The Triple Team: Jazz let 4th quarter lead slip to go to 2-1 series deficit vs. Clippers


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SALT LAKE CITY — Three thoughts on the Jazz's 111-106 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers from KSL.com's Utah Jazz beat writer, Andy Larsen.

1. 15-0 Clippers run steals game in fourth

This was the Jazz's win probability chart for tonight's game.

(Inpredictable.com)
(Inpredictable.com)

You can see that the Jazz had this one in their favor for most of the game until 6:41 in the fourth. At that point, the Jazz had an 8-point lead.

And then the Jazz couldn't get a stop. Here's what happened for the Clippers on offense during the most critical stretch of the Jazz's season so far:

  • Jordan Crawford pulled up for a difficult 2-point shot. That happens.
  • Luc Mbah a Moute scored four consecutive second chance points. That really hurt. Those were gettable rebounds, too.
  • Chris Paul took over and scored nine consecutive points between the four minute mark and the two minute mark of the game, that turned a two-point Clipper deficit into a seven point Clipper lead.
"He's just good, number one," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "He trusts the actions that we are running, number two, and he has an amazing feel. He really does. He's just a tough, tough guy. He's stubborn in a very, very positive way. All the great ones have that in them. They are stubborn enough like they aren't going to lose."

And then some of it was that the Jazz got very isolation heavy in the fourth. That worked better when the Jazz were able to get the switch so that Raymond Felton or Jamal Crawford was defending the action, but it's still not a reliable way for the Jazz to score.

We've seen this from the Jazz before: late in games, they rely on some simple sets. They don't get as many actions, nor as much movement. Referees swallow their whistles. And as a result, they find it difficult to score.

By the way, there was a Boris Diaw play at the end of the game, where he threw the ball up with the Jazz down three, and the ball ended up going in the basket. But the referees called the play a non-continuation, giving Diaw two foul shots, not three points.

Diaw should've gotten continuation. pic.twitter.com/Yxqhi7khGt — Rey-Rey (@TheNoLookPass) April 22, 2017

That's the right call. You can see in this screenshot that Diaw is still dribbling the ball when DeAndre Jordan makes the first illegal contact.

The Triple Team: Jazz let 4th quarter lead slip to go to 2-1 series deficit vs. Clippers

Through the pool reporter process, I asked crew chief Mike Callahan about the play. He responded very simply: "The foul happened on the dribble, prior to the gather of the ball. That's why it's not a continuation." He's right.

2. Gordon Hayward steps up in Game 3

One thing that Jazz fans were waiting for after the first two games was Gordon Hayward being his usual efficient self. Tonight, we may have seen the best game of Hayward's career, albeit in a losing effort.

Hayward scored 40 points, a career high, in 42 minutes of play. He shot 13-21 from the field, 4-for-8 from the 3-point line, and 10-11 from the free throw line. He also added eight rebounds, four assists, and two blocked shots, though he did have five turnovers. But the Jazz aren't even close without Hayward's contributions.

How did the Jazz get Hayward free? Here's the highlights:

There was a lot of creative stuff there. The Jazz were running Luc Mbah a Moute off of screens, then another screen, to get Hayward going early towards the basket. That resulted in the first open shot of the game for the Jazz, and the first dunk of the game for Hayward.

Then, they also ran a lot of actions that got Paul switched onto Hayward. Paul likes to play centerfield on defense where he can intercept passes and gather steals, but he's not a tremendously effective defender on a wing with the size Hayward has. That left him vulnerable to off-ball movement and postups.

And finally, some of it was that the Clippers got tired early. I don't know if it was the altitude, the crowd, or what, but clearly, the Clippers ended up with their hands on their knees by the middle of the first quarter. Something happened where they weren't as sharp at trailing Hayward all the way through the play.

That tightened up in the fourth quarter. Hayward scored just four in the quarter, and the biggest factor was the way the Clippers defended him. They were holding, pressing, arm-barring him, and everything else they could think of to prevent him from getting the separation he got early in the game. All of those things are illegal, but the referees didn't call the fouls.

3. Jazz need to figure out something different at center

The biggest problem for the Jazz is at the center position, where Derrick Favors played 38 minutes tonight, going just 1-for-3 from the field for two points. He had 0 points and 1 rebound in the second half. He wasn't an impact player at defending the rim, nor an effective rebounder, nor an offensive plus. As a result, he was a -17 in those minutes. That means the Jazz were a plus 10 when he wasn't on the floor.

Boris Diaw played at center during those other minutes, and it was actually an interesting look for the Jazz: it allows them to space the floor and play five-out where all five players have to be guarded. But Diaw's a flawed player too: he has trouble hanging defensively, and of course, he can't play all of the minutes at center if he's also starting at power forward.

I don't know that I have a great answer to this problem? Jeff Withey didn't play. I don't think it was because of the domestic violence allegations against him, I just think that it was because of his ineffectiveness in Game 2. Joel Bolomboy is seriously untested, and is nowhere near good enough in pick-and-roll defense to hang with the Clippers.

I feel awful for Favors, because he's hurt. But he can't move at all. And it doesn't seem likely to get better with only one day off between games.

In other words, it might be time to force Rudy Gobert's return, unless they feel Gobert is at risk to hurt it further by playing. Even a few minutes, and a walking Gobert, would really help.

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