such, he should have been awarded a chance to prove what he could do and given the nod to close out the game.
Instead, he logged just under 18 total minutes compared to Rudy’s 30. Considering how closely contested the fourth quarter ultimately ended up being, that might have very well been the difference. The fact that Favors was pivotal to the Game 4 win, then was robbed of the opportunity to back up that play in a closely contested Game 5 is an atrociously glaring disappointment.