The Triple Team: Jazz get lead early, keep it throughout in Sacramento


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SACRAMENTO — Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz's 98-91 win over the Sacramento Kings from KSL.com's Utah Jazz beat writer, Andy Larsen.

1. Jazz get out to early lead, keep it throughout in win at Sacramento

I'm not sure we saw the Jazz's A-level effort in Saturday night's game, but the Jazz defended well enough to win the game while keeping the lead throughout.

The win probability graph tells the story: the Kings were never favored in this game, thanks to their status as bottom-dwellers in the Western Conference. But the Jazz kept the Kings from striking range throughout. And while the game got within seven points at the end, the Kings still didn't really have much of a chance to win.

The Triple Team: Jazz get lead early, keep it throughout in Sacramento

Should we be concerned the Jazz didn't close it out earlier? Maybe. In the second quarter, the Jazz held an 18-point, 45-27, lead with 4:32 left. And then the Kings hit two consecutive 3-point shots, De'Aaron Fox got out in transition a little bit, and they cut the lead to nine.

In the third quarter, same thing: the Jazz got a 66-48 lead with 5:47 left, but the Kings came back thanks to Buddy Hield and Frank Mason hitting threes and Skal Labissiere making big plays at the rim.

"They pushed back the whole game. That's a competitive team, a young team," Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said after the game. "We gave it back to them, frankly."

You have to give the Kings' young players some credit. When the Jazz last played the Kings they were the worst offensive and defensive team in the league. But since that game, they're a little bit better: 23rd in the league on offense and 24th on defense. That's progress; minor progress, but progress.

The Jazz's defense was pretty solid for most of the game: the Jazz allowed only 9-for-22 shooting by the Kings within the restricted area — a clear example of the Rudy Gobert effect. The Kings didn't get to the free-throw line very frequently, and they also only made one corner three.

But I did think the Jazz could have done a better job with executing the offense, in the second half especially. After committing only four first-half turnovers, the Jazz followed it up with a nine-turnover second half — still too many. And while Ricky Rubio played well overall, his 4-of-16 shooting ended a lot of decent possessions with bad misses.

Still, a relatively easy win on the second game of a back to back. If you're a Jazz fan, you'll take it.

2. Donovan Mitchell's high-arcing shot

Donovan Mitchell has put together two consecutive excellent scoring games this weekend: after scoring 26 points against the Timberwolves on Friday night, he put up 27 points in Sacramento.

Mitchell did a lot of his scoring from the free-throw line, going 10-10 from the line. That matches his season-high in terms of free-throw makes. When Mitchell can get to the free-throw line, it takes a lot of pressure off of the Jazz's offense, and he becomes a much more efficient player overall.

But I thought his most impressive plays came from his shot, and in particular, being able to arc it above opponents. Mitchell's long-distance shot is a high-arcing one, and that makes it a lot more likely to go down. Check out this 27-footer, for example.

Today's Triple Team videos: I (hyperbolically) think this is the most perfect swish in NBA history by Donovan Mitchell. Listen to the sound! Look at how high the net gets above the rim! pic.twitter.com/f7s5BFeCyw — Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) March 4, 2018

First of all, doesn't that just sound nice? Audio isn't always required on these highlights, but that's a perfect swish sound. The net ends up all the way above the rim — it's just a perfectly made shot.

"So long as you have your feet under you, you can really shoot from anywhere, as long as the arc is high enough," Mitchell said.

This study from Rachel Marty at last year's Sloan Sports Analytics Conference looks at the optimal arc to shoot shots at. Is it better to take higher arcing shots? According to Marty's research, the optimal angle for 3-point shots is about 45 degrees.

It's hard to know if Mitchell's shots are at 45 degrees, given the camera angle is aligned with half-court, not the basket. But the Jazz do know the angle of Mitchell's shot. In fact, they have a system that actually calls out the shot angle of individual shots in practice, though they use it sparingly. That way, if a player has too little or too much arc, they can make adjustments.

One other related note: Mitchell also needs a lot of arc to finish at the rim above the trees sometimes. This is obviously a different technique, but is still mighty impressive.

But that wasn't the only shot Mitchell put arc on. This layup in the 4th was quite high off the backboard. pic.twitter.com/RDRpav8V3b — Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) March 4, 2018

Mitchell is a talented basketball player.

3. Derrick Favors' rim finishing

Derrick Favors has also had two consecutive great games: after going 7-of-8 from the field on Friday, he went 7-of-10 Saturday. To nobody's surprise, most of those baskets have come right at the rim.

Last year, Favors' rim finishing fell off a cliff, due to the athleticism sapped from him with knee and back injuries. Take a look at the table:

Season% of shots taken at rimFG% at rimDunks Made
[2010-11](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/favorde01/gamelog/2011/?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=ShareTool).577.64682
[2011-12](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/favorde01/gamelog/2012/?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=ShareTool).539.65868
[2012-13](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/favorde01/gamelog/2013/?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=ShareTool).507.67080
[2013-14](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/favorde01/gamelog/2014/?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=ShareTool).479.69677
[2014-15](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/favorde01/gamelog/2015/?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=ShareTool).436.745105
[2015-16](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/favorde01/gamelog/2016/?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=ShareTool).380.71485
[2016-17](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/favorde01/gamelog/2017/?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=ShareTool).391.60752
[2017-18](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/favorde01/gamelog/2018/?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=ShareTool).473.759110
Career.463.695659

Provided by [Basketball-Reference.com](https://www.sports-reference.com/sharing.html?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=ShareTool): [View Original Table](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/favorde01.html?sr&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=ShareTool#shooting) Generated 3/3/2018.
Now fully healthy, Favors is having his best season ever at the rim, even taking more of his shots from there than in previous seasons. He's also dunking way more frequently, having achieved his career high with 110 dunks so far this season.

"Last year was a tough year for me athletically, and I want to show that I have that bounce back," Favors said postgame.

A few of those dunks have come from offensive rebound putbacks, and Favors has also been great at that recently. He had four offensive rebounds Friday night, and three Saturday for the Jazz.

He's 12th in the league in terms of offensive rebounding percentage (in other words, the number of Jazz missed shots that he gets when he's on the floor), and he's doing it spending about a third of his playing time next to Gobert. Nearly all of the other offensive rebound leaders are playing exclusively center.

He's been a valuable part of the Jazz's attack during this winning run, and it's nice to see him thrive like this. While it's not the featured role that I think he imagined, he's been a big part of the Jazz's success.

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