· Jazz win
· So many things to like tonight, but most of all the group needed some positive vibes and the win tonight which was nearly wire to wire was certainly that.
· Shots went in for the first time all year, but the offense also looked and felt different. They worked really hard at shoot around about increasing pace and playing each possession with more tempo. They started the night with a lot of off ball screens and curls into the lane and then pivoted with John Collins to a middle of the floor pick and roll and just crushed the Bulls defense.
· The Jazz had to adjust from playing 5 out as they had all training camp to playing 4 out with the 5 in the dunker spot (baseline to the side of the key under the glass). This was a considerable adjustment. But without Lauri Markkanen and Taylor Hendricks they have to play this way. The other night you saw three passes to the corner where John Collins had come off the corner, but in 4 out he was supposed to hold. Tonight they seemed more aware of the changes and how to play. That was the focus of shoot around.
· John Collins was really super tonight. He understood his role as a scorer and he made shots. I love the 5 assists. The 28 points and 15 rebounds were pretty great as well
· This was a good match-up. The Bulls have no rim defense. They are not good at defending the pick and roll and most of all they don’t force turnovers. They only force 10% of opponents possessions into turnovers which is last in the NBA. The Jazz quelled their turnover problem tonight partially because of how they played quick and largely because of who they played. The Jazz only turned it over 11% of possessions.
· The Jazz transition defense has been a mess and the Bulls were getting in transition the 4th most of any team in the NBA (last year were last). The Jazz kept them out of transition for the most part this game. They had some lapses and boy did that fire up Will Hardy, but for the most part it was much better without all the live ball turnovers.
· The Bulls haven’t lead all season after the 1st quarter or at halftime and the Jazz grabbed the lead and never relented. The Bulls had come back to win twice this year when trailing by 20.
· The Bulls only shot 59% at the rim. Walker Kessler had a fabulous game protecting the paint. Kessler had 12 points and 16 rebounds to go with his 3 blocks.
· The 379 passes by the Jazz were the 2nd most by any team in any game all season. Lead to a Jazz season high 35 assists.
· The Jazz ran 58 handoffs. Usually bring someone out of the corner into the middle of the floor and killed the Bulls on those to the tune of 1.4 pts per. They also ran 61 pick and rolls tonight
· Cody Wiliams had a nice defensive game on Coby White and also showed more range to his offensive game.
· Bottom line – shots went in. The Jazz who have been shooting well below their shot quality shot 10% above their shot quality tonight and that changed everything.
