Analysis: Utah Jazz look to regroup after disastrous road trip

Utah Jazz’s Quin Snyder coaches during an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Monday, Dec. 2, 2019, in Philadelphia. | AP

SALT LAKE CITY — All things considered, the Utah Jazz didn’t lose too much ground in the overall standings even after dropping four games on their recent five-game road swing. They remain in second place in the Northwest Division and fell one spot to sixth in the Western Conference with a respectable 12-9 record in the early going of the 2019-20 season.

The problem is the team has struggled mightily away from Vivint Arena, where they are 8-1, while posting a disappointing 4-8 record on the road.

For a team with lofty playoff aspirations, that kind of disparity would not bode well for their prospects for postseason advancement — especially against the elite teams. As a team that prides itself on defense, the Jazz rank a pedestrian 11th league-wide so far this season after finishing at No. 2 last season.

On offense, the team has been unable to find consistency in scoring, ranking in the bottom third — at No. 23 — in offensive rating, down from No. 14 in 2018-19. In addition, last season Utah ranked No. 5 for effective field goal percentage but currently stands No. 16 this season.

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) knows he fouled Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 3, 2017. The Raptors won 109-100.

If your defensive effectiveness and offensive productivity both decline, it seems to reason the Jazz would be in the position of struggling to beat better teams and handle the mediocre ones. However, it’s too soon to panic since they’re just over a quarter of the way through a long, grinding 82-game schedule.

Taking into account that Utah is still in the process of developing team chemistry with the addition of eight new players and trying to contend against very stiff competition in the exceptionally talented West, there is little reason to worry just yet.

Head coach Quin Snyder’s challenging schemes take time to learn and certainly cannot be mastered by newcomers in just a few months. He has preached patience as well as dedication to the process of acclimation that he and his staff believe will yield more positive results as the season progresses.

What Jazz fans have to do is be willing to accept the growing pains that come with development, which has thus far included disjointed play on both ends of the floor due to a relatively steep learning curve needed to understand and consistently execute Snyder’s game plans.

One thing the Jazz are doing well so far is shooting the 3-ball — which at a 37.3% clip is tied with the Washington Wizards for No. 5 overall in the league. Utah, however, ranks No. 23 in attempts from downtown per 48 minutes. That’s a stat that needs to change for the Jazz to increase their scoring output, which also currently ranks at No. 23 across the league at just over 106 points per game. Utah also ranks near the bottom in turnovers (No. 25) and assists (No. 27) per contest. So if the Jazz can take better care of the ball and facilitate teammates’ scoring more effectively, then the offense should improve significantly.

In the meantime, Utah will have to figure how to regain the momentum they lost over the nine days of their recent road trip that saw them drop the first two games (versus Milwaukee and Indiana) and the last two games (against Toronto and Philadelphia) — four of the top six teams in the Eastern Conference. Their lone victory was over Memphis — the only team of the five with a losing record.

To be a contender for the NBA championship, a team has to be able to beat the good teams on the road from time to time. While the Jazz aren’t where they want to be yet, the first step on the path to improvement will begin at home against the West-leading Los Angeles Lakers (17-3). Utah will look to avenge a 95-86 loss at Staples Center on Oct. 25, when forward LeBron James fell just short of a triple double tallying 32 points, dishing out 10 assists and grabbing 7 boards.

The Jazz and the Lakers battle for the second time this season on Wednesday night. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. at Vivint Arena.

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