Analysis: Short-handed Jazz give Suns a fight but come up just short

Phoenix Suns ahead Bismack Biyombo (18) and ahead Cameron Johnson embrace as Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson appears to be like away after an NBA basketball sport, Monday, Jan. 24, 2022, in Phoenix. The Solar received 115-109.

Matt York, Related Press

The Utah Jazz — properly, a part of the Utah Jazz — misplaced to the Phoenix Suns, 115-109, on Monday night time on the Footprint Middle.

Donovan Mitchell (concussion, not with crew), Rudy Gobert (left calf pressure), Bojan Bogdanovic (left ring finger avulsion fracture), Mike Conley (harm administration), Royce O’Neale (proper knee tendonitis) and Joe Ingles (proper ankle sprain) all missed the matchup in opposition to the league-leading Suns, however the group that was obtainable to play pressured Phoenix to work for the win.

Excessive notes

• The one criticism of Trent Forrest is that he doesn’t have a dependable jumper. It’s true and it’s warranted. However Forrest has completed such a superb job of being a dependable participant in his position, even supposing he isn’t a shooter and that’s a extremely onerous factor to do as some extent guard on this league. He is a good playmaker and is getting higher and higher each sport at creating for himself and discovering seams. When he will get into the lane you possibly can inform that he's studying from Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell. The sport has slowed down for him and he’s an absolute weapon. On the defensive finish, issues are even higher for Forrest and he provides it each single minute that he’s on the ground and he’s usually choosing up guys full courtroom — guys like Chris Paul and Stephen Curry. He completed with 17 factors, six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
  “He was nice. I imply, anybody that watched the sport would really feel the identical. ... He’s simply steadily improved.” — Jazz head coach Quin Snyder on Trent Forrest
• Elijah Hughes is perhaps probably the most assured participant that hardly will get any enjoying time. It’s such a testomony to the work that he’s completed with the Stars and the off-day work that he does behind the scenes. He’s such a pure scorer and walks into photographs like he may do it in his sleep.

• Jared Butler is certainly a participant that performs lots higher when he sees the ball undergo the ring. It actually settles him and results in him being much less rattled when issues don’t go his approach. He nonetheless looks like a participant that's going to have loads of promise when he is part of an everyday rotation. He had a cool 13 off the bench and hit 3 of 4 from 3-point vary.
• Danuel Home was requested to do lots for the Jazz on Monday and he’s doing it whereas having been with the Jazz for simply over two weeks. He’s on the market guarding Devin Booker and crashing the boards and sacrificing his physique for performs and all of the whereas he’s in fixed communication with the gamers and with Quin Snyder. He actually needs a spot on this crew and it’s onerous to argue that he doesn’t deserve it. He had one hardship 10-day contract with the crew and he’s on his first customary 10-day deal and he has impressed sufficient, for my part, to a minimum of be price a second customary 10-day on the very least. He provides the type of defensive effort and quickness that this crew may actually use. Home completed with 14 factors, seven rebounds, 4 assists, two steals, two blocks and received to the free-throw line 9 occasions, greater than another participant on the courtroom.

Low notes

• The Jazz shot simply 68.2% from the free-throw line. That may look fairly dangerous if the Suns hadn’t taken a single free-throw try within the first half after which shot simply 53.3% on their very own free throws.
• However there’s slightly extra behind the free-throw factor that I need to discover. Once I see that the Suns didn’t take a single free throw within the first half, it makes me suppose one in all two issues; both the Jazz weren’t being bodily sufficient and contesting photographs the way in which they need to have been; or, the Suns weren’t going on the Jazz onerous sufficient. It was no secret who was on the ground on Monday. There have been loads of gamers that normally don’t get rotational minutes and they also aren’t going to get pleasant calls and so they’ll most likely get referred to as for some ticky-tack stuff. You would positively say that the Jazz had been enjoying disciplined and had been defending with out fouling. That is perhaps a few of it, however it wasn’t all of it.
• Jordan Clarkson heated up within the fourth quarter and hit some photographs that made the Suns unable to calm down within the closing minutes, however he introduced the warmth slightly too late.

Flat notes

• I simply don’t perceive Hassan Whiteside, and it wouldn’t be the primary time. It looks like he solely needs to play if there’s an opportunity of successful. Perhaps that’s it. Perhaps I do perceive. When the sport began it appeared like Whiteside had already determined that as a result of the Jazz had been enjoying with out their starters and Ingles that they didn’t have an opportunity. To say that he wasn’t giving any effort within the first quarter can be the understatement of the season. I completely perceive that Monday night time was his first sport again after being out with COVID-19 however he wouldn’t have been cleared to play if he wasn’t able to play, and it wasn’t his conditioning that was the issue. Whiteside was lazy on screens, wasn’t giving effort on the boards, was giving up on performs and was usually simply going by way of the motions. Then swiftly the Jazz (due to the hassle of the opposite guys on the courtroom) truly had been competing with the Suns and received the lead and that appeared to wake Whiteside up. Nevertheless it wasn’t constant and it’s a extremely bizarre change that he has. It’s so onerous to even watch the opposite gamers on the courtroom when there may be one participant that's so clearly not giving it as a lot as the remainder of the fellows. At this fee, Whiteside isn’t more likely to garner practically as a lot curiosity as was thought early on within the season, if any. If he continues to have swings the place his effort is in query a lot, it actually wouldn’t shock me if this was his final season within the league.
  “Simply do it. In some unspecified time in the future, like simply do it. You do it, you win. If you don’t, you lose. Compete.” — Jazz head coach Quin Snyder on what the Jazz have to do to maintain Monday’s vitality