The Jazz had played seven really good defensive games in a row coming into Thursday night’s matchup against the Sixers, and it really seemed like they had figured out the defensive bite that had made them special over the last two seasons, even creeping up into the top five of the league overall defensively for the season.
And then against the Sixers, it all came apart. The Jazz allowed Jimmy Butler to get four wide-open dunks due to missed communications, let J.J. Redick get open from three time and time again, let Joel Embiid get inside for easy shots, and even let the likes of T.