What is the Utah Jazz’s most pressing issue this season?
By Chad Porto
The Utah Jazz have had their struggles but what issue is their most pressing right now?
The fine folks at Desert.com posed a question; can Walker Kessler and John Collins play together? It’s an open-ended question and one that we can’t answer right now as we have such a small sample size, but it got us thinking. Is that question really pressing?
We don’t think so. Collins and Kessler play differently enough offensively that they can pair with one another, and while Collins needs to shore up his defense, the Jazz should be fine with both men playing significant minutes next to one another.
That said, what is the most pressing issue that the Jazz needs to figure out sooner rather than later?
Well, if you’ve been following the season game in and game out, you know there are two major issues that need to be resolved; the turnover issue and the defense issue. The Jazz are the worst team in the NBA with turnovers and are either the worst or one of the worst defenses among the entire 30 teams.
So, of the two, if only one can be resolved, which one is most pressing?
Well, if we’re being honest, it’s likely the turnover issues. It’s not just the usual suspects that keep turning the ball over, like Jordan Clarkson or Talen Horton-Tucker. Guys like John Collins, Lauri Markkanen, and others are giving up multiple turnovers a game, and all those two and three turnovers per player add up.
Those have got to be resolved, otherwise, the Jazz’s offense is going to continue to struggle to score points. And retroactively, if the Jazz can somehow cut down on the turnovers, their defense will get better by default.
Also, it should be noted that defense is a skill while turning over the ball is just poor play. One you can easily fix, the other you may need to get some help for. The Jazz may need to make some trades to seriously upgrade their defense. That may not be needed to just teach guys to not pass the ball to the wrong team.