Despite beating the Spurs by 15 in San Antonio earlier this week, Rodney Hood and co. couldn’t stave off the buzz saw that is Coach Popovich and Kawhi Leonard twice in a row, and the Utah Jazz dropped their first game at Vivint Smart Home Arena, 100-86.
Post mortem
The Spurs have had since Monday’s loss to think about how they lost to the Jazz, and made sure that history didn’t repeat itself in such short order. Behind Kawhi’s 29/11/4, the Spurs got ahead of the Jazz after giving up a 8-2 run to open the game and never relented. While George Hill was able to dominate the floor during the last matchup against Tony Parker, Hill was only able to amass 13 points on 13 shots during his 28 minutes on the floor.
Leonard was excellent at drawing fouls during his time on the floor, and notably got Rodney Hood into foul trouble that caused him to sit early. Though Rodney led the Jazz in points (18 on 7-12 shooting), getting his fourth foul early in the third quarter meant he couldn’t stay on the floor, and played just under 24 minutes. There were stretches where Hood was the team’s only viable offense, so losing him hurt.
“I think fouling, not just Rodney, but our whole team, we were undisciplined defensively and the fouling was the most obvious part of it, and they made us pay from the line,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said postgame. “Certainly, Rodney’s important for us right now and if he’s in foul trouble, that has an impact.”
The Jazz did have success from the 3-point line, going 11-26 for 42.3 percent, but it was everywhere else that gave them trouble. The Jazz went 16/40 in the paint, 35 percent from inside the arc, and missed nine free throws, 15-24.
If the Jazz’s midrange shot chart were a Cormac McCarthy novel, it’d be “Blood Meridian.”
via NBA.com
The Jazz’s front court of Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors never got right, and combined for 11 points on 5-15 shooting, three turnovers and 15 rebounds. Favors doesn’t seem to have the same lift he had pre-injury, though he did have a nice stuff on LaMarcus Aldridge.
✋✋✋#SASatUTA pic.twitter.com/G4CPphrwe0
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 5, 2016
Dante’s game
Dante Exum played just over 28 minutes off the bench, and though he was a team worst -19 on the night, he showed some promising flashes. He really has no hesitation when it comes to his knee, and has bursts of speed that are nothing short of impressive.
Nice take Danté!! #SASatUTA pic.twitter.com/AwHs6BfisE
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 5, 2016
This is so pretty, it deserves to live on @vine forever. #SASatUTA https://t.co/Wymfi2loCG
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 5, 2016
He did grab a career high in rebounds with seven, saying it was something the coaching staff emphasized for the guards. He also scored seven points, had two assists, and sprinted from baseline to baseline and barely missed the bunny at the rim at the end of the third quarter, which would’ve been spectacular. I think I could make it the length of an NBA court in a minute and a half, and that’s mostly because I’d need a water break and a snack (no orange slices, please).
When is Gordon back, again?
Tonight’s game was a time when the team really missed Gordon Hayward, on both ends of the floor. The current non-injured Jazz roster doesn’t really have anyone capable of slowing down Kawhi; Joe Ingles, Joe Johnson and Rodney Hood just weren’t getting it done without fouling. Hayward has an underrated ability to limit opposing small forwards, and the Jazz could’ve used that tonight.
With a long East coast road trip ahead, I’ll be surprised if Hayward plays, but he did have a pregame workout with the ball before Friday night’s game against the Spurs.
Gordon Hayward pregame work. Broken finger taped up on left hand. pic.twitter.com/cR6O1S6I1Y
— Kareem Copeland (@kareemcopeland) November 5, 2016
The 3-3 Jazz play against the 2-3 New York Knicks Sunday at 10 a.m. MT.
