Utah Jazz embarrassed off the floor by the lottery-bound Phoenix Suns

Yikes.

The Suns started off getting points on I believe 9 of their first 11 possessions. That’s just not good enough defense. Sometimes it feels like the team will only defend when they absolutely have to right now. Thankfully Donovan got his scoring going and put up 11 points in the first quarter alone. Bojan Bogdanovic had a nice quarter as well with 8 points on just 1 shot. The Jazz were hot from 3 and took a solid lead into the 2nd quarter.

SO MANY WHISTLES! I hate games like this for everyone involved. As a fan it’s pretty boring. As a player they can’t get into any flow. But I guess the refs like it, then the camera is on them as much as possible. There were __ fouls called in the first half alone, and it definitely felt like it. They showed Deron Williams and Mehmet Okur in the house tonight! I love seeing them back in the fold and supporting our guys. It also makes me worried that Jerry Sloan isn’t doing well. Anyways, it was all tied up at 62 a piece at halftime.

I’d rather not talk much about the third quarter. It was a disaster. It seems like this is becoming a theme. Just really poor, lazy effort. Another quarter where they just couldn’t get stops. Combine that with poor offensive output and just like that the Jazz are down. At home. Against the lowly Suns. The only highlight of the 3rd quarter was DWill joining the TV announcers on the set for a while.

Honestly, I barely even watched the 4th quarter. That was just too unbearable. They were out of sorts and didn’t look like they even wanted to be there anymore. I don’t know what’s going on or what the solution is. But it’s up to Quin Snyder and this team to figure it out. Here’s to hoping they do.

Rational Reaction: Deron Williams is back in the fold

I love seeing Deron involved in the organization again. His ending wasn’t pretty. There’s no way around that. But he’s a significant cornerstone of this franchise and I’m happy to have him back. Enough time has passed to let that wound heal. DWill was such a dynamic player to watch and won a ton of games for Utah. What a fun team that was. Welcome back Deron!

Under Reaction: The Jazz Defense Sucks

That’s it. That’s the content. The Jazz defensive effort is just atrocious lately. There’s no way to overstate that.

Over Reaction: The Jazz have too many problems to have high playoff hopes

Is there still time to fix things and get back to the team that won 11 straight? Is there still time to round into form and have playoff success like they have in recent history? Does this team still have a ton of talent? Yes. Yes. And yes. But wow things are looking a little bleak right now. They started the season vocalizing NBA Finals aspirations. The way this team is playing right now, they won’t get out of the first round.