Snyder Likes Improved Defense, Not Worried About Poor 3-Point Shooting
Apr 21, 2019, 12:38 AM
Head coach Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz complains to an official in the first half of Game Three during the first round of the 2019 NBA Western Conference Playoffs against the Houston Rockets at Vivint Smart Home Arena on April 20, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)
(Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Even though his team lost and fell to 0-3 in their first round series to the Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder felt that the Jazz played better in Game 3.
“I think when you play a team like Houston, you have to continue to try to get better throughout the series. I thought we were tonight obviously particularly defensively,” said Snyder after the game.
He’s right, the defense was better in Game 3 as the Jazz held Houston to 104 points after allowing 122 points in Game 1 and 118 in Game 2.
Still, a loss is a loss and Utah’s defeat in Game 3 put the Jazz in a 0-3 hole. Historically speaking, it’s a bad place to be as no NBA team has ever won a playoff series after losing the first three games.
What a fight pic.twitter.com/D2TEqXnGJ3
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 21, 2019
As has been the case for Utah throughout this series, the 3-point shooting was poor in Game 3. As a team, the Jazz made just 12-of-41, which came out to 29.3 percent. Over all three games, the Jazz are shooting 25.5 percent from beyond the arc, the lowest percentage of any playoff team. For a team that shot 35.6 percent from deep in the regular season, the 10th best mark in the league, the drop off has been devastating.
Even though Utah’s poor shooting has been a challenging and most likely, a disappointment, for the team and the coaching staff, Snyder said he doesn’t plan on changing his approach.
“Myself and our staff and our players need to react the same way,” said Snyder. “Keep trying to generate good looks, keep taking shots that we feel are good shots.”
Game 4 Info
Down 0-3 to Houston, Utah will look to avoid a first round sweep in Game 4 on Monday at 8:30 p.m. at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The game will broadcast on TNT.
