Did Utah Win? 21st Edition.
Welcome to the lazy Utahn’s recap of the most recent Utah Jazz game. Do you want to talk to your friends about the game, impress them with cool stats, and act like you watch all 82 games like a true die hard even if you didn’t catch the big game last night? We got you covered in this simplistic breakdown of each topic that may arise from the latest Utah Jazz showdown.
It’s been a while since the Jazz took the Hardwood, so did Utah win in their return to action?
Utah suffered their second worst loss in franchise history last night in Dallas, dropping the contest 147-97.
So, did that answer your question? No, the Jazz didn’t win. No Jordan Clarkson, no Lauri Markkanen, no fire, no energy, no chemistry, no hope.
Utah seemed confident they were headed in the right direction after they swept the Pelicans at the tail end of November only to lose in brutal fashion to Memphis and Minnesota.
They then felt like they regained some of that mojo with an exciting overtime win over the hapless Trailblazers, only to turn around and lose by 50 the next time out.
One step forward, one step back, and then an accidental fall down the stairs for this Jazz team, rinse and repeat.
Can we just chalk it up to “road woes” and move on to the next home game?
Sure, the road has not been kind to the Jazz.
The Jazz have won one road game in 11 attempts. That’s the same amount as the Bulls, Pistons, and one behind the Spurs.
Houston technically is the worst road team in the association, going 0-8 to this point, but the Rockets are 9-1 in the Toyota Center and wouldn’t be accused of being worse than Utah right now.
The Jazz have gone from a middling team to a bottom tier team relatively quickly, and the performance against the Mavericks last night cements that. The Jazz have looked rough more often than not.
And that is why I simply cannot blame the “road” for Utah’s existing issues. Struggling on the road is common, even expected. Getting smashed on the road is the mark of a bad team.
The Jazz aren’t just losing on the road, they aren’t even competing.
Utah’s last 5 losses have all been double digit deficits with an average margin of defeat at 24.6 points. They have also, of course, all happened away from Delta Center.
The Jazz funnily enough have won three straight at home.
No Markkanen, No Clarkson, and no Olynyk. Tough to ask the team to overcome that scoring loss, right?
Absolutely. Without those guys, no one knows who should take or even get shots.
Ochai Agbaji, who averages 6.5 Points per game led the team in shot attempts with 14. He would finish with a season high 21 points, hitting 5 of 10 deep shots.
That was only the second game this year in which Ochai has put up ten or more shots and it was worth it for the second-year guard.
This feeds into the theme that many Jazz fans are pushing. Let the young players be the focal point. Let them be the ones who get the minutes, the shots and the looks.
Ochai got his 4th most minutes of the season and his largest shot attempt number of the year and was one of the only Jazz players worth watching.
On the topic of youth, Taylor Hendricks received real time minutes for the second consecutive game since his call up from the Salt Lake City Stars.
Hendricks saw the floor for 24 minutes, the 4th highest time on the team. He went 4/6, hit two triples, had two steals and blocked a shot.
Taylor was moving well off ball, working hard defensively and absolutely proved why his next opportunity needs to come in the form of a high usage rotation spot.
The teases have been fantastic, and there isn’t a Jazz fan out there who would tell you that they aren’t ready to see Hendricks night in and night out.
After combining for 46 points over Portland, Keyonte George and Collin Sexton combined for 14 in Dallas. Rough shooting nights will happen, so its nice to see George record 11 assists on a 2/11 night.
Talen Horton-Tucker had 11 points on 9 shot attempts, but did hit all three of his 3 point tries, the first time he has done so this season.
That’s it, that’s the end. That’s all I got for interesting tidbits in a deadbeat game.
Check out the full box score here if you want to study John Collins 10 points on 11 shots: https://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/boxscore/NBA_20231206_UTA@DAL/
I mean, the Mavs had Kyrie Irving and Tim Hardaway Jr return. They had to be amped to be healthier.
They were certainly amped. Kyrie shredded Utah for 26 points in 27 minutes while shooting 69 percent from the field.
Both Irving and Hardaway Jr. drilled 4 three pointers apiece to contribute to the Mavericks 22 three pointers made.
Luka Doncic himself had 6 of those shots beyond the arc, but he also did other things such as score 40 points on 56 percent shooting, in 31 minutes.
Doncic trounced the soft Jazz defense so hard that he had a triple double by halftime. No joke.
Ok I get it, not a lot of things worth discussing in this game, an old-fashioned butt kicking at its core. Did we at least have a cool play?
Since Taylor Hendricks and the youth movement is all we have to cling onto at this time, check out what Hendricks did on this attempted Dallas alley oop.
If you don’t pay attention to the score or what happened after Hendricks took off, you’ll be impressed.
I’m assuming the stat won’t be in Utah’s favor?
Right you are.
What do we have to endure next?
The Jazz are allowed to play competitive basketball this Friday the 8th as they will finally be back in the Delta Center. Tip is slated for 8:00 mountain time.
The Clippers come into town after besting the Nuggets. LAC sits at 10-10 on the season.
The Jazz took the first matchup 120-118 back in October.
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