The shorthanded Utah Jazz were blown out by 22 points by the Dallas Mavericks in a game that felt endless. For a team jockeying for lottery position, it was a useful loss against another bottom-tier opponent
also eyeing a top-five pick. The Jazz face Dallas again Saturday.
Going into the game, it seemed as if the Mavs were trying everything they could so they could surpass the Jazz in the tank race, with Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis, PJ Washington, and others being out for tonight’s game. What the Mavericks didn’t know was that the Utah Jazz are a bottom-two team in defending the pick-and-roll — the Mavericks have one of the highest PnR frequencies in the entire league, so the Jazz were going to have to be locked in on the defensive end since they were already playing without Jusuf Nurkic, Lauri Markkanen, and, of course, Walker Kessler. Not only would the defense have made it difficult to win, but while the Jazz are 5th in free-throw attempts per game, the Dallas Mavericks are the 2nd best in the NBA in not fouling. It was going to come down to if the Mavericks could make an open shot tonight; the Jazz are the worst defensive team in the league and allow the most spot-up FGA to go in out of the entire NBA. However, the Jazz were hoping the Mavs’ atrocious offense (3rd worst) would give them a chance. It was truly terrible offense vs terrible defense tonight, and what do you know, in the words of former Mavs GM Nico Harrison, “defense wins championships”.
Klay Thompson turned back the clock and was scoring anything he wanted. He and Naji Marshall combined for almost 50 points!!!
Brice Sensabaugh continues his scoring onslaught with 27 points on efficient shooting. He is so comfortable with the ball in his hands, and it shows. If I were the Jazz, I would be pleased with his developments on the offensive end.
Ace Bailey filled the stat sheet tonight, and though the ball didn’t fall as much as he’d like (6/15 FG), those reps are crucial to his development. He ended tonight with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists (3 TO), 2 steals, and 2 blocks! A great night for the rook!
Cody Williams popped early by running the floor, cutting, and even hit a catch & shoot 3! He has made strides in his game as he continues to keep his career afloat. I wish we would utilize Cody more on cuts because he has actually been very efficient in that regard — Cody is actually ranked no. 39 in points over expectation as a cutter!!! I would also like to see the ball in his hands as a playmaker because I feel like that is something we haven’t quite seen from him yet. He doesn’t turn over the ball a lot on pass attempts, but considering they just have him operating off of the basketball (primarily for spot-up & quick attack and go drives), he doesn’t have a lot of on-ball usage in the first place, so it’s hard to tell how much playmaking equity he brings to the table. I would love to still see him bring more to the table when he doesn’t have the ball, though.
Speaking of on-ball usage, I feel like we have a lot of Jazz young players going rogue, especially when the Jazz’s vets are sitting on the pine. That may explain why the Jazz average the 4th-most turnovers per game!
In games like this one, it feels like we should be seeing more from Taylor Hendricks. Coming back from his leg injury, which happened vs the Dallas Mavericks last year, it’s been over a year since that happened, and right now is where we have got to see some signs of life from him. Reportedly, the Utah Jazz have said that they’re not going to evaluate him until the second half of the season, and as he approaches 500 minutes on the year in 29 games, it’s about that time.
He’s slowly creeping back up to being a positive defender on the court this year, and the rim contests have been great; Taylor may not be a defensive monster on the box score, but there is a 7.7% differential in opponent FG% when Hendricks contests shots at the rim this year. He’s not as mobile as he used to be, but there’s a world where he is a legitimate backup center for a team in the NBA.
