Jazz Head Coach Quin Snyder Has Developed a Defensive Juggernaut
The Jazz are surging toward a third consecutive NBA playoff appearance after a lackluster first half of the season. Utah was 20-21 after a January 7 loss
The Jazz are surging toward a third consecutive NBA playoff appearance after a lackluster first half of the season.
Utah was 20-21 after a January 7 loss to the Bucks and two games back from the eighth seed. Since then, the Jazz have gone on win streaks of six, four and five games and find themselves in position to potentially grab the fifth seed.
Predictably, Utah’s defense has led the way all season. Head Coach Quin Snyder has developed a juggernaut on that end of the floor despite interchanging parts. Only four players from Snyder’s 2014-15 squad are still on the current team: Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles, Derrick Favors and Dante Exum.
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“We’ve had a commitment to it from the top down, whether that’s [GM] Dennis [Lindsey] and his procurement of players, it’s having someone like Rudy,” Snyder said on the team maintaining an elite defense.
But it’s not just the star center in the middle holding things down. Snyder gave a long list of players who have contributed on that end of the floor in tough matchups to help Utah win games.
“When we’ve been really good, it’s been Joe guarding Paul George, Royce guarding Middleton, Ricky guarding James Harden, Favors guarding Karl-Anthony Towns, Jae guarding Jokic, Dante guarding Damian Lillard,” Snyder said. “Kind of go down the line where it’s not just one guy.”
The numbers speak for themselves. Here’s how Utah has performed on the defensive end in Snyder’s tenure relative to the rest of the league.
| Season Splits (via NBA.com/stats) | Opponent Points Per Game | League Ranking | Defensive Rating | League Ranking |
| 2014-15 | 94.9 | 1st | 104.1 | 14th |
| 2015-16 | 95.9 | 2nd | 103.2 | 7th |
| 2016-17 | 96.8 | 1st | 104.6 | 3rd |
| 2017-18 | 99.9 | T-1st | 102.9 | 1st |
| 2018-19 (through March 22) | 106.5 | 5th | 105.5 | 3rd |
Even as offenses explode around the league, Utah’s defensive foundation has remained intact. The Jazz have given up more points per game each season due to the offensive surge but their defensive rating has remained at around the same levels.
“To the extent that we emphasize it and we work on it, sometimes it can be mundane,” Snyder said. “But we touch those things as much we can.”
That includes film work, where Snyder said he likes to have players “see themselves.”
This isn’t just a coach stressing the importance of using video. Prior to speaking with the media, Snyder went through some film with Jazz guard Kyle Korver. That’s something typically done by a video coordinator but Snyder took it upon himself to go through the concept.
At the end of the day though, the onus is on the players to perform.
“Our guys embrace the preparation component,” Snyder said. “More than anything, we’ve had players that are selfless enough to want to do it and they make it important.”
That starts with Gobert.
The Jazz acquired him on draft night in 2013. After seeing his early progress, Utah signed him to a four-year, $102 million extension with the hope his game could continue to grow on both ends of the floor. Gobert has since been named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team twice and is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
But Gobert’s progression under Snyder hasn’t been limited to that end of the floor.
| Rudy Gobert Splits (via NBA.com/stats | Offensive Rating | Defensive Rating | Net Rating |
| 2014-15 | 98.8 | 98.5 | 0.3 |
| 2015-16 | 104.2 | 99.7 | 4.4 |
| 2016-17 | 109.7 | 101.0 | 8.7 |
| 2017-18 | 106.9 | 97.4 | 9.5 |
| 2018-19 (through March 22) | 109.1 | 103.5 | 5.6 |
“I think part of the challenge for Rudy is to not get better at everything at once,” Snyder said on Gobert’s development. “The first thing for me with Rudy, it’s an easy one to see, was his free throws.” Gobert shot a career-high 68.2 percent from the line last season and he’s currently at 63.6 percent.
He started his career as a 49.2 percent free-throw shooter.
Gobert is enjoying his best offensive season, averaging a career-high 15.4 points per game on 66.1 percent shooting, which would be tied for his career-high. His defensive impact hasn’t been at last season’s levels, but he’s remained a force in the middle and there are signs of Utah’s defense coming back to its elite standing.
In the last two weeks, Utah’s defensive rating is 102.3. That’s in line with its best mark in Snyder’s tenure, which happened last season. That stretch included a five-game winning streak and Gobert being named Western Conference Player of the Week. Utah’s defense, led by Gobert, is back to affecting results.
The Jazz are currently the seventh seed in the West but they have the opportunity to climb as high as the fifth seed down the stretch. If Utah can get to the fifth seed, it can potentially avoid Golden State and Houston, the teams it lost to in the last two postseasons. That would give Snyder an opportunity to get the Jazz past the second round for the first time in more than two decades.
