SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz (15-11) have been maddeningly inconsistent this season, winning some games with the energy and effort expected of a well-coached playoff squad vying to become a title contender, then following a high-level performance with a less-than-stellar, underwhelming game that leaves their fans frustrated and wanting for better.
Friday night was shaping up to be one of the latter games, with Utah playing listlessly against the worst team in the Western Conference — the Golden State Warriors (5-22). The Jazz trailed 56-49 at halftime after falling behind by as many as 13 points in the second quarter. But they pulled themselves together in the locker room and came out in the third quarter with far more energy and precision in their passing and playmaking.
While it wasn’t the prettiest of victories — they beat the Warriors 114-106. It was, in the end, what they were striving for — a win. Considering their recent struggles, even a win over a decidedly inferior opponent will sit better than another loss — period. After the game, Jazz coach Quin Snyder attributed the improved second-half effort to better execution on boxing out GSW’s strong rebounding core.
“The offensive rebounds really hurt us in the first half, just because they are additional possessions,” he said. “Golden State makes you expend a lot of energy in the half court guarding them and then they go to the boards.”
He said the Jazz needed to be more disciplined and work harder boxing out and chasing down loose balls.
“Usually, if you’re the more aggressive team, you end up coming up with those and I thought the second half we did a much better job in those situations,” Snyder said. “You’re able to get out and it makes the offensive end a lot easier.”
Utah also turned the ball over early in the game, which came back to bite them as the Warriors built up a double-digit lead. The combination of poor rebounding and giving up extra possessions were two of the major factors contributing to the first-half deficit.
Watching the Jazz come out in the second half and erase the seven-point deficit in the first three minutes was heartening, but the fact they had to do so against a team like the Warriors was also disheartening. How did they let it happen in the first place?
If you believe in moral victories when you play above your head to compete strongly against a better team, then this win might fall in the category of a moral defeat since it took a second-half comeback to beat a squad that should not be in your class — on your home court.
Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell said they knew at halftime what they had to do to take control of the game in order to avert disaster.
“Honestly, it wasn’t much to say. We know exactly what to do. We were giving up rebounds, we were just staring and watching,” Mitchell said. “We can’t rely on Rudy, Jeff, Ed and Bojan. We’ve got to all help and get in there. I got two rebounds in the game. I think that that’s not enough.”
To his credit, Mitchell has been “stand-up” during this rough stretch, accepting his responsibility in the team’s struggles. Others have also been vocal in calling on each person on the team to give their best effort to help play to their highest potential.
Center Rudy Gobert also noted how Snyder pointed out the problems in the first half and then the team collectively challenged themselves to play better in the second half after such a poor showing in the first two quarters Friday night.
“He just said that basically we knew the things that we needed to do better —obviously rebound and also a little more physicality on the offensive end,” Gobert explained. “Mostly (it was) rebounds, so we came out in second half and we forced a turnover right away and that got us going. We moved the ball offensively and then we were able to (get) stops and defensive rebounds to run on them.”
Ultimately, the Jazz were able to outlast the Warriors in the closing minutes and pick up their 15th win of the season. In a league as competitive as the NBA — particularly in the stacked Western Conference — no team is going to scoff at a win, no matter how it may look.
For the Jazz, being able to figure ways to win games is part of the process of getting better as the long season progresses so that hopefully later in the spring, they can be ready to make a solid playoff run. They may not be clicking on all cylinders yet, but they aren’t panicking because they seem to have the belief they can and will get better.
Time will tell.