Welcome to The Rotation, our daily playoff wrap-up of our favorite stories, large and small, from last night’s NBA action.
Jazz couldn’t keep up with Golden State
By Ti Windisch (@TiWindisch)
The Golden State Warriors were always going to play faster than the Utah Jazz. The Jazz would’ve been silly to try and keep pace with the Warriors, considering Utah was the slowest team in terms of pace this season while Golden State was fourth-fastest.
Still, the Jazz seemed a step too slow against the Dubs on Monday night (also see: Games 1-3). More than once, the Jazz passed up an open look simply to throw it back outside and get a halfcourt set started. JaVale McGee and Zaza Pachulia, the latter of whom is hardly a speedster, beat the Jazz back for free layups and dunks more than once in Game 4. The Jazz got to 51 wins this season by grinding teams to dust, but with their inability to hold down the Warriors on defense they could have used a few easy buckets to keep themselves in the game.
Utah scored less than 100 in three out of four games and managed 104 in a Game 2 that saw the Warriors put up 115. As important as it is for teams to stay true to their identity in the postseason, the Jazz couldn’t hope to average less than 100 points per game and beat a team like Golden State.
In fairness, no team is expected to beat the Warriors in a series this postseason. Still, Utah might’ve been able to ruin Golden State’s perfect playoff record by seizing some opportunities in the series. Instead, the Warriors walked through all four games and the Jazz will be heading home with huge free agency questions looming.
This series was a microcosm of trends readily seen around the NBA. Big teams are having trouble keeping up with their smaller counterparts, especially if they can’t easily get smaller and space out the floor. The problem for Utah was that even when they went small, they couldn’t keep up. Although having the best players certainly helps as well, it’s no coincidence that the two undefeated teams this postseason are two of the absolute best at going small and surrounding their playmakers with spot-up shooters and versatile defenders who can quickly take advantages of mismatches on both ends.
Utah had a tough decision to make all series. It would’ve been possible to go small and run out Gordon Hayward or Joe Johnson at the five theoretically, but at the cost of removing Rudy Gobert, who is maybe their most impactful player. Their plodding pace and lack of a counter to the Warriors’ Lineup of Death meant this would always be an uphill climb for Utah, who couldn’t react fast enough to beat Golden State.
The Utah Jazz are a bunch of tools
By Ian Levy (@HickoryHigh)
I see the way my father-in-law looks at me. I’ve been married to his daughter for 15 years and I know he still worries about my ability to change a flat tire, fix a broken stair, solve the minute but potentially catastrophic mechanical problems that can strike at any moment. I think it’s probably my “tool box” that inspires his lack of confidence and, possibly related, the time he caught me trying to screw in a screw using a dime.
I have an old saw that’s a little rusty because I left it out in the rain a half-dozen times. There’s a few mismatched screw drivers, a wrench and set of pliers that I got as a free gift for opening a checking account when I was 18. Also, one of the world’s biggest collections of allen wrenches (all the exact same size). Whenever I buy some crappy particle-board book shelf or nightstand, I always keep the allen wrench that comes with it for assembly. And duct tape, I’ve got some duct tape too.
The truth is, tools are only as powerful as the person using them. My father-in-law has fixed all sorts of stuff around our house with my allen wrenches and rusty saw. He’d rather have his pristine and neatly organized tools from home, but he makes do with what he has. In my less-than-capable hands, the same tools are mostly good for getting cuts on my fingers and inventing new curse words.
The Utah Jazz are a bunch of tools. They’ve been collecting for more than a few years and what they had was impressive. The ability to play big, the ability to play small, multiple ball-handlers, myriad ways to attack a mismatch on offense, or thwart one on defense. These were not bank giveaways or freebies either, they were honest to goodness utilitarian masterpieces.
And then they hit the Warriors. George Hill was left out in the rain, Rudy Gobert was a little rusty, but the problem was the problem itself. The Jazz had all the tools, they had just never dealt with a problem like this. Sometimes there are things you just can’t fix, no matter what’s in the tool box.
The Warriors are still waiting on Klay Thompson
By Brandon Jefferson (@pengriffey_jr)
All looks perfect in Golden State. The Warriors have handedly won their first eight postseason games and have barely broke a sweat in six of them. Steph Curry is back to his 30-foot splashing, dazzling dribble displaying self. It looks like his days of appeasing everyone else are safely in the rear view mirror.
Against Portland, Draymond Green reminded us all why he’s the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year and wasn’t shy about letting the Trail Blazers hear about it. That continued in Utah but his offense was also at its peak. He recorded a triple-double in Game 4 and drilled five 3-pointers in Game 2.
Kevin Durant went full on “KD is Not Nice” during his Game 3 onslaught of all things Salt Lake City — even mascots weren’t safe — as he carried the Warriors to victory behind 38 points and 13 rebounds.
Lost in all these good times has been a signature Klay Thompson game. The guy who hasn’t sacrificed [redacted] has not been the same player in the playoffs. The shots and the looks are there for the Splash Brother, but like at the beginning of the season they aren’t finding the bottom of the net. By adding Durant, Thompson’s struggles have been able to go unnoticed. Yet his 15.4 points per game average is nine points lower than his playoff production of a year ago (24.3).
Next: Giant Size: The crossover world of comic books and the NBA
Doubt the toaster signee at your own risk though. He can quickly turn things around. Last year, it wasn’t until Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals that Klay had his moment — 41 points on 11-of-18 shooting from deep.
As great as the Warriors have looked through two rounds, there’s another level they can reach. They haven’t had their “Klay Thompson Game” yet.