Have the Jazz Actually Figured Out the Warriors?

The Jazz’s defense earned them a fourth win in six tries against the reigning champs. (Rick Bowmer via espn.com)

Many Utah Jazz fans wish they could have been a fly on the wall of Gordon Haywards San Diego home during his July 3, 2017 free agency meeting with the Jazz. What was actually said in an attempt to persuade the star forward to remain in Utah?  Some details have leaked out, including one insight in particular that stands out above the rest. Adrian Wojnarowski told Zach Lowe in an episode of the Woj Pod that the main focus of the meeting was laying out a detailed strategy.

The Plan: How to beat the Warriors.

At the time it may have all sounded like conjecture, especially to a player who, in hindsight, may have already been set on reuniting with his college coach. But of the six games the Jazz and Warriors have played against each other since that meeting, Utah has won four. There have been injuries mixed in on both sides during those games but the Jazz have won in dominant fashion in three of the four wins. Last season’s wins by 30 and 40 were over fully healthy Warriors teams and the average margin of defeat was 28 for the Jazz.

This season, the margin has been much closer with the teams splitting a pair of games in Utah. Jonas Jerebko dealt his former team a one-point home loss when he tipped in a miss at the last second of their October 19 meeting. But the Jazz got some revenge during Wednesday night’s brawl in Salt Lake City, pulling away late for a 108-103 win.

Steph Curry and Kevin Durant combined for 62 points, but the Warriors only got 17 points from their bench unit. Jazz sub Jae Crowder surpassed that by himself, scoring 18 points, including five 3-point shots. During a short stretch in the third quarter, Crowder and Korver brought on a barrage of threes which extended the Jazz’s lead to 11. But as every team in the league knows, there is no lead that is safe against the Warriors.

Late in the fourth quarter, Durant attacked the mid-range again and again and added a pair of clutch threes to cut the lead to just three. In an eerily similar fashion to their October victory in Salt Lake, the Warriors turned it on and the Jazz lacked execution down the stretch. Only this time, the Jazz battled. Ingles led the charge on offense while Gobert made defensive stops repeatedly. Ingles was absolutely vital as both Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell struggled to create offense. Rubio didn’t make a shot and Mitchell was just 5-of-26 from the field with six turnovers, including a few in key fourth quarter moments.

Despite his poor performance on offense, Mitchell made several crucial defensive plays, including a blocked Klay Thompson three that sent Donovan tumbling into the stands and got the entire crowd on their feet. The Jazz need Mitchell’s offensive ability but maybe even more important is never giving up on defense.

Coach Quin Snyder said following the win that, while all-league center Rudy Gobert is always a great defender, he is even better when the rest of the team is playing tough defense. Gobert can be more of a specialist in this way instead of having to bail his teammates out constantly. And Rudy did just that, especially in the second half where he was absolutely dominant. His defensive presence completely changed the tone of the second half as nothing came easy for the Warriors at the rim.

Defensively, no play was bigger than the Warriors’ final possession. Down just three with 59 seconds left, the Warriors passed along the perimeter trying to find an open look. Smothered in Jazz defense, Durant drove only to be met by the towering Gobert. He passed it out eventually finding a wide open Iguodala for three to tie the game. That is exactly who the Jazz wanted taking that final shot. The miss came off directly to Curry who immediately went to the corner three where he was met by the trapping defense of Rubio and Gobert. Rubio poked at the ball with a quick hand, and knocked the ball out of bounds off of the two-time MVP. By this point, only seconds remained, so the steal sealed the victory for the Jazz. It was only fitting that defense won the game.

Limiting the Warriors to just 32 percent from three with only 10 makes is extremely impressive and you can chalk that up to the excellent game plan from the Jazz coaching staff. Lock down perimeter defense is obviously vital against the best shooters in the league, but the Jazz also took away the ball movement we’ve all become accustom to from the Warriors as well. The Warriors only had 18 assists to the Jazz’s 30.

Game planning the Warriors is hard enough in theory, but having the capability to follow that game plan for 48 minutes is another story. The lethal defense of the Utah Jazz makes it possible as long as the Jazz can match the offensive output of the Warriors. One thing is clear from the Jazz’s game plan: take Klay Thompson out of the game. Klay has his worst point per game average against the Jazz at just 16.8 points. And Wednesday night he only had 12 points on 25-percent shooting, and he failed to convert a single three.

Beating the Warriors in the regular season is completely different from beating them in the playoffs. But when the Jazz laid out their strategy a year and a half ago about how to challenge and beat the best team in basketball, it wasn’t just talk. They knew they had the tools and they are doing it now, even without the All-Star talent they were presenting to in that meeting. Time will tell if the Jazz have really figured out the Warriors but as far as we know now, it’s working.