Jordan Clarkson Applauds Decision Making in Jazz’s Win vs. Trail Blazers
After starting the season looking a bit rusty on both ends of the floor, the Utah Jazz came out on Tuesday against the Portland Trail Blazers looking much improved. Utah took home a 115-99 win to achieve their fourth on the year, along with their second across the In-Season Tournament.
After the game, Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson discussed a bit of what went right in the team’s victory, attributing the improvements to playing a wiser brand of basketball.
“I think we were decisive with everything, Clarkson said. "Shoot, pass, dribble. I think that was a big thing with us tonight. I think everyone made their decisions quick. We got to whatever it was, if it was crashing the glass, if it was gambling, if it was shooting, taking shots, I think we just made our decisions on what we would do faster tonight."
The team looked to be a bit more organized in their approach on Tuesday. They limited themselves to a season-low 12 turnovers on the night, with only one stemming from Clarkson. He also posted his second 30-point outing of the season on a stellar 68.3% clip from the field, combined with three assists and two steals.
We also saw guards such as Keyonte George and Collin Sexton put together solid performances both distributing and scoring the ball. They combined for 28 points on just under 50% from the field, also generating over half of the team’s assists with 14 on five turnovers.
Clarkson continued to talk about what led to the success of their second tournament game, attributing a good chunk of the team’s improvement to ball security:
“Stopped turning the ball over. I mean, that’s it. I don’t think we was really stressing on it, in terms of mentally, but it has been something we talk about, coach has been talking about it. Just getting off the ball, making plays for others, that’s really it."
The Jazz will look to continue their win streak to three games on Friday when they take on a healthier Phoenix Suns team than they faced earlier in the season. With hopes to take this In-Season Tournament run even further, continuing to build off a prosperous performance against the Trail Blazers will be critical in finding their way to pulling off this upset.
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