Yesterday, we identified 3 keys to a victory for the Utah Jazz in their matchup with the Atlanta Hawks: shoot efficiently, win the turnover battle, and contain Trae Young. The Jazzmen managed to accomplish roughly one-and-a-half of those goals, and they pulled out the victory regardless.
We’ll start with what the Jazz definitively did not do: win the turnover battle. The Hawks committed a mere 11 miscues last night, compared to 14 Jazz errors. As it turned out, there was never a need for Head Coach Quin Snyder to switch his typical defensive scheme. The Jazz held the Hawks to 48 points in the second half. Not a single Utah Jazz fan will be concerned with how many turnovers they did or did not force.
As far as containing Trae Young was concerned, that’s the goal the Jazzman half-achieved. The superstar point guard finished with a strong 27 points on 10/21 shooting, including 5/11 from three-point range. On the other hand, he also finished with as many turnovers as he did assists (6). The Jazz kept Young’s passing lanes narrow throughout the entire contest, trapping him when appropriate and otherwise marking his men so closely that he simply could not find them.
Most encouragingly, the Jazz shot extremely efficiently. They were 41/81 from the field, and 15/38 from three-point land. Certain key Jazzmen (including one that maybe shouldn’t be traded for Marcus Smart after all) bucked their season-long trend of inefficiency, and it was a joy to witness.
The Utah Jazz entered this game at-risk of a three-game losing streak, and came away with a statement win instead. In the process, they improved to 8-3, good for second place in both the Western Conference and the NBA at-large.
Here are 2 studs and 1 dud from their performance.