Utah Jazz/Golden State Warriors Game 2 Analysis
16 Wins A Ring Writers offer 3 different perspectives on Game 2 results: Warriors 115—Jazz 104
Warriors Recap by David Brandon
What worked?
The Warriors played smothering defense in this one, coming up with the stops when they needed, clearing the glass well on the defensive end and blowing up the Jazz pick and roll with regularity. Key to this was Draymond Green, whose 21 points, 7 boards, 6 assists, 4 steals and 1 block were crucial to setting a tone tonight. He was everywhere on defense and offense, playing free and easy. Kevin Durant was excellent tonight as well, coming close to a triple-double and making contributions on both ends of the floor while playing a key role as a cog in Golden State’s ball movement.
Some have suggested that under Kerr, Green plays a little less loose and a bit more uptight, but when he plays under another coach like Walton or Brown he plays freer and has the chance to show his game a little more. That seemed to be the case tonight.
Credit to the Jazz, who played well and stayed within striking distance all game. But when Golden State blew the game open in the first quarter, the score never truly narrowed to a point where the Warriors needed to worry.
Lessons Learned:
Not much. Gordon Hayward played an excellent game, but some of that was just a good player doing what good players do. Defensive coverages were mostly solid all game with few missteps. Draymond Green tweaked his knee in the 4th quarter, causing Oracle Arena to hold its collective breath while he went to the locker room. He was able to come back to close out the game, though he was obviously limping a bit. Having a healthy Green will help, and if he’s hobbled it’ll be a problem. Without him they’ll likely still win the series, but this Jazz team can push them.
Turnovers were an issue. 17 turnovers for the game isn’t a great number, and though the Warriors like to play an uptempo game (which lends itself to higher turnover numbers), this isn’t something they want to make a habit of.
Game 3 Adjustments:
Take better care of the ball. This may or may not be realistic, since Draymond playing a little looser will have both good and bad effects. He had four of the Dubs’ turnovers today, the highest total on the team. Against the glacially-paced Jazz this might not matter as much, but against a lethal scoring team like the Houston Rockets or the Cleveland Cavaliers giving up live-ball turnovers will be a real issue.
Game 3 Prediction:
The Jazz will be competitive at home, but the Warriors ultimately win, 110–105. With Hill’s injury, if Green is healthy, there’s not much that can stop Golden State.
Utah Jazz recap by Taylor Griffin
What worked:
Aside from a dismal first quarter, the Jazz hung with the Warriors stride for stride. After giving up an 18-point lead at the end of the first quarter, the Jazz outscored the Warriors 89–82 the rest of the game. Gordon Hayward was terrific for the Jazz, and carried them offensively with 33 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. The Jazz hung with the Warriors enough to make it interesting in the second half, cutting the lead to six before Golden State went on a 9–0 run which ultimately pushed the game out of reach.
Lessons Learned:
Utah’s apparent game plan to give Draymond Green open threes didn’t work out the way Jazz head coach Quin Snyder would have hoped. Green shot 5-of-8 from three, including 4-of-5 in the first quarter. The Jazz were doomed by yet another slow start, and found themselves calling a timeout down eight within a few minutes from tip-off. These slow starts are deadly for any teams, let alone those playing against the Golden State Warriors.
Game 3 Adjustments:
To beat the Warriors, the Jazz need to play a near-perfect game. They can’t commit turnovers, they mus limit transition points, and most importantly, score the basketball. They need to get out to a hot start, make some early threes and getting the energy elevated early on. It should help playing in front of their home crowd, where the Jazz got out to great starts in all three games in the first round against the Clippers. The Jazz also need something from their role players. Joe Ingles, Rodney Hood, and Joe Johnson have been extremely quiet in Games 1 and 2, and their shooting is desperately needed right now for the Jazz.
Game 3 Prediction:
If the Jazz are going to get a win in this series, it will most likely come in Game 3. The Salt Lake City crowd will be loud (as always), and should give the Jazz some energy, which is much-needed right now. Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert will both have big games and combined for 50+ points. The much needed contributions of Hood, Ingles and Johnson finally come through and the Jazz receive some relief off the bench against the Warriors’ strong bench. The Jazz hold off a Golden State run in the final minutes, and beat the Warriors 103–98.
Neutral Recap by Rich Condon
Why Golden State Won:
Golden State won, mostly, well, because they’re like, really good at basketball. As a team, the Warriors assisted on 33 of 42 made baskets. Golden State shot 49.4 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from deep. Four starters (I’ll give you four guesses which ones) finished with double-digit points.
Kevin Durant led Golden State with 25 points, along with 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. Draymond Green had 21 points, 5 of which came via the long ball, in addition to 7 rebounds, 6 assists, four steals, and a block. Steph Curry chipped in 23 points and 7 assists, and Klay Thompson added 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.
The Warriors, especially with Kevin Durant looking healthy, are a well-oiled machine.
Why Utah Lost:
Golden State, is like, really good at basketball. Utah really didn’t do much wrong. Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 33 points. Rudy Gobert added a 16 point and 16 rebound double-double before fouling out. Utah shot 45.2 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from deep, both of which are respectable enough numbers. Utah could stand to move the ball better on offense, as they only finished the game with 19 assists.
The absence of George Hill hurt the Jazz a bit, but Shelvin Mack did a serviceable job filling in for the injured Hill. Playing Golden State this year is like when Arnold had to fight the new T-1000 in Terminator Two: they’re a better machine, and no matter what you throw at them they’re going to keep coming.
Game 3 Adjustments:
The adjustments are obvious: Utah’s defenders need to stick to their match-up through the myriad of screens and off-ball movement that is the Golden State offense. The Jazz need to corral every missed shot, force and capitalize on turnovers, and stem the flow of the game and try to limit the possessions of the Warriors. While the adjustments are obvious on paper, they’re exceedingly difficult to accomplish in practice against the Warriors. Iso-Joe Johnson has had a sort of resurrection in these playoffs, perhaps the Jazz should try to get him more than 8 shots?
Game 3 Prediction:
Lol.
Utah has the personnel to match-up (on paper), with almost any lineup the Warriors throw at them. What they don’t have, unfortunately is a reprogrammed T-800 Terminator sent back in time that will help them defeat the Warriors. Golden State will continue to roll through the playoffs, towards the seemingly inevitable rubber match between the Warriors and the Cavs in the Finals.
