Snyder On Jazz Success: ‘We Want More’

SALT LAKE CITY – Quin Snyder said the Utah Jazz never found the spark they needed to make a deep playoff run, but that the team wants more from itself.

In his end-of-season availability Monday, Snyder discussed the Jazz’s 2021-22 campaign which ended earlier than expected at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks, and his thoughts on the team’s future.

“We just kind of needed a spark, and we had a chance to do something special,” Snyder said, “that didn’t happen.”

After taking a 1-0 series lead against the Mavericks who were without superstar guard Luka Donic for the first three games of the series, the Jazz would lose Games 2 and 3, and never regained their momentum.

“[We’re] not satisfied,” Snyder surmised of the team’s season. “[We] have aspirations to be better and win more, and that’s what we’ll try to do.”

Snyder On Offseason Adjustments

While Snyder was mum on his future with the Jazz, declining to speak on his contractual future with the organization, he did speak to the difficulty of improving the product on the floor.

“You go from identifying something to addressing it and solving it,” Snyder said.

“Every team is going to have some flaws, how do you mitigate those and maximize your strengths?”

The Jazz’s flaws were on full display against the Mavericks as the team’s perimeter defense was repeatedly abused by Dallas, while their shooting abandoned them offensively.

Quin Snyder didn't commit to being back with the @utahjazz in his postseason availability, but he didn't rule out a return to the team, either. #TakeNote https://t.co/T1DCoxzC3r

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) May 9, 2022

“You don’t want to just say, ‘Hey, we didn’t shoot well,’ sometimes that’s a good one during the season to help you get to the next game, you know — it’s a make or miss league,” Snyder said. “And then you realize it’s actually true, but you have to be able to perform when you’re not making.”

The Jazz will work to fix the issues that plagued them against Dallas during the team’s off-season meetings.

“That’s going to come through dialogue, everybody sharing and responding and collaborating on that question,” Snyder said. “I’ll give my input obviously, just like everyone else.”

Difficult Season Impacted Performance

Concluding with their first-round exit by the Mavericks, the Jazz had an overall difficult season.

From rumors of dissatisfaction from Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert’s occasional ill-timed criticism of his teammates, and several long losing streaks, the Jazz appeared to lose the enjoyment they had playing together in previous seasons.

While the team never admitted to any discontent within the roster, their poor performance told another story.

“How do you respond to a turnover? That was a big emphasis for us early in the series, if we make a mistake, get into the next play, not wait until a dead ball to build your case with the referee,” Snyder said.

Quin Snyder said the @utahjazz had a practice this season made up of shooting games, solely for the sake of levity.

Definitely feels like the weight of the season was felt everywhere.

May have contributed to the team's shooting numbers dipping in the playoffs.

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) May 9, 2022

When the Jazz had positive momentum, it translated into a 12-2 record in December, and an 8-1 February. However, when faced with adversity, the results shifted dramatically, including a 4-12 January, and a 10-11 close to the season.

“You can’t have a team that plays without emotion,” Snyder said. “I think emotion can be incredibly valuable, it can provide you resolve and strength. And at the same time, like most things, if you become too emotional, you can lose focus.”

Snyder Not Satisfied With Past Success

After another disappointing playoff exit, the Jazz find themselves at a crossroads they have yet to experience with this roster or coaching staff.

The team had had significant regular season success with this core, but have proven to be pretenders in the playoffs. With three first-round exits in the last four seasons, Snyder said the Jazz want more than regular season accolades.

“We’ve been to sixth straight playoffs, I’ve heard this when people try to say, ‘Hang in there, Quin, how are you doing?'” Snyder said. “‘You’ve won the third most amount of games in the league in the last five years,’ But I’m not hanging my hat on that, we want to do more, we want more.”

Quin Snyder said the @utahjazz never got "the spark" that they needed to to do something special this year. #takenote | @kslsports

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) May 9, 2022

How the Jazz can find more is the overarching question of the offseason.

Mitchell and Gobert are legitimate stars, and the supporting cast is full of talent, but the pieces clearly don’t work together.

Should the Jazz break up their two stars in hope of finding a new dynamic duo? Or is the roster construction around the franchise faces to blame? Either way, Snyder recognized the frustration in the team’s shortcomings.

“You’re not satisfied, and no one’s satisfied, fans aren’t satisfied,” Snyder said. “You reach a point where you want more — that’s the nature of sport, that’s competition.”

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