SALT LAKE CITY — The Jazz held a shootaround before their 8:30 p.m. MT game against the New Orleans Pelicans Monday night on TNT. Head coach Quin Snyder, center Rudy Gobert, and wingman Joe Ingles spoke to the media.

Rudy Gobert's comments

Rudy Gobert had some pointed words after the Jazz's loss to the LA Clippers Saturday, and they've been a topic of discussion in the team ever since. Here are his comments, thanks to ESPN:

We've got guys that compete, but some of us don't compete. Some of us just think about scoring. That's what it is. Coach keeps repeating it: We've just got to compete. We're too nice. Those guys, we know they're going to get calls. We've just got to come out aggressive and ready to fight. I think everybody needs to think about making plays for the team, making winning plays, before thinking about how many points we're going to score and stuff like that. Everybody has to be ready to sacrifice. In the playoffs, it's not going to be pretty. There's going to be some games where you don't score. But are you going to take a charge for a teammate? Are you going to come and box out DeAndre (Jordan) for a teammate? It works with all of us. And we do it, we do it, but we do it by stretches. We need to do it right from the beginning of the game. I think when we do that, we're very, very, very good.

So who was Gobert talking about? We asked him at shootaround Monday.

"It was more about the team, it wasn't targeting somebody in particular. It was more about the team. Maybe I didn't choose the best words, made it look like I was picking on people, it was more about the attitude as a team."

I actually believe Gobert when he says that. Saturday's loss was a result of two different runs: one against the starters at the beginning of the game, and one against the bench at the beginning of the fourth quarter. In between, both the starters and the bench had runs where they actually played really well on both ends, doing the things Gobert asked for.

Are there players who fit Gobert's description? Sure. Alec Burks has only really cared about scoring for his entire career; him not doing the little things consistently has driven both Ty Corbin and Snyder crazy. Trey Lyles and Dante Exum have been all over the map. But the players in the starting unit are all capable of playing excellent team ball, and do so most of the time. For some reason, they've struggled to do it consistently in the last week.

The biggest issue is that Jazz haven't been anywhere near focused enough defensively over the last three games, allowing over 115 points per 100 possessions in each. And it hasn't been due to great shooting from their opponents, but them getting too many easy baskets on all sorts of different plays.

So to talk about Gobert's comments, as well as the overall team performance, the Jazz held a meeting to discuss where they are as a team, and what they want to accomplish over the last nine games.

"We had a team meeting. We discussed everything," Gobert said. "I think it was good to talk to each other, and it's never going to be perfect, but it's great to communicate as a team."

And Gobert regrets how he made the comments. "It maybe wasn't the best way to do it, but it was just about winning. I was just frustrated after the game. It was just about us as a team. I just want to win, and that's it. I want us to be better as a team."

Snyder agreed. "I think you have to be conscious of how and when you say things, which is important in order for them to be effective."

"One of the challenges about being part of a team is being able to put yourself in other people's shoes," Snyder said. "That means that everybody on the team, every teammate has to understand how another player feels, and have empathy for them. That's how you're able to help."

In particular, maybe the biggest issue for the Jazz has been nagging injuries that have stopped everyone from playing at their full potential. Rodney Hood is coming off a minutes restriction, and talking to him, you can see that his knee bruise is really bothering him. George Hill's toe is still a problem, and on Saturday, he was limited by a hip or groin issue (the injury hasn't been reported publicly by team doctors, but Hill was clearly working on something during the game). Derrick Favors is out. And now even Gordon Hayward is questionable for Monday's game, thanks to a quadriceps contusion.

When a player is injured, it's not always the obvious stuff that's taken away. If a player has the ball, all of the attention of the world is on them, and they focus on using their efforts on looking good on that play. On the other hand, very few people are looking at the defensive stunts, box out help under the defensive glass, etc. It's easier to listen to the pain in those scenarios. Having empathy for those players, and giving instruction on what off-ball things they need to focus on, is probably the right approach.

I think Snyder's right, overall, when he says that the Jazz are going about their play in the right way. "If you look at the benchmarks of our program, unselfishness and competitiveness are the two things we've been consistently," Snyder said. "There's always going to be times when you want to compete more, compete more consistently, play better. I welcome our guys challenging each other. I'd prefer we do it in ways that are more constructive from a pragmatic standpoint."

And Snyder is also optimistic about how the Jazz will come out of this stretch.

"Any time we've had a period of adversity, we've always come out and used it to make us better, and that's what we're trying to do with this as well."

One way the Jazz can get better? Leadership. "I'm still obviously working on being a better leader, talking to my teammates," Gobert said. "You know, I'm getting better at it. It's like everything: you've got to get better at it, and I'm getting better at it."

Playoff clinching

The Jazz clinched a playoff spot Sunday night thanks to a Denver loss. It's a milestone for the program, which lost 25 games three seasons ago.

"If you think back to three years ago, this group has come a long way. Obviously, you always want more, but that shouldn’t take away from the feeling of satisfaction," Snyder said. "You can feel good about accomplishing something and still want more."

Gobert agreed. "It’s great, you know. The last three years, that’s what we’ve been chasing. We’ve worked very hard to get there. And now we want more than that.”

Ingles, on the other hand, wasn't focused on the result of Denver's game. "I was cooking dinner. Dinner was really good," he reported.

Make-A-Wish player

The Jazz had an extra rebounder at shootaround Monday.

Logan Chase, 15, is a leukemia patient who was offered the chance to participate in the Jazz's work today thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Ingles and the Jazz kept Logan involved throughout the session as a passer and a rebounder on various shooting drills, as his family looked on.

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