Jazz Walk Fine Line Between Turnovers And Success

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – In their loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, the Utah Jazz committed nine live-ball turnovers resulting in 15 Golden State points.

In a game the Jazz ultimately lost by 12, understanding that not only did the turnovers lead to 15 points, but also prevented the Jazz from ending nine possessions with shots from the field, you can see just how important those lost opportunities were.

Rather than an errant pass sailing out of bounds, or an offensive foul stopping the game, a significant number of Jazz turnovers came from Golden State’s help defenders collapsing on Jazz ballhandlers and simply poking the ball away for a steal.

Steal & a score 💥

📺 @NBCSAuthentic pic.twitter.com/pvurX5JlVp

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 14, 2021

That led to layups and transition threes for the Warriors rather than out-of-bounds plays where the Jazz would have had a chance to reset their defense.

Before the Jazz hosted the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, coach Quin Snyder discussed the team’s turnovers and what his roster can do to change the outcome of those possessions.

“When we do drive the ball, if you’ve drawn a defender, that’s a good thing. “Snyder said.

The Jazz offense is designed to put pressure on the rim, collapsing the defense, and leaving the team’s shooters open for threes. Recently, teams have been less willing to commit an extra defender to Rudy Gobert in the pick and roll, allowing that defender to stay with his shooter, altering the Jazz attack.

The @utahjazz are 11-1 in their first games against teams they've faced multiple times this season.

However, they're just 9-6 in subsequent meetings.

Can they improve that record tomorrow against the @celtics?#TakeNote https://t.co/JgxumZljEZ

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 15, 2021

When Jazz shooters received the kick-out pass against Golden State, rather than shoot a contested shot, they opted to put the ball on the floor, leading to turnovers.

“We’ve just got to pass it a little bit quicker,” Snyder said of his team’s quick decision offense. “That slight hesitation allows them to come in and make a play and it takes your angle away.”

What To Watch For Against Celtics

Though the Warriors are one of the more aggressive teams in the NBA trying to force turnovers, don’t be surprised to see upcoming Jazz opponents like the Celtics try to execute a similar strategy against Joe Ingles, Donovan Mitchell, and Bojan Bogdanovic who accounted for 11 of the Jazz 14 total turnovers on Sunday.

Snyder had a solution for his team if Boston refuses to collapse on Gobert and sticks with the Jazz shooters.

JC's streak rolls on—64 straight games with a made three.#MACU3 | @MountainAmerica pic.twitter.com/GGMMfC9lTL

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) March 14, 2021

“If we’re less open, I want us to take those shots and sometimes contested shots,” Snyder said. “If you’ve got good shooters, those are still good shots and when we don’t do that, that’s when the offense can stagnate.”

The Jazz and Celtics tip-off at 5:30 pm MT. The game will be broadcast on TNT and AT&T SportsNet.