This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Jazz were back in town Monday night, taking the court at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Not all of them, of course. That would be weird. Already missing key figures George Hill and Rodney Hood, the Jazz couldn't even finish with as many players as they started in a 102-96 loss to Memphis.
This game will remembered as a missed opportunity for a victory that would have added to the Jazz's achievements on the road last week with four wins in five games. Imagine the Jazz beating a decent Memphis team, with fill-in starter Joe Ingles (20 points) as their leading scorer. It almost happened, except they faded after being tied with the Grizzlies in the last three minutes.
"We didn't have what it took down the stretch," said Jazz coach Quin Snyder, who went with an unlikely closing lineup of Gordon Hayward, Boris Diaw, Shelvin Mack, Trey Lyles and Ingles.
Mack spoiled his productive night with misses on consecutive possessions as the Grizzlies pulled away. "They know how to make those plays," Mack said, "and we're learning."
That explanation is getting old around here, although the circumstances made this defeat somewhat forgivable. The Jazz's task these days, as Snyder said before the game, is trying to "learn how to win when you're not at full strength — which has, unfortunately, been a theme for us."
Monday's outcome extended the Jazz's two-season trend of disappointing finishes. Snyder's defense of his players in close games last year involved how they rallied when they could have been beaten more decisively, and that was partly true in this case.
Maybe someday, the Jazz (7-5) will get healthy, establish some home-court dominance and finish these games properly. None of the above came into play vs. Memphis, as Hayward's personal season-opening run of 20-point efforts ended at five games when he posted 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting and the Jazz got nothing from Joe Johnson and not much from Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert.
The nightly discussion of who's in/who's out is part of the intrigue with this team, not that the subject is much fun for Snyder. In this episode, Diaw returned from injury, but Hill remained out with a sprained thumb and Hood stayed home due to illness. And then Favors left the game in the fourth quarter with a recurring knee injury.
Even though Hayward returned earlier than expected after missing six games with a broken finger, Snyder's first-choice starting lineup has been available only once. The Jazz delivered that day, earning a victory at New York with a strong fourth quarter. Otherwise, they've pieced together wins with revolving lineups. Six different fivesomes now have started games, and Monday's group almost came through.
The Jazz played through a series of injuries last season, barely missing the playoffs. And then Hayward was hurt in practice in the first week of training camp, making anyone naturally paranoid about what may come next for the Jazz. Sure enough, the ailments have become contagious, to an almost laughable degree.
Yet the Jazz started 7-4 while playing eight of their first 11 games on the road. They did it with defense, ranking fourth in the NBA coming into the game. "Anybody that sets foot on the court can guard," Snyder said. "Things might not be as pretty as we want offensively, but that's something we can at least make a constant and have stability, by defending."
So, inevitably, the Grizzlies exploited the Jazz with 56-percent shooting in the first half, taking a 56-48 lead. The Jazz's best moment of the half was a gift, as Lyles took two dribbles inside the line before launching a shot that was ruled a 3-pointer.
That extra point may have made a big difference, but the Jazz didn't do enough to help themselves in the end.
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