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In a loss to the Sacramento Kings last week, Jazz guard Rodney Hood's stat line looked to be one of the more encouraging takeaways for a disappointed Utah team.
Shots hadn't been falling all that often for the young shooting guard, but against the Kings he had hit five of his eight attempts from deep.
"I just thought to myself, 'I can't shoot no worse,' " he said. "I finally hit some."
But Hood seems to have fallen back into his slump.
Hood did hit a timely 3 late in Friday night's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but only after missing his first five attempts. Two nights earlier, in a win over the Knicks, Hood went 0-for-4 from beyond the arc, three of those misses coming in a single possession for the Jazz.
On the year, Hood is now shooting just 28 percent from 3-point territory, after knocking down 36.5 percent of his looks last season.
"He doesn't need to put pressure on himself," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said, likening Hood's slump to the one forward Gordon Hayward went through early in the year. "We believe in him and we've seen him shoot the ball and have big nights. It's a matter of time before that happens."
Snyder added, "I told him my favorite possession the other night was when he missed three 3s in one possession, because it meant he kept shooting. As long as that's the mentality he has, I'm happy."
Turnaround
Didn't get enough of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on Friday?
The NBA's schedule makers have you covered.
After losing 94-90 to the Thunder on Friday night in Salt Lake, the Jazz travel to Oklahoma City for a rematch on Sunday evening.
"We just know we have to take in the first one, try to take a team's confidence away," Westbrook said after Friday's game. "Take care of business first, then go back home and try to do it in front of our fans."
Snyder and the Jazz will have a day to make the necessary adjustments, but Thunder coach Billy Donovan will be looking to do the same.
"I think the first thing is that we have to do a better job rebounding," he said. "I thought [Trey] Burke in the second half, played really well. … Containing him will be important. I thought we gave up entirely too many 3-point shots. They got off 28 for the game. Some of them were clean looks that just didn't go down. We were fortunate on some."
Pick 'em
Snyder might watch next week's Las Vegas Bowl, but the Utah Jazz coach is no Utah Man, nor will he be rising and shouting if the Cougars score.
"I've been very, very aware of the politics of in-state rivalries," Snyder said. "If you ask me who I've got in the Duke-Carolina game, I could answer that question."
With answers like that one, Snyder might make a good politician — except that he won't choose between red or blue.
"I'm American. I like red, white and blue," he said. "It's a great thing, obviously an exciting thing for the state and both institutions. The diplomacy sometimes goes out the window, but I'm going to maintain mine."
Twitter: @tribjazz