SALT LAKE CITY — Three thoughts on the Jazz's 101-97 win over the San Antonio Spurs from KSL.com's Utah Jazz beat writer, Andy Larsen.

1. Terrific Jazz defense leads to win over Spurs

Yes, both teams had most of their starters out of the game by the five minute mark in the fourth quarter of tonight's contest. But thanks to the lead the Jazz had developed over the first three quarters, they were able to pull out the win anyway with some of the best team defense I've seen them play all year.

The Jazz defenders looked like they were on a string all night. They communicated with each other, switched out when necessary, preventing the Spurs from getting their trademark easy looks.

"We're just a unique team," Jazz forward Derrick Favors said. "We have guys who can guard multiple positions, especially in pick and roll."

Here are just a couple of examples of the Jazz's great defense.

And then this play showed a good level of ball aggression from George Hill:

George thieving ➡️ Rudy jamming! 💪#SASatUTApic.twitter.com/pvq3Md94Ux — y-Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 13, 2017

Early in the game, this turnover was forced when Boris Diaw sneakily switched back onto Dewayne Dedmon when Dedmon wasn't ready to pass the ball:

Just fantastic defense. Diaw doesn't come to double the mismatch, Jazz SWITCH it and force the TO pic.twitter.com/wpuXjHk959 — BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) April 13, 2017

I thought the defensive continuity was remarkable given the circumstances. After all, the Jazz haven't had the starters all together in a month. It's probably fair to expect they wouldn't gel on the floor in their first game back in that time. But, they did. And that's a massive credit to Quin Snyder and the coaching staff.

2. Derrick Favors impresses in his stint

Derrick Favors was held out of Monday's game against Golden State thanks to that left knee soreness, but was available for the Jazz Wednesday. He ended up playing nearly 21 minutes, and looked good doing it.

First of all, his defense was a big boon to the Jazz. He ended up with three steals, and had numerous other plays where his movement limited Spurs' guards and bigs alike from getting what they wanted.

And then offensively, Favors finished with eight points and three assists. He was a nice part of what the Jazz did offensively. He didn't force shots to get his, but just found good dunks and jumpers in the offense.

I also thought it was interesting he played minutes next to Rudy Gobert, even without being in the starting lineup. During much of the season Favors has been played exclusively as a backup center when he's come off the bench. Tonight, he played well next to Gobert, working well with him on both offense and defense.

In particular, I thought this assist from Favors to Gobert. It's a simple read, but showed Favors and Gobert with good timing, playing off of each other against fairly soft Spurs defense. "It was just a good basketball play," Favors said. "I saw Gasol rotate over and and I saw Rudy out of the corner of my eye, so I just dropped it off to him."

When BIGS help BIGS - everyone wins.#TakeNote#SASatUTApic.twitter.com/AVK3ygfoME — y-Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 13, 2017

I asked Snyder about Favors' role Wednesday night.

"Who starts, who finishes, who plays is going to depend on the game. We know what we've decided with Joe Johnson and I think our team has found a groove with that lineup," Snyder said. "But as far as Fav goes, we have confidence in him in a lot of different roles."

It sounds like Johnson could continue to finish games, with Favors being a clear option at the PF spot. We'll see to what extent the Jazz need him against Blake Griffin on Saturday.

3. The playoffs begin Saturday

The NBA playoffs begin, and so soon. With the Clippers' easy win over the Sacramento Kings, they clinched the fourth spot and home court advantage over the Jazz in the first round. Here's the full schedule for the games:

The Jazz will have a day without practice Thursday before flying into L.A. Friday for their late game Saturday. Then, they'll have two days off in L.A., playing Tuesday in another late game. Then, another two days off while the team travels back to Salt Lake City for Friday's game, and finally, the rare Sunday home game in Utah will wrap up the first four scheduled.

A couple of quick impressions on the schedule. First, that the Jazz do have two days off in between Game 1 and Game 2, and again between Game 2 and Game 3, should benefit Utah. The Jazz are somewhat beat up, with nagging injuries for Rodney Hood, Hill, Gordon Hayward, Favors, Dante Exum, and others. The more days off, the more time they have to rest.

Second, given how the Jazz have struggled in early games in L.A. this season, it's probably a good thing that they've dodged playing a matinee game in the first four games of the series.

KSL.com is sending me to cover the Jazz playoffs, following the team around as they practice and play in southern California. We'll be bringing you great coverage throughout the weeks to come.

But most importantly, the Jazz are back in the playoffs, playing well, and finally getting healthy at the right time. Let the games begin.

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