Notes and Quotes As Jazz Head Into Game Five

April 24th, 2019 | by Steve Godfrey

Mitchell and the Jazz have to pass a stiffer test to keep their season alive. (Melissa Majchrzak via ESPN.com)

The Jazz face another do-or-die game on the brink of playoff elimination as they face off against the Houston Rockets in this first-round chess match. Playing for pride to avoid a sweep was one thing, but to do it again, on the road? That’s another Goliath to slay. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. MT.

Here are various notes and quotes to get you ready for battle royale number five. 

The Jump: ICYMI

The Bigs: Favors and Gobert Coming Up Big

The Jazz certainly have a size advantage regardless if Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors are on the floor. Granted, Houston has Clint Capela as their starting center, but he has been on the mend from a virus and is averaging 30 minutes a game, three minutes down from his season average. He has been on the recieving end of lops for dunks, but his scoring is below double-digits, 9.6 compared to 16.6 in the regular season, and it just hasn’t felt like he has had a major impact on the game outside of easy shots at the rim. Additionally, as has been noted, the Rockets like to space the floor which results in PJ Tucker playing a lot of minutes as a big. 

The point is: the Jazz should have an advantage when it comes to points in the paint, rebounds, blocks, and impact near the hoop offensively and defensively. Occasionally, that hasn’t been the case as when Tucker was guarding Gobert late in game four and the big guy couldn’t take advantage, nor could the Jazz really get him the ball despite the size-advantage. The same could be said when the Rockets switched their players around and Eric Gordon found himself in the paint denying Gobert. 

More often than not, though, the Jazz bigs are playing big. 

Ben Dowsett pointed out that Gobert has challenged 27 shots over the two games in Utah. The results were 10 blocks for Gobert and 10 Rocket makes (37%). The French Rejection isn’t the only one with that kind of impact, though, as Favors has been contesting many shots, too. Dowsett points out that Houston has attempted 41 shots all series with Favors in their way and they’ve made just 14, for 34%.

Outside of the paint, the bigs held their own on the perimeter during the home games. On one play in game four, Harden drove and dished behind his back to an open PJ Tucker who played hot potato and passed quickly to Danuel House who was wide open in the corner. House has hit plenty of shots in the series, Gobert knew it and came sprinting out to the three line, leaping in the air as House put up the shot. He missed.

You also have to remember that the Jazz are intentionally funneling James Harden towards the bigs, but Harden isn’t have his usual at the rim scoring. Yes, Harden is making the right reads and plays to dish the ball, but he isn’t getting the same efficiency at the rim like he did in the regular season. In fact, Harden is 5-27 (18.5%) on shots from 3-10 feet. 

Then, there’s the rebound numbers from the game four win a 62-48 advantage. Specifically, there was Favors who hulked in the fourth quarter to keep possessions alive, score put-backs, and wreak havoc on the boards on boths ends of the floor. In 24 minutes of action, Favors had a double-double, 12 points and 11 rebounds (six of which were offensive). 

Reflecting on his bigs, Jazz coach Quin Snyder complimented both Favors and Gobert and said: 

“Rudy had done a heck of a job over the course of the game. We’re lucky, both of those guys are terrific players. What I do know is that those two guys and whoever else we play (are professional). Everybody competing and not worrying about individual stuff. It’s why we, as coaches and spectators and everybody, enjoy team sports. Because that sacrifice is something we can all respect because we know how hard it is.”

Playoff Joe

Joe Ingles has been noticeable absent in this series, averaging five points on 32% shooting from the field and 25% from the deep. Obviously he isn’t knocking down shots, but he he isn’t shooting open looks or off the dribble and isn’t play making like he did in the regular season, either (four assists a game in this series). Here’s hoping a return to some of this from last spring.  

Rotations

With Gobert unable to capitalize on the mismatch and committing a few turnovers with soft hands, Snyder decided to put Favors in to end the game last Monday night. It wasn’t that Gobert played poorly, he was a +2 on the game, it was that the Jazz needed an extra push and Favors was playing well. The match up favored Favors and worked…in the Jazz’s favor. D-Favs finished +14, while playing the final ten minutes of the crucial game. This begs the question on what the minute distribution will look like in another critical game. It’s likely that Gobert and Jae Crowder will start as they did back home, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see more Crowder-Favors lineups given that Favs made a major impact down the stretch. 

When asked about this, Snyder said: 

“The playoffs are a different animal. Obviously you have teams that have a certain level of continuity, but the starting lineup is something that we cherish a little too much sometimes.”

In addition, Royce O’Neale replaced Joe Ingles for the entire fourth quarter. His tough defense and energy helped fuel the Donovan Mitchell-led run to put the game out of reach and give the Jazz some hope moving forward. Consider: Harden only managed five points in the fourth quarter on 1-3 shooting largely thanks to the Rolls Royce. In addition, O’Neale led the team with the highest +/-, finishing +18. With Ingles struggling and O’Neale doing something right, will the minute distribution change? It wouldn’t be too surprising. 

“Guys are willing to do whatever the team needs to do to help the team win,” said Snyder after game four. “That’s what’s required in the playoffs. Jae got the start the other night and didn’t play as well as he could have. He got it again tonight and he was ready to go, Fave came off the bench and gave us some great minutes. Joe started the game and Royce came in and finished the game. That tells you right there who we are and who we need to be.”

Quick Numbers

  • Duh: No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven series.
  • Also, of the 132 times a team has taken a 3-0 lead, only three times has an opponent come back to tie the series at 3-3 before finally losing.
  • Per the Des News, of the four times the Jazz have trailed 3-0 in a series, only once, in 2000 against Portland, have they won at least one game. However, they lost in Game 5.
  • Interesting Harden numbers: Harden had six made threes before the 4th even started Monday night. As the Rockets stormed back from a 14-point hole, it was because they were hitting from deep. Before the 4th, Houston was 17-33 from three, but 8-12 in the quarter, the difference in the game as they took the lead. In a make or miss league, the Rockets then  went 0-13 from three in the 4th quarter Monday.
  • The Rockets shot 50.5%  from the field while cruising to a 122-90 win in the opener. In Game 2, Houston shot 47.5 percent in the 118-98 win. As the series arrived in the Beehive State, the Jazz held Houston to 38.4% shooting in Game 3 (a 104-101 Rockets win). Monday was even better: 35.4%.
  • Game Four FG%: 43%. Three-point percentage: 31%. Season FG percentage: 47%. Season 3-point percentage: 36%. Will the team bust out and get up to those numbers?  Per Snyder prior to game four, “They’re keying on Donovan, they’re taking away Rudy’s roll. Those shots are there. If we start making them it’s going to feel better.” Additionally, he added, “We’re getting better shots than any team in the playoffs, based on qSQ ratings1. We’re getting open looks. You can’t stop taking them or thinking that they’re not good shots. They are.”

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