Utah Jazz: Top 8 most disappointing aspects of first-round loss to Houston

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 22: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz embraces Joe Ingles #2 after a 107-91 win over the Houston Rockets in Game Four during the first round of the 2019 NBA Western Conference Playoffs at Vivint Smart Home Arena on April 22, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 22: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz embraces Joe Ingles #2 after a 107-91 win over the Houston Rockets in Game Four during the first round of the 2019 NBA Western Conference Playoffs at Vivint Smart Home Arena on April 22, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) /
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – APRIL 22: Jae Crowder #99 of the Utah Jazz shoots the ball against the Houston Rockets during Game Four of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 22, 2019 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – APRIL 22: Jae Crowder #99 of the Utah Jazz shoots the ball against the Houston Rockets during Game Four of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 22, 2019 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /

#4 The onslaught of missed threes

During the regular season, the Utah Jazz shot a respectable 35.6 percent from three, good for 10th in the NBA. However, in the playoffs, they went an abysmal 26.3 percent. That was the worst mark among all the playoff teams and quite frankly an embarrassing blemish for the team.

To make matters worse, while the Rockets executed well on defense, it’s not like they deserve some ungodly amount of credit. The fact of the matter is that the Jazz simply couldn’t buy a long-range basket, contested or otherwise. On wide open threes, the Jazz shot 26-of-110 (23 percent), a bone-chillingly horrific mark.

Despite being as wide open as could be, the Jazz continually failed to knock down the threes they needed to stay alive and compete with Houston’s high-powered offense.  Kyle Korver shot 33.3 percent. Jae Crowder went 30 percent. Joe Ingles was 27.6 percent while Donovan Mitchell was at 25.6 percent. Meanwhile, Ricky Rubio went a horrible 20 percent from three while Thabo Sefolosha was at 12.5 percent. Yikes, yikes, triple yikes. Royce O’Neale, who is a good but not great 3-point shooter, led the team at a mediocre mark of 34.8 percent.

Needless to say, had the Jazz and their purported reliable sharpshooters been anywhere close to even average, they could have very well turned this series around and competed at a whole other level. Failing to do so was a massive disappointment.