The Jazz play jazz

A controlled system that sets players free.

BY DAVID THORPE

The Jazz pass the ball often, and with purpose. Coach Quin Snyder has always preached passing, screening, and driving. He feels the more guys touch the ball on offense, the more passion they will have for team defense. But after the Houston Rockets handed them two consecutive years of playoff heartbreak, the Jazz decided to add scorers who also know how to score in isolation and off ball screens, like Bojan Bogdanovic and Mike Conley. 

They got off to a slow start, but now—despite a Thursday overtime loss to the Pelicans—the Jazz are incredible. First in screen assists (a screen that leads to a basket), passes off drives, pick and rolls, and drives per game, they are running Snyder’s offense perfectly. It’s almost like they flipped a switch. They were a ho-hum 13-11 on December 10. Since then, they are 15-2. At 28-13 they are squarely in the knot of teams vying for the second-best record in the whole dang NBA, with victories in the books against the Bucks, the Clippers t…