· The Jazz came in on a 4-game losing streak and the Knicks were rolling on a 4-game win streak with their offense exploding. So the Jazz led for all but 2 possessions and led by 10 or more for most of the evening. The game was never in doubt.
· The Knicks came in with the #2 offense, the 2nd best half-court offense and the #1 pick-and-roll offense in the NBA. In our pre-game meeting with Jazz assistant coach Scott Morrison, he told us as great as Jalen Brunson is they were going to try to take away the pop from Karl Anthony Towns and see if they could quiet Towns. Towns didn’t hit a three until the final 3 minutes of the game. He missed his first 8 shots from three. Overall Towns was just 6 of 19 as the Jazz really made him uncomfortable and took away his three as well as his drives to the basket
· Walker Kessler returned and completely changed the Jazz defense. In the games Kessler had played this year the Jazz pick and roll defense has been a .9. In the 4 games he missed the Jazz pick and roll defense was a 1.2. How significant is that? In the 4 games the Jazz moved from 4th in pick and roll defense to last in the NBA. Yes from 4th to 30th in a span of 4 games.
· Knicks pick and roll on 55 picks only averaged .79 pts per pick and roll. Amazing defense
· With Kessler back, Knicks shot 22/70 with Kessler on the floor, 17/30 without him off the floor. It is not just that Walker impacts the shots at the rim, but he contorts the entire shot chart of the opponent.
· Jazz defense rating was an 80 with Walker Kessler on the floor. The Knicks came in averaging close to 120 offensive rating.
· Jazz shot 56% on threes, hitting 19 of 34 attempts. This is the big outlier of the night, but you can take it.
· Lauri Markkanen 35 points on 14 shots is absurd. The Jazz have been moving Lauri around. They have been playing him in more isolation and more stand-still actions. However, recently the Jazz have gone back to getting Lauri the ball on the move and getting him back to the actions that lead him to be a star the last two years. The Knicks are 28th in defending off ball screens and the Jazz took advantage of that weakness.
· The Knicks are not a good defensive team. 22nd coming in and from a Knicks perspective that has to be the talk after the game that they do not show signs of an elite defensive team. They are 29th in denying the three and the Jazz took advantage.
· Very strong complete game from the Jazz. The game fell apart twice, both times Will Hardy took the starters out of the game in the 1st and 3rd quarters. Both times the Knicks went on a mammoth run. In the first quarter the Jazz lead 24-12 and then the Knicks lead 28-26. In the third quarter, 77-58 and then they went to the bench and the game went to 77-75 after the Knicks went a 17-0 run.
· John Collins and Walker Kessler played together and the offense played well together. Last year this was a major problem and the combination was something the Jazz were going to stay away from, but with Collins playing so well and Kessler returning they are playing together again and for one night it worked.
· Collin Sexton 25 points on 14 shots. He was awesome
