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PHOENIX — It was a decision that Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder hasn't had the luxury to make.
Like so many others before him, Royce O'Neale struggled against Devin Booker and had a hard time navigating screens and staying connected to the Phoenix All-Star. In the past, Snyder didn't really have any other option to turn to in the situation.
Suddenly, he does.
Danuel House Jr. played nearly eight minutes in the fourth quarter; and in what was somewhat of a surprise, he finished the game in place of O'Neale.
The result? Booker was much more limited with House on the floor and the Jazz came away with one of their best wins of the season.
House was excellent in getting around picks and making life hard for Booker and the Suns. House picked Booker up at full court, stayed connected to him and forced the ball out of his hands multiple times. He dove to the floor, got his hands in passing lanes and was all-around a nuisance.
"My job was to make sure that I stay in front of my man and make it hard as possible tonight because he's a talented scorer," House said.
Fair enough. It's just that job is usually reserved for O'Neale — at least late in games.
Does that mean House has suddenly taken O'Neale's spot in the rotation? Probably not (O'Neale, after all, is the better all-around player). What it does mean is Snyder isn't afraid to put House out there, if need be; and after years of desperately searching for another wing defender, House's performance — and Snyder's decision — is significant.
For multiple seasons now, the Jazz have been a good team with a fatal flaw. Once the playoffs rolled around, they didn't have the personnel to consistently defend the game's top wing and guard scorers.
House has never really been known as a true defensive stopper but has built up a solid reputation during his time in Houston as a hard-nosed and hard-working guy on the perimeter.
"That mindset is really great to have," Rudy Gobert said. "Being so aggressive defensively and then it's inspiring for other guys. We step it up a notch."
House has only been a full-time member of the Jazz for a couple of weeks, and very well may be the team's best perimeter defender. That's how dire the situation was — and still may be.
Snyder said that with the team's additional depth, there will be opportunities based on matchups for different guys to play. He credits his players for accepting that and rooting for each other.
"Danuel was doing an excellent job, and Royce was the first one on the bench talking to him," Snyder said. "The same thing with Hassan (Whiteside) and Rudy — how Hassan was playing, you could finish the game with Hassan. Mike (Conley) said maybe let Jordan (Clarkson) finish — so that kind of collective mindset and whatever-it-takes mentality and whoever it takes is something that's really important.
To Donovan Mitchell, that attitude is something he thinks makes the team unique. He said egos could come into play when decisions are made about playing time, but he doesn't see that within the group.
"You look at Royce after, he is as excited as anybody. I think that's what makes this team so special," he said. "... Sometimes you just take what's working and that was tonight, and then we play Houston and it may be a different story."
