Another Disappointing Loss Raises Questions About Jazz’s Identity

Clarkson had 22 in the loss. (Melissa Majchrzak via espn.com)

The Utah Jazz lost to the Houston Rockets 120-110 on Saturday night, dropping both games of a weekend back-t0-back. The loss cost the Jazz the season series to the Rockets, and pushes the Rockets ahead of the Jazz in the standings, as they are both now tied at 4th with identical 36-20 records. 

Last season, Jazz Nation would have been beyond ecstatic to have a 36-20 record at the 56-game mark. But this season, the collective feeling is disappointment. Partially, the expectations have probably been set at an unattainable level. And the disappointment should be tempered a little. The Jazz aren’t nearly as bad as they seem right now, but are also not nearly as good as fans believed them to be. Who are they really? 

If you choose portions of nearly any game this season, you could say they have the potential of being a top 3 team in the league. The trouble is they can’t string together multiple quarters, let alone single quarters, of consistent high-octane play. There’s energy, intensity, focus, rhythm. And there’s really a lot of nuance to what makes this happen. Rotations and lineups are a factor. But maybe this has been mitigated somewhat through Quin’s adjustments throughout the season as well as the roster tweaks pulled off by the front office (yes, this means you Jordan Clarkson).

Sarah Todd, beat writer for the Jazz for the Deseret News, recently covered the Jazz and their lazy starts and lack of energy. 

She wrote,

“There’s a cycle that the Jazz can get stuck in, much like they did Friday night, where they start a game sluggish and sloppy and allow the opponent to gain some momentum and a hefty advantage.

Quin Snyder gets mad and the players get mad at themselves, but by then it’s too late. The other team has the confidence. They have everything they need to withstand any kind of run the Jazz are going to put together.”

The Jazz came out pretty strong, but grew complacent to start the second half. The Rockets came out firing and Russell Westbrook looked like he had something to prove (but when does he not). Together, he and James Harden provided 72 points for the Rockets. And frankly, maybe the Rockets just won’t lose when they get that level of contribution from the duo. 

At this point, the schedules shake out to looking like the Jazz may not end higher than a 4 or 5 seed. And maybe that’s okay. Fans should still remain confident that this team, especially with Snyder at the helm, can beat any team other than the LA Lakers or Rockets in a seven game series. Obviously a seed higher than 4 prevents the Jazz from having to face the Lakers until the conference finals, rather than the second round. But avoiding the Rockets first round is the top priority. And other rivals are likely hoping the Jazz end up facing the Rockets, too. 

56 games in, and I don’t know if I can even tell you who the Jazz are as a team. Maybe they don’t know themselves. There’s still time for them to prove they can contend, it will just take an extraordinary effort in the month of March. In the Snyder era, the Jazz have shined during March. Perhaps that will hold true this season as well.