Stout Jazz Defense Not Enough Against Harden in 102 – 97 Loss

The league’s defending MVP, James Harden, got the better of the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert, in the Houston Rocket’s 102 – 97 victory over the Utah Jazz. (AP Photo / Eric Christian Smith)

Story of the Game

With offenses exploding all over the NBA, many question whether defense can win games any longer. It never could by itself, but the Utah Jazz of yesteryear proved defense could put a team in position to win games with sometimes surprisingly mediocre offense.

Tonight against the Houston Rockets, Utah’s defense made this a winnable game, stonewalling Houston on their home floor for a strong defensive rating of 97.1. Unfortunately, once again the Jazz mustered a poor offensive game when even mediocre probably would have been enough for a victory.

In a five-point loss, greater proficiency in any of several areas might have reversed the outcome.

The Jazz turned the ball over 24 times for 23 Houston points. Imagine if that had been only — only! — say 16 turnovers.

Utah missed four free throws in the fourth quarter.

The maddening refrain of poor three point shooting reared again as the Jazz missed 25 of 35 attempts (29-percent), including two of eight combined for snipers Joe Ingles and Kyle Korver.

And once again Jazz ball handlers other than Donovan Mitchell shot four of nine in the paint.

Even with excellent defense, offensive futility on so many fronts opens the door for a single great performance to make the difference, and the Jazz happened to catch the reigning MVP coming off a Western Conference Player of the Week award. James Harden scored 47, including three huge threes in the fourth quarter, to drag his team to a victory.

This was the style of game Utah has dictated for the past several years: slow pace, low possession, physical, and dominated by defense. Yet once again, their offense couldn’t leap over the low bar the defense set in place.

Stars of the Game

Superstar: Rudy Gobert (18 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal, 6 free throws)

As nice as Gobert’s stat line was, it far from articulated his impact in this game. The Stifle Tower lived up to his moniker by changing nearly every shot anywhere near the hoop. Houston took nearly 20 shots in the paint or just outside but away from the rim, dissuaded from attacking all the way to the cup by Gobert’s presence. They missed 15 of those shots.

Secondary Star: Donovan Mitchell (23 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 5 free throws, 2 threes) and Jae Crowder (14 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 free throws, 1 three, plus-4)

The efficiency struggles continue in Mitchell’s sophomore campaign, as he took 22 shots — though several were desperation attempts against the clock as the Jazz tried to pull out a win –and once again shot under 30-percent from long range (two of eight). But he took advantage of Harden’s defense several times late and got the Jazz into position to win the game. Perhaps more importantly, he dished five assists and had several other passes to wide open shooters beyond the arc who missed. When he gets those shots for teammates, the team has a good chance to win games.

While Crowder’s statistical production was was good — particularly his three of eight from long range and canning all five of his free throw attempts — it was the speed and force with which he played that really impressed. Early in the game he was grabbing rebounds and immediately sprinting up court a’la Draymond Green for the Warriors. The Jazz offense needs small advantages, and having a chance to work before defenses are set is such an advantage. Hopefully, more Jazz players will follow Crowder’s lead. 

Secret Star: Royce O’Neale (9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, plus-6)

O’Neale provided his typical strong defense along with quality offense, both in terms of efficiency — nine points on six shots and making one of two threes — and aggression. With numerous Jazz players getting into the paint only to spin for desperate passes or unwisely play for fouls, O’Neale at least put his head down with the intent to score. 

Stats of the Game

37 – First half points by the Jazz. Their 60 second-half points weren’t enough to make up the 13-point deficit they’d dug themselves at halftime.

16 – Rockets assists. The Jazz have now held the Rockets to 16, 16, and 13 assists in their three games this season.

16 – Harden free throw attempts, of which he made 15.

3 – Consecutive games the Jazz defense has boasted a defensive rating better than 100 points per 100 possessions, the first such three-game stretch of the season.

13 – Games shooting worse than 30-percent from three for Utah. They only had 20 all last season.

Sundries

• There’s no question Utah’s offense has a host of ways to improve, but the further into the season we get, the more convinced I am that the inability of Jazz ball handlers not named Donovan Mitchell to finish at the rim is the crux of all problems. Three point shooting will fluctuate, but shots at the rim should be easy. These plays from tonight’s game serve as fair representation of these players’ struggles.
• Ingles doesn’t have the speed to clear his defender or the athleticism to finish over the top of them. As a result, if he can’t trick defenders with fake passes or Euro steps, he gets in positions where he’s forced into late passes from awkward angles. Teams are wisely trusting Ingle’s defender to stick him and contest layups while teammates hunt the passing lanes. That’s exactly what happens here: note Harden and Paul both feign help on Ingles only to drop into coverage, while Eric Gorden plays free safety within arms length of passing lanes to both Rubio and Mitchell. 

• Rubio had seven turnovers tonight. He has many of the same challenges as Ingles with the added complication of teams routinely falling back into the paint whenever he comes off a screen. He typically has defenders engaged with his body when trying to finish at the rim, which has led to low shooting percentages and frequent passes with very high degrees of difficulty.
• Dante Exum missed all three of his three-point attempts, but it was his two missed layups that represent the biggest reason his offense has fallen so short of what the Jazz anticipated when they drafted him. Chris Paul does make a dive for the ball on this play, but this is still an easy layup for an athlete of Exum’s caliber. Yet misses like this are all too common.

• If these three players are going to make fewer than half their attempts at the rim, Utah’s offense is broken and unfixable. Rubio and Exum simply aren’t guarded as their defenders hug the paint eager to help with impunity. That leaves four offensive players against five defenders. Mitchell faces two and three bodies whenever he penetrates and so gets suckered into the pull-up threes that are killing his efficiency. Gobert and Derrick Favors can’t roll to the rim because the lane is choked with bodies, which restricts their field goal attempts. And Utah’s defense can’t build walls against fast breaks because ball handlers are turning the ball over and missing easy shots while stuck on the baseline. Opponents are sprinting back up court before a Jazz small even gathers himself at the far end of the court. 
• It’s this type of game where the Jazz really miss Alec Burks, that second player who can create his own shot and finish both at the rim and beyond the arc. Korver’s shooting is valuable, but the Jazz need a second player who Quin Snyder can give the ball to and expect him to generate his own points. There’s a serious question whether that player is on this roster, even in potential.

Considering the nature of the last three games, it’s devastating that Utah emerged with only a single victory. Especially given how stout the defense played. But so long as the offense continues to flounder away the season, there’s little reason to believe anything but the eventual schedule change may change the trajectory of the season.

And that schedule change isn’t around the corner seeing as Wednesday the Jazz will host the defending NBA Champion Warriors.