Consistency Is Key As Utah Jazz Extend Winning Streak Against Lakers
Jan 13, 2024, 10:27 PM | Updated: Jan 15, 2024, 3:04 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz extended their season-best win streak to five against the Los Angeles Lakers in Delta Center on Saturday.
Utah has been one of the hottest teams in the NBA as of late, winning 11 of their last 13 games.
The biggest change for the Jazz has been consistency which they desperately lacked earlier in the season.
Lauri Markkanen leads the @utahjazz to their 5th straight victory!
Collin Sexton: 27 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST
John Collins: 19 PTS, 13 REB
Anthony Davis: 15 PTS, 15 REB, 11 AST, 4 BLK pic.twitter.com/bPmAw2icLF— NBA (@NBA) January 14, 2024
Staying Consistent
Over the past 15 or so games, the Jazz have kept the starting lineup relatively untouched.
Even though this may cause some disruption from bench players who see themselves as starters, it allows lineups to build up time together and learn how to be most effective.
Jordan Clarkson has been a perfect example of this.
Lauri, JC and Collin combine for ✨𝟳𝟳✨ in this one ⤵️#TakeNote | @LVT_USA pic.twitter.com/hUL97Rex5C
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 14, 2024
Clarkson struggled earlier in the season when he started the majority of the games. Over the last ten, he has averaged 18.8 points, 4 rebounds, and 5.9 assists on 45.1% from the field.
Against the Lakers, Clarkson was the third-leading scorer for the Jazz with 21 points.
Settling Into Roles
Not everyone can be the hero. During their recent success, the Jazz have shown the NBA what true team basketball can get you.
Much of this can be attributed to players like Kris Dunn and Walker Kessler who have settled into their roles.
Dunn has done a great job of leading the starting lineup with a gritty defensive-oriented playstyle. Ochai Agbaji has followed suit coming off of the bench. Collin Sexton brings intensity and speed to a more methodical Jazz lineup.
THIS ⬇️ https://t.co/n2LDfsML15
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 14, 2024
The point here is, that the Utah Jazz have looked like more of a team than they did during their 7-16 start.
When opposing teams face a collective as opposed to a group of individuals, it makes the job much tougher.
Make The Rest Beat You
Earlier in the season, the Utah Jazz would allow the other team’s stars to do more or less what they wanted.
Looking back on games like the 50-point loss to the Dallas Mavericks, this strategy came back to bite Utah.
Anthony Davis tonight:
15 points
15 rebounds
11 assists
6 turnovers
4 blocks
5/21 FGM pic.twitter.com/m3NzEpaIbo— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 14, 2024
Against the Lakers, the Jazz did exactly the opposite. In the first half, Utah double-teamed Anthony Davis every time he caught the ball in the post.
Davis struggled as a result. He had just 9 points and four turnovers on 2/7 shooting at the half. He would finish with a triple-double, but Utah still forced him to shoot 23.8% from the field.
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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.
