1 Massive Takeaway After Jazz Lose Third-Straight vs. Pelicans, 124-153
After rattling off a six-game win streak earlier in the month, the Utah Jazz have suffered a loss in three-straight, most recently on Tuesday night vs. the New Orleans Pelicans. On the second leg of their second game of an extensive six-game road trip, Utah fell in a disappointing 124-153 fashion.
It was a rough defensive performance for Utah, who allowed New Orleans to drill 23 threes on an incredible 50% clip. As a whole, the Pelicans had seven double-digit scorers, including each member of their starting five, which led to their almost 30-point takedown.
Since the illustrious win streak came to a close against the Oklahoma City Thunder, things haven’t looked too bright for Utah. They now sit one game under .500 at 22-23 and only a half-game away from being on the outside looking in for the Play-In Tournament.
It reveals that the Jazz’s hot stretch was just that, a nice win streak. However, this rotation seemingly may need a bit of a shake-up to get back to form (even if that includes getting involved in the trade market).
Okay, it might be too hyperbolic to run straight to the trade machine immediately after a bad loss like this one. So, instead, I’ll propose that this lineup needs to see a bit of a shift heading into the next game.
The Jazz starting five of Kris Dunn, Collin Sexton, Simone Fontecchio, Lauri Markkanen, and John Collins worked well for the period that it did, but it’s time for something new to invoke a spark to what has been a struggling unit on both ends.
Specifically on the defensive side, this team has not been able to put it together across their past three, letting up over 125 points in each. Two of those losses also came with the opposing team canning 55% of their shots from the field and over 40% from three-point land. At the end of the day, it’ll be difficult to come out on top of any game when the other side can score at will like both the Pelicans and Thunder have been able to do.
Whether it be placing Walker Kessler back into the first five, or messing around with the backcourt combination, that’s a decision for Will Hardy to make. Regardless, this team can’t afford to not make any adjustments, even if minor, after a stretch like this.
This roster has shown they can play up to some of the toughest teams in the league as recently as the past few weeks. If you want any Play-In in hopes of staying alive moving forward, some changes need to be made before it’s too late.
The Jazz will get the chance to redeem themselves as they travel to take on the Washington Wizards on Thursday at 5 PM MT.
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