SALT LAKE CITY — Three thoughts on the Jazz's 96-78 loss against the San Antonio Spurs from KSL.com's Utah Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.

1. Spurs defense plays for four quarters, Jazz's defense only two

The first half looked like a fantastic battle of two of the league's best defenses. The Jazz are the league's fifth best defense since the return of Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert, meanwhile, the Spurs are the league's best defense for the entire season.

That meant that the two teams averaged just 82 points per 100 possessions in the first half, including a combined 2-for-16 from the 3-point line. Both teams also did a great job of preventing free throws: a combined six FTs between both offenses.

But in the second half, things changed. Quin Snyder explained it well. "It's the way they executed. We weren't competing. Kawhi (Leonard) really took the game over first and then Patty Mills was lethal." Snyder went on to explain how the Jazz could have been more aggressive in rotating on defense, but finished it off with a recognition of how good the Spurs are.

"I don't think that would have mattered the way those guys stepped up." That's how a lot of opponents feel when playing the Spurs. It seems like anytime you get an advantage, they simply step up their level of execution. It's been the Spurs' key to winning two titles in this decade, and they could win another this year.

2. Rudy Gobert struggling recently

Gobert has struggled in three consecutive games.

• First, Portland played him really uniquely. Essentially, they just didn't guard him from the outside. Gobert ended up with only seven points and eight rebounds.
• Second, Houston was very physical with him, especially with a strong center in Dwight Howard. Houston also went small, and the Jazz countered by taking Gobert off the floor. Gobert finished with just two points and three rebounds.
• Tonight, Duncan and Aldridge combined to play very physically against Gobert, keeping him away from the boards and away from the rim on offense. That meant only eight points and six rebounds in 36 minutes of play, and two of each were in garbage time.

In particular, he needs to respond better to physical play. As Snyder commented, "Girth is not his strength." But Gobert can figure out ways around that. In particular, he needs to get stronger, become more skilled slightly farther from the rim, and figure out how to tap rebounds to himself, not letting those balls find their way into the opponent's hands.

That's all easier said than done, and it probably is the sort of player development that has to happen over an offseason, not during a stretch of NBA play. But Gobert facing these struggles will make it more clear that work needs to happen.

The good thing about Rudy: he wants to be great. He truly loves the game, and relishes every opportunity to work on becoming a better player. I'm betting on him adding those critical skills he'll need to counter different opposition strategies.

3. Derrick Favors' continued development

Derrick Favors had one of his best games of the season against very good defense from LaMarcus Aldridge and Tim Duncan. Favors had 25 points, a team-high for the Jazz, on 12-17 shooting. He also added three assists and two steals.

I was really impressed with how Favors got his points. Check out his shot chart:

See how he's getting buckets from the outside as well? That's been a pretty steady development from Favors throughout his career. You can look in his year-by-year stats to see how he's improved his shooting from outside.

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