Utah Jazz: 3 lessons from recent 2 game losing streak

Utah Jazz Lesson 2: Maybe you can shoot too many threes

Quin Snyder stuck to his three-point dominant attack against the Heat, and it’s hard to put the loss on his strategy. The Jazz shot 15/45 (33.3%) in that contest. That’s not elite accuracy, but it does make for solid efficiency on such a tremendous volume of three-point attempts. They finished the game with 115 points, which is enough to win an average NBA game. Realistically, there is no explanation for a loss to a contender by a single field goal attempt.

On the other hand, against the Magic, the Utah Jazz shot themselves out of the game. They were a gruesome 8/42 from three-point range (19.0%). Royce O’Neale was the only Jazzman who shot the three efficiently vs Orlando, going 2/3 in what was generally his best game of the season (14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals). O’Neale is an invaluable member of this Jazz rotation, but he’s not exactly an offensive hub.

Everyone else’s performance against the Magic ranged roughly from horrible to more horrible. Donovan Mitchell may have finished with 21 points and 7 assists, but his points total was a function of necessity more than quality play. He shot 8/24 from the field, including a particularly uncomfortable 2/12 three-point shooting.

Snyder’s three-point dominant offense has been highly efficient throughout 2021-22 to-date, as their 114.36 Offensive Rating still ranks third in the league. However, a lesson worth learning from their performance against the Magic might be that sometimes, it’s necessary to pivot away from that strategy. Snyder need look no further than several Mike D’Antoni-led teams throughout history. When you live and die by the 3, eventually, you usually end up dying.