The Triple Team: 3 thoughts on Jazz vs. Grizzlies


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SALT LAKE CITY — Three thoughts on the Jazz's 102-96 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies from KSL.com's Utah Jazz beat writer, Andy Larsen.

1. Jazz close game with Diaw and Lyles over Gobert

With 10:14 left in the fourth quarter and the Jazz down two points, Rudy Gobert picked up his fifth foul on a blocking call by Dan Crawford. Naturally, Quin Snyder subbed him out to save him for later in the game... except Gobert didn't ever come back in. Boris Diaw and Trey Lyles played the big positions for the rest of the game.

A lot of people online and offline disagreed with that decision, and so I think it's fair to look at it from a whole bunch of different angles. First, here's Snyder's explanation for not playing Gobert after the game.

> Here's Quin on why Rudy didn't play down the stretch: [pic.twitter.com/3vxVP91tNg](https://t.co/3vxVP91tNg) > > — Angie Treasure (@snark\_tank) [November 15, 2016](https://twitter.com/snark_tank/status/798386374797852672)

A point for the lineup being a good idea: it really scored well. The Jazz had an 117 offensive rating during that 10 minutes and change, and eight of the Jazz's 23 points were scored by Lyles and Diaw during the stretch. The additional spacing the lineup provided also seemed to open up space for Dante Exum (on a driving dunk), Gordon Hayward (got to the line twice), Joe Ingles, and Shelvin Mack.

A point for the lineup being a bad idea: rebounding. Believe it or not, the Grizzlies only shot 36 percent during the final 10 minutes, but rebounded six of those 12 misses. That ended up being eight second chance points. Zach Randolph had three of those in the five minutes he played during the stretch, but the Jazz and Grizzlies played even during his minutes. Interestingly, Marc Gasol had no offensive rebounds all game long. It's very easy to look at the rebounds and say that, had Gobert been in the game, he could have picked up those boards. On the other hand, Gobert picked up only five of the 11 times the ball fell within 3.5 feet of him, according to SportVu data.

Good idea: 3-point shooting. It didn't work out this way, but the Jazz had five capable 3-point shooters on the floor at the end of the game. They just missed all four threes, including some wide open looks. Meanwhile, Memphis went 3-6, including a couple of tough ones from Mike Conley and Vince Carter.

Bad idea: Despite what Snyder described as poor play from Gobert, he was still a +10 when he was on the floor for the Jazz. Meanwhile, Lyles finished as a -10, and Diaw finished with a -7. But maybe a Gobert with five fouls is less of a defensive force, given that he has to play more carefully?

I'm now arguing with myself within my own sub-points, so I'll stop now. Here's my conclusion: it was probably a mistake, but what Snyder said about Gobert not playing that well is true. The decision could have made the difference, but so could have better shot luck on open 3-point shots at the end. So it goes.

2. Lots o' injuries

Man, the Jazz's injury report is filling up, and with some really critical players. I wrote about those injuries some in my shootaround report earlier today, but we learned more about some of those injuries during the game Monday.

In particular, Derrick Favors' exit with 7:38 left in the third quarter was pretty worrisome. In his 21 minutes, he really struggled in moving up and down the floor, shooting his shot (nearly everything fell well short, and he finished 2-6), and exploding for rebounds. He looked, at best, like he was playing at 70 percent. It was announced that he would not return from left knee soreness. The Jazz have two days off before their next game on Thursday, but unless Favors is 100 percent by then, I'd definitely lean towards keeping him out: he just doesn't look right.

Here's what Snyder said about Favors' injury: "I'm not sure. We'll have to talk to our medical people. They've continued to monitor and assess it. Obviously, he was in a position tonight where he couldn't go anymore. We want to make sure that we're not doing anything to provoke or irritate it, but at the same time he's been able to play, so it's something we'll have to continue to monitor and be aware of."

Gordon Hayward also went out with three minutes left holding his left hand, though he later returned after a re-tape. He had gotten it tangled with JaMychal Green on the previous possession. Despite his return, I thought it was pretty evident that Hayward's shot was off for the game as a result of the finger. 4-14 shooting and 1-6 from deep is enough to qualify as Hayward's first bad game of the season.

George Hill is still out with his thumb injury, though went through a substantial workout before the game to keep himself ready. At this point, it's a matter of him being able to cleanly catch the ball. The Jazz could really use him Thursday.

Rodney Hood went to the doctor Thursday morning, and apparently wasn't well enough to play through the sickness. Without Hood, the Grizzlies could load up on Hayward's drives.

The Jazz and the Pelicans have been the most injured to start the season (30 man-games lost). Jazz are 7-4, Pellies 1-9. pic.twitter.com/rW8KpKfu2i — Angie Treasure (@snark_tank) November 14, 2016

Hey, but at least a healthier Diaw had his best game in a Jazz uniform? That's a pretty faint silver lining.

3. Surprising leading scorer

Joe Ingles led the Jazz with 20 points tonight, a new season high. He was great from inside and out, shooting 4-7 from three and 3-4 inside at the rim.

.@JoeIngles7 had a career-high 20 points tonight. 📽📽📽 #MEMatUTApic.twitter.com/54BtSD500n — Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 15, 2016

He prompted this tweet from Nate Duncan:

> Joe Ingles is a fantastic finisher for his athletic gifts. Lots of slows could learn a ton from him. > > — Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) [November 15, 2016](https://twitter.com/NateDuncanNBA/status/798381016981196805)

Ingles, after the game, didn't want to talk about his scoring prowess:

"I couldn't care less," Ingles said.

Props to Ingles for two things: first, for putting the team's performance above his own impressive night; and second, for using the correct form of the commonly mis-said phrase.

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