Phoenix Suns Preview: Playing With Heart, Fire And All That Jazz

Pride.

That’s pretty much the only thing left on the line, as the Phoenix Suns were all-but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, following a last-second loss at the buzzer to Golden State on Thursday. And when it comes to pride, the Suns could learn a lesson from the team they’ll be facing today.

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After starting the year 17-33, the Jazz have gone 17-8, and at the moment, they find themselves on a three-game win streak. Having been pushed out of the playoff picture early, they have continued to fight and scrap, and their numbers have reflected that.

In March, the Jazz had the NBA’s best points per game defense, while averaging the fourth most blocks per game and the fourth most rebounds per game. Simply put, while a lot of the teams out of the picture stopped caring, for the Jazz it was the opposite. They got better. A lot better.

The team improved across the board, with variously players stepping up and filling their roles, making them one of the scarier teams in the NBA. The Jazz have started to form an identity, and while it may prove to ultimately hurt their draft lottery odds, I think fans have to be satisfied with the effort and grit their team has shown down the stretch. When it came down to it, the Jazz weren’t satisfied with mediocrity. They didn’t quit.

Jazz center Rudy Gobert was a huge part of that improvement, as he finally started to show how good he could become, given his athleticism and length. Gobert was and is a complete freak of nature, in the nicest sense of the word. He has a 7’8 wingspan, with a 9’7 reach, and with his vertical, his hands sit roughly two feet above the rim on a flat-footed jump.

Definitely, I think it’s fair to say things started clicking for him at the All Star break, when he took over the USA vs. the World game, although he was robbed of the MVP trophy because “POINTS.”

Gobert finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, ending the career of one Nerlens Noel in the process… Watch:

You get the point.

Since that game, the Stifle Tower (or French Rejection, either nickname is fantastic) has posted 13 double-doubles in 22 games, racking up 15+ rebounds eight times, and 20+ rebounds three times.

Some of Gobert’s box scores since that time have been absolutely ridiculous, as he’s had an 18-point, 17-rebound, 6-block game, a 19-point, 22-rebound, 4-block game, a 15-point, 24-rebound game and a 13-point, 15 rebound, 4-block, 3-steal game, all while never playing more than 41 minutes in a single outing during the season.

Oh, and in the month of April, Gobert is a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, and dating back to his last six games, he’s shooting 67.4% (31-of-46) from the field. Gobert is fourth in the NBA in field goal percentage on the year (minimum 50 games played), and is obviously a defensive monster, ranking in the top five in blocks per game, blocks per foul and defensive rating. He’ll certainly be the key player for the Jazz as they look to win the game.

Without Alex Len, Brandan Wright will have the honor of getting destroyed by task of guarding Gobert, which should be a key matchup in the game, but the Jazz have other areas in which they’ve improved in, especially as of late.

Backcourt Brethren

While Dante Exum comes into this game off of a rough scoring stretch, he has done his part defensively this season, which probably is more important for the Jazz anyway. However, his counterpart, Trey Burke, comes into this game simply on fire, having topped his scoring average of 12.9 points per game in seven of his last nine contests.

In that time, Burke has averaged 16.4 points per game, while shooting 40% or better from three in seven of his last 11 games. While Burke has come off the bench in each of the team’s last four contests, he’s still been the deadlier of the two guards and he’s someone the team can’t sleep on, especially considering that there are two former Jayhawks on the Suns.

After all, Burke has a propensity for killing Jayhawks:

As of late, the Suns have had an annoyance in another player from that Michigan team, in Nik Stauskas of the Kings. Stauksas has scored five-or-fewer points in four of his last five games, and he scored more than eight points in just one of his last eight games. Care to guess who that one game was against?

If you said Phoenix… Congratulations… You win a brand new car! Although, let’s face it, I kind of gave that one away.

For the Suns to win, Eric Bledsoe will need to play a strong defensive game, and the Phoenix guards may need to provide a bit of firepower as well. Archie Goodwin should have a solid opportunity to shine, playing against a more inexperienced backcourt than is typically seen in the NBA, and while he isn’t a guard, T.J. Warren should also be able to find his way to the basket at the three position, as he comes into this outing averaging 16.0 points per game over his last three contests.

Max Money?

When Gordon Hayward received his max deal, there were some questions as to whether or not the Jazz should’ve kept him for that money. Ultimately, with the cap going up and a max for Hayward being less than $16 million a year, it was probably the right decision for the team, but it was still something that was debated.

Well with the 2014-15 season almost over, here is what Gordon Hayward has effectively done to the naysayers…

On the year, Hayward has been worth every dollar in his contract, and probably even more so, averaging 19.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, with solid shooting percentages at 44.9-36.3-81.2.

In fact, Hayward is one of just nine players this year to shoot better than 44% from the field, 36% from three and 81% from the line (minimum 70 games played). The others on that list are all quite talented as well:

Stephen Curry, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul, Dirk Nowitzki, Klay Thompson, J.J. Reddick, Khris Middleton.

And on that list, only Harden, Curry, Thompson and Irving are averaging more points per game, and only Curry and Harden are averaging more points and more combined rebounds and assists per game.

Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all.

Hayward’s numbers have dipped as of late, as he’s shooting worse than 25% from three in his last nine games, but given his track record against the Suns, I don’t think it would be sane to expect those numbers to stay down.

After all, in two games against Phoenix this year, Hayward has averaged 24.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, and it was the same story last year, as Hayward almost racked up a triple-double on more than one occasion.

In the 2013-14 campaign, Hayward got things kicked off against the Suns with an 18-point, 10 rebound, 8-assist game, before going for 17 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists in the teams’ next meeting. This game could be exactly what he needs to break out of his rough shooting spell, and P.J. Tucker will need to be very careful in how he guards Hayward.

Prediction

The Jazz are simply playing better basketball than the Suns right now, and it shows, as they jump out to a solid lead. The Gobert Report (another fantastic nickname) goes to work early, finishing with 15 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks, frustrating the Morrii inside to the point where one of them picks up a technical foul (CRAZY I KNOW!).

Eric Bledsoe is solid, although he has had his struggles against the Jazz this year, averaging just 12.5 points per game on 39.1% shooting. T.J. Warren and Archie Goodwin provide a nice punch off the bench, as the Suns lose by a more-than-respectable margin of four points, after falling behind huge early on.

Or.. you know… the Suns could win this game… because they’ve defied logic at every turn this year. Who knows?

Utah 97, Phoenix 91

Next: How The Suns' Defense Improved While the Offense Died