Warriors pull away from Jazz in Game 1: 3 takeaways

In Game 1 of the second round of this Western Conference series, the Warriors were able to pull away from the Jazz in the fourth quarter for the win. Here are three key takeaways from Game 1.

The Warriors hadn’t played in eight days, and the Jazz were coming off of a huge Game 7 victory in Los Angeles. Many were expecting rust to be a factor for Golden State and Utah to come out to a quick start, but it was exactly the opposite.

Golden State came out quickly, scoring the game’s first nine points and never looked back. It was a game of runs, with the Jazz and Warriors going back and forth, but Utah was unable to get fully back into it.

But the passing, three-point shooting and bench play of the Warriors was too much for the Jazz, as they looked like a team that was physically and mentally exhausted after a seven-game series. Let’s take a look at three key takeaways.

Takeaways

The Warriors’ passing was too difficult to defend tonight. The Warriors averaged 30.4 assists per game during the regular season, so if Golden State’s able to reach 30 assists, it likely means that they’re distributing the ball really well and scoring at will on the opponent. Tonight, the Warriors had 32 assists on 38 field goals and they seemed unstoppable. They were cutting all over the court and everyone got involved with the assisting. Five different players had at least five assists, and this sure looks like the proper formula to break Utah’s defense.

Utah didn’t look scared of the moment. At home in one of the loudest arenas in the NBA, the Warriors constantly look to blow out teams and break their will. Tonight didn’t start any different, with the Warriors leaping out to a quick 9-0 start. The Jazz seemed to fight back every time the Warriors made their runs, seemingly within striking distance at every point of the game. The Jazz closed the first half to keep the game within 12 and Rodney Hood carried them in the third quarter to make the difference 11. It wasn’t until the early fourth quarter when the Warriors put the dagger in the Jazz to finish them off. Utah didn’t seem phased at all, given the amount of young guys who are playing in the biggest game of their lives.

The Jazz better hope Golden State shoots threes this poorly again. The Warriors won with ease, 106-94, even though they only shot 7-for-29 from the three-point line. For a team that typically shoots 38.3 percent from distance in the regular season, shooting 24 percent tonight might be an anomaly. The Jazz continued to leave different Warriors for open looks, but they continued to miss all night, with rust looking like a potential reason why. The Warriors will regress to the mean and it could be bad news for the Jazz when that happens again.

Next: Celtics outlast Wizards in Game 2 behind Thomas’ huge night: 3 takeaways

Game 2 will be back on Thursday night at Oracle Arena, with the Jazz looking to even the series at one, heading back to Utah.