Season of the tank!-2013-14 regular season

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Jazz aren

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]EMPTYING THE NOGGIN

Something has felt off all week with this team. Not sure if it is playing better teams. Maybe it is waiting to get to the break. Maybe it is a worn out team from the increased roles. Not sure what it is, but this team is a little off and with the thin margin of error they have when they are a little off it is evident.

There are not a lot of W

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]It will allow Philly to take on extra salary in any deal for one of the Evan Turner/Young/Hawes trio. The Bobcats are absolutely serious about pursuing Turner,7 per several league sources, and the Sixers could take on Ben Gordon

[Xiao Yao You]

Utah has beat the Heat and the Thunder on its home floor. Home-court advantage at EnergySolutions Arena in front of the great Jazz fans is never going away.

The altitude has a lot to do with it as well.

[QUOTE]Lots of enormous plays by the Jazz to win this game. Close game down the stretch against the Heat and the Jazz won. Jazz have won a remarkable amount of close games this year for a team as young as this one. Marvin hit back-to-back threes (one that was a shot-clock prayer) to maintain the Jazz

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Marvin Williams has had a good week for the Jazz, as he

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Allen told Burke that he didn

[Xiao Yao You]

Utah improved to 14-2 when leading after three quarters.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]"I haven

[Xiao Yao You]

The Jazz took a franchise-record 35 attempts from 3 on Friday against Dallas, and were just three makes shy of another record.

But it

[Xiao Yao You]

one of his biggest fans is his own coach, Tyrone Corbin, who is mighty proud of the way the former University of Michigan star has handled the imposing challenge of stepping his game up to the next level.

"He's a guy that's willing to put the work in, and we've seen it with us

[Xiao Yao You]

R.J. IS ON THE REBOUND: After struggling through a forgettable season last year with Golden State and getting traded to Utah during the offseason, Jazz forward Richard Jefferson has enjoyed a career resurgence this season.

The 6-foot-7, 13-year NBA veteran battled through injuries and averaged just 3.1 points and 10 minutes a game last season with the Warriors. Indeed, it looked like his days in the league might be numbered.

But this season, he has started all 50 games for Utah

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]I have Burks well ahead of his overall expected progress to this point, and his progress this season, especially recently, has shown glimpses of a potentially game-changing player.

Some of the more expected areas of his maturation have been on the offensive side of the ball, where Burks is having something of a breakout year. His career-high numbers basically across the board are mostly normal for a third-year player, although the fact that he

[East_Stone_Ya]

how long will Favors be sidelined?

[Xiao Yao You]

Long enough for it not to re-injure it again hopefully.

[Xiao Yao You]

The Celtics have expressed some interest in acquiring Utah's Gordon Hayward, a league source tells CSNNE.com. Hayward, who starred for Celtics head coach Brad Stevens while at Butler, will become a restricted free agent this summer after he and the Jazz could not come to terms on an extension this past fall. CSNNE.com

Despite Utah's desperate need for a point guard, there's little interest in Rajon Rondo primarily because they don't anticipate he'll re-sign with the club beyond his current contract which is up in the summer of 2015. CSNNE.com
Rumors tagsBoston Celtics, Utah Jazz, Trade, Rajon Rondo, Gordon Hayward
Jeff Green is another option, but the Jazz aren't all that interested in him, either. CSNNE.com

It would appear the one thing that might nudge Utah towards giving serious thought to dealing Hayward, would be if the Celtics were willing to part with at least one of their stockpiled first-round picks. But two league sources, both having had recent conversations with the Celtics, told CSNNE.com on Tuesday that Boston is "very reluctant" to part with any of their first-round picks in facilitating a deal. CSNNE.com

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Alec Burks was terrific. He is playing with extreme confidence. He has become more aggressive. Richard Jefferson said it well earlier this year

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[QUOTE]When the Jazz are healthy, they are not in the class with the terrible teams in the NBA. In fact, the complete opposite

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[QUOTE]So now that Burks has shown he

[Xiao Yao You]

For Burks, it was the ninth time this season he

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Richard Jefferson remembers a moment in a game early this season when Alec Burks, near the end of a good shooting night, got the ball in his hands and looked around too long for an open teammate.

"I

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[QUOTE]Derrick Favors

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[QUOTE]Gordon Hayward isn

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Derrick Favors was out on the court at Staples Center before Tuesday

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]The BBVA Compass (you're welcome for the plug, BBVA Compass) Rising Stars Challenge meant nothing.

But Trey Burke was still a little bugged by his game.

The rookie scored six points, but hit only three of 13 attempts.
"I'm always disappointed when I don't play good, but I understand it's an All-Star game," he said. "I've been trying to find my shot in regular games. It looked like I was trying to find my shot tonight. I just got to keep playing, man. I'm not going to let it get to me. It's an All-Star game, but at the same time

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Could the Mailman try his hand at a full-time coaching job someday too?

"I doubt it," he said Friday morning. "I

[Xiao Yao You]

The Jazz have another D-League All-Star on their roster. Power forward Malcolm Thomas excelled with the Los Angeles D-Fenders and the Austin Toros before being claimed off NBA waivers by Utah. Players have to be on D-League assignments to play in this game, so Thomas will not participate.


Why not send him on assignment so he could've play? I know at least one team did that?

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Monday afternoon, it was back to work as the Jazz practiced at the Zions Bank Basketball Center.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]

[Xiao Yao You]

Marvin Williams is in a contract year scrapping and working hard for his teammates. His abilities have led to victories, and he could be elsewhere next year.

Hopefully in the next couple of days!


Same story with Richard Jefferson. He isn't the most popular member of the Jazz, but he is on the team now, so why not enjoy him?

Watch Derrick Favors evolve into an elite player. He is on his way, and now you can watch flashes of greatness.

On his way to being elite? Got a long ways to go!


Take time to enjoy Trey Burke as he fights through his rookie struggles.

Yes, John Lucas III played a lot of minutes early this season. If that is still bothering you, just stop and enjoy what Diante Garrett has done.

It's hard because they are both 3rd string pg's.


There was a time when the Jazz were 0-8 and 1-14. Fans would leave disgusted at a lack of effort and ability, but now the team is playing hard and winning games.

Alec Burks isn't starting, but he is getting minutes and looking really good doing so. Watch him finish at the rim, and marvel about how he is doing it. If he keeps doing what he is doing, think about the future and enjoy the current situation.

I'm not forcing you to like Jefferson or Williams. There are lots of fans who hate coach Tyrone Corbin, and this isn't about stopping that. You many wonder why certain players aren't starting, or why some play so much. It's OK to do so.

The Jazz are going to win some games this year, probably not many, but enjoy them.

The Jazz are going to lose a lot of games still this year, enjoy the growing pains.

The season will be over soon. The home opener against the Houston Rockets seems like a long time ago. April 14 will be the last home game of the season. If things go well this offseason, fans will stream back into EnergySolutions Arena. It will be easy to live to high times again.

However, the future isn't guaranteed. The NBA lottery can do funny things. Players might leave, get injured or just not pan out as expected. In two years, everyone could be gone and the future could be bright, or everyone could still be here and the future could be just as exciting.

No, I can't make you love the players, the system or the lineups. I can't do anything that will make you enjoy the season anymore, but I will suggest one last time that you enjoy what you have. Because we don't know what is waiting around the bend.

[Xiao Yao You]

Aliaga Petkim announced that the team started negotiations with Mike Harris. Sportando

Chinese team didn't make the playoffs?

[Xiao Yao You]

Jody Genessy: Richard Jefferson on D-League experimenting with calling in-game technicals for flopping. "It's stupid. ... Flopping is part of the game." Twitter @DJJazzyJody

Jody Genessy: Richard Jefferson on NBA flopping: "We're not soccer where you're laying on the ground for 15 minutes trying to get a break." Twitter @DJJazzyJody

It shouldn't be part of the game and didn't use to be.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Problem is, the Jazz have no interest in sending Hayward anywhere, a source told Sporting News this week.

[Xiao Yao You]

After the off-season I'm surprised Lindsey made no noise either to go back into full on tank mode or get some more assets.

[Gabi]

He's starting at shooting guard now. No reason they can't keep him even if they draft a small forward. Even with Burks there's plenty of minutes for 3 guys especially with Burks able to play some 1.

Hayward with Wiggins would be better than with Jabari.

[Xiao Yao You]

They need a stretch 4 to replace Marvin. I'm thinking Jabari at the 4 makes the most sense right now. Mormon owners would love to have him. G could be gone.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]In the first half of the game the Jazz were as good as they have been when short-handed this year. They moved the ball. They got open looks. Defensively in the first quarter they were tight. At the half they led 56-48 after having played as well as they could. The Nets had to win this game, though, and that showed in the second half as they stalked the Jazz down and got the win.

Trey Burke had a very good first quarter. He hit a bunch of shots in the first quarter and before tonight he had been shooting 33% in first quarters. He had eight points and really played well. The concern on Burke is his utter lack of free-throw shooting. Over the last 333 minutes he has not shot a free throw off anything other than a technical. That is a really long time. It spans over 11 games. Trey has to find a way to get to the line. He can

[Xiao Yao You]

"There wasn’t a deal that was compelling enough to really alter our direction that we chartered this summer," Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey said.

Might have been if you had opened up a roster space by dumping Clark before the deadline to guarantee his contract. He doesn't look like anything special.


That's not to say the Jazz weren't active in exploring deals. Utah was willing to listen to offers for almost everybody on the roster — and there were varying levels of interest with Jazz players as Lindsey and Kevin O'Connor, executive vice president of basketball operations, did the rounds in bouncing ideas back and forth with other NBA decision-makers.

But nothing came to fruition in the hectic moments before the deadline, as teams hoped for more than the Jazz were willing to let go.

Playing out the season with the same group is perfectly fine for Utah's management, which looks forward to this summer's draft and to the upcoming offseason as this "championship-caliber" rebuilding process continues.

"Kevin and myself and the (front-office) group looked at many different alternatives," Lindsey said. "For present and future purposes, we felt like the best hand for our rebuild was to stand pat, to keep the players that we have, to develop the young players, to keep our draft-asset base intact, and to keep our flexibility in place going into the offseason."

In other words, the Jazz are happy to hang on to their coveted 2014 lottery pick and to keep the Warriors' unprotected first-round selection, possibly also in the lottery, while playing out the season with the group as is.

Interestingly, no first-round picks were traded Thursday, making it all the clearer why Utah was eager to engage in a deal with Golden State last summer to acquire the combined $24 million in expiring contracts of Richard Jefferson, Andris Biedrins and Brandon Rush while picking up two unprotected first-round picks, three second-round selections and cash.

There was plenty of speculation that the Jazz might try to work out a trade or two to get assets out of the expiring contracts on the roster. Jefferson, Marvin Williams, Rush and Biedrins are all in the final year of their deals, as is recently acquired Malcolm Thomas.

Not sure they can trade Thomas?


Utah will head into next offseason with only six players with guaranteed contracts: Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter and Alec Burks (both can sign extensions), Trey Burke, Jeremy Evans and Rudy Gobert.

Shooting guard Gordon Hayward will be a restricted free agent, meaning the Jazz can match any other team’s offer. Utah also has options on John Lucas III, Diante Garrett and Ian Clark.

Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin's contract also expires at the end of the 2013-14 campaign.

Lucas or Diante need to go. Probably Clark too. I'd be surprised if Corbin is back.


Thursday's inactivity sets up what will be an interesting offseason for the Jazz, who were active in multiple trades, including three on draft night, last summer after committing to delve into rebuild mode.

Williams spoke highly of the young group the Jazz will have back.

“I think if you take the young core that they have now, if you give those guys one or two more years, I definitely think they’ll be a contender,” Williams said. “They’ve got a lot of talent. The biggest thing that's hampering us right now is our youth. … You give these guys a little bit more experience, I think the five, six guys they’ve got as a core will be a really good team in the future.”

The Jazz’s starting rookie point guard agrees.

Biggest problem has been pg where they are shorthanded. No excuse for it other than tanking.


“Absolutely. I feel like we’re playing together at a high level right now,” Burke said. “There’s little areas we can continue to improve in. I think definitely that we’re going in the right direction.”

Williams will be a free agent this offseason, but the 27-year-old is hoping to stick around with the younger Jazz cornerstones.

“I think I’ve made it very clear that I enjoy playing here. I’ve loved every second that I’ve been in Salt Lake,” Williams said at Thursday’s practice, which took place before the deadline. “But I do understand the business of the league and sometimes trades do happen. Expiring contracts do get moved a lot during the trade deadline so I understand that as well.”

Williams added that if he wasn’t traded that, “I’ll be really excited about that.”

That's my biggest worry is Marvin getting a big multi year deal


Corbin wasn't available for comment after the deadline passed, but he was looking forward to leaping that hurdle.

"I'm sure the guys (were) thinking about it," he said. "This is a tough time until about 2 o'clock when the deadline's over. You don't know what's going to happen."

Now they'll have to stay tuned until next offseason to find out.

EMAIL: jody@desnews.com

TWITTER: DJJazzyJody

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]The Utah Jazz traveled to Oregon for today

[Gabi]

They need a stretch 4 to replace Marvin. I'm thinking Jabari at the 4 makes the most sense right now. Mormon owners would love to have him. G could be gone.

I do not think it would be wise to use Jabari as a stretch four. If Utah is drafting him they should use him rightfully. I would rather see Jabari then Wiggins in Utah because I like him but if we are strictly looking at who would fit better beside Hayward I am going with Wiggins.

[Xiao Yao You]

I do not think it would be wise to use Jabari as a stretch four. If Utah is drafting him they should use him rightfully. I would rather see Jabari then Wiggins in Utah because I like him but if we are strictly looking at who would fit better beside Hayward I am going with Wiggins.

Haven't seen them play but from what I've read there's a question as to rather Parker is a 3 of a stretch 4. They need to take the best player available regardless and unless they get lucky in the lottery it doesn't look like they'll get either player. Right now it looks like they need a stretch 4 or 3 if Hayward leaves but who knows what will happen with a new coach? New coach might be able to make Kanter/Favors work? Burks has been looking better than Hayward anyway of late.

[Xiao Yao You]

[quote] Strangely, the Jazz didn

[Xiao Yao You]

Li Shuangfu: Sebastian Telfair just dropped 58, a new CBA playoffs record. But his team lost the game. http://t.co/xS30rnzbJv Twitter @LiShuangfu

He's better than Lucas III any day of the week.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Forward Derrick Favors, who has been dealing with a hip injury since mid-January, won

[Xiao Yao You]

Ante Tomic Named Euroleague MVP For Top 16, Round 7
Feb 22, 2014 1:42 PM EST

Ante Tomic has been named Euroleague MVP for Top 16, Round 7.

Tomic set career highs with 24 points and a performance index rating of 36, which was the highest off any player in the competition all week.

Tomic led Barcelona to a 68-80 victory at rival Laboral Kutxa Vitoria by going 8-for-9 from the floor, in addition to nine rebounds plus two assists, two steals and one block in a terrific performance. Victor Khryapa flirted with what would have been the third triple-double in competition history, but had to settle for the week

[Xiao Yao You]

The Atlanta Hawks have signed Dexter Pittman to a 10-day contract while releasing Jared Cunningham.

Cunningham has spent most of the season in the NBA D-League. Pittman has spent the entire season in the D-League.

Cunningham was a first round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

This guy outplayed Clark on the same DLeague team.

[Gabi]

Haven't seen them play but from what I've read there's a question as to rather Parker is a 3 of a stretch 4. They need to take the best player available regardless and unless they get lucky in the lottery it doesn't look like they'll get either player. Right now it looks like they need a stretch 4 or 3 if Hayward leaves but who knows what will happen with a new coach? New coach might be able to make Kanter/Favors work? Burks has been looking better than Hayward anyway of late.

If Utah needs a stretch four Randle is the answer. But if they do get the first pick you go Embiid all the way. Crazy wingspan, height and talent. Kanter with his performance this year is expandable. With that said I do believe he can be better if you surround him with something better than what has been put on the floor this year.

A duo of Favors and Embiid could be interesting, but I would like to see Favors expand his range.

[Xiao Yao You]

If Utah needs a stretch four Randle is the answer. But if they do get the first pick you go Embiid all the way. Crazy wingspan, height and talent. Kanter with his performance this year is expandable. With that said I do believe he can be better if you surround him with something better than what has been put on the floor this year.

A duo of Favors and Embiid could be interesting, but I would like to see Favors expand his range.

Favors might be expendable they get Embliid,

[Xiao Yao You]

The Jazz continue to struggle without Derrick Favors, going 0-9 in games when he’s out with a hip injury that’s been variably described as a “sore lower back”, a “right hip abductor strain”, “right hip inflammation”, or most recently a “right hip sprain”. It’s not clear how Derrick got the injury or injuries. 3

It’s clear, though, that something changes without Favors in the lineup, especially defensively.

They've had problems with anyone out. Just shows their lack of depth and versatility.


Part of it is Enes Kanter’s still developing defensive game. Before the game, Jazz coach Ty Corbin mentioned how Enes Kanter is doing a better job defensively in getting to his spots as the play developed, but still struggled in impacting the play once he was in position, either in help defense or while guarding the post.

But the team is also just missing Favors’ ability to make up for his teammates’ mistakes. As Marvin Williams put it, “He’s an anchor. He’s a great one-on-one defender, he’s also a great help-side defender. Derrick has always been there to save the day. But obviously, when he’s not back there, it’s been difficult.” Without Favors, the Jazz’s perimeter players end up giving up a lot of paint buckets for guards and wing players, perhaps most notably Lillard and Matthews respective 28 and 24 point performances last night in Portland.

3. This game might be an example of a contextual narrative going too far.

Two weeks ago, I asked Ty Corbin about the impact on the All-Star break on his players. Corbin responded that, naturally, giving 100% effort was difficult after playing 50 games in such a short period of time, that the players were tired. After the All-Star break, he said that the players should look much more energized after getting some time off, presumably meaning better performances and smarter play from the team.

Last week, before the trade deadline, I asked Ty Corbin about the impact of the trade deadline on his players. Corbin responded that, naturally, focus was difficult when the possibility of you and your family having to immediately move exists. After the trade deadline, he said that the players should be able to re-focus on their jobs, presumably meaning better performances and smarter play from the team.

Instead, the Jazz now are on a 3 game losing streak after having won three in a row going into the above important dates. The team did fight against the Nets and Trailblazers, though came up short. But tonight against the Timberwolves, the team looked both slow and dull-witted.

Wolves have looked like probably the worst match-up in the league for them.


As Corbin put it, “We talked about some things before the game, taking away the things they’re really good at, transition baskets and scoring in the paint. They got both tonight.” This is now the third time this season that the Jazz have lost by big margins to the Timberwolves because of those two factors. Are these mistakes that a relatively well-rested and focused team should be making?

I’m probably reading too much out of the second game of a back-to-back. But I think that this game shows some of the problems with making too much of a narrative out of the landmarks in the NBA calendar: sometimes the problem isn’t to be placed off the court, but on it. The problem could be matchups, scheme, effort level, or personnel, but we now have 3 really clear points of evidence that something isn’t remotely up to par when the Jazz play the Timberwolves, at least. It may be time to start looking to saviors other than the calendar.

[Xiao Yao You]

Hayward is also trying to become just the second Jazz player to average at least 16 points, five rebounds and five assists in a season. The late, great Pete Maravich did that twice in the 1970s, including in 1976-77 when he averaged 31.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists.

Hayward is averaging 16.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

EMAIL: jody@desnews.com

TWITTER: DJJazzyJody

[East_Stone_Ya]

this just shows how important Favors is right now

[Xiao Yao You]

They've struggled without any of the guys in their rotation.

[Xiao Yao You]

Jazz rookie Rudy Gobert was supposed to bring donuts Monday

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Gordon Hayward, one of Utah

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Center Derrick Favors participated in the shootaround session after missing the past three games with a sprained right hip. He

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]

[Xiao Yao You]

If
the Jazz could trade their top upcoming draft pick and either Gordon Hayward or Enes Kanter for Love this offseason should they do it? What if they had to throw in a future first-round pick as well?

You'd have to certainly consider it depending on where they are drafting. Don't think they can trade the rights to a restricted FA though can they? Probably have to throw in more. Neto, Tomic, Gobert, Evans... Favors would be a better fit defensively next to Love than Pekovic.

[El Kabong]

If

You'd have to certainly consider it depending on where they are drafting. Don't think they can trade the rights to a restricted FA though can they? Probably have to throw in more. Neto, Tomic, Gobert, Evans... Favors would be a better fit defensively next to Love than Pekovic.
It'd have to be one of those "signs an extension when traded" deals. I wouldn't have high hopes of him sticking around otherwise.

[Xiao Yao You]

It'd have to be one of those "signs an extension when traded" deals. I wouldn't have high hopes of him sticking around otherwise.

As I've said I think the best move depending on what the overall price is and what other options are out there to spend their money on is to front load his contract. Overpay him next year when they have the money to do so. Than they have a lot more flexibility moving forward and they keep him around.

[Xiao Yao You]

It is so nice to have Derrick Favors on the floor. Utah moved to 17-9 when playing a full roster. The Jazz’s rim protection tonight was much better than it has been, but the great thing tonight was that Favors was an offensive force. He hit two mid-range jumpers in the third quarter, and also hit a sick baseline turnaround jumper. This shot has not been falling for Favors—he is just 29% from mid-range this season—but if he can start to knock these down he can become a legitimate offensive player as well as a great defensive player.

Big ifs still on both counts.


Favors’ value is real.

The Jazz did a better job of getting out in the open floor and hitting with some early chances tonight.

Marvin Williams had awesome energy, both offensively and on defense.
Hayward plays well with Favors. It’s no surprise that he had 10 assists tonight.

Corbin changed the rotation tonight and didn’t play Brandon Rush. He also played Kanter and Favors together for short spurts on the floor.

Buy out Rush and or Biedrins? Not sure anyone else wants them. Biedrins could certainly help some teams.


Burks is playing super basketball. Tonight he defended Rondo when Burke couldn’t get any stops. Burks has always been a good defender on the ball, particularly on the point guard. He’s getting better and better at getting off picks and staying on the ball. He’s getting better at staying with it for entire possessions. These are very important steps in his development. On the offensive side, not every drive is to the basket. Instead, he is finding people on the drive before it is do-or-die time. He is playing under control in a manner that allows his teammates to know where he is going and play off of him. These are very exciting things for Alec. 20 points a game over the last six games is nice, but these other issue are going to change him from a Jerryd Bayless type who doesn’t help you win to a complete player that helps put Ws on the board.

Bayless helped Memphis win last year.


Jeremy Evans had a career-high four blocks.

Phil Johnson said on the air tonight that Enes Kanter will become a 3-point shooter in the NBA.

I would think so. But he's too good in the post to become another Okur.


Solid win. Phoenix is next and then the road trip.

Posted in Emptying the Noggin

Might not be many more wins this year.

[Xiao Yao You]

http://saltcityhoops.com/gordon-hayward-and-john-lucas-iii-play-tennis-with-john-mcenroe-and-jim-courier/

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]with Kanter at center against the Timberwolves, 1 the Timberwolves got 33 attempts within the restricted area, and made 22 of them. On the other hand, the Celtics got just 22 attempts inside that restricted area, making just 14. That

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Dean Oliver in this brilliant book broke the game down into the 4 Factors, Defensive Effective Field Goal % (it weighs 3 point shooting) DFTA Rate (the amount you put people on the line) DTO% (% of possessions you force a turnover) and DREB% (% of defensive rebounds you get)

Here is how the Jazz have changed over the course of the season

FOUR FACTORS DEFG% DFTA% DTO% DREB%
First 25 games 24th 26th 24th 29th
Last 20 games 9th 16th 30th 13th


In three of the four categories the Jazz have really considerable growth. The 9th in DEFG% over the last 20 games is really exciting. In addition, the Jazz have been notorious for the amount they foul and that has subsided. Finally, the Jazz have moved above average in defensive rebounding despite playing with a stretch 4.

The only area where the Jazz have been inadequate is their lack of forcing turnovers. Ranking 30th doesn

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]The Jazz blew out the short-handed Suns and moved to 18-9 when healthy. Utah played enough defense in the second, third and fourth quarters to make it tough on the Suns, and Phoenix didn

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]By excluding the 14 games to start the year

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE] I

[Xiao Yao You]

center Anderson Varejao (back), Dion Waiters (knee) and C.J. Miles (ankle), who are all questionable against the Jazz.

[Xiao Yao You]

The six-game, nine-day road trip is the longest for the Jazz since 2003, when they had six games in nine days on their pre-Christmas Eastern road trip.

[Xiao Yao You]

Every single Jazzman who saw time sported a positive +/- mark. Conversely, all but one Phoenix player was on the negative side of things, with the last one being even.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Greg Miller on whether the new CBA is helping small market teams stay competitive:

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Jazz CEO Greg Miller on the quiet Jazz trade deadline, and contentment with the team as constructed:

[Xiao Yao You]

Point guard, unquestionably, is the most difficult position for a rookie to learn. So patience has been high with Burke.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Bad night for the Jazz. Bad match-up for the Jazz. Minnesota and Cleveland are similar they are bad fast break defensive teams, who don

[Xiao Yao You]

The Jazz have increased their 3-point shooting, but (as the graph below shows) they have not increased their accuracy. However, even with this drop in shooting percentage, the Jazz are still getting the same amount of points per shot from 2s and 3s. The Jazz are receiving .99 points per shot on 3-pointers and .99 points per shot off their 49.7% 2-pointer shooting.

Jazz 3 pt usageUtah

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Myers, the attempted superhero achieving the physically impossible, went around the league. He called (or text messaged) each team

[Xiao Yao You]

Jazz forward Jeremy Evans sprained his left ankle during the team

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Burke wasn

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]This was as good a game as I can recall this year. It was carried by our 5 youngsters for most of the night. All of them showed what they are capable of doing in this league and all of them made significant errors against a great team and when you do that you pay for it. That is why I loved this game. The kids showed what they can do and at the same time their weaknesses got exposed. Milwaukee can

[Xiao Yao You]

Enes Kanter can score

With his footwork inside and the soft touch on his mid-range jumper, the third-year center from Turkey’s offense is rarely the subject of post-game criticism.

His lack of passing out of double teams has been.


His defense? That’s another story.

But on Sunday night, Kanter’s play against Roy Hibbert, David West and Ian Mahinmi earned praised from his coach and teammates.

"He was really paying attention to details and I thought he got a lot better tonight," Jazz coach Ty Corbin said.

Kanter and Derrick Favors combined to hold Hibbert to just 2 points on 1-of-9 shooting.

"He did a great job," Jazz forward Marvin Williams said. "Enes is a big physical guy. Obviously with West and Hibbert out there, that matchup is not really the best for myself and Jeremy [Evans]. Enes was great. He was locked in from the start of shootaround today and it showed."

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Brandon Rush started his NBA career in Indiana, where he averaged 9 points and 3.5 rebounds and shot 40 percent from 3 over three seasons as a Pacer.

Rush is averaging career lows in points, rebounds and shooting percentage.

Sunday marked the third time in four games he did not play.

So how can he get back to his pre-injury form?

"Just keep getting his confidence and keep working," Corbin said. "He had a tough injury. He took a lot of time off. He

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[QUOTE]Ante Tomic has been named Euroleague MVP for the second straight week.

The All-Euroleague center set three new career highs in leading FC Barcelona to a thrilling 84-89 overtime win in Istanbul over Anadolu Efes in Top 16 Round 8.

Tomic scored a career-best 26 points, making 11 of his 16 two-point attempts. Tomic also had 15 rebounds, another career high, while providing three assists and drawing 7 fouls, which added up to a performance index rating of 40

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[QUOTE]"Ah, man," said Jazz forward Marvin Williams, who watched the final shot from the bench. "He couldn

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The Utah Jazz lost a 94-91 nail-biter to the NBA-leading Indiana Pacers Sunday night, but it was the distribution of playing time that was the real story. For just the second time all season, all five of the “Foundation Five” young players for the Jazz played at least 30 minutes in the same game.

Against Indiana, they even finished the game on the court together in the latter part of the fourth quarter, another extreme rarity.

It was also just the third time since Nov. 21 that Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors both played at least 30 minutes in the same game.

Before any Jazz fans get too excited and start thinking that maybe Jazz leadership was finally beaten with a rational stick, however, there’s evidence that suggests this sudden coherent minute distribution by the coaching staff was merely a misguided attempt to play “matchup basketball,” rather than a true light-bulb moment.

I say that because one of the other two times since Nov. 21 that Kanter and Favors both played at least 30 minutes in the same game was also against Indiana.

The minute distribution for the Jazz this season has largely defied reason.

If you are the Jazz, how do you possibly justify giving Richard Jefferson, an old veteran offseason afterthought acquisition who basically already said he doesn’t want to play for the Jazz next season and who Sports Illustrated named to its “All-Atrocious” team, more minutes than Kanter this season, a player you invested a No. 3 overall draft pick on?

Even if you want to make a highly debatable argument that Jefferson has been more effective than Kanter on the court this season (Kanter has a much better player efficiency rating than Jefferson), it doesn’t matter anyway because that argument is invalid since winning doesn’t benefit the Jazz this season.

It doesn't benefit them because they went into the season looking to lose. But as we've seen they can play with the best teams in the league on any given night. Sad that people think losing is a good thing in any form. All their young players have benefited from being on a competitive team. The reason they've been able to compete this year is because they have been in the rotation(sometimes anyway in Burks case and occasionally in Evans') on competitive teams the past 2 to 3 years. Giving a young guys minutes just because isn't always a good thing. Make them earn their minutes. They will continue to work. Would Enes be better if he'd been playing 40 minutes a game the past two years or learning from Al?


Among Jazz players that have played in at least 40 games and averaged at least 15 minutes per game, Jefferson has the worst player efficiency rating on the team, yet he averages 27 minutes per game – the same as Alec Burks, and more than Kanter, Jeremy Evans and Marvin Williams, all of whom have significantly outperformed Jefferson on the court.

Jefferson’s player efficiency (12.0) is actually a lot closer to Rudy Gobert’s (11.0), the rookie the Jazz sent down to the D-League, than it is to Williams’ (15.1), Kanter’s (15.5), Burks’ (15.6) or Evans’ (18.2).

Not only have the Jazz invested their minutes poorly this season, but they are also now barely hanging on to a top-10 pick in the upcoming draft. That’s called mismanaging your assets on multiple levels.

I'd say they misjudged how good they'd be. A veteran pg to teach Burke the ropes(not a 3rd stringer like Lucas) and they might be looking at the playoffs(not to mention Millsap and Demarre). Considering how young they are that would bode well for the future with or without the high lottery pick.

Washington is a great example of what a difference vets make. They were a mess until they mixed some vets in with the youngsters.

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Ante Tomic has been named Euroleague MVP for the month of February.

Tomic averaged 22.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 29.5 minutes over three February games for Barcelona.

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[QUOTE]So here it was a test. A non-sexy team on the back end of a back-to-back after a tough, physical game against the team with the best record in the NBA. Have you learned how to prepare? Have you learned how to fight through the mental fatigue? Have you found a way to get your mind and body connection going on a

[Xiao Yao You]

Chinese Basketball Association named Lester Hudson as MVP of the 2013/2014 season. He had a terrific year with Xinjiang Flying Tigers averaging 26 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. Sportando

I thought he could have helped the Jazz especially at the beginning of the year when Burke was out. He made more sense than Tinsley with his ability to shoot and defend.

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[QUOTE]Jazz are now 1-22 when Marvin Williams doesn

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[quote]Ty Corbin

Jazz Haven't Discussed New Contract

Mar 07, 2014

12:35 PM EST

Ty Corbin said Friday that he has not discussed a new contract with the Utah Jazz.

Corbin is in the final season of his contract.

"I'll put it off until the end (of season)," Corbin said. ""I

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[QUOTE]Back in October, Lindsey warned that he wouldn

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[QUOTE]Utah Jazz center Andris Biedrins hadn

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http://saltcityhoops.com/derrick-favors-defensive-issues/

I thought Favors had incredible length and strength?

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[QUOTE]

[El Kabong]

Good to hear he's not hapy about it anyway.



And you might never see an NBA court again though I'd think there would be interest in him in the off season. He can rebound and defend.
If he's willing to sign for the minimum then I reckon there'd be more than a few teams who'd sign him.

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If he's willing to sign for the minimum then I reckon there'd be more than a few teams who'd sign him.

Probably. He's done nothing this year so it's hard to say how much guaranteed money anyone wants to throw at him just because he was good before blowing out his knee.

[Xiao Yao You]

Marvin is shooting only 25% from 3-point range over the last seven games.

bench him!

[QUOTE]Gordon Hayward had a slow start and turned it into a strong game with 13 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals. He also had five turnovers.

The Jazz had a miserable time guarding Kyle Korver to start the game. He had Richard trailing him, while Burks went under

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[QUOTE]Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer had really positive things to say about the former Jazzmen before the game, but especially Paul Millsap:

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[QUOTE]With Al Horford having been injured most of the year, Millsap has taken on much of the scoring load and is averaging 13.9 FGA per game, the most in his career. Since his game has expanded and he takes more shots away from the basket than he did earlier in his career, his FG percentage has dropped to 45.8%. Part of the drop in FG% can be explained because he

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[QUOTE]I heard local media guys (owned by the Jazz) chastising Jazz fans that were disturbed by the 26-point loss to one of the worst NBA teams in recent memory; using the logic that if you are cheering for the Jazz to lose this season (to get a better draft pick) then you cannot turn around and make negative comments when they do lose

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[QUOTE]Despite winning only one game on Utah

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[QUOTE]"It

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[QUOTE]There are two levels of NBA success. First, you have to be good enough to take advantage of the other teams weaknesses, either scheme or personnel. Second is you become good enough to dictate the matchup yourself. We

[Xiao Yao You]

[quote]The Jazz actually had more open shots (defined as a shot without a defender within 4 feet) than the Mavericks tonight, 42 to 37. Unfortunately, The Jazz made just 15 of those shots (for just 35% on open shots!), compared to 23 makes for the Mavs (62%). This outweighed the Jazz

[Xiao Yao You]

Former Jazz point guard Devin Harris has enjoyed his new back-up role in the back court. He was a spark off the bench with 12 points, three assists and three rebounds in a mere 20 minutes.

I thought he could have been good in that role with the Jazz. Hated him as a starter.

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With 20 points on Wednesday, Trey Burke became the first Jazz rookie since Karl Malone to score 20-plus points in 10 or more games in his rookie season.

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[QUOTE]With the Jazz, owners of a 23-42 record, firmly in rebuilding mode, attendance

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By Gordon Monson | | Tribune Columnist


[QUOTE]Ten things the Jazz can do in their final 18 games to improve their future

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[QUOTE]Marvin Williams missed practice this morning with a lower back strain. The veteran forward was scheduled to undergo an MRI today to determine his status going forward.

Those results have yet to be released as of about 5 p.m. Thursday [UPDATE: Williams' MRI was rescheduled for Friday morning at 11, meaning his status likely won't be made public until about 90 minutes before tipoff tomorrow], but while we wait it's worth nothing that Williams has had some back issues throughout his career:

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[QUOTE]The statue of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar outside Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles is a frozen portrait of the Hall of Famer

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John Lucas III wore a protective boot on his right ankle Wednesday, after spraining it the day before in practice.

"He tried to block a shot," Corbin said of the 5-foot-11 point guard, before breaking into a laugh with reporters. "We like the hustle. He knew right when he tried to block the shot it wasn

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[QUOTE]In back-to-back losses to Atlanta and Dallas, the Jazz gave up 112 and 108 points.

According to Corbin, however, his team has not regressed on defense. It is just playing faster, resulting in more possessions and more opportunities to score for both teams.

"We want to speed it up and run a little bit more with this group," Corbin explained. "You could slow the game to a crawl, but we want to play a certain way

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When he was a kid, Trey Burke looked up to smaller point guards like Iverson and Chris Paul.

For a while, the much-younger Burke even had a hairstyle similar to Iverson's.

"I had braids when I was younger," Burke admitted. "But, man, I was too tender-headed. My mom would braid my hair and it would hurt too bad, so I ended up starting to get haircuts."

Burke, who grew up to be 6-1, continued to try to emulate some of the 6-foot Iverson's crafty and creative game.

"(Iverson) was a guy that I watched a lot. I think I did imitate him a lot at a young age," Burke said. "He was one of those guys who was just a special player, his size and he was able to score on pretty much anybody."

While his shooting percentage has dipped to 37.1 percent, Burke is working on trying to become more effective at scoring near the basket a la Iverson.

37% is very AI like. :no:

[QUOTE]But it wasn't just Iverson's scoring prowess that impressed Burke.

"He had that competitive nature and that killer instinct," the 21-year-old said. "I think that allowed my love for the game to grow, too, just to see a guy that small

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[QUOTE]I took a look at Enes Kanter

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[QUOTE]For the season Kanter and Favors have played 503 minutes together. In those 503 minutes the Jazz offensive rating is 92.7 points per 100 possessions. This is by far the worst of any of the Jazz 30 most used playing pairs, only 8 are under 100 points per possession. This is a continuation of last season when the Jazz struggled to score with both Kanter and Favors on the floor.

Last year, with Kanter and Favors on the floor the Jazz were great defensively. This season that has not been the case. Instead, the Jazz are allowing 113.4 points per 100 possessions with both of them on the floor. Only the tandems of Kanter and Burks at 114.2 and Kanter and Marvin 116.5 pts per 100 possessions are worse.

Most of these minutes happened early in the season when the Jazz were without Trey and Marvin and were outmatched every night.

Since November 24th when Trey entered the starting line-up Favors and Kanter have played 200 minutes together. In those 200 minutes the Jazz offensive rating is 98.7, an improvement, but the defensive rating is still an abysmal 115.5. This is the second worst defensive pair (Marvin and Kanter are 115.9) of the 60 most used pairs since November 24th.

Over those 200 minutes opponents EFG% has been 53.7 (league average is 50%, team average is 50.7). The Jazz have been a better offensive rebounding team, grabbing 27.7% of the offensive rebounds (team is 24.8%). However, on the defensive glass they team has grabbed 73.6% of the defensive rebounds below the team average of 74.8% Finally, the offense has been very turnover prone, turning it over 16.9% of their possessions, higher than any tandem that doesn

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[QUOTE]there have been a fair share of bright spots for the Utah Jazz. One has been the recent play of point guard Diante Garrett. For a team with a long history of being able to find the proverbial diamonds in the rough through free agency and late draft picks, Garrett represents the latest success.

Trey Burke

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Jazz played a good game tonight. Defensively they held the Clippers the #2 offensive team in the NBA, the #1 team over the last 10 games, a team that has been scoring 115 points a game to 96 points. The Clippers got it going in the 3rd quarter hitting 14 of 18 shots.

Like so many games this year. One quarter did them in. Have a hard time putting 48 minutes together. Which with their pg and depth situation it's not surprising.

[QUOTE]The Jazz lead it 70-60 with 3:30 left in the 3rd and the thought went through my mind that maybe the Jazz could pull this off. It must have crossed the Clippers mind also because they promptly went on a 17 to 2 run. Chris Paul took over the game and the Clippers defense amped it up.

The Jazz don

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[QUOTE]Tyrone Corbin has said that he will make a concerted effort to play Burke, Burks, Hayward, Favors and Kanter together.

For the season the 5 man grouping has played 54 minutes together. That makes them 12th most used 5 man lineup for the Jazz this season. As I documented earlier playing Favors and Kanter together had not yielded positive results which moved Coach Corbin away from using this grouping.

Coach Corbin played the young 5 together for 18 minutes over 4 games in January and got limited results. In the 18 minutes the Jazz were outscored by 44-35. Defensively the group really struggled allowing 123.5 pts per 100 possessions. (League average is 103.7, worst team in the NBA is 108). Offensively, the group had success, scoring at a rate of 110 pts per 100 possessions.

Surprisingly, the group not only didn

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[QUOTE]The Jazz starting line-up of Burke, Hayward, Jefferson, Marvin and Favors have played 526 minutes together. In those 526 minutes the Jazz offensive rating is 107.2 and defensive rating is 106.4. A positive .8 which is very impressive for a team that is 20 games below .500.

If you take Favors out of the line-up and put in Kanter with the same other 4 the offense drops to 103.1 and the defense drops to 113.9 for a -10.8 in 141 minutes.

Despite Derrick

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[QUOTE]The Jazz starting lineup this year of Trey Burke, Richard Jefferson, Gordon Hayward, Marvin Williams and Derrick Favors has been positive over 520 minutes on the floor. This is really surprising for a team that is 22-43. This lineup

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[QUOTE]Clippers coach Doc Rivers wasn

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[QUOTE]Simple Offensive Systems:

Corbin starts off with a win here, though it isn

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[QUOTE]Williams has been dealing with a strained lower back and had an MRI test rescheduled from Thursday to Friday morning. Because the team didn

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[QUOTE]With their size similarity because they play the same position, Burke has long admired Paul

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Centers:

It is obvious why Jazz fans love their big man, Derrick Favors. He comes to play every night and shows no fear regardless of who is on the other side of the ball. Favors scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds, just one shy of a double-double. It is safe to say that Favors is building a strong brand for himself in the league as one of its younger up-and-coming stars.

Grade: B+

Every night? Up and coming star?

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Williams traveled with the Jazz and will be a game-time decision tonight against the Spurs at AT&T Center.

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[QUOTE]The Jazz have been out of the playoff picture for a while.

But now it

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Eric Pincus: Lakers won't catch Bucks/Sixers - so teams are ORL/BOS/UTA/SAC/LAL for 3-7 heading into lottery Twitter @EricPincus

Looking like 3-7

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Maybe the biggest thing we learned is how much better this team is if it can play with some pace. It has to defend and get stops and force turnovers to get that pace, but when these guys are able to get in the open floor, the best of their talents show up. Trey Burke showed a flash of speed I didn

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http://basketball.realgm.com/article/232495/Euroleague-MVP-Race

[QUOTE]3. (-) Ante Tomic - FC Barcelona (10-0)

12.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists in 24 minutes.

First of all, let me remind you that at the beginning of the Top 16 Ante Tomic was nowhere close to this position. Tomic averaged 5.6 points and 3.6 rebounds in January and couldn

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[QUOTE]

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Fourteen non-playoff teams qualify for the annual draft lottery, which will take place May 20. Here are the odds for the top three picks* (with the worst record having the greatest odds and so on):

25.0/21.5/17.8
19.9/18.8/17.1
15.6/15.7/15.6
11.9/12.6/13.3
8.8/9.7/10.7
6.3/7.1/8.1
4.3/4.9/5.8
2.8/3.3/3.9
1.7/2.0/2.4
1.1/1.3/1.6
0.8/0.9/1.2
0.7/0.8/1.0
0.6/0.7/0.9
0.5/0.6/0.7

*Teams can only fall three spots, meaning the worst the No. 1 team could end up with is the No. 4 pick.

EMAIL: jody@desnews.com

TWITTER: DJJazzyJody

Odds aren't that great. Jazz are certainly due as far as getting lucky in the lottery.

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[QUOTE]The Jazz will honor members of the organization

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[QUOTE] the Utah Jazz will participate in the NBA

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The Utah Jazz will have two first-round picks, one that will probably land in the top 10.

Almost a certainty now. Will they finally get their next franchise player is the question?

[QUOTE]In July, Jazz fans will be able to watch them in person.

Instead of traveling to Orlando, Utah will now play its summer-league games in Las Vegas, General Manager Dennis Lindsey told The Tribune. This represents a significant change in thinking. When the Rocky Mountain Revue folded in 2008, Jazz brass vowed not to play in Vegas, blaming its emergence for the RMR

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[QUOTE]His jump shot helped make him a high school star here. It helped land him the scholarship and, eventually, a spot on an NBA roster.

But as Ian Clark returned to his hometown this week, searching for minutes with the Utah Jazz, the rookie guard knows he needs to improve on the part of his game that

[Xiao Yao You]

4. Utah Jazz

Record: 22-47

Last 10: 1-9

Chance of landing a top-three pick: 37.8%

Chance of landing the No. 1 pick: 11.9%

Need to know: The Jazz have five games remaining against bottom 10 teams this year. The Pistons also have five such games on their schedule. No other bottom 10 team has more than four.

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[QUOTE]Marvin Williams was hurt and Enes Kanter started last Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers. Although the team wasn

[Xiao Yao You]

Trey was 2 for 12 going into the final 5 minutes of the game and he went 3 for 3 in the final 5 minutes of the game. The kid is crazy clutch. In the final 5 minutes of games this season he has been unreal. He has hit 30 of 57 from the field and 15 of 26 from 3 plus 100% from the free throw line. The most amazing part of this to me is he does this off games where he is not playing well and making the shots.

Tryone Corbin managed the final portion of the game perfectly. Corbin and Hayward talked as Arron Afflalo was at the line and got what they wanted and then when they stopped the game for a moment Corbin brought the team together for a quick explanation of what they wanted and they got it done. Also the Jazz played for 2 when they should and lengthen the game eventually getting the missed free throw.

Richard Jefferson was awesome in the 1st quarter with 17 points. Must have been fun for him to go back in time.

Let

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But is the win a good thing?

For fans of a team that’s at the bottom of the Western Conference, this becomes the difficult question to answer. Let’s break down the pros and cons:

Pros:

The win probably keeps the team engaged for the remaining 12 games. We don’t know that the Jazz would have turned off had they gone on a losing slide at the end of the year, but it seems possible to likely that they would have. That’s 12 games of lost development.

Winning is more fun. This sounds like a small thing, but Hayward said that tonight’s game was fun! That’s a good thing from a player who has said that playing basketball has seemed “like a job” at times this year. This might mean more practice time, which means developing skills for the players.

It creates more camraderie within the team. Everyone was legitimately excited for Trey Burke’s three, bringing the team together on and off the court. For a team without a leading voice, the collective working together really could help later on (especially defensively).

Cons:

It’s now probably impossible for the Jazz to become the third-worst team in the league. Before the game, Orlando was only 3 games back of Utah. A Magic win would have brought the Magic to within 2 games, with the possibility of another win against the Lakers tomorrow. Now, with a 4 game deficit, the Magic position is probably safe. The 3rd worst team has a 46.9% chance at a top 3 pick, while the 4th worst team has a 37.8% chance.

The Lakers now have one fewer win than the Jazz, though are technically tied due to their one fewer loss. This win pushes the Jazz into a three-way tie for 4th, making it more likely the Jazz finish with the league’s 6th worst record, which only has a 21.5% chance at a top 3 pick.

It probably also makes it somewhat less likely that Jazz youngsters and friends Ian Clark and Rudy Gobert see minutes moving forward. Tonight, the Jazz used an 8 man rotation, completely eschewing Jeremy Evans, Clark, Gobert, Brandon Rush, and Malcolm Thomas in favor of Marvin Williams, Diante Garrett, and John Lucas III. A win probably makes it less likely that Corbin will turn to the young bench players for relief, instead seeking the “magic” of tonight’s win.

Evans deserves to lay. **** Marvin! Clark, Gobert and Thomas could be in the Dleague.


So… was a win worth it? You decide.

3. The Jazz is a better team than the Magic are.

That sentence above uses each team’s preferred grammatical plurality. That is to say, the Jazz’s PR department says that the Jazz are correctly referred to as a singular entity, while the Magic believe themselves to be a plural collection of players2. There’s some evidence for both sides’ opinion (see this article, for example), but ultimately it seems as if most media entities have agreed to go with referring to the Jazz in the plural. This means some out-of-place looking statements from the official Jazz accounts when using the singular. That being said, the singular/plural debate is apparently one of intense debate inside Jazz offices.

Salt City Hoops has chosen to align with other media sources, referring to the Jazz in the plural. This is largely because it seems more natural to me, and I would be terrible at editing it in the opposite direction.

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[QUOTE]Coach Ty Corbin said as much Saturday night. He doesn

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[QUOTE]it was that Rich Kelley, Thurl Bailey and Jerry Eaves joined Griffith, Eaton and coaches Frank Layden and Phil Johnson in Saturday

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[QUOTE]Layden, who was also the general manager at the time, fondly recalled how things came together for that special season.

He had saved Green from Billings, Mont., and the CBA a couple of years before only to enjoy

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Player development coaches Alex Jensen and Johnnie Bryant work with players every day before practice, and Sunday was no different.

Well, except the part where Jensen left the court with a bloodied nose.

While working with the big men, Jensen got popped in the nose on accident by Kanter. The coach left momentarily, got the bleeding to stop by stuffing tissue in his nose, and returned after joking about getting revenge.

A smiling Kanter met the returning Jensen at half court and embraced him with a friendly hug before they got back to work. Told about it, Corbin joked that physical play is what he likes to see from his big men.

EMAIL: jody@desnews.com

TWITTER: DJJazzyJody

Might be the other way around in workouts with the Mailman.

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[QUOTE]Even though 12 games remain in his rookie campaign, Burke has already begun to map out a plan for his summer work.

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Noah Vonleh will leave Indiana to declare for the 2014 NBA Draft.

"It's going to suck leaving college without an NCAA Tournament," Vonleh said. "But I have to do what's best for me."

"I've heard the fourth pick to the 12th pick is wide open," Vonleh said. "[I think I'll be selected] anywhere in that range."

DraftExpress.com has Vonleh going seventh overall.

Vonleh averaged 11.3 points and 9.0 rebounds for the Hoosiers.

Looks like he'll be a guy the Jazz will be working out. Sounds a bit like Favors with range. The stretch big to replace Marvin? 7'4" wingspan. rebounds.

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North Carolina State sophomore T.J. Warren has decided to enter the June NBA draft, sources told Yahoo Sports. Warren reached the decision with his family on Sunday and had been expected to inform the N.C. State coaching staff of his decision early this week, sources told Yahoo Sports. A formal announcement is expected to come soon. Warren, a 6-foot-8 forward, had 28 points in N.C. State's NCAA tournament loss to Saint Louis last week. He's considered one of the best pure scorers in the draft class, averaging 24.9 points and shooting 52 percent from the floor.

Yahoo! Sports

Sounds like someone they could look at too though he's at 18 on draft express in between where the Jazz will pick at the moment. They need shooting and he's another stretch 4 candiate though he didn't shoot very good from 3.

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Saric hasn't officially announced anything, but multiple sources say that he has an agreement in principle with Efes Pilson that will pay him $8.27 million over the next three years. There's no word yet on what the NBA buyout looks like, but he for sure won't be able to come to the NBA next season and sources say it's highly unlikely he'll even declare for this year's draft.

ESPN.com

Looks like he might be off the radar. Wouldn't he make more than that as a top 10 pick?

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LaQuinton Ross Leaves Ohio State For NBA Draft

Mar 24, 2014 | Jeff Goodman/ESPN

LaQuinton Ross averaged 15.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a junior.

Might look at him as G's possible replacement. Shot pretty good from 3. Can score. 7'1 wingspan! late 2nd round projection. Jazz just have their own 2nd rounder at the moment but after last year who knows what picks they will end up with on draft day.

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Sophomore forward JaKarr Sampson, the second-leading scorer on St. John's, has decided to forgo the remainder of his collegiate eligibility and enter the NBA draft. Red Storm coach Steve Lavin said Monday that the 6-foot-9 Sampson has not hired an agent but is in the process. The early entry deadline is April 27.

Sun Herald

Looks like he may not even get drafted

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[QUOTE]The league

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Shams Charania: French prospect Mouhammadou Jaiteh, 19, will declare for the NBA draft and gauge feedback to frame decision to stay, source tells RealGM. Twitter @ShamsCharania

Big and long. late 2nd round projection. Someone to stash possibly.

[Xiao Yao You]

Artem Klimenko will enter his name in the 2014 NBA Draft, his US agent told Sportando. The 7-foot rhe Russian big man born in 1994 is averaging 15.1 points and 7.1 rebounds in 24 games with Avtodor. Sportando

Thin. Looks like a non draftee.

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Jeff Goodman: Georgia State coach Ron Hunter told me that his son, sophomore guard R.J. Hunter, will return next season. Underrated draft prospect. Twitter -

projected mid 2nd rounder next year

[Xiao Yao You]

First Team All ACC guard Marcus Paige announced on twitter Monday that he will return to UNC for his junior season. Paige's first tweet put Sunday's round of 32 lost Iowa State to bed and looked forward to next season: "Time to move on and focus on improving this offseason. Next year has a chance to be special!" CarolinaBlue - 247Sports

early 2nd next year

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]One continual issue for the Jazz: making uncontested shots. The Jazz were awful while not being guarded tonight, shooting a remarkable 29.5% without a defender within 4 feet. This killed them against the pack-the-paint Pistons. It

[Xiao Yao You]

The Jazz defense has been on a steady decline for the month of March and this was the nadir. The Pistons came in 27th offensively over the last 10 games, they were 27th in FG%, they had been shooting 31% from the three point line and tonight they shot 55%, 53% from three scored 114 points. Crazy

Jazz were +1 with Kanter and Favors on the floor together tonight in 19 minutes and -21 the rest of the game. The Jazz shot 15-for-34 (and 5-for-15 from 3-point range) with Kanter and Favors on the floor tonight.

Seeing potential there finally but it was against two other young bigs.


We talked all night on the broadcast about how bad the Pistons are with both bigs on the floor and how good they are with one of the two on the floor. Tonight this proved true as well. In the 17 minutes Drummond and Monroe were together, the Pistons were -5. In the other 31 minutes they were +25.

Sounds like the same issues as the Jazz. Might just be the game has changed and it's hard to play two bigs together anymore.


The Jazz had no fast-break points until the 4:20 mark of the third quarter.

ridiculous

[QUOTE]Gordon Hayward was the bright spot with 32 points and six assists tonight.
The Jazz were 13-for-44 (29.5%) on uncontested shots tonight. The Pistons were 22-for-42 (52.3%) on uncontested looks. That is a minimum of 18 points in a 20-point game.

Marvin can

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Playoffs aren

[Xiao Yao You]

The Jazz again played without their bench spark plug as sixth man Alec Burks missed his second game with a sprained left ankle. The good news there is that Burks was able to do some running Monday morning, giving Corbin hope that he

[Xiao Yao You]

"I mean, who you gonna play him in front of?" Jazz coach Ty Corbin asked a reporter when the question of Gobert

[Xiao Yao You]

The biggest problem comes on the offensive side. Corbin said the young player is learning the importance of timing and how essential it is for him to get proper position on pick-and-rolls, in the post, and during other plays the Jazz run.

[Xiao Yao You]

This is a forgiving, appreciative sports market, but Utahns never should have to endure another season like this one.

It's what the majority of the fan base wants.

There

[Xiao Yao You]

Wednesday, on John Stockton’s 52nd birthday, rookie point guard Trey Burke reflected back on some of the lessons he learned spending time with the Jazz legend this summer.

"He taught me a lot," Burke said. "I think the main thing is just staying the course. He told me his rookie year he didn’t have the type of year he wanted, or he wasn’t playing as much as he maybe thought he could have. I always think about that. He told me you’re going to face adversity. You just have to learn how to get through it and continue to learn from your mistakes."

afalk@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribjazz

He should have been starting and Rickey should have been traded when his value was high. Instead they lost him for nothing in the expansion draft.

Let's hope you will visit John again this summer. You need it.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]The Utah Jazz will be without shooting guard Alec Burks tonight against Memphis, the team announced after Wednesday morning

[Xiao Yao You]

TSD's Ben Love has the latest on Jarell Martin's future plans, per a source close to the player. Come inside for an update on LSU's All-SEC Freshman performer. LSU freshman Jarell Martin still plans to return for his sophomore season, but he will seek an evaluation from the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee, a source close to the player confirmed to TSD. According to the source, Martin, a member of the All-SEC Freshman Team, aims to "see where he stands and what the NBA has to say about him." Scout.com

Looks like another stretch 4. Got him as a 1st rounder next year. Needs to put on some weight.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Kansas star Joel Embiid

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Jeff Goodman: Syracuse freshman Tyler Ennis will leave for NBA, sources told ESPN.

Twitter

Syracuse freshman guard Tyler Ennis has announced his intention to put his name in the 2014 NBA Draft. "I'd like to thank Coach Boeheim, the coaching staff, my teammates and the amazing fans of Syracuse for the opportunity to play at a great university like Syracuse," said Ennis. "I feel this experience has helped prepare me to fulfill my lifelong dream

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]UCLA sophomore guard Kyle Anderson will declare for the NBA Draft, his father has told SNY.tv. Following UCLA

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]

[Xiao Yao You]

Enes Kanter is on a tear when it comes to rebounding. Against Memphis, he grabbed 10 boards in the first half and ultimately tied a career-high with 15. This marked the 13th consecutive game where the Turkish big man had eight or more rebounds.

Been waiting for it after the way he dominated the glass as a rookie.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Guard Alec Burks missed his third straight game with a left ankle sprain. The foot was initially sprained when he stepped on a teammate

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Kanter played 39 minutes tonight. Jazz are 3-24 when he plays 30 minutes this year and 7-36 when he plays more than 25. It doesn

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]This summer, a value for Williams

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]LaQuinton Ross, a junior on the Ohio State men

[Xiao Yao You]

Aaron Falk: Rush says he's still not 100% and expects he'll have to work out for teams this summer, but said he's looking forward to the opportunity

Twitter @tribjazz

I would hope you're not 100% because you have sucked!

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]UCLA freshman Zach LaVine is officially one-and-done. The 6-foot-5 guard will forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the NBA draft, his father Paul told the Los Angeles Daily News. After averaging 9.4 points for the Bruins in an uneven season, LaVine is still projected to be a potential first-round pick due to his athleticism and high ceiling. Los Angeles Daily News

Paul LaVine said he

[Xiao Yao You]

Xavier's Semaj Christon is heading to the NBA. The Musketeers sophomore guard, who led the team in scoring this past season, told ESPN.com he will forgo his final two seasons of college eligibility and declare for the NBA draft. "It's been my lifelong dream of playing in the NBA. Xavier has been a great experience, but now it's time for me to move onto a different chapter in my life for me and my family," Christon said.

ESPN.com

The 6-foot-2 Christon is considered a fringe first-round pick, according to multiple NBA sources.

ESPN.com

maybe in play for the Jazz's early 2nd rounder

[Xiao Yao You]

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Alec Burks admitted Friday that he

[Xiao Yao You]

Jody Genessy: Jazz C Andris Biedrins remains out with shoulder tendinitis. Twitter @DJJazzyJody

Like we'd even notice!

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]In a 2013-14 campaign filled with disappointment, the 24-year-old says he

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]BREAKDOWN

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Falling somewhere between the two categories, as many elements of Utah

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]The Jazz have been without second-leading scorer Alec Burks for the past week, but he could suit up Sunday after missing four consecutive contests with a sprained left ankle.

Burks practiced Saturday in New Orleans before the team flew out to OKC. He

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Hayward believes he has what it takes to be a No. 1 option

[Xiao Yao You]

Andrew Wiggins will announce he's leaving Kansas after one season for the NBA at a news conference on Monday afternoon, sources told ESPN.com. The school released a statement that the 6-foot-8 freshman from Canada will make an announcement Monday at 3 p.m. ET. ESPN.com

He should be the #1 or two guy on the Jazz's list now. Just have to get lucky in the lottery.

[Xiao Yao You]

Enes Kanter is 14 of his last 44 (32%) from outside 15 feet over the last 20 games. Over the last 10 games he just 5 of 23 (22%). This correlates to his increased time on the floor and the larger burden he is playing under.

Maybe he's just a bench guy after all?


March has been a disaster defensively for this team. The numbers are glaring 51 % shooting, 45% from 3 and 105 points per game. The Jazz have allowed 114 points per 100 possessions defensively up from 106 in Feburary. The interesting item is they started forcing turnovers again simultaneously to the defensive collapse. The defense ranked 29th in March, the FG% defense was 29th and the 3pt% defense was 30th.

If Corbin hasn't lost his job yet I imagine this will be his undoing.

[QUOTE] Why is not as clear. Is it an increase in Kanter and Favors together, is it guys being asked to do more than they have ever done before and just being worn out, is it the veterans being asked to do too much and they were the anchor and they are out of gas, it is playing better teams that are not taking nights off any more, is it systematic, is it a rookie point guard, is it the losing? It is probably all of it coupled into a complete ball of development year wax and this is how it turns out.

I really don

[Xiao Yao You]

Meanwhile, seldom-used players like Rudy Gobert, Ian Clark, Brandon Rush, Malcolm Thomas and John Lucas III continue to wait for rare opportunities.

Biedrins? Again if they wanted their young guys playing they'd be in the D-League. Could have sent Rush down there on a rehab assignment to get him going for that matter.

[QUOTE]Utah players

[Xiao Yao You]

Missouri guard Jordan Clarkson is heading to the NBA, sources told ESPN.com. ESPN.com

Most NBA executives told ESPN.com that Clarkson is considered a late first-round pick. He's a big, athletic guard who they project to be able to play either backcourt spot. ESPN.com


combo guard might make some sense

[Xiao Yao You]

Adrian Wojnarowski: 7-foot Shayne Whittington, who led Western Mich. to NCAA's, has signed w/ agents Ronald Shade and Herb Rudoy. Whittington averaged 16 and 9.

Twitter @WojYahooNBA

Adam Zagoria: Duke's Rodney Hood will declare for the NBA Draft, sources told @SNYtv. Announcement may take a few days.

Twitter

Don't see a ranking for the big. Hood appears to be ranked between the Jazz's picks. SF could be on their radar.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]David 'Dubi' Pick: Predrag Saric, father for Croatian prospect Dario Saric: "My son isn't ready for the NBA (won't enter draft?)": m.24sata.hr/#kosarka/tata-

[Xiao Yao You]

LSU basketball star Johnny O'Bryant III will announce he's entering the NBA Draft Tuesday, according to O'Bryant's high school coach from Mississippi who talked to a Greenville TV station Monday night. Leroy Cotton told WXVT that O'Braynt spent the weekend in Mississippi with his family and has decided to forgo his senior year with the Tigers. LSU sources close to the program could not confirm the report for WAFB, but LSU has scheduled a player announcement at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

WAFB 9 News

Looks like a mid 2nd

[Xiao Yao You]

Darren Heitner: Source: Gary Harris (Michigan State) signing w/Aaron Mintz of CAA

Twitter

mid first

[Xiao Yao You]

Mizzou Basketball junior guard Jabari Brown, a First Team All-Southeastern Conference selection and 1,000-point scorer, has announced he will enter his name into the 2014 NBA Draft. The decision by Brown makes the Oakland, Calif., native eligible for feedback from the Association office and gives him the opportunity to sign with an agent or return to Missouri for his senior season. Underclassmen have until April 15 to withdraw their name from consideration and retain collegiate eligibility. "This was a step I needed to take in order to make the most educated decision possible with regards to my NBA opportunities," Jabari Brown said. "My time here at Mizzou has been incredible. This is a special place and a second home for me. However, I must approach this looking at the bigger picture. This is a decision that impacts my family as well and that is most important to me."

University of Missouri Official Athletic Site

Mid 2nd. Undersized sg.

[Xiao Yao You]

Los Angeles D-Fenders: OFFICIAL: The Los Angeles D-Fenders have acquired Elijah Millsap, he avg 18.4 p, 6.2 r & 3.4 a in 2 seasons with LA pic.twitter.com/dvBIzvCNab

Twitter

I wouldn't mind seeing him in Summer League/Fall camp. He's a fringe guy. If he has half of the heart of his brother he'd be worth a look. Certainly better than the other brother they've had in camp.

[Xiao Yao You]

Q: Could Dante Exum work as 2 alongside somebody like MCW at the next level? Chad Ford: Yes, he can play both positions. But I know he really wants to be a NBA point guard and I don't think teams that have a young point guard will get a visit from Exum for workouts. I can't see his agent, Rob Pelinka, sending him to Philly for example. That obviously doesn't preclude the Sixers from taking him, but given how little teams really know about the kid, it could scare them away. I think he'd really like to play for the Lakers.

ESPN.com

So he won't be working out for the Jazz. They'd have to take him or Smart if they are the best player available. Both are considered better prospects than Burke and could play together. Burke has been playing off the ball much of the season anyway.

[Xiao Yao You]

Frank Isola: Hawks GM Danny Ferry confirmed what I and a few others have said; they don't want to make playoffs. That's nice.

Twitter @FisolaNYDN

That should be a heavy fine/suspension. It's ridiculous!

[Xiao Yao You]

Ante Tomic Named Euroleague Player Of The Month For March
Apr 01, 2014 | RealGM Staff Report
Ante Tomic had averages of 21 in performance rating, third-best among all Euroleague players, 14 points (ninth-best) and 8 rebounds (fourth-best).

[Xiao Yao You]

University of North Carolina junior forward James Michael McAdoo will forego his senior year of college basketball eligibility and enter the 2014 NBA Draft. The Norfolk, Va., native scored 1,232 points and pulled down 640 rebounds in 108 games as a Tar Heel. He averaged 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds, including 14.3 points and 7.0 rebounds in two seasons as a starter. He earned second-team All-ACC honors as a sophomore and junior. This season, McAdoo averaged 14.2 points and 6.8 boards in leading UNC to a 24-10 record, a tie for third place in the ACC regular-season standings and the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

University of North Carolina Athletic Site

Late 2nd

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Pau Gasol might have played his last game in a Lakers uniform. The team is leaning toward sitting him for its final seven games while he recovers from a severe recurrence of vertigo. He won't play Friday against Dallas after dizziness kept him confined at the team hotel Wednesday while the Lakers played Sacramento. He flew back on the team charter that night after missing a fifth game because of the illness.

Los Angeles Times

Xavier Henry is not expected to return this season after being slowed by wrist and knee injuries. He averaged 10 points in 43 games.

Los Angeles Times


tank! :no:

[Xiao Yao You]

Spencer Checketts: Trey Burke on Salt Lake City and playing for the Jazz: "I love it here. I plan on staying here for as long as they'll let me."

Twitter

[Xiao Yao You]

Burke has started 61 straight games since taking over the starting point guard duties in a Nov. 24 game at Oklahoma City.

He should have been coming off the bench behind a proven NBA starter.

[QUOTE]His field goal shooting has been a disappointment

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Some folks have wondered why the Jazz, with nothing really to play for right now, don

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]One player

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Utah

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http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865600102/Utah-Jazz-Jazz-GM-Dennis-Lindsey-says-ex-Ute-Alex-Jensen-has-a-bright-future-in-the-NBA.html

Looks like he might at least get an interview for the head job.

[Xiao Yao You]

http://www.slcdunk.com/nba-free-agency/2014/4/3/5579290/nba-free-agency-2014-gordon-hayward-utah-jazz-max-deal-coach-nick

Bye bye G! Only way I overpay him if it is front loaded and they overpay him just next season when they have the money to do so. After that they will have to pay Burks and possibly Kanter.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]In the last 5 games, Jeremy Evans has played just 21 minutes in non-garbage time, a stark decrease from earlier in the season in which he was, at times, the Jazz

[El Kabong]

http://www.slcdunk.com/nba-free-agency/2014/4/3/5579290/nba-free-agency-2014-gordon-hayward-utah-jazz-max-deal-coach-nick

Bye bye G! Only way I overpay him if it is front loaded and they overpay him just next season when they have the money to do so. After that they will have to pay Burks and possibly Kanter.
You knew it'd be coming.

[Xiao Yao You]

I'm not convinced anyone is going to make him one of the top 20 paid players in the league especially after the year he has had in a bigger role. I do expect him to get overpaid. Limit it to just next year and keep him and I'll be happy. Matching a max contract after AK would be hard to take though especially if they draft Wiggins or Parker.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOte]New Orleans star Anthony Davis (back spasms) participated in the team

[Xiao Yao You]

UNLV men's basketball junior forward Roscoe Smith intends to hire an agent and declare for the 2014 NBA Draft, head coach Dave Rice said Friday. Smith, who will forgo his senior year of eligibility, led the Mountain West and was sixth in the nation in rebounding with 10.9 rpg during the 2013-14 season. He also averaged 11.1 ppg for the Rebels, recording 16 double-doubles (10th in the country).

MyNews3.com

early 2nd

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Marc Stein: Utah Jazz, I'm told, are waiving Andris Biedrins to make roster room for claiming Erik Murphy off waivers Twitter @ESPNSteinLine

Marc Stein: Because Biedrins was on an NBA roster on March 1, he is NOT eligible to appear in the playoffs with another team Twitter @ESPNSteinLine

The Utah Jazz claimed forward Erik Murphy on waivers Saturday, league sources told Yahoo Sports. The Chicago Bulls released Murphy on Thursday, choosing to use his roster spot for a perimeter player to bolster the Bulls for a playoff run. Yahoo! Sports

Nice. Biedrins wasn't playing anyway and obviously isn't part of their future. Another move the ol GM would n't have made. "We don't pay guys to not play " was the reason for not eating Raja's contract.

Could probably do it with Rush as well though maybe they think he could be part of the team next year?

[Xiao Yao You]

The Bulls' plan to add at least Mike James and likely Ronnie Brewer and possibly a third player remains on track. These prorated veteran-minimum salaries have been factored into the Bulls' luxury-tax situation. Beyond the front-office ramifications, genuine happiness prevailed. "I'm so happy for him because he works way too hard not to be in the league," Taj Gibson said. "Being a rookie on this team is tough sometimes. You really have to be patient."

Chicago Tribune

Beyond the well-liked rookie staying in the NBA, Murphy's cap number of $490,180 comes off the Bulls' books. That would keep the Bulls out of the luxury tax even if Joakim Noah makes first-team All-NBA and earns a $500,000 bonus. Even if other performance bonuses are met, the Bulls should be clear. As reported, if the Bulls are slightly north of the luxury-tax threshold, they have plans in place to avoid the repeater tax.

Chicago Tribune

Aaron Falk: Dennis Lindsey: "Big guys who can step out and shoot can be complementary to our group. And Erik is a super shooter."

Twitter @tribjazz

Could be a guy in play for time next to Favors or Gobert in the future. Kanter staying even more up in the air. Wouldn't mind having Brewer back if they have a big guy that can shoot actually.

[Xiao Yao You]

This year with Marvin on the floor Favors shoots an efg% of 53, but with Kanter on and Marvin off he shoots 45.6%. The floor has spacing the ball moves better and Derrick doesn

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]the Jazz went with an ultra-small Diante Garrett/Ian Clark/Alec Burks/Marvin Williams/Jeremy Evans lineup for 5 minutes and 15 seconds. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that lineup scored just 4 points while it was out1. But the Pelicans weren

[Xiao Yao You]

Born in Lyon, France, Murphy is the son of former NBA forward Jay Murphy (1984-88) and Finland national team player Paivi Murphy, and holds dual U.S. and Finnish citizenship. He will wear jersey No. 33 for the Jazz.

Biedrins, a 7-foot, 250-pound center from Latvia, appeared in just six games this season for Utah after being acquired from Golden State as part of a three-team deal that also brought Richard Jefferson and Brandon Rush to the Jazz last summer. Biedrins averaged 0.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 7.4 minutes per game for Utah.

His mom played too! He might be the 3rd best Fin to play in Utah. BYU's best player one year was Timo Saraalein(sp?) and Mottloa(sp?) for the Utes played for a couple year in the the NBA.

Sounds like other teams wanted him too. Another young guy to throw into the mix for the off season.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Alec Burks turned in his customary spark plug performance off the bench, and he and Gordon Hayward combined to hit 24 of 26 free throws

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]When an offseason trade landed him in Salt Lake City, Jefferson had just one simple goal:

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Burke said that losing can become a bad habit that

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Utah

[Xiao Yao You]

April 14 is going to be a big day.

That's when Boston travels to Philly, and the Jazz host the Lakers.

Might be meaningless by than? Looks like it might be the only other Jazz victory this year if they get it.

[QUOTE]So what happened last night?

The Jazz squeaked out a win, but it wasn't easy. Utah held a 10-point lead with just over three minutes to play and nearly let it slip away down the stretch.

A key moment came in the second quarter, when Pelicans star Anthony Davis blocked Derrick Favors. In the chase for the loose ball, Favors and Davis both went into the front row and Davis, who has been dealing with back spasms, came up looking worse for it.

Davis would sit the entire third quarter.

"I just took him out," coach Monty Williams said. "At some point, you look at a guy and he wanted to play, and I just said no. We

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]During a visit to Salt Lake City last month, Diante Garrett

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]after a summer of rest and work with a biomechanics specialist, Jefferson saw sudden improvement in his back and a return of some of the lift that made him one of the league

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]His bosses will never say Corbin

[Xiao Yao You]

Biedrins' time in Utah was always going to be limited. He was in the last year of a contract and hadn't been able to make an impact on the floor in quite a while before he was traded to the Jazz, as salary cap in a deal essentially for a draft pick.

I think there was hope. He can rebound and defend and is young enough to turn things around offensively and be part of something. Getting hurt to start the year and than having Kanter take his back-up spot off the bench was bad luck for him.

[QUOTE]His line for the season: six games, 45 minutes, 17 rebounds, two turnovers and three points. He hit the only field goal he attempted and went 1-for-6 from the line.

"I don

[Xiao Yao You]

Jazz To Make Decision On Tyrone Corbin By End Of April
Apr 07, 2014 1:57 PM EDT

The Utah Jazz are expected to make a decision about the future of Tyrone Corbin and his coaching staff by the end of April.

Corbin and his assistants all have contracts that expire on June 30.

Corbin took over for Jerry Sloan in February of 2011.

I'd expect it within days of the end of the season. I'm sure they've already decided his fate. They'll make it official after all the exit interviews are done. Hopefully the new coach will be chosen by draft day though some of the candidates may still be in the playoffs.

[Xiao Yao You]

After a tumultuous sophomore season, Oklahoma State star Marcus Smart has decided to enter the NBA draft. Smart spurned the NBA after his freshman year to return to a Cowboys team that was expected to be among the nation's best, but injuries and controversy marred Smart's return. ESPN.com

Emiliano Carchia: Marcus Smart announces that he has signed with the Wasserman Group Twitter @sportando

Could be everything Burke wasn't?

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]The rookie

[Xiao Yao You]

[quote]The ball is inbounded at the end of a period and the player heaves a three-quarter court shot

[Xiao Yao You]

Missing open shots

The Jazz have the sixth-worst offense in the NBA this season, but coach Ty Corbin said he has been encouraged by the team

[Xiao Yao You]

B[QUOTE]iedrins played only six games this season

[Xiao Yao You]

Marvin Williams did not practice Monday because of knee inflammation. He will be a game-time decision against Dallas. ... Alec Burks went 14-for-16 from the free-throw line against Golden State and finished with 24 points. "That is just how I play," he said. "I play aggressive and I attack a lot. That is how I have been playing all of my life. I

[Xiao Yao You]

Gordon Hayward is set to make franchise history.

No, he didn't get the new fastest time for a Zerg rush 2 vs 2 victory in Starcraft (that record still held by Greg Ostertag who thought he was filling out his taxes online). But he looks to be the first Jazzman since Pistol Pete Maravich to finish the season averaging at least 15.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, and 1.5 spg. And if Hayward, currently averaging 16.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.2 apg, and 1.5 spg, does finish the season he would join an elite 55 person club. And in doing so, be the first person to do it for the Utah Jazz. (Pistol did it with New Orleans).

Assuming Gordon does it (if he plays the next 5 games that means he'll need 75 more points, 25 more rebounds, 25 more assists, and 8 steals) he'll be in very special company indeed:

Player # Player # Player #
1 Magic Johnson 12 11 Jason Kidd 5 21 Antoine Walker 2
2 Larry Bird 11 12 Michael Ray Richardson 5 22 Chris Mullin 2
3 LeBron James 11 13 Rick Barry 5 23 Chris Paul 2
4 Clyde Drexler 11 14 Alvin Robertson 4 24 Chris Webber 2
5 Michael Jordan 9 15 Lafayette Lever 4 25 Jamal Mashburn 2
6 Scottie Pippen 9 16 Andre Iguodala 3 26 John Havlicek 2
7 Kobe Bryant 8 17 Anfernee Hardaway 3 27 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 2
8 Grant Hill 6 18 Dwyane Wade 3 28 Pete Maravich 2
9 Steve Francis 6 19 Kevin Garnett 3 29 Randy Smith 2
10 Tracy McGrady 6 20 Walt Frazier 3 30 Ron Harper 2
Player # Player # Player #
31 Russell Westbrook 2 41 Jeff Hornacek 1 51 Rod Strickland 1
32 Alex English 1 42 Jeff Ruland 1 52 Sidney Moncrief 1
33 Alvin Adams 1 43 Kevin Durant 1 53 Stephen Jackson 1
34 Anthony Mason 1 44 Lamar Odom 1 54 Toni Kukoc 1
35 Bill Walton 1 45 Michael Carter-Williams 1 55 Tyreke Evans 1
36 Billy Cunningham 1 46 Michael Finley 1 56 Vince Carter 1
37 Charles Barkley 1 47 Mookie Blaylock 1
38 Detlef Schremph 1 48 Paul Pierce 1
39 Gary Payton 1 49 Paul Pressey 1
40 Gordon Hayward 1 50 Ray Williams 1

Thanks for having a great season Gordon, and while it was a series of ups and downs, you are on the verge of making history.

And I keep reading how terrible he is! :lol

[Xiao Yao You]

When Rudy Gobert sprinted the floor in the fourth quarter, it was evident. A player sprinting the floor should not stand out.

Warriors EFG% was 67%.

Marvin is just not the player he was before March 1.

Five more to go.

Posted in Emptying the Noggin

Hopefully they are done with Marvin. They've signed two 5's yo stretch the floor now.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Murphy coming to Utah is a win-win for the Bulls and the Jazz. Because the Jazz claimed Murphy off waivers, the Bulls aren

[Xiao Yao You]

Arizona State associate head coach Eric Musselman is leaving the program to pursue other opportunities. A former NBA head coach, Musselman spent the past two seasons on Herb Sendek's staff to learn the college game. Musselman wants to become a head coach again and has been mentioned as a candidate for a few jobs in recent weeks. The Wichita Eagle

I'd love to see him at least get an interview. He did a great job in GS before the players pushed him out. He's a defensive coach like his dad was.

[Xiao Yao You]

T.J. Warren, the 2014 ACC Player of the Year and one of college basketball's top scorers, has announced he will enter the NBA Draft. "I would like to thank my coaches and teammates at NC State for allowing me to compete for this great university. It's been a fun ride the last few years. I've had some great experiences and now I feel I'm ready to play at the next level. Playing in the NBA has been a lifelong dream of mine and playing at NC State has prepared me well to achieve my dream." NC State University

mid first. Looks like he could play some stretch 4 eventually. He shoots 3's but not very good.


Chris Haynes: Per source, Kentucky F Julius Randle selected George Bass for player representation. Washington G C.J. Wilcox going with Aaron Mintz of CAA. Twitter @ChrisBHaynes

Wilcox is a local kid that could be in play for their early 2nd.


Sam Amick: From the draft ranks: Baylor's Cory Jefferson has signed with agents Mike Silverman and Brandon Grier.

Twitter @sam_amick

Late 2nd. Another big that can stretch the floor. Not sure I'm ready for another Jefferson though! :lol

[Xiao Yao You]

Can Pelister: There are strong rumors that Messina leaves CSKA this year, likely headed to the NBA, per source. Twitter @HCanPelister

With Lindsey's SA background this guy might be the Jazz's next coach.

[Xiao Yao You]

Shabazz Napier led the Connecticut Huskies to the national championship, his second title in four years. He was fantastic during the tournament and led UConn in points, assists, rebounds and steals during the season. So where will Napier go in the 2014 NBA Draft? I've talked to a number of executives tonight who still view Napier as a second-round pick, even after his impressive title run. These executives aren't sure how Napier's game will translate to the next level. His size is a concern and teams aren't sure if he can be an efficient contributor in the NBA. The fact that he's turning 23 years old in July also hurts him, as teams are more likely to take a younger player with more upside rather than a four-year college player.

Sulia

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LeBron James: No way u take another PG in the lottery before Napier. Twitter -

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[QUOTE]The NBA is coming. Manuel knows it, Calhoun knows it, and the NBA community knows it.

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BucksJazzFan

My son who lives in CT just saw a Tweet coming out of Storrs that UTAH Brass are flying to Hartford to meet with Kevin Ollie about HC job. Sources says that UTAH has ALWAYS liked Ollie from his playing days when he was a PITA for the Jazz when he played with the Sixers.

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Marc J. Spears: San Diego State point guard Xavier Thames, who avg 17.6 ppg, 3.2 apg as a senior, has signed with agents Colin Bryant and Valerian Owens.

Twitter @SpearsNBAYahoo

Doesn't look like he will get drafted

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Tom Moore: #Duke source: Jabari Parker housing set for soph year. Could still turn pro, but shows he's seriously considering staying. #NBA #Sixers

Twitter @tmoore76ers

So much for the mormon savior in Zion?

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Michigan sophomore Nik Stauskas is headed to the NBA, a source close to the situation told ESPN.com on Thursday. The source said the 6-foot-6, 205-pound shooting guard intends to make a public announcement soon. Stauskas told ESPN.com on Thursday that he has not yet made a final decision. ESPN.com

Nik Stauskas: Just wanted to reiterate that any reports about my future intenions are FALSE! I have NOT made ANY decisions on my future yet! Twitter

mid first


Misko Raznatovic: Nikola Jokic, will MOST LIKELY, declare himself for this year draft, during the next week. The final decision will be announced after NHS! Twitter

mid 2nd but there seems to be lots of buzz about him right now at the hoop summit. could be a top 10 now. I also read he doesn't plan to enter.

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Ryan Wolstat: Stauskas expects to make official announcement early next week. Twitter @WolstatSun

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Tennessee junior Jarnell Stokes has scheduled a press conference on campus for Friday afternoon, at which point he's planning to announce that he'll enter the 2014 NBA Draft, multiple sources told CBSSports.com on Thursday night. Stokes averaged 15.1 points and 10.6 rebounds this season while earning First Team All-SEC honors and leading the Vols to the Sweet 16. The 6-foot-8 forward is expected to be drafted late in the first round or somewhere in the second round. He'll likely be the first Tennessee player selected since Tobias Harris went 19th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft. CBSSports.com

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[QUOTE]It

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[QUOTE]Back in August 2013, I laid out some predictions for the 2013-14 Utah Jazz season. Some were bold, while some were the exact opposite. With four games remaining in the waning season, it

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[QUOTE]The Jazz will conduct their annual end-of-the-season locker cleanout and exit interviews next Thursday, and then it

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[QUOTE]

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INJURY UPDATE: Forward Marvin Williams (left knee bone bruise) did not participate in practice Thursday and is listed as being doubtful to play Friday night against the Portland Trail Blazers. Williams tried to play on his injured leg in Tuesday