After his comeback, Keyonte George simply wanted to pass leather John Collins to start a system. The problem is that his teammate obviously did not expect to be served. Results of the operation: ball in the stands.
It was only the third minute of play for the Jazz against the Spurs, but this lost ball was a harbinger of what was to come for the home team. In addition to Victor Wembanyama’s 34 points opposite, the too many errors made by the local team played a big role in their defeat.
But not only that. “ I really think that in the end, tonight, we beat ourselves », judges Will Hardy, pointing out these numerous lost balls (21) and the offensive rebounds conceded (13).
The Texans took advantage of the first factor to score 33 points. A ratio all the more important as the Salt Lake City players only scored 7 points after the opposing team lost balls.
« We have far too many ball losses when dribbling in front of several opponents, far too many ball losses when it is stolen one-on-one, and then too many ball losses when receiving passes. », Regrets the coach in his list.
The most wasteful team in the league
Dangerous practices when we know the reputation of certain players opposite for stealing balls, starting with Chris Paul (3 of his team’s 12 stolen balls). Will Hardy believes that it is a “ sample of lost balloons » on which Jazz intends to stop, « again and again », to correct the situation.
This type of blunder can be avoided by making ball circulation more fluid. In this area, the team technician notes a possible margin for progress.
« Sometimes we give up on things that are the reason everything is going well. We are starting to play a little too much one-on-one. The ball starts to stay in the hands while what allowed us to be in rhythm was the movement of the ball », Recalls the coach, aware that the youth of his team is a factor.
It should be noted that his team is the most wasteful in the league with 18 lost balls per game. Considerable when a match is decided over a few possessions. Last night’s defeat is all the more infuriating as the Jazz finished with a better skill percentage (51%) than the Spurs (48%).
« We were our own worst enemy, especially when it came to rebounds and turnovers », termine Will Hardy.
