Turnover – forcing and preventing
One thing that’s been a struggle all season long for the Jazz is committing too many turnovers.
Before the Jazz acquired Jordan Clarkson, Utah was the fifth worst in the league at taking care of the rock on offense. After the trade up to the loss versus the Houston Rockets, the Jazz became the fifth best team in the league as far as limiting turnovers on offense.
It’s no coincidence that they won 14 of those 16 games. But in their last 11 games, they dropped back down into the bottom seven of the league with turnover percentage. It’s also no coincidence the Jazz are 4-7 in those games.
This was supposed to be a key area of focus in Friday night’s game against the Spurs, but San Antonio stomped the Jazz in that area last night. They got their hands in passing lanes, stripped Donovan Mitchell and several others on their drives to the bucket, and ended up with the victory.
Last night the Jazz did a better job at limiting turnovers, but nine of the 13 giveaways were “live ball” turnovers, giving the Rockets a fast break opportunity.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Jazz don’t force very many turnovers. They like to work in the other team well into their shot clock, and ideally force them into a mid range shot with a hand in the shooter’s face.
This doesn’t result in very many fast break points for the Jazz. They are 28th this season in turnovers forced per game, and 28th in fast break points.
Thankfully they are decent at preventing fast break points from their opponents, stopping fast breaks with defense or smart fouling. They rank 16th in opponents’ fast break points among the league.
Obviously it hasn’t been a huge deal throughout the course of the season, as the Jazz still have a top 10 defense on their regime. But in a playoff series where you face the same opponent four to seven times in a row, they can attack little weaknesses like these to tilt the series in their favor.