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San Antonio • With the length of an NBA game — 48 minutes of basketball sped up by 24-second possessions — there could be a tendency to think the first quarter doesn't have much of an impact on the overall outcome.
But for the Utah Jazz of late, first quarters have become a tone-setter, and not necessarily for good.
Slow starts have become a trend for the Jazz, and something the team is very aware of. As Utah faced the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, coach Quin Snyder and his players spoke of the need to improve the pace and the quality of their collective play from the opening tip.
"It's something we have to address," Jazz small forward Gordon Hayward said. "When we have good starts, we usually have a good game. So we have to make sure we come out early, and not let anything up in transition. It's happened in the past, teams score a couple of buckets and next thing you know they have a 10-2 run and it gets their team going. So we have to stop that, and that's on us."
Those slow starts have served as a direct correlation to some of Utah's most disappointing defeats. Last week in Sacramento, the Kings went on a 12-2 run to start, and the Jazz never recovered, despite pulling within a few points on multiple occasions.
In last Friday's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Jazz found themselves down by double digits six minutes into the game. They finally pulled even at 87-87 with a minute remaining, but didn't have the energy to complete the comeback.
Following the loss to OKC, Utah players attributed a few open missed shots late to fatigue, and the effort used to make the initial rally.
"I think it sets the tone both ways," Jazz guard Trey Burke said. "If we come out slow, it feels like we're playing uphill the entire game. It helps us for the entire game when we come out and play with energy. So this is something we need to get better at as a team."
Back in rotation
After weeks of relative inactivity, Jazz shooting guard Elijah Millsap has seen consistent minutes off the bench in the past few games. As a result, Joe Ingles has seen his minutes drop, as Snyder has opted for Millsap's defense in spurts on primary offensive players. Millsap, the second-year guard, has been used on OKC star Kevin Durant in the last two games. And while he hasn't made much of a dent in the box score, his energy and hustle have been noteworthy.
Still in the fold
Despite losing three of four heading into Monday night's game against San Antonio, the Jazz still sit in eighth place in the Western Conference. That's a positive sign for Utah, which has played one of the toughest schedules in the NBA to date. Following Monday's contest, the Jazz' next three opponents have a combined record of 26-45.
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