Jazz shootaround: George Hill questionable, Rodney Hood's playoff struggles


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SALT LAKE CITY — The Jazz held shootaround ahead of their Game 4 contest against the Golden State Warriors scheduled for 7 p.m. MT at Vivint Arena. Here are a few notes leading up to Monday night's game:

George Hill's status

This update isn't much of one: Jazz point guard George Hill's status has not changed for Game 4, meaning he is questionable. Hill and the Jazz will decide before the game whether or not his toe injury is limiting enough that they hold him out of Game 4, just as they did in Games 2 and 3.

At this point, I'd be kind of surprised if he played. I mean, the toe injury happened in November, will another two days off in May make enough of a difference? And that's especially in a 3-0 playoff series before he's slated to be a free agent this summer.

Optimism, ticket prices down

One result of the Jazz's 3-0 deficit in the series so far: a definite decrease in interest in Jazz tickets for Monday's Game 4.

> Ticket prices have plummeted in Utah ahead of Game 4. Down 71% since the start of the series: [pic.twitter.com/YMNa4POk1u](https://t.co/YMNa4POk1u) > > — TicketIQ (@Ticket\_IQ) [May 8, 2017](https://twitter.com/Ticket_IQ/status/861663050759274498)

Remember, for the first round's Game 6 matchup against the Clippers, interest in Jazz tickets was at a league high. But after a few games against the Warriors, it's fair to say that optimism for Jazz fans is down as the home team faces the possibility of getting swept.

Percentage of contested shots

The Jazz actually played very well, but a few missed shots and the game's final 22 points from Steph Curry and Kevin Durant were enough.

But the Jazz did a fantastic job of contesting Warriors shots: 52 of the Warriors' shots were contested. Compare that to the Jazz, who only had 41 of their shots contested by Golden State.

This is where the skill difference between the two teams shows, though: the Warriors made 24 of those contested shots, while the Jazz only made 14. That's obviously more than enough to make up an 11-point final deficit.

Rodney Hood's playoffs

While he's been battling an injury all playoffs long, it's still fair to say that Rodney Hood hasn't had the playoffs he hoped for through 10 games.

Hood is averaging only 9.6 points per game on 36 percent shooting, and 27 percent from three. His PER for the playoffs is just 5.8. He has provided valuable defense on J.J. Redick, Klay Thompson, and even Steph Curry at times, though his effectiveness has been very up and down.

"This year for Rodney has been him battling health issues. He's still not where he wants to be or can be," head coach Quin Snyder said. "That's not an excuse, he needs to gut through those things, and I think he has."

But Snyder has liked that Hood is still willing to shoot the ball. "What I see in Rodney is that he's continued to stay aggressive," Snyder said. "I haven't seen him wilt at all. I've been really proud of him for that, because that's the only way you get better."

"He's a young guy, and he'll keep getting better, and we'll keep being demanding of him, as he is of himself," Snyder said.

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Andy Larsen

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