Reaction to the Utah Jazz’s Game 2 — involving another lost fourth-quarter lead as a team exploited their poor perimeter defense — came fast and furious on Monday night and Tuesday morning.
As you might expect, bombastic ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith was perhaps most vitriolic about Utah’s performance.
“I’ve got to confess to you man. I can’t stand the d--- Utah Jazz. They always make me sick. They always, always, always wet the bed. They make me sick. I mean, they really do,” he started.
“Doncic is out, Tim Hardaway Jr. is out. It’s a playoff game. And Jalen Brunson drops 41? I’m a fan of Jalen Brunson. But 41 points?! This is what Utah does. This is what they do. Every single time you expect something from them, they let you down.”
“If I’m Donovan Mitchell, if I lose this series, I take my jersey off and I throw that d--- thing in the trash. I don’t even fly home with the team. Every single time you believe in Utah, they let you down. They just let you down. That’s just who they are.”
Yes, Smith is known for making the most out of every situation. But even more even-keeled NBA journalists were harshly critical of Utah’s performance — and dismissive of their future fortunes.
“The Jazz perimeter defense was a disaster again tonight,” The Ringer’s lead NBA writer Kevin O’Connor said. “Imagine Gobert with an elite wing like Bridges or good interior help from Horford. But O’Neale is their best. Mitchell needs to take more pride in defense. This roster needs major changes to ever become a serious contender.”
Some NBA writers called out individual Jazz players. While Smith defended Mitchell, for others, Mitchell was the primary target of criticism. For example, DIME Magazine’s Jackson Frank wrote:
“Donovan Mitchell has to be vastly better on both ends for the Jazz to win this series, assuming Luka returns at some point, IMO. Offensive decision-making has been concerning; he’s struggling at the point-of-attack; his off-ball rotations are really lacking.”
Others, like ESPN’s Bomani Jones, gently pushed back on the criticism: “In other news, I see Donovan Mitchell is reaching that fateful point in every volume scorer’s career where the people who loved him start to turn on him...for doing exactly what they loved in the first place.”
Luka Doncic returning in Utah?
The Athletic’s Shams Charania, who correctly identified that Doncic was unlikely to play in Game 1 of the first round series, now says that there is “optimism” that Doncic will be able to return in either Game 3 on Thursday or Game 4 on Saturday in Utah.
Charania says Doncic’s calf strain is improving, and that “workouts over next two days could determine comeback timing.” The Mavericks did not practice on Tuesday, as they traveled to Utah, but Doncic has been seen doing light on-court work and heavy exercise bike use during practices in recent days.
The 23-year-old Doncic averaged 28 points, 9.1 assists, and 8.7 rebounds per game during the regular season for the Mavericks.
How can the Jazz start shooting more 3s?
The Jazz averaged 40 3-point attempts per game in the regular season, good for No. 1 in the NBA. It was the key component of their league-leading offense, too.
But in Games 1 and 2, they’ve averaged just 25.5 threes per game. That would be more acceptable if the Mavericks were going all-out to prevent the three and giving up the rim, but that’s not really what’s happening: the Jazz also only got eight makes within four feet of the hoop in Game 2. In short, Dallas has taken away both of the key shots that make the Jazz’s offense hum.
“They’re shifting and drifting to try to take (threes) away,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said. “The other side of it is our ability to make an extra pass, drive on a closeout, show some patience in the lane, and be spaced.”
“I think there are times when we can attack to get more threes. We turned down some shots to get into the paint, but we got some good looks by turning down those shots,” Mitchell said.”
Bojan Bogdanovic, meanwhile, wanted the Jazz to run more. In both Game 1 and Game 2, the Jazz finished possessions in transition at a below average rate, even when compared to the playoffs.
“I think just playing with more pace — it’s our basketball,” Bogdanovic said. “But we weren’t able to get any transition threes, so it’s going to be a challenge for us to have to run more.”
Mitchell debuts his latest sneaker
Mitchell is also using the playoff stage to introduce his latest line of shoes — the D.O.N. Issue 4s — to the world.
“Honestly, the thing I like most about them is they’re light,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got a lot of colorways, a lot of dope (collaborations) coming out.”
And yes, Mitchell remains a salesman.
“I’m truly honored and blessed to do this the 4th time around, in the playoffs, the biggest time of the year, to be able to debut them and hoop in my own shoe catered to my own feet,” Mitchell said. “I’m excited for everyone to get them. They come out this summer, like they have every year. Everybody go get them.”
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