The Utah Jazz at times gave the No. 1-seeded Golden State Warriors some fits in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series. Ultimately, though, the Warriors’ ball control and offensive firepower overwhelmed the Jazz in the win. As Game 2 nears (10:30 ET), Utah is trying to figure out how to just keep the Warriors from running away — literally — too much. Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune has more:
The Warriors scored 29 points in transition, had 32 assists and turned Game 1 into a track meet.
Utah knows what happened on Tuesday cannot turn into a trend heading into Game 2 on Thursday night. If it does, the Jazz know they will be in trouble.
“We have to limit the live ball turnovers,” Jazz guard Rodney Hood said. “That’s what really hurt us. They are a great team in transition, so when they allowed to do that they become very difficult to beat. We have to limit that and make them play against our set defense.”
The Jazz were startled by Golden State’s speed, which is quite the contrast from the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers. There were several times the Jazz took long jumpers, and those misses turned into transition points.
Golden State is unique because power forward Draymond Green is capable of grabbing a rebound and pushing the ball in transition. Most teams need an extra second to get the ball to one of their guards, and that second is enough time for Utah to get back on defense. The Warriors have no such issues.
“We all have to sprint back on defense,” Jazz center Rudy Gobert said. “Sometimes it just means getting back and finding the closest guy, no matter who it is.”
