The Utah Jazz lost their first home playoff game to the Dallas Mavericks Thursday night, 126-118. After conceding 18 three-pointers in the game, the Jazz find themselves in trouble in their first-round series.
With Luka Doncic soon to return for the Dallas Mavericks, the Jazz are in desperate need of defensive improvement soon. One NBA scout expressed serious concerns when speaking to NBA Analysis Network.
“Right now, I see a team that doesn’t take pride in doing the dirty work defensively,” the scout said. “They’ve become too comfortable knowing Gobert is going to be behind them if they get beat out on the perimeter.”
The Jazz’s perimeter defense is where the trouble has started, but the scout expressed a bevy of concerns.
“With teams spreading them out in the playoffs, everyone has to want to compete. It starts with guarding the ball but they aren’t paying attention off the ball, communicating, or making hard rotations either,” the scout added.
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Analysts have spread blame across the entire Utah Jazz roster. However, the scout specifically mentioned guard Donovan Mitchell.
“The Mavericks look like they’re picking on Donovan Mitchell,” the scout said. “He used to compete, now he looks like he doesn’t think it’s his job to stay in front of his man, or closeout hard on a shooter. He’s got to set the tone as a leader.”
The scout added that one player who has received the brunt of the blame on NBA Twitter, Rudy Gobert, is not actually as culpable as many think, “The issues the Jazz run into on defense aren’t Gobert’s fault. This isn’t about him not being able to guard out in space.”
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The scout continued that some blame does lie with Gobert – however, it’s on the offensive end.
“[Gobert] not being a threat to make smaller defenders pay consistently is where his blame is deserved.” the scout added. “[Opponents] should be afraid to have a smaller player trying to guard a $200 million big man near the basket.”
Game 4 in Utah is on Saturday afternoon, with Game 5 to follow on Monday. If Utah’s defense cannot make the adjustments necessary in those games, the series could end there.
