The Utah Jazz live by the three and die by the three. Have we mentioned that before?
Last night, they died a thousand deaths. In fact, given how poorly they shot from the field, it’s a miracle that they escaped with a 117-111 victory. This one could have been a lot messier.
Utah Jazz couldn’t buy a bucket vs Bucks
As a team, the Jazz shot 37/93 from the field. That’s good for 39.8% accuracy. That’s a difficult number to even look at.
The three-point shooting was actually not as bad as we’ve led you to believe. The team was 17/48 from deep (35.4%). The issue was that the Jazz telegraphed their intention to let it fly. This led the Bucks to seal off the interior. The Jazz could hardly get a point from any other place on the floor.
When that’s the case, 35.4% from deep isn’t going to beat a team like the Bucks.
Utah Jazz guards mostly struggle from the field
We’ll start with a positive here. Mike Conley is the only reason for the “mostly” qualifier in the headline above. He finished with 29 points on 10/13 shooting from the field and 6/9 shooting from deep. The Jazz had to be encouraged to see Conley break out of his recent slump.
Otherwise, the guard play from Utah was subpar. Donovan Mitchell also finished with 29 points. Unfortunately, his came via 10/32 shooting from the field, including 5/17 accuracy from downtown.
Jordan Clarkson didn’t put up the same volume, but his efficiency still lacked. He finished with 8 points on 3/14 shooting from the field and 2/9 shooting from deep.
The Bucks are a difficult draw for any team. Between Bobby Portis and Brook Lopez, they always have a solid interior defender. When you factor in Giannis Antetokounmpo’s elite weak side defense, the paint becomes nightmare fodder against this team.
Rudy Gobert handled his business inside, with 18 points and 14 rebounds. He was his reliable self, but he wasn’t enough to make up for the mostly shoddy guard play.
Utah Jazz can’t contain Bucks stars
The Jazz didn’t strictly beat themselves last night. The Bucks delivered a few standout performances on their own accord.
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 30 points, 15 rebounds and 4 assists. He was as unstoppable as usual. If you wanted to call him the best basketball player in the world, we wouldn’t fight you on that.
Running mate Jrue Holiday had an exceptional game as well. He finished with 29 points, 7 assists and 5 steals. Couple that statistical output with his usual brand of suffocating perimeter defense, and you’ve got an elite performance.
Khris Middleton played the third banana, but he played it to perfection. He had 23 points on 7/16 shooting with 4 assists.
The Utah Jazz will live to fight another day. In some ways, they should be encouraged. Losing to the defending champions by 6 while shooting under 40% from the field has the makings of a moral victory.