This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It was in the third quarter of Utah's 104-94 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans that Derrick Favors looked like the best player on the floor.
He scored 16 of his team-high 22 points in those 12 minutes. He dropped in feathery jumpers, and balanced his perimeter output with a thunderous dunk over New Orleans star Anthony Davis. For those 12 minutes, he looked like an all-star.
It was in the fourth quarter where Favors turned into a bystander. He took one shot. He couldn't get the ball in spots where he could make a move offensively. And with every shot New Orleans made in the last five minutes, Favors got more frustrated.
Two quarters. Two different results. And the ultimate outcome? A fourth loss in a row for the Utah Jazz.
"New Orleans started blitzing pick and rolls, and it became very difficult for us to throw him the ball late in the game," Utah coach Quin Snyder said. "It's very hard to post someone up in the fourth quarter, because defenses start to take that away, especially if one guy is having a good game. Other guys have to step up and make plays too. I thought Derrick played very well. We needed to make plays around him tonight."
The question is how? On Wednesday night, Favors went 10-15 from the field, scored those 22 points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out five assists. In his return to power forward, he was at many points the centerpiece to Utah's offense.
But when it mattered most the Jazz couldn't get the ball to him. There are reasons: Utah's guards were flustered by New Orleans and its physical defense down the stretch. Several times, the Pelicans forced turnovers in pick-and-roll situations.
When Favors did touch the ball, he was guarded by a primary defender and harassed by second and third defenders. He passed out of double-teams, but Jazz shooters couldn't make uncontested looks from 3-point range.
"They just started hitting shots and we started missing shots," Favors said. "They made a lot of plays defensively, and they made a lot of shots."
Favors' one look in that fourth quarter was on a post up of Davis, in which his shot came up short. But other than that, his offense was effectively muted by an aggressive New Orleans defense.
On Wednesday night, Favors moved back to power forward, his natural position, for the first time since Rudy Gobert's knee injury. The Jazz started Jeff Withey at center in an effort to free Favors up on both ends, and the switch worked.
Still, it resulted in a defeat, and now the Jazz are trying to rid itself of their longest losing streak of the season.
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Favors in focus
• Derrick Favors takes one shot in the fourth quarter, after scoring 16 points in the third.
• Favors played power forward against New Orleans, with Jeff Withey manning the middle.