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INDIANAPOLIS — Victor Oladipo just shook his head and smiled.
After Indiana’s Aaron Holiday put in a soft floater late in the fourth quarter to add to what was already a large lead during Indiana’s 121-94 blowout of the Jazz on Monday, Oladipo was seen on the bench with almost an expression of blissful disbelief. It wasn’t because what Holiday, who finished with 19 points, was busy doing, but likely for how easy things came to the Pacers as a whole.
“We need to be more aggressive and not let a team impose their will on us that easily,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder.
From the very first play to the really the final whistle, the Pacers controlled the game. They did it despite Oladipo, their All-Star guard, sitting out with right knee soreness. And they did it despite a great offensive night from Ricky Rubio.
So how did it happen?
Turnovers
“It started, really, the first possession offensively,” Snyder said.
It didn’t take long for the Jazz to feel the Pacers’ defensive pressure. Indiana got up into the Utah guards, looking for steals and trying to get into passing lanes. For the most part, they succeeded. Indiana forced eight turnovers in the first quarter alone.
The Pacers came into Monday’s game ranked third in the NBA in turnover percentage, creating a takeaway on 17.6 percent of opponent’s possessions, according to Cleaning The Glass.
Not all turnovers are created equal. The ones the Jazz were committing were the brutal ones. Half of Indiana’s 32 first-quarter points came off those turnovers. And that fits in with a season-long trend for the Jazz. Partly why the defense has been a disappointment for much of the year is Utah’s inability to get back in transition.
It’s hard to set up a defense around Rudy Gobert when the ball is in front of him. Entering Monday, the Jazz were 26th in the NBA in defending in transition.
“They were just alive,” said Donovan Mitchell, who finished with only 7 points in the loss. “They came out ready with energy. We had energy, but they had more.”
RICKY!
The Jazz could have been looking at a repeat of last week’s 50-point loss to Dallas if it were not for one man: Ricky Rubio. The Jazz point guard put on a masterful performance on Monday in the loss, scoring 28 points through the first three quarters, trying to will the Jazz back into the game.
It was a show, simple as that. He hit leaners off the glass, pulled up for free throw line jumpers and drilled his first five 3-point attempts. But it also went further than just hot shooting from a player who has struggled to find his shot thus far this season. Per NBA.com, Rubio recovered five loose balls and had five deflections.
But he had very little help. Rudy Gobert (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Jae Crowder (14 points) were the only other Jazzman in double digits.
And the Jazz's offense needed plenty more firepower to make up for a poor defensive effort.
Up and down
“We were a step slow in a lot of areas,” Snyder said. “That begins with our frame of mind. We have to be more urgent.”
That was mostly seen on the defensive side of the ball as Indiana got a steady stream of open looks. Even without Oladipo, the Pacers carved up the Jazz defense, shooting 53 percent from the field and 48 percent from deep.
“We are there, but we are not there,” Mitchell said. “We have to do the extra step, taking them out of their shots.”
The Jazz defense offered little resistance throughout the game but it was magnified in the second half. Even with Rubio rolling in the third quarter, where he scored 12 of his 28 points, the Jazz couldn’t find a way to cut into the Pacers’ lead. In fact, Indiana increased its 10-point halftime advantage to 16 points to start the fourth quarter.
Instead of over fouling — a recent trend — Utah just gave too much space.
Mitchell didn’t think the Jazz’s scout was wrong, or the execution was necessarily terrible, but that Utah's aggression and energy weren’t there to match what Indiana came out with. Maybe that’s simply the end of a long road trip or maybe something else.
Whatever the case, Mitchell doesn’t think there should be an excuse.
“We should bring it every night,” he said. “There shouldn’t be times we are up and down. That was the theme of this whole road trip: up and down, up and down.”
And so far, that's been the theme of this season.
