Utah Jazz’s incessant whining proves costly once again
By Matt Giles
The Utah Jazz players do themselves no favors by arguing with the referees.
Not only do the Utah Jazz spread negativity by practically kicking and screaming in response to every so-called lousy call during their bad nights, but they also seemingly give the guys and gals in gray even more reason not to like them.
All in all, despite not being the only ones in the NBA who appear to embrace this senseless methodology, it’s potentially one of the game’s most damaging habits for a squad to foster.
Nevertheless, whining from the Jazz was on full display late in their bout at the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night. And the result was Utah’s first loss of the season, 107-99, falling to 4-1 after entering the contest as the last unbeaten team in the entire league.
A miserable Utah Jazz blame game
One of the main culprits, Rudy Gobert, enormously helped strengthen the opponent’s momentum toward the end of the third quarter. He did so by becoming noticeably distracted after adamantly arguing his called loose-ball foul that came when he was trying to establish his rebounding position against Bulls rookie Ayo Dosunmu.
Although Gobert may have been correct in claiming Dosunmu was grabbing his waist, the Utah Jazz center should have received a technical right then and there.
Still, at the time, Chicago was up by only four, 76-72. But after Dosunmu made the first free throw on the other end and missed the second, his teammate, Tony Bradley, outhustled the too-busy-pouting Gobert in snagging the offensive rebound and creating teammate Alex Caruso’s open look from 10 feet. That pushed the Bulls’ advantage to 79-72 to enter the fourth.
Then midway through the final 12 minutes, another two-time Utah Jazz All-Star, Donovan Mitchell, effectively sealed his squad’s L by drawing a technical.
Mitchell must have thought someone fouled him on his missed driving layup. The visibly frustrated Jazz guard proceeded to smack the ball while barking at the official, practically begging for the technical foul that followed.
Taking advantage of the free opportunity to build Chicago’s lead, Zach LaVine happily drained the ensuing free throw and then splashed a 3-pointer 12 seconds later to put the Bulls up by 15.
Game over, in effect.
Sure, other factors contributed to Utah’s defeat. For instance, the group shot a dismal 11-for-38 from downtown and committed a season-high 20 turnovers.
That said, the Jazz unnecessarily shot themselves in the foot during pivotal moments by focusing more on the perceived shortcomings of the whistle-holders than the team’s unpleasant play. In doing so, they all but ensured any comeback effort would come up short due to the utter negativity they allowed to fester among themselves.
Similar excessive whining reared its ugly head last season, notably as the Jazz dropped four straight games to end their brief playoff run in extreme disappointment against the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Look, if the Jazz weapons — and head coach Quin Snyder, mind you — are so regularly upset with the refs, then maybe they should consider constantly writing some strongly worded letters to the league or something.
The in-game whining, though, is not a good look. It’s also not at all helpful.
After all, humans — especially refs — tend to strongly dislike whiners in any of life’s arenas and typically treat them accordingly. In other words, whining is a strategy that is almost certain not to work, no matter the circumstances.
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Therefore, it’s time for the Utah Jazz to nip that silliness in the bud this season before the act again grows into a sad, destructive habit in the end.