SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah jazz dropped their second straight game, losing to the visiting New Orleans Pelicans, 106-94, Saturday night at EnergySolutions Arena.
Why the Jazz lost: One player cannot defeat another team alone, but Anthony Davis made his best attempt. Behind his monster game of 43 points, 14 rebounds and two steals, the Pelicans held a comfortable lead for most of the game. While solid offensively, Utah never established itself on defense.
Turning point: After going down by 18 points, Utah staged an impressive third-quarter comeback, cutting things down to a 77-72 deficit at the end of the period. Momentum was on the Jazz’s side, but that was short-lived. New Orleans snatched it back with a quick 6-0 run to commence the fourth quarter, and Utah could not battle back as the Pelicans went on to garner the easy victory.
What it means: The Jazz had a lot of defensive breakdowns. From botched rotations on pick-and-roll plays to not getting back on transition, Utah presented New Orleans with a slew of easy scores. While Utah had made strides on the other end of the court, there is still a lot of room for growth on defense.
Grading the performance: Utah gave a much better effort Saturday than it did the previous evening against the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are clearly the better team, but it was encouraging that the Jazz showed a lot more offensive execution. The aforementioned defensive struggles present some issues going forward.
Utah Jazz grade: B-
It is not outrageous to assert that Davis is one of the NBA’s top three players. Moreover, it could be argued that he is the league’s best right now. Saturday was prime evidence. While the strong core of solid teammates struggled a bit, his performance helped set the tone for the evening.
New Orleans Pelicans grade: A-
Three telling stats:
-- New Orleans had 93 field-goal attempts, 22 more than Utah. It is difficult for a team to win with that big of a differential on shots.
-- It helped that the Pelicans corralled 18 offensive rebounds. Five different players registered two or more. The Jazz did much better in the second half, but they had a hard time boxing the active New Orleans roster
-- Utah coughed up the ball a few too many times, finishing with 18 turnovers. Those miscues led to 21 points for the Pelicans. Additionally, the Jazz only had 15 total assists.
Fredette’s return: Now in his fourth season, few players create more of a reaction than guard Jimmer Fredette. The former Brigham Young University star elicits a sometimes surreal response from the EnergySolutions Arena crowd. It is as if there is a simultaneous mixture of wild cheering and boisterous booing whenever he is on the court. Fredette went scoreless, but played a solid floor game during his eight minutes. Should guard Eric Gordon’s injury keep him out of extended action, Fredette may be required to assume some of the backcourt duties.
Up next: Utah will host the Chicago Bulls Monday evening, with hopes of getting back on its winning ways.
David Smith provides instant analysis for Deseret News' Utah Jazz coverage. He works for LDS Philanthropies and also writes for Salt City Hoops (ESPN's Jazz affiliate). He can be reached at mechakucha1@gmail.com or on Twitter at davidjsmith1232.