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SALT LAKE CITY — Three thoughts on the Jazz's 102-73 win over the Charlotte Hornets from KSL.com's Utah Jazz beat writer, Andy Larsen.
1. Jazz stop tired Hornets team
The focus of today's shootaround was being better defensively at the point of the ball, especially on Kemba Walker, who scored 52 last Monday in a double-overtime game.
The Jazz executed that game plan extremely well. The Jazz's point guards made life difficult for Walker throughout the game, whether or not Walker had the ball in his hands or not. In addition, the Jazz helped more on the Hornets' more predictable actions involving Walker, leaving the ball in the hands of P.J. Hairston, Spencer Hawes, and Marvin Williams to make plays. That's not their forte.
The Hornets were also extremely tired after a double-overtime win Monday night in Sacramento. That effort won them that game, but probably cost them any chance at winning tonight. Once the Jazz presented initial good defense, the Hornets were simply too tired to get anything efficient beyond the first or second option.
Their tiredness also showed in the number of turnovers they picked up: 20 for the game. Those turnovers allowed the Jazz to score 20 points off of those turnovers, giving them easy looks. Meanwhile, the Hornets couldn't get out in transition against the Jazz, with only three Hornets fast break points, and five points off of Jazz turnovers.
We've mentioned the phrase "schedule loss" before in this column, the idea being that sometimes the NBA schedule hands you a contest you just can't win. That was probably the case for the Hornets tonight. That being said, the Jazz did well to take advantage.
2. Bench runs spark Jazz
While the Hornets were sloppy, in the first quarter, it looked like the Jazz were stuck in molasses themselves. Neither of the team's rookie starters, Raul Neto or Trey Lyles could make a bucket (they finished a combined 0-11), and the Jazz couldn't figure out how to get easy shots at the rim.
That all opened up at the beginning of the second quarter, when the Jazz went on a 20-2 run for eight minutes. The Jazz had tremendous energy, especially Trevor Booker, who picked up six points, two rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in the stretch.
Then, in the third quarter, it was a quicker 13-2 burst in two minutes of play on the back of three Trey Burke 3-point makes. That run pushed the lead to 21, and in all honesty, ended the game.
Yes, Trey Burke and Trevor Booker were the heroes of those stretches, two players who have deservedly received a lot of criticism from myself and other Jazz analysts alike.
Tonight, though, we saw their best characteristics: Burke's ability to make catch-and-shoot jumpers this year (he's second on the team in eFG% on those shots) can really spark runs. Booker's energy and ability to create extra possessions with his offensive rebounding, steals, and blocks can as well. What both players need to do, though, is expand their secondary skills so that teams can play them in all situations, not just when the tide is going right.
The Jazz's bench has been somewhat of a problem this season: the Jazz's three most used starting lineups all have big positive plus-minuses. But with players coming back, the hope is the added experience for the likes of Trey Lyles, Booker, Jeff Withey, and Chris Johnson will make the bench more likely to succeed when they play smaller minutes later on in the season.
3. Rodney Hood's improvement
Rodney Hood was the Jazz's leading scorer tonight, scoring 24 points and adding four assists and rebounds. He's become a legitimate scoring option for the Jazz, which is a wildly impressive outcome for the No. 20 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
It's worth pointing out, though, that his shooting percentages haven't changed much from last season to this one. Here are his stats per 100 possessions:
| Season | G | GS | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2PA | 2P% | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [2014-15](http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hoodro01/gamelog/2015/?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=ShareTool) | 50 | 21 | 1064 | 18.7 | .414 | 8.5 | .365 | 10.2 | .456 | 4.0 | .763 | 5.8 | 4.1 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 21.6 |
| [2015-16](http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hoodro01/gamelog/2016/?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=ShareTool) | 42 | 42 | 1283 | 19.9 | .415 | 9.1 | .362 | 10.8 | .460 | 4.7 | .877 | 5.6 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 23.9 |
| Career | 92 | 63 | 2347 | 19.3 | .415 | 8.8 | .363 | 10.5 | .458 | 4.4 | .830 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 22.9 |
I asked Quin Snyder what has improved for Hood this season.
"For one thing, recently, he's been better defensively. There's a tendency for all players to judge themselves on their shot, whether it's going in. I think he's started to detach from that."
Hood agrees.
"Defense is something I take pride in. Sometimes, when I miss shots, it kind of affects my defense. Usually, those are times when I foul a lot when I'm not making shots."
What kind of defensive player does Hood want to be?
"A lockdown defender. Being a guy who can take a good player, a great player, out of the game. There are some things I have to learn, but I think I can do it."
That's the next step. Hood was pretty poor when matched up against Carmelo Anthony last week in New York, and overall, his defensive metrics aren't brilliant. But if he can be a above-average defender, then he'll be a very unique player in the NBA.
