Jazz Compete Well Despite Familiar Loss To Memphis

SALT LAKE CITY – For the fourth time this week, the shorthanded Utah Jazz battled against a top team in the West, only to fall short in the final minutes.

Mike Conley and Danuel House Jr. provided a spark for the Jazz against the Memphis Grizzlies, but ultimately they didn’t have enough talent on the floor late in their 119-109 loss.

The Jazz were without Rudy Gobert for the third straight game, and without Donovan Mitchell for the sixth straight game, and have fallen 1-5 in the All-Star guard’s absence.

The @utahjazz have lost four straight games and 10 of their last 12 after tonight's loss to the @memgrizz. #TakeNote https://t.co/XtlY6qdfVb

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 29, 2022

Mike Conley’s Incredible Play

There is no secret about why the Jazz have lost their last three games, having played without their two perennial All-Stars, especially considering the opposition.

But even without Gobert and Mitchell on the floor, Conley continues to show why he too was named to the NBA All-Star game last season.

The guard failed to convert a shot in the first half, was on the receiving end up several tough whistles throughout the night, and still somehow managed to finish with 15 points, six assists, and helped the Jazz outscore the Grizzlies by 13 points in his 30 minutes on the floor.

Big shot by 🗻 Mike near the end of the third quarter.#TakeNote https://t.co/tZoJGKf4vj

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 29, 2022

In Quin Snyder’s candid postgame comments in Wednesday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns, the coach alluded to the Jazz many issues, and how many of them were irrelevant when Conley and Gobert were on the floor.

“This isn’t Chicken Little, the sky isn’t falling,” Snyder said. “Go through — check our record with Rudy and Mike playing.”

Snyder is right, when his pick and roll tandem is playing the Jazz are 30-10 this season. Last season, Gobert and Conley finished first and second in the NBA in raw plus-minus and were 4-1 in the playoffs with both players starting the game healthy.

The Jazz Are Playing Harder

Though the Jazz are just 2-10 in their last 12 games, there have been some obvious improvements on the court, even if the final scorer hasn’t fallen in their favor.

While the team’s defensive numbers are far from elite over their last three games with Gobert off the floor, they’re an improvement from the stretch of five games the center initially missed due to COVID.

“Really proud of the way that our effort has been as opposed to three weeks ago,” Conley said. “We were losing games because it just looked like we were lackadaisical at some points, just losing interest in certain parts of the game.”

The Jazz struggled to contain Ja Morant who finished with a 30 point triple-double, though that’s par for the course for most NBA teams against the recently named All-Star starter.

Quin Snyder on the @utahjazz tonight:

"We played like a hungry team, and that's what we need to be. A hungry team."#TakeNote | @KSLSports

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 29, 2022

Even with Morant’s effort, the Jazz have shown a better effort on defense.

“We’ve improved containing the ball,” Snyder said before the game, “but that means that there are times even if you’re not beaten directly, you still need to help and then you need to rotate and you need to get guys on the glass.”

The Jazz were better on the glass as well, despite playing with a small lineup for long stretches of the game.

The Grizzlies managed just eight offensive rebounds and 10 second-chance points, a sign of growth from some of the Jazz’s recent performances.

“We were getting limiting them to one opportunity,” Conley said of the Jazz rebounding. “We were creating turnovers, guys were being active defensively.”

The Jazz fell into a trap throughout the season of allowing Gobert to clean up the majority of their defensive issues, and because of the caliber defender he is, it worked.

But after getting exposed on the defensive end during the early weeks in January, the team has shown better effort on that side of the ball. If the team can keep that up, it will help them during the final push of the season and may make up for the losses the team has suffered this month.

The Skinny On The Small Lineup

Since being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by an undersized Los Angeles Clippers team, the desire to see the Jazz utilize more small-ball lineups has been a common cry among fans and media alike.

With Gobert out of the lineup for eight of the team’s last 13 games, and both Hassan Whiteside and Udoka Azubuuie missing their share of time during the stretch, Snyder has had no choice but to throw undersized lineups onto the floor.

The Jazz coach discussed what he’s seen from the smaller groups, and why, despite his team’s exit last season, he still likes having a traditional big man on the floor.

“We’re 30th when we’re small,” Snyder said of the team’s league-worst defensive rating without a seven-footer on the floor, “and we’re first when we have a center.”

OCHOOOOOOO 🎱#TakeNote | @RudyGay pic.twitter.com/FI5gBVJppG

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 29, 2022

Between Gobert and Whiteside, the Jazz have two of the NBA’s few remaining true rim protectors who combine to block 3.6 shots per game. That’s allowed the team to funnel perimeter players towards the rim while still having success on defense, but those are difficult habits to break when their big men are off the floor.

“From a system standpoint, when you build around a center, and when you don’t have a center, you have to adjust,” Snyder said. “To be honest with you I’m not saying that in a negative capacity. I’m saying that with respect to us having a chance to to get better and to learn.”

The Jazz will continue to test their small lineups this weekend as Gobert will likely miss Sunday’s game after failing to travel with the team during their two-game road trip.

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