#1 Choking away Games 3 and 5
Of all the disappointments I’ve mentioned thus far, most of them have led to this one great disappointment that really sums up what made this whole series so painful for Jazz fans. In short, the Jazz had wins in both Games 3 and 5 right within their grasp, but ultimately couldn’t close the deal, losing two games they truly should have won.
In Game 3, the Jazz held Harden without a field goal until the fourth quarter, and he finished just 3-of-20 for the game, but they still couldn’t muster out a win. In Game 5, the Jazz were similarly effective against him, but blown opportunities and atrocious missed shots down the stretch proved far too costly. In both games, the Jazz had a lead in the fourth quarter but simply couldn’t capitalize.
I don’t find it a stretch at all to say that it wasn’t so much that the Rockets won Games 3 and 5, it was that the Jazz LOST those games. They constantly shot themselves in the foot in both bouts and lost by the narrowest of margins.
The Utah Jazz have a good team
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) April 26, 2019
General Manager Dennis Lindsey knows they aren't a great team.
Here's why the Jazz are hone right now, what they got right, and the big offseason that lies ahead - https://t.co/BI50BMLzoy
Of course, all the things I’ve already mentioned led to that – poor 3-point shooting, Ingles’ slump, Mitchell’s disappearance in Game 5 and so on and so forth. But if the Jazz had executed just a little better as a whole, none of those other disappointments likely would have even mattered. Because if those two games had just gone ever so slightly in Utah’s favor, all of a sudden we’re talking about a 3-2 series in favor of the Jazz.
That may sound like crazy talk, but considering how poorly Utah shot and how players disappeared in both games, it really isn’t a stretch to say at all. The Jazz competed much more tightly than a five-game series would normally indicate.
And that, my friends, is far and above the biggest disappointment of all. If the Jazz had been blown out of the water straight up, that would have been one thing. But the fact that two victories were there for the taking and merely slipped through their fingers is what makes this series hurt the most.
The Jazz could have proved so much and perhaps made an even bigger statement in this year’s playoffs, but it just wasn’t to be so. Most fans and experts alike had little faith in the Jazz winning this series to begin with. The fact that they could have made things much closer than they did but failed to do so is something that will likely haunt the team and the Utah faithful all summer long.