Jazz may tinker with rotations after loss to Suns
On Monday, though, the bench minutes proved to be the downfall in Utah's 117-103 loss to the Phoenix Suns at Vivint Arena. The Phoenix Suns shot 42% from the field and 30% from 3-point line on Monday in Utah, leading to their 117-103 win over Utah. The Jazz coach Will Hardy remembers the three tough shots he made in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, but it was not Chris Paul or Devin Booker or even Deandre Ayton that led the charge. Phoenix went on a 13-0 run between the end of the third quarter and the start of the four quarter, and it was Phoenix's additional reserves, too. Johnny Juzang got his first consistent run with the team, and Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones have been in and out of the rotation. Utah has seven games remaining in the regular season, and its chances of a play-in spot are slowly slipping away. Hardy said it will take time to get them fully comfortable together, but he quickly added, "we don't have time."
Published : one year ago by Deseret Digital Media in Sports
SALT LAKE CITY — The Phoenix Suns shot 42% from the field and 30% from the 3-point line on Monday in Utah. It just felt like they shot a whole lot better than that.
The reserve Suns forward was only 5-of-14 from the field, but Jazz coach Will Hardy remembers the three tough shots he made in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter — shots that were part of a run that led to the Suns' 117-103 win over Utah.
Sometimes when a player makes the shots, it's just as important as the overall total; that was the case on Monday at Vivint Arena.
Oh, and it helped that Phoenix had some additional reserves, too.
Phoenix went on a 13-0 run between the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter, and it wasn't Chris Paul or Devin Booker or even Deandre Ayton that led the charge; it was Ross, TJ Warren and Cam Payne.
"They had some guys step up and make some tough shots," Hardy said. "I didn't feel like that group overly gave up the rim or let them shoot wide-open 3s. I thought they delivered on the offensive end for their team."
That was something the Jazz didn't do. With the game tied 78-78, Lauri Markkanen went to the bench with 1:45 remaining in the third quarter; when he returned a few minutes later, the Jazz were down by 10 points, and Utah never got back closer than 9 the rest of the game.
"I just think we've got to figure out offensively what we're gonna do with that group to try to generate some easier baskets," Hardy said of his second unit.
Over the last month, the Jazz have managed to scrape together enough positive lineups to remain competitive in the Western Conference play-in race, despite mostly missing two (or more) starters. But the bench-centered lineup cratered late in the game.
Hardy acknowledged that some of the problems were due to guys not really having a chance to play with each other. Johnny Juzang got his first consistent run with the team, and Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones have been in and out of the rotation. Those three were part of the lineup that gave up the game-defining run.
The fix? Hardy said it will take time to get them fully comfortable together, but he quickly added, "we don't have time."
Utah has seven games remaining in the regular season, and its chances of a play-in spot are slowly slipping away. The Jazz will likely need to finish the season with a 5-2 record to stand a chance at making it back to the 10 spot in the standings.
"It's tough," Hardy said, "so we may need to look at changing up the substitution a little bit."
But the offensive struggles on Monday weren't squarely on the bench. The Jazz, as a whole, shot 44% from the field and 25% from 3-point range, and Markkanen had 25 points and nine rebounds, but he finished just 6-of-22 from the field.
"We missed some chippies around the rim we normally make," Hardy said. "We missed some wide open 3s, and that can wear on you as a team."
Especially when the other team starts making some of their tough ones.
"You're gonna have bad nights," said Walker Kessler, who had 18 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks. "Every loss is not a pleasant experience, but you just try not to let it get you down too much."