Utah Jazz: Team looking to get defensive

With Minnesota in town, Utah could secure its 50th win

By Tim Buckley, Deseret News

Published: Wednesday, April 2 2008 12:59 a.m. MDT

Summary

They averaged 113.4 points per game and shot 52.7 percent from the field during a rather successful March, so offense obviously isn't the issue. Which leaves, go figure, defense.

They averaged 113.4 points per game and shot 52.7 percent from the field during a rather successful March, so offense obviously isn't the issue.

Which leaves, go figure, defense.

It's no matter of mere monthly regress for the Jazz.

Quite the contrary, it's precisely what Jerry Sloan has been harping on for, oh, the last 20 years or so.

And that's especially been the case throughout this season, when defensive deficiency has been a common and well-chronicled theme throughout several bad road losses for Utah — including, perhaps most glaringly, Sunday's at Minnesota.

With the Timberwolves visiting tonight at EnergySolutions Arena, where Sloan's Northwest Division-leading club owns a league-best home record of 33-4, that reality finally seems to have to come into focus for the 49-26 Jazz.

Just in the nick of time, too.

Only seven games remain in Utah's 2007-08 NBA regular season, and the Jazz still have not secured a playoff berth, never mind homecourt advantage for the first round of postseason play.

"I'm worried about it," point guard Deron Williams said. "But I think when we get to the playoffs, we'll play a lot better 'D' on the road."

Still, Williams is at a loss to explain why it's been as bad as it has in recent losses — including two at Minnesota in the last four weeks alone.

What he is able to do, however, is concede that it's indeed become apparent why the Jazz — just 16-22 in away games — have struggled away from Utah, especially against subpar opponents, like they have.

"It's our defensive effort on the road," Williams said. "We don't come out and guard people like we need to. We definitely talk about it, but it's like we don't put it into effect when we go out there.

"It seems like we start off slow, or if we don't start off slow at one point we have a spot where we just can't make any stops. And then we start pressing on offense.

"You know," he added, "we think sometimes the answer to everything is offense. But it's clearly defense. We show that at home. When we guard, we defend, everybody gets involved, we get out and run to where things open up, and you just get confidence that way."

Williams' words have to be sweet music to Sloan's ears.