Jazz Have Responded Well To All-Star Struggles

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz own the NBA’s longest win streak at seven games entering Friday’s matchup with the Chicago Bulls. It’s a stark turnaround from a stretch where the Jazz lost five out of eight games bookending March’s All-Star break.

The Jazz aren’t just winning, they’re blowing teams out. Over the last seven games, the Jazz are beating teams by an average of 17.2 points, while holding opponents to 100.1 points per game. Three of the Jazz seven opponents have scored 95 points or fewer, and no team has scored more than 114 points.

Before the Jazz host the Bulls, coach Quin Snyder explained the turnaround.

“A few of those games our half-court defense was was really good,” Snyder said about his team’s early-March struggles. “But our transition defense was epically bad in one of those games.”

Quin Snyder on the @utahjazz defense:

"I guess part of being a coach is you always want more. But I think we're competing. There's going to be breakdowns, and we're going to talk about them."

Jazz held Memphis to 5 made threes tonight.

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) April 1, 2021

During the Jazz low point, they were scoring 119.9 points per game, higher than their current average over the last seven games, but allowing 120.4 points per game, more than a 20 point difference.

“Our defense a lot of times will dictate our offense,” Snyder said. “If we’re getting stops we can get out and run. It’s easier to get some of the shots we want and you can get to the rim.”

The Jazz have a defensive rating of 101.0 since their 3-5 stretch, the best in the NBA by more than two points per 100 possessions.

“Those moments when you don’t play well over an NBA season happen to everybody,” Snyder said. “But the question is, can you recognize them and accept them for what they are? Hopefully as opportunities to learn more about your identity as a team and to get better.”

The Jazz and Bulls tip-off at 7 pm MT, the game will be broadcast on AT&T SportsNet.