Utah Jazz mailbag: How long can Favors go? How do the Jazz expose Crawford's defense?

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Tribune Jazz beat reporter Tony Jones will answer readers' questions in a Twitter mailbag after each playoff game. You can submit questions using the hashtag #TonyTalks. Here are the questions after Game 1.

Tony's reply • Trey Lyles isn't in the doghouse. That would imply he's being punished by Quin Snyder, which isn't the case.

Lyles, at this point, isn't in the playing rotation and hasn't been for the last few months. He hasn't made shots or defended well enough to earn a spot in the rotation. He's also playing behind Boris Diaw and Joe Johnson, so all of the minutes at power forward are spoken for by veteran guys.

It's OK. Lyles is young and has a lot of time left in the NBA. He'll learn from the experience and improve. The Jazz still are high on him as a prospect.

Tony's reply • The Clippers can hide Jamal Crawford defensively against most teams and know that guy won't hurt them, which allows Crawford to do his thing on the offensive end. But the Jazz aren't one of those teams because of their depth on the wing.

What I would do if I was Doc Rivers is put Crawford on Shelvin Mack, but that forces either Ray Felton or Chris Paul to guard one of Utah's wings, which would be Rodney Hood, Gordon Hayward or Joe Ingles. That's a tough ask for Paul or Felton.

What the Clippers really miss is Austin Rivers because he serves as a second plus defender as a wing guy for them. And with him out, Luc Mbah A Moute is the only wing the Clippers have who really can guard people.

The Clippers could stop switching so readily in Game 2. That would be their best adjustment.

Tony's reply • Each game is its own entity.

The Jazz won Game 1 without Joe Ingles or Rodney Hood shooting the ball particularly well, so it can be done.

What the Jazz consistently need to win the series is the defense that showed up in Game 1. That's what will win the series for them. The Jazz will make shots, but it's hard to win without consistently good defense.

Tony's reply • It was crucial for sure.

Gordon Hayward grabbed 10 rebounds in Game 1, and the Jazz did a terrific job at gang rebounding in Game 1.That will have to continue as long as Gobert is on the shelf.

The Jazz are used to Gobert gobbling up most of the defensive rebounds, so everyone helping out represents a significant adjustment. But it's an adjustment the Jazz were able to make for one game. It has to continue for Utah to have any shot at winning Game 2.

Tony's reply • Derrick Favors is fine physically. He hasn't experienced any pain in the knee, just a bit of fatigue after not having played 30 minutes in a game since early March.

Favors obviously will be a central figure for the Jazz as the series moves forward. He was terrific in Game 1. It will be interesting to see if he can keep up the same production moving forward.