Analysis: Utah Jazz come up just short in loss to Golden State Warriors - Deseret News

SAN FRANCISCO — The Utah Jazz came up short against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night in a 94-92 loss at the Chase Center.

High notes

I’m going to get to some of the Jazz’s starters in a minute, but the Jazz’s bench deserves some praise up top tonight. There were multiple times when the Jazz needed some energy and a boost from somewhere and when they needed it the most the players who stepped up were Trent Forrest and Eric Paschall. Maybe it was the nationally televised game against one of the best teams in the league that provided an extra boost for the two-way Forrest. Maybe it was Paschall playing against his former team in his former home gym. No matter what it was, the Jazz were lucky to have what both provided.
“Those guys gave us juice and that’s what we need for guys coming off the bench…It wasn’t the most well-played game, there were missed shots, but I thought both teams really competed and battled.” — Jazz head coach Quin Snyder
I don’t know what Forrest had for breakfast on Sunday, but he should seriously consider repeating everything he did in the days to come. Forrest had two strips, two deflections, a massive dunk and made 4 of 4 free throws in the first half alone. He looked more confident than I think I’ve ever seen him in a Jazz uniform. In particular, his defense was much needed and a bright spot for the Jazz.
There were stretches on Sunday night when Paschall strapped the Jazz to his back and willed them back into the game through toughness and grit. You could look at a box score and see six points and three rebounds and it absolutely wouldn’t do Paschall any justice.

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, left, drives to the basket against Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Jeff Chiu, Associated Press
Utah Jazz guard Trent Forrest (3) dunks over Golden State Warriors guard Damion Lee (1) and forward Nemanja Bjelica (8) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Jeff Chiu, Associated Press
Golden State Warriors guard Damion Lee (1) shoots a 3-point basket over Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley (11) and center Rudy Gobert (27) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Jeff Chiu, Associated Press
Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic (44) loses the ball after being fouled by Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Jeff Chiu, Associated Press
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrates during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz in San Francisco, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Jeff Chiu, Associated Press
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, left, shoots against Golden State Warriors forward Nemanja Bjelica (8) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Jeff Chiu, Associated Press
Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson (00) shoots against Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Jeff Chiu, Associated Press
Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins (22) blocks a shot by Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gay (8) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Jeff Chiu, Associated Press
Utah Jazz guard Trent Forrest (3) drives to the basket against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Jeff Chiu, Associated Press
Golden State Warriors center Kevon Looney (5) shoots against Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Jeff Chiu, Associated Press
Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson, left, reaches for the ball while defending Golden State Warriors guard Damion Lee during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Jeff Chiu, Associated Press

Let’s not forget about Rudy Gay, who did not miss a 3-pointer, an inside shot or a free throw until the second half of the game.
Meanwhile, Bojan Bogdanovic had a very easy and quiet 21 points to lead the Jazz. He didn’t have a good shooting night, going 1 of 7 from 3-point range, but as he’s done so much this season, he found other ways to impact the game and doesn’t get enough credit for how much work he’s done to become a scorer at every level.

Low notes

The Warriors are certainly a team that’s difficult to keep up with, especially with the amount of screen actions and cuts they work with in order to free up open shooters. To be clear, any team would have (and has) trouble keeping up with them, but the Jazz were so far behind on some of those actions that it looked like the Jazz were willingly letting the Warriors take open 3s.
The Jazz had a chance to win the game on the final possession and they got a good look for Bogdanovic from deep. When that shot narrowly missed, Royce O’Neale also got his hands on the ball for a tip-in attempt but that also rolled out. Both were very good opportunities but the Jazz were unlucky in the moment.

Flat notes

At the end of the third quarter, Stephen Curry was 1 of 10 from 3 and yet the Warriors were still shooting above 40% from deep. Jordan Poole, Damion Lee and Otto Porter were all given so many open looks that they were able to offset Curry’s cold night by basically making practice shots against the Jazz. I know the Jazz’s perimeter defense needs some help but the Jazz are their own worst enemy sometimes when it comes to contesting shots. They are there on some of the looks and just don’t get a hand up.
“I think in the first half we really didn’t rebound the ball like we should have. I think we played pretty good defense in the second half. We fought another good team. Steph played with composure. He made sure he got everybody involved. They came away with the win, but I think if we would have started the game with the defensive intensity that we had in the second half it would have been better.” — Rudy Gay
I’m not really sure what was going on with the Jazz but their lob attempts to Rudy Gobert were just ridiculously bad on Sunday. Behind the basket, 10-feet in the air and toward the rafters are not good places for a lob.
The Jazz are already working with a shorthanded roster and that didn’t get any better. Gobert came away with a strained left calf (after already dealing with left ankle soreness this week) and Bogdanovic suffered a right knee contusion. The Jazz just can’t catch any breaks in January.

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