Let’s Talk This Out

Mitchell’s Jazz have had a rough month. (Trent Nelson, The Salt Lake Tribune)

Scene: Interior, a modestly furnished therapist’s office with a desk, chair, couch and a window. A middle-aged man whose hair is greying at the temples sits at the desk wearing a tweed blazer with elbow pads, scrolling through a web page with a blue bird at the top. Every few seconds he stops scrolling and prepares to type, his fingers hovering over the keyboard for a moment. In an apparent stupor, he finally shakes his head and moves his hand back to the mouse. This happens a few times. Then he’s interrupted by a single beep of his desk clock. Just then, there’s knock at the door and he walks over to open it.

Dr. Clayton: Ah, right on time.

Dan: Am I interrupting something?

Dr. Clayton: I, uhh… No. Please, have a seat.

The patient, also a middle-aged man with greying temples, lies down on an old brown couch in the middle of the room. He looks sleep-deprived and frustrated, and stares at the ceiling. Dr. Clayton grabs a notepad and sits across from him in a light blue armchair.

Dr. Clayton: So what brings you in today, Dan?

Dan: Well, Doc… People often say that I… well I guess you… or I suppose, WE are kind of the therapists for Jazz Twitter. It’s not that I’m an optimist per se, but I — we have a calm demeanor and sort of this base level of intellectual curiosity about the team that kind of overrides the negativity at times and pushes against the average fan’s day-to-day pessimism after disappointments.

Dr. Clayton: I see.

Dan: But this time, I just — I don’t really have much left to say. That game on Thursday was rough. I’m running out of ways to give this group the benefit of the doubt, and it’s starting to feel like the drama, mistrust and emotional immaturity is going to keep them from realizing the most talented Jazz roster this century. So I’m here to see if you can therapize me the same way we often therapize our Twitter pals.

Dr. Clayton: Interesting. And what would you normally say to one of those Twitter pals?

Dan: Before now, I’d have said that the Jazz are still writing their story. That they’ll still have opportunities to play better. That they’re really talented, and the series is only 1-2. There’s still a lot of basketball to be played. That Game 4 will be its own universe and that score of that game is currently 0-0. Blank slate.

Dr. Clayton: But this time…?

Dan: It’s just — how many times can I say that? Win or lose, I thought there would at least be a certain level of must-win urgency on Thursday. Instead, they came out even more disconnected. They were barely talking to each other in the first half. The body language was bad. The defense was worse. How long can I keep telling myself and others, “Hey, they still have an opportunity to get over themselves and play better.” (Slight pause, followed by a slight chuckle.) Well, I guess the answer is two more games. That’s how long, right doc?

Dr. Clayton shifts uncomfortably in his seat as he stares silently toward the window, at nothing in particular.

Dan: Doc?

Dr. Clayton: Oh, sorry, I… Let’s go back to something you said. You said a lack of trust and emotional maturity might be this team’s downfall. What makes you say that?

Dan: Well for starters, this team is good. Really good. They were 28-10 at one point, before all the injuries. They were a combined 80-30 over two seasons up to that point. That’s a 60-win pace! They have one of the best offenses in history, and the defense is actually pretty good when it’s just their main rotation guys on the floor. Two top-20 players in Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. When Mike Conley is at his best, he’s a borderline All-Star, and literally every Jazz guy has better outcomes playing next to Mike. Bojan Bogdanovic isn’t a star, but is an accomplished and reliable scorer. Jordan Clarkson and Royce O’Neale are specialists who are really good at what they do. Enough decent veterans and energy guys on the bench to have a few different options to complete the rotation around those main six.

Dr. Clayton: And yet…

Dan: And yet they have this habit, whenever things get the slightest bit tough, of playing completely disconnected basketball on both ends. And beyond that, they just often look like they hate playing with each other. Twitter friends have said to me that they look like a group that’s just dying for a reset, and they know that the easiest way to get there is to mope and lollygag through big moments to hasten the roster blow-up. And normally if someone said that to me, I’d push back, but it’s getting harder and harder to argue.

Dr. Clayton: And you think that comes down to emotional immaturity?

Dan: (Ponders.) I really don’t know. I’m not inside the locker room. I’m not inside their heads. It just seems to me like if I were an NBA player and I really wanted to win a championship and I was surrounded by this much talent, I could hold my nose on some of the interpersonal stuff. I could make the conscious choice to get past that for a few more weeks in pursuit of something. A professional athlete only gets so many years at his prime, so many shots at this. Why waste one trying to be passive-aggressive and underperforming to prove a point, or whatever it is they’re doing? I really spent all season thinking that at some point, they’d grow up and get back to being the team they were before all the COVID stuff and injuries. They were a game out of first on January 6, for hell’s sake!

Dr. Clayton: And how does that make you feel?

Dan: Oooh, you’re good. Very nice with the thought-provoking questions. You must be a really good therapist. Where did you get your degree?

Dr. Clayton: To be honest, I’m not a real doctor. But I’ve watched a lot of TV therapy sessions, so I know the basic drill. Sidney Freeman on M*A*S*H, Dr. Keyworth on The West Wing, Dr. Melfi from The Sopranos…

Dan & Dr. Clayton (in unison): …Sharon from Ted Lasso.

(They both laugh.)

Dan: It’s almost like we watch the same TV shows.

Dr. Clayton: Yeah. Plus, my wife is a social worker, so I understand a bit of how therapy works.

Dan: Oh yeah, I know her.

Dr. Clayton: I would think so. Let’s get back to the emotional fragility of the Jazz: you said you’ve been hoping all year they’d get past it?

Dan: Oh, Doc, I begged them to get over it. After Joe Ingles got injured, I wrote this big sappy missive about how their moment of crisis gave them an opportunity to refocus, redefine what’s important, and create a perfect ending to their heroic arc. And they kind of looked like they might. They lost a few more with a skeleton crew after that, but then they started getting healthy and rattled off a 15-5 surge. When they backslid with a bunch of late season disappointments, I begged them again. I wrote just a few days ago about how someone in the locker room needed to wake the team up and remind them about the habits, principles and philosophies that made them a great team for so long. I’m telling you, I’ve been begging for them to just get their crap together.

Dr. Clayton: It doesn’t seem like they listened, though.

Dan: (Sits in silence, staring at the ceiling.)

Dr. Clayton: (Sits in silence, staring at the window.)

Dan: (Visually shakes his head to snap himself out of it.) So anyway, Doc, what now?

Dr. Clayton: Well, it seems like you have a couple options. You can keep hoping for the best, assuming that at some point they’ll recognize what’s happening to them and pull themselves out of this nose-dive. Game 4 is at The Viv on Saturday. If they win at home, it’s a best-of-3 series at that point, and maybe that reset allows them a fresh start of sorts. And then if they do find a way to beat Dallas, maybe they start believing in each other again. That’s one option.

Dan: Does any of that seem likely to you at this point?

Dr. Clayton: Hey, who’s therapizing whom? I’m the doctor here.

Dan: You said you’re not a doctor.

Dr. Clayton: Oh… right. Well anyway, that’s one option.

Dan: That’s honestly what I’ve been waiting for. Every time they come down the stretch of a close game, part of me wants to believe, “OK, this is the night when they sort it out. When they get the clutch monkey off their backs and they start to believe in each other again.” I naively tried to tell myself that down the stretch in Charlotte. And then again as the 25-point lead was evaporating in L.A. And then when the late lead vanished at Golden State. And then at home against the Suns. And then in Game 2 of the Mavs series. Every time, I tried to tell myself (and others): Man, if they weather this, think about how galvanizing that would be. But they–

Dr. Clayton: But they didn’t!

Dan: I mean, they weathered a late Dallas run in Game 1. They survived a late Memphis run at the end of the regular season. But it hasn’t happened enough times for anybody to really believe that the next time they face adversity, they’ll do anything other than stop trusting each other, stop executing their shit, and lose spectacularly again.

Dr. Clayton: So what did you tell yourself — and others — when they fell short in all of those instances?

Dan: (Shrugs.) Oh well. That they’d try again next time. That the fact that they were up big on each of those teams was actually a pretty positive sign and that a few close losses don’t override the mountain of evidence that they are a really good team at their core.

Dr. Clayton: (Sets down his notepad somewhat firmly, removes his glasses, and begins to rub around his eyes with his fingers.) I mean, you’re right, there is a lot of evidence that this team is playing well below its talent level.

Dan: Exactly. Third best net rating in the league… 

Dr. Clayton: One of the best offenses ever…

Dan: (With growing intensity) More leads after three quarters than any team…

Dr. Clayton: (Escalating volume and tone) One of four teams in the top 10 for offense and defense…

Dan: (Sitting up) Multiple dominant high-minute lineups…

Dr. Clayton: (Bursting out of his armchair.) Mitchell’s most efficient season ever!…

Dan: (Leaping up from the couch.) Gobert held people under 50% at the rim!!…

Dr. Clayton: (The crescendo continues) Finally healthy!!…

Dan & Dr. Clayton: (Together, literally yelling now) 80-AND-FREAKING-30 OVER A SEASON AND A HALF!!!

Both men standing now and look visibly upset. After staring at each other for a few seconds, Dan begins to pace around the room and stops at the window, staring out longingly at nothing in particular. Meanwhile, Dr. Clayton rips off the tweed blazer and lies down on the couch Dan just vacated. Both are muttering under their breath. Finally Dan, still gazing into the distance, speaks softly.

Dan: What’s the other option?

Dr. Clayton: What?

Dan: You said I had a couple of options. Keep hoping they’ll turn it around, or…? You never finished that thought.

Dr. Clayton: Oh. Yeah. Or we go ahead and start to mourn what might have been.

Dan: (Long pause as he walks toward the armchair and slowly sits.) That has just never seemed like a very rewarding way to follow a team, has it?

Dr. Clayton: Unless something changes fast, that might be all that’s left in three more days. And it’s pretty clear that if the road ends here, big changes are coming. The front office can’t watch a whole other year of that talent being squandered because guys either hate playing together, don’t trust each other, or both. They’ll have to consider everything, up to and including a major detonation that will set the franchise back by years and put some of the players in situations where their primes will be squandered in non-competitive situations, in Utah or elsewhere. Just feels like a huge lose-lose for everybody.

Dan: How does that make you feel, Doc?

Dr. Clayton: (With a hollow laugh as he continues staring at the ceiling from the couch.) Haha nice. You watch the TV therapists, too.

Dan: Well, my wife is a social worker, you know? So how does that make you feel?

Dr. Clayton: It just… what a colossal waste. Of talent. Of time. Of everybody’s mental energy. Of the best shot this franchise has had at competing for a ring in a more than 20 years.

Dan: I suppose we have a third option.

Dr. Clayton: (Turning his head towards Dan.) Yeah?

Dan: We can see just what happens Saturday and take it from there.

Dr. Clayton: Ah, the “intellectual curiosity” you mentioned.

Dan: Honestly, I’m not sure what else is left for us to do. It’s kind of up to them at this point whether they’re just ready to be done with one another or whether there’s any fight left.

The men sit quietly for a few moments. Eventually, the desk clock beeps again.

Dr. Clayton: Time’s up.

Fade to black.

/Scene