Three to one.
That was hanging over the Utah Jazz for almost a year. No matter how good they appeared to be this season, no matter what 3-point records they set or defensive improvements they made, no matter what playoff seed they earned, there were lingering doubts over their postseason fortitude, over what they’d ultimately be able to accomplish.
Because they blew a 3-1 series against the Denver Nuggets last year.
Joe Ingles gets it, he understands it, he’s lived it. But now he also sees the flip side of it.
“Regardless of who you are, if you were with our group last year, it’s kind of entrenched in your memory — what happened and how it felt after that,” he said after Saturday’s practice. “It wasn’t a pleasant experience at the time, but if that’s going to help us in the long run, and losing that series is going to push us forward for this year and next year and the coming years, I think it obviously ends up being a little bit of a positive out of it.”
And in his mind, it’s done exactly that.
Losing to the Nuggets is not something this year’s Jazz team actively discussed all that often. As Ingles said, it’s not terribly productive to dwell on the past too much. Going up 3-1 in this year’s first round against the Memphis Grizzlies proved an obvious and natural reminder, prompting team leaders to speak up ahead of the ultimately decisive Game 5 and say, as Ingles put it, “‘Hey, let’s just finish this off and do what we need to do.’”
Thing is, the Jazz felt the impact of that blown 3-1 lead long before they garnered a similar advantage against the Grizzlies this time around.
The disappointment of what might have been was with this Jazz team when the players first came together this season.
“When you lose a 3-1 lead, it’s pretty depressing for a few days. So I think we all took that on board,” Ingles said. “We’ve used that … just knowing you don’t want that to happen again. We definitely didn’t want that to happen the other night, to give up the game. [So] you use that as motivation, I guess, to push forward and just not let that happen again. And whether that’s built stronger trust or relationships, and if it has because we lost, I think we’ll be better off in the long run for that.”
The Jazz were already a pretty close-knit bunch beforehand, the Aussie vet said. But where some teams fissure under the weight of unfulfilled expectations, going through that experience collectively made this group even tighter.
And that now works to their advantage, in his mind.
“Obviously, I can’t comment on other teams because I don’t know what it’s like on other teams, but I would be surprised if there were many teams as closely connected as we are — on and off the court,” Ingles said. “… The guys [the front office members] bring in are obviously very good basketballers, but very good human beings as well. And I think that’s a huge thing. I mean, people can debate all day whether we’ve got the most talented team or whatever on paper. But I’d put a lot of money on the fact that we would be the closest team, in terms of genuine relationships and friendships.”
And, before you can even utter the critique, his response is yes — that very much correlates to success in games.
If these players didn’t get along, Jordan Clarkson’s shooting binges could annoy Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley. Instead, they see the value of his game. If these players didn’t get along, Rudy Gobert could cause dissension by complaining about the sometimes-long stretches where he doesn’t get to take a shot. Instead, he’s now happy to serve as a decoy and open up opportunities for his teammates.
Can Joe and Renae Ingles having Clarkson and Georges Niang over for dinner on Friday night make a difference in Tuesday’s Game 1 against either the Clippers or Mavericks? Well, the Aussie certainly believes that having teammates who are also your friends yields tangible results.
“The best thing about having a close group and the group that we have and the relationships and all that,” Ingles said, “it really genuinely just kind of helps on the court.”
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