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ATLANTA — John Collins wandered around State Farm Arena ahead of Tuesday's game. He signed autographs and took pictures with fans, he hugged stadium workers and dapped up former teammates.
Suddenly things were a bit misty for the Jazz forward who was making his first trip back to Atlanta, the place where he played for six seasons.
"I have a lot of fond memories here, and I got a lot of love in this arena, but I'm trying to come to work," Collins said Tuesday morning. "I'm going to try and do my thing tonight. I want to play the best basketball I can and put on a show for everybody."
It didn't end up being the showing Collins wanted on an emotional night.
The Utah Jazz didn't score until nearly five minutes into the game; and in the meantime, they had coughed up six turnovers. That about sums up Utah's trip to Atlanta.
The Hawks routed the Jazz 124-97, spoiling Collins' return and giving coach Quin Snyder a win in his first matchup against his former team.
Even with the lopsided result, it was a special night for Collins. He was serenaded by the Hawks faithful throughout the night and he seemed genuinely touched by all the positive reactions to him.
All those emotions, though, may have played a role in the Jazz's slow start. Collins, who had just 5 points in his return game, didn't score his first bucket until the second half.
He was far from alone in not being quite ready to start the game.
"We have to do a much better job, everybody in the locker room, of our approach coming into these games," Jazz coach Will Hardy said. "The game is not going to just reveal itself to us; it's not going to just happen. I don't think this has been something that our team has done a lot, but I felt tonight that we just sort of drifted into the game."
The Jazz scored just 18 points in the first quarter and had only 44 at halftime. It was a decent surprise that they were even within shouting distance for the first two-and-a-half quarters. Ever since the opening minutes of the game, it seemed inevitable the Hawks would eventually blow open the game; and they finally found a run to do just that.
The Hawks at long last took advantage of Utah's woeful offense and turned a 7-point lead with 8:30 left in the third quarter into a 20-point advantage heading into the fourth. Utah shot 37% from the field, and had 19 turnovers on the night.
"The turnovers, at a certain point, we've got to take some individual accountability to just being really sloppy with the ball," Hardy said. "It's not always about decision-making, it's not always about spacing, it's not always about kind of the tactical parts. There are just some times when you just got to appreciate the ball. Lately, I feel like more of our turnovers than not we've just been really careless with the ball."
Utah's starting five had 12 turnovers alone. Many of those were the careless type: driving into too many bodies, throwing passes that had little to no chance of finding a target, or just simply not recognizing what was happening on the court.
Collins had five turnovers, Collin Sexton had three, and Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George had two apiece. Funny enough, rookie Taylor Hendricks, who had 8 points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes, was the only Jazz starter without a giveaway.
With Collins return and Snyder on the opposing bench, there was some pomp and circumstance surrounding Tuesday's game. Collins had a tribute video played for him, too; the Jazz forward stepped out to the court and waved to the cheering crowd when that was through.
"I like to show love where love has shown love back to me, and the City of Atlanta has obviously done that big time for me," he said. "I love every single one of the fans that have had my back and supported me during my time here."
Did all of that play a role in the sluggish performance? Maybe. Hardy just wants to see it get corrected quickly.
"We've got to really refocus and get ready for Orlando," Hardy said. "And my only concern, the only thing that I care about with our team is that we come with the appropriate approach to the game, and at tip-off you are shot out of a cannon."
