Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz picked up their first loss of the season on Friday and frankly, they lost this game more than the Los Angeles Lakers won it. Early in the first they showed good defensive coverage, keeping the Lakers out of the paint and forcing them to take and miss difficult mid-range shots. Holding the Lakers under 100 points is definitely something.
On the offensive end of the floor though, the Jazz just was not locked in. Turnovers were definitely an issue. 22 turnovers resulted in 13 points for the Lakers.
Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points on 7-15 shooting including 10-10 free throws. But it was when the ball was in Mitchell’s hands that I noticed that the Jazz offense didn’t have the ball movement that typifies the best offences in the league.
Mike Conley is going to have to find ways to be more productive if the Jazz is going to have success this season. Conley was a big pick up for the Jazz. He averaged 21 points in the 2018- 19 season. In this game, Conley went only 3-11 from the field for 13 points. There’s almost always a curve when settling into a new team. It’s vital for the Jazz that Conley’s curve is a quick one.
Offensive rebounds were also an issue. The Jazz managed to grab themselves only three-second chances of a possible 34.
To end on a positive note, this also happened.
https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1187945231829700608