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The Utah Jazz looked primed to take advantage of Luka Doncic's absence yet again in Game 2 against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night. The Jazz led for most of the game and took a seven-point lead with just over eight minutes to play after a Donovan Mitchell and-1. The visitors then proceeded to get outscored 24-11 the rest of the way, suffering a 110-104 loss that tied up the series at 1-1.
Despite the absence of Doncic, Utah had no answers for Jalen Brunson and company down the stretch. The Mavs just spread out the Jazz and got open look after open look, once again leading to people questioning Rudy Gobert's effectiveness in certain situations.
But the problem isn't as much Gobert as the guys in front of him. Mitchell noted this after the game, blaming the point-of-attack defense for the collapse:
Donovan Mitchell: it starts on the ball. We have to keep guys in front. The driving lanes are wide open. We made some mistakes but we have to guard the ball. We’ll be better
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) April 19, 2022
Donovan Mitchell: at the end of the day, we gotta guard. We gotta stay in front of the ball
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) April 19, 2022
Of course, this is a real Hot Dog Guy Meme situation. Mitchell was a major culprit for the defensive woes, and this Jazz roster simply doesn't have many stoppers on the perimeter. This leaves Gobert exposed when teams go smaller and space the floor with shooters:
The Jazz perimeter defense was a disaster again tonight. Imagine Gobert with an elite wing like Bridges or good interior help from Horford. But O’Neale is their best. Mitchell needs to take more pride in defense. This roster needs major changes to ever become a serious contender.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) April 19, 2022
The story of the Utah Jazz defense in three acts: https://t.co/jWV7QEmIE4 pic.twitter.com/1AC0lkaZ6K
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) April 19, 2022
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Brunson was too easily able to break down the defense (not just Mitchell), forcing Gobert to rotate to help. The other rotations were then often too slow, leading to great looks for Dallas.
As good as Brunson is (41/8/5 in this game), he's still no Luka Doncic. If Doncic comes back, this will become an even bigger issue if the Jazz don't tighten things up.
Donovan is convinced this series won't go like the disaster last season against the Clippers, and he says Utah won't overreact. That's the right approach, but he and his Jazz teammates simply must play better defense in these situations.
