Why can’t the Utah Jazz hold onto a lead?
If last night’s game was any indication of where the Utah Jazz stand heading into the postseason, the team may be in trouble.
They held a 16-point lead over the Golden State Warriors in the fourth quarter. Had it been a 20-point lead, it would have been enough. Instead, they let the game slip away and dropped the contest by a final score of 111-107.
Utah Jazz die by the 3 again
The Jazz may have the league’s best Offensive Rating, but their means of production is not entirely reliable.
As a whole, the team shot 15/46 from the three-point line in this one. The constant threat of their spacing was enough to generate quality looks all over the floor for most of the game. However, the strategy cost them in the end.
They shot 3/12 from downtown in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Warriors lit it up, hitting 6 of their 11 attempts from deep in the final frame.
Sometimes, it feels like this Jazz team launches threes because they have to. With an army of quality shooters, the approach often works.
Until it doesn’t.
Utah Jazz guards plagued by inefficiency
How many Utah Jazz guards does it take to fix a lightbulb? Only, the lightbulb is an NBA offense.
The answer seems to be more than one, which is problematic because often, this team struggles to get all three of their lead guards going at once.
Last night, it was Mike Conley’s time to shine. He finished with 26 points shooting 10/18 from the field and 5/11 from deep. Unfortunately, his running mates weren’t able to help.
Donovan Mitchell finished with 26 points, but he was 8/19 from the field. Jordan Clarkson had 14 points on 5/13 shooting.
It feels like we’ve harped on this point enough throughout the season. The fit between Mitchell and Clarkson continues to persist as a problem.
Utah Jazz lacking mental toughness?
It wasn’t just the three-point battle the Jazz lost last night. A number of miscues cost them down the stretch, including an egregiously bad Rudy Gobert pass that sailed out of bounds in the final moments.
This team does not look the part of NBA title contender. With the postseason quickly approaching, that’s a significant problem. The Jazz need to get their act together quickly, or the Mitchell and Gobert era could draw to an abrupt conclusion.