2014-2015 regular season!

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let's go!

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[QUOTE]Snyder said defending Howard is a struggle.

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Silver spent Tuesday in San Antonio, awarding the Spurs their 2014 championship rings. So, naturally, he visited the NBA’s next dynasty in the making. "I see a lot of similarity, frankly," Silver said in a pregame news conference.

minus the stars maybe


I’m not sure anybody else would have made that association as the game unfolded, with the Jazz’s usual mixed performance.

The discouraging: Gordon Hayward’s outside shooting, Enes Kanter’s interior defense and the Jazz’s 3-point defense.

I'm pretty sure Howard did most of his damage against Favors but let's put it all on Enes not to mention the traditionally horrid perimeter D.


The encouraging: Alec Burks’ work vs. James Harden, Trevor Booker’s bench contribution and Dante Exum’s 3-pointer — well, only two other Jazzmen made any of them.

Of the stuff Snyder preaches, transition defense was the most glaring issue, playing into the Rockets’ 14-of-27 effort from 3-point range.

Damn you Enes!


"We can’t give up wide-open threes, that’s for sure," Hayward said. "It’s just one of those things where we’ve got to shore up the initial part of our defense."

Derrick Favors took the microphone before tip-off and told the crowd, "Hope y’all have a great time."

If you were looking for a symbol of a fresh start, though, nothing that happened Wednesday resembled the 2005-06 opener. That’s when the Jazz were coming off a 26-56 season, and rookie Deron Williams banked in a 61-foot shot during a victory over Dallas.

That team improved to 41-41, barely missing the playoffs. This team? A long way away, obviously.

That point was driven home in the last minute of the first half, when the Jazz gave up two 3-pointers, and again in the fourth quarter.

This offense can function well. The wide spacing enabled Hayward to drive and dunk in a half-court set, and other good signs included Exum’s pass for a Rudy Gobert dunk and Burke’s feed to Booker for a layup. But too many times, that extra pass went to nobody — or worse, the other guys.

Much work remains, and Snyder knows it. "It’s hard to describe a loss as a step forward," he said.

kkragthorpe@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribkurt

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“I don’t think we were overthinking too much,” Hayward said afterward. “We got some good looks, just didn’t knock them down. You’ll have days like that. I didn’t shoot the ball well tonight, and those days will happen. So for the most part don’t think we should overreact.”

At least G didn't keep shooting and missing like Trey and did some other things.


It’s true there are 81 games left.

No reason to worry yet … is there?

“The last thing I want him to do is think about his shooting percent or anything like that,” coach Quin Snyder said. “I think that’s counterproductive. I watched him shoot the ball in practice and in preseason. We’ve just got to keep encouraging it. I think his numbers will be there.”

That’s good for him, but for those who were in Utah for the Andrei Kirilenko era, it’s a scary thought. He too was a statistical freak show, and at times the team’s highest-paid player. There was always an argument for what he did right.

But he never became more than good.

He did actually but that was at his peak before they paid him.


The Jazz need Hayward to be great.

They need it but you shouldn't expect it. They overpaid him. He's a streaky shooter at best. He's not a go to guy. He's a more refined version of AK. I wouldn't expect more just because they paid him. That's on the Jazz not G.


Until Dante Exum grows up, or Derrick Favors changes into an offensive machine, or Trey Burke gets tall, Hayward is their hope.

So Exum is their great hope since Alec and Enes suck.

[QUOTE]They’ve hinted at that before. They’ve also pointed out he does more than score. True enough. He had eight rebounds and seven assists on Wednesday. But he also had three field goals in 11 tries, the last one not coming until 4

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The Rockets also shot like crazy from outside, going 14 for 27 from deep compared to a woeful 3-for-18 3-point night by the Jazz.

Rockets have shooters. The Jazz don't.

[QUOTE]The usual suspects

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[QUOTE]The Jazz shot 3 for 18 from 3-point range. They surrendered 14 threes to the Rockets in 27 attempts.

Really, that

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[QUOTE]3-18 isn

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The Rockets were 7 of 8 on corner 3’s – the Jazz last year were the worst team in the NBA defending the corner 3.

****in' Ty!


You could see the offensive movement and the ability to get good looks. The Jazz shot 60% in the first half.

The 3 point shooting edge was considerable. The Rockets hit 14 of 27 from 3 and the Jazz were just 3 of 18 . Last year, the Jazz missed a ton of uncontested jumpers. It will be interesting to see those numbers tonight. Felt like the Jazz got some looks but couldn’t knock them down.

The Jazz are very balanced offensively. Trey Burke took 16 shots, Kanter took 12, Hawyard and Burks had 11 FGA and Favors and Booker 10. At some point the Jazz may have to prioritize these possessions.

Got to go to the hot hand though. They couldn't stop Kanter around the basket or Burks or Favors anywhere but Trey was throwing up bricks instead.


Trey Burke lead the Jazz on a nice run at the end of the third quarter with a 10-0 surge. This cut the game down to 3 at the end of 3, but the Rockets burst out to open the 4th quarter to take control of the game.

The game opened as a post battle. Howard scored 10 of the first 12 points of the game for the Rockets and Favors had 8 of the first 10 for the Jazz. The Jazz were single teaming Howard but Favors picked up a foul early so the Jazz used Kanter more on Howard and Howard had his way.

He had his way with Favors.


The Rockets Kostas Papanikolaou is nice player. He shots the heck out of the ball and he has a little dribble game.

Cool story that Dante Exum and his childhood favorite player Joe Ingles make their NBA debut on the same team on the same night.

Jazz starting 5 was really good on offense. They hit 10 of 16 and scored 26 points in 11 minutes

and the Rockets starting 5 was better. This is a game where a bench could have made a big difference because the Rockets don't appear to have a lot of weapons around Ariza and their stars.


Can the Jazz play offense was Rudy Gobert is on the floor? Tonight the Jazz were 12 for 36 shooting with Gobert on the floor. The rest of the game the Jazz were 26 of 45. It is not all Rudy but the different between 33% and 58% is considerable and worth keeping an eye on. Rudy is an amazing force defensively the Jazz have to figure out how to score with him.

Who was on the floor with Rudy? Mostly the bench and Burks. Play him with Enes, Burks, G and Burke and see how the offense looks.


I believe Dwight Howard only had 2 of his 22 when being guarded by Gobert.

The jazz went small with Hayward at the 4 in those 3 minutes the Jazz were -7

Could be a good line-up. Eventually Hood in that role too. Maybe Ingles it sounds like.


Jazz pace of play was 91 possessions that is not quick.

Talk to you from Dallas

Posted in Emptying the Noggin

See how the pick and roll D is tonight.

[El Kabong]

Didn't get to watch the game last night (bloody women!), but will have to catch up with that and todays game against the Mavs when I get home. Bought the League Pass this year to make sure I get to see more games since it's hard to catch the live stream a lot of times.

[El Kabong]

Just started watching the Houston game. First quarter done. Favors looks really good on offense so far. Kanter is getting destroyed by Howard along the baseline and Burke seems to be forcing it a bit too much. Cant help but think they could have done with a big shooter like Pat Patterson or Hawes instead of Booker, although Booker has played well.

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Booker might be that shooter yet! They need help elsewhere. The rookies aren't ready. Ingles looked like he might be able to help though. Not sure if he's even had a practice with the team?

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Perhaps the best indication that Snyder was experimenting was the lineup that closed the first half: Burke, Exum, Hood, Novak and Rudy Gobert. Clearly tinkering.

That's ugly! Evans was the only one not to play. I assume Hamilton will be replacing him on the active roster. Might as well trade him.

[QUOTE]It

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The Jazz open the season playing the 4th best offense from last season (Houston), the 3rd best (Dallas), 7th best (Phoenix), 1st (Clippers), Cleveland (Miami was 2nd) and Dallas (7th). How about we evaluate the defense starting sometime in late November or December. This is a brutal stretch.

Yeah let's make more excuses for tanking!


Derrick Favors has played two very good basketball games. If this is an indicator of what is coming Derrick is about to have a mammoth season. The first two games have been against two of the best centers in the Western Conference, Tyson Chandler and Dwight Howard.

Favors is shooting 64% in 2 games. The Jazz are playing him from the top rather than from the block and he is so much more effective. The best way I can put it he is a mini Amare not a mini Malone.

We'll see. If they can keep him moving he can be effective. Posting him up is usually ugly though.


The Jazz offense struggled the minute Rudy Gobert got on the floor again. I tried to watch it the best I could when I was calling the game and it was hard to see anything that was causing it but sure enough they went 5 minutes without scoring from the moment he checked in and scored 2 poi nts in 6 mintues. This is a big issue because Rudy can be a big time force in this league if the Jazz can figure out how to play offense with him on the floor. This takes time.

Same thing with playing D with Enes on the court.


I could see what the Jazz like in Joe Ingles

certainly!


Alec Burks used 12 possessions tonight. He shot 5 three pointers. That is 41% of his possessions. It might be a little high but I love the direction that is going. He needs to be able to shoot the long ball as a shooting guard in the NBA and then his drive game will become even better.

I always thought he'd be able to shoot he's just never had to do it.

[QUOTE]Hayward 16 pts, 4 rebs and 6 assists. Few players fill the box score like he does. He is still the focus of the defenses. He is not getting any air space. I would like to believe he will shot a higher percentage then he did a year ago, but I don

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[QUOTE]Snyder then said he

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"We just got to get that focus on the defensive end," said Jazz forward Derrick Favors, who led the way for Utah with 17 points and 11 rebounds on the night. "We did a good job with it in the preseason. I think that got to our heads a little bit. We thought we were a good defensive team and now reality set in. We need to start from scratch and get that focus."

Yeah I thought it was funny that they kept comparing pre-season numbers with last season like it was comparable. Looks like the same old Jazz with the problems I expected them to have going in with the roster that they have. Quinn was the wildcard but stars win more than coaches do.


Certainly, these are two teams in very different places.

The Mavericks have re-tooled around Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis, hoping to contend for a championship. They’ve added a dynamic forward in Chandler Parsons, and brought back center Tyson Chandler and guard J.J. Barea, two key members of the team’s last title run.

The Jazz, meanwhile, are rebuilding and relearning. The lessons have been hard ones early on.

Nowitzki, who matched Parsons for a game high 21 points, opened the night by draining a 17-foot jumpshot and the Mavs never trailed from there. Ellis sliced to the rim en route to 14 points. Chandler, meanwhile, caught lobs and dunked seemingly at will over the Jazz defense.

Former Jazz man Devin Harris made the lead 20 with a free throw early in the second quarter. Then it was Harris again, this time with a 3-pointer, that gave the Mavs a 65-35 lead late in the second quarter.

"The way we came out … there just wasn’t enough resistance," Snyder said. "The way we started the game, you’re just not going to be able to overcome that kind of effort."

The coach called an early timeout to try to rally his troops, who were on the wrong end of a back-to-back. His message: "Wake up."

"There were a lot of timeouts like that," Snyder said.

It took until the third quarter before that happened for the Jazz.

"We can get better, especially defensively," said forward Trevor Booker, who finished with nine points and five rebounds off the bench. "Tonight we showed we could hang with Dallas in the second half. It was just the first half that pretty much killed us."

In the third quarter, Utah managed to trim the lead down to 14 twice behind a 15-point night from guard Alec Burks and a franchise record 35 attempts from 3 as a team.

They are going to shoot 3's. How well they do it remains to be seen.


Gordon Hayward and Trey Burke added 16 points apiece, as all five Jazz starters hit double-figures on the night.

But the comeback soon dissolved.

Again, Snyder pointed to defense as the issue.

"When your defense doesn’t generate anything for you, it makes the game harder," he said. "And when you’re fragmented on defense, there’s an inclination for individual guys to get it back. That may work for a minute, it may work for a possession or two, but you’re not going to be able to sustain offense over a period of time unless we play more collectively."

afalk@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribjazz

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[QUOTE]

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[QUOTE]Ingles, a small forward, was cut by the Clippers last weekend, flew to Utah on Monday after being claimed off of waivers and then participated in the only practice he

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Harris has thrived in Dallas as the team's third guard, a role that is probably perfect at this juncture in his career.

I thought he could have been good in that role in Utah. Unfortunately he started.


Up next: Utah returns home to the confines of EnergySolutions Arena on Saturday as it goes against the Phoenix Suns. Led by former Jazz player and assistant coach Jeff Hornacek, Phoenix was last season's big surprise.

David Smith provides instant analysis for Deseret News' Utah Jazz coverage. He works for LDS Philanthropies and also writes for Salt City Hoops (ESPN's Jazz affiliate). He can be reached at mechakucha1@gmail.com or on Twitter at davidjsmith1232.

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[QUOTE]

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Jody Genessy: Jazz guard Alec Burks' contract extension -- 4 years, $42M (up to $45M with incentives) -- has been finalized, per sources. Twitter @DJJazzyJody

Jody Genessy: There are no options on Alec Burks' four-year deal, which begins in 2015-16. He made it clear to the Jazz that he wants to play in Utah. Twitter @DJJazzyJody

David Locke: The extension for Alec Burks starts in 15-16 so depending on the smoothing of the cap it might be 1 year over pay 3 year under pay Twitter @Lockedonsports

Is it an overpay though? He's making less than Favors and Hayward and is arguably the better player. Certainly more upside.

[El Kabong]

Is it an overpay though? He's making less than Favors and Hayward and is arguably the better player. Certainly more upside.
Time will tell. Everyone said Derozen was overpaid and he proved them wrong. Reckon Burks has the talent to do the same, hopefully he keeps working at his game now that he's gotten paid.

Even more than that, I think it's a good sign that guys are signing up early, rather than testing free agency.

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He likely gets more next year. With the way he plays an injury could come into play so smart of him to sign. I can definitely see him earning it. G I can never see as a max player even with a rising cap.

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http://www.slcdunk.com/nba-free-agency/2014/10/31/7140907/utah-jazz-salary-updated-with-new-alec-burks-contract-details

Their cap space next year is already almost filled with only 13 players. Obviously there are still some variables there but I thought it was funny when they gave G all his money and said it didn't matter because they had the money to spend.

Still have Kanter to deal with. Booker looks like someone who's option you'd want to pick up. Ingles has non guaranteed money too I guess and he's looked like he might be a keeper as well not to mention Hamilton who we haven't even seen but was a rotation player last year on a good team and is only 24 himself. Ian Clark could still be in the picture as well not to mention a high lottery salary, Neto and Tomic.

Would be fine if they were ready to compete but it appears they are far from that.

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[QUOTE]Pro: Scarcity of skills/position

Some of the same arguments that applied to Gordon Hayward

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Jody Genessy: Alec Burks, who signed a four-year, $42 million extension, said it was a "big emphasis" for him to get the deal done before the deadline. Twitter @DJJazzyJody

Jody Genessy: Alec Burks' message to Jazz during negotiations: "I had (my agent) tell the Jazz I wanted to be here. I see something bright in the future." Twitter @DJJazzyJody

[El Kabong]

Favors got fouled and than played soft so he wouldn't get a 2nd. With Rudy on the bench he needs to continue to play aggressive or Rudy needs to come in.



That's their play.

Looked like the same old Jazz to me. Maybe it wasn't all on Ty? They want to shoot 3's but they're not great shooters. They want to step it up defensively but I'm not sure they are very good there either.
Ty's coached these guys for most, if not all of their careers. It may take a while for them to start to break the habits that he's taught them.

[El Kabong]

Great effort from Favors and Hayward. Need better shooting from Burke & Burks than 5/20 combined from the field though.

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A lot of guys with probably the best games of their lives. Favors is off to a great start. See if he makes adjustments when the scouting reports catch up with him.

Burks had an off game. Not worried about him. Burke otoh has shot bad in every game after not shooting well last year. He and Burks did bring them back last game.

Exum hitting 3's and some nice passes. Ingles looking better and better. Booker bringing it every night. Enes in the doghouse again? Evans certainly is. He can't even get garbage time. Might as well put him on the inactive roster and look to trade him. They're going to need it for roster flexibility. Ingles will be sticking around it appears and I'd guess Hamilton too. Murray who knows? I imagine he'll be headed to the Dleague in a couple weeks.

Rudy had a nice move across the lane that I haven't seen from him. He missed but a nice glimpse of his future hopefully. He's a lot of fun to watch. Very impressive what he does out there at his size.

Looked good for 3 quarters. Still going to need a full game. Suns on a back to back after disposing of the world champs.

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[QUOTE]The last time Derrick had a game like this was his high school championship game when he had 38 points and 21 rebounds. Did he just realize what he is capable of accomplishing in the NBA? Derrick is in a really good place. I have thought Derrick would be the player who takes the biggest jump under Quin. Next stop is Blake and DeAndre in L.A. How does Derrick attack them? That

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[QUOTE]

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Facing a quick 9-2 deficit, Snyder called a timeout to gather the troops. Whatever transpired in that huddle made a big difference as Utah came back with increased tenacity and offensive flow. They turned the tables with a 31-13 finish to the quarter. Despite some torrid Phoenix runs, that start set the tone for the easy Jazz win.

Yes they were a different team after the time out.


What it means: With the way the offense flowed and how the defense gathered itself after that lethargic start, it is clear that the youthful Utah roster is buying wholeheartedly into Snyder's basketball philosophies. Throughout the evening, the ball was popping, as the Jazz players continually made the extra pass.

Sometimes they have been too unselfish though.

[QUOTE]This naturally led to good shots, which they were making. The team was also running after both makes and misses. Behind his serious game face, which is now a running topic among Utah fans, Snyder had to be happy to get his first substantive taste of this team adopting his style.

Grading the performance: This was easily Utah's best outing. Derrick Favors was simply dominant, playing with extreme confidence en route to his career-high 32-point effort. In the second half, it was Gordon Hayward's turn to take over. Largely behind his third quarter, the swingman ended with 24 points and 10 caroms. While the transition defense was lacking at times, all in all, it held the Suns to a mere 41.4 percent shooting night. After firing blanks on their first seven 3-pointers, the Jazz connected on seven of their final 19 trey attempts.

Utah Jazz grade: A-

The Suns had stretches where they assumed momentum. But the overall performance was just so-so. The backcourt trio of Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas managed to shoot a combined 11 of 37 from the floor. Always potent from the perimeter, Phoenix made just seven of 31 from downtown. And they did little off the glass. Not the best evening for Hornacek and company.

Phoenix Suns grade: C

Three telling stats:

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[QUOTE]

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[QUOTE]Asked if he could score 20 points and collect 10 rebounds every night, he said: "Of course, if they give me the minutes. It

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[QUOTE]"He really practiced hard this morning, he was like woooosh," Snyder said zipping his finger through the air. "In our shootaround, every cut that he made was sharp. There was just an energy about his preparation for the game that carried over. He needs to play with that kind of force, if it

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The Suns, he said, had a mix of veterans with diverse playing experiences, whether it was forward journeyman P.J. Tucker, the resurgent Gerald Green, or the league's most improved player, Goran Dragic.

and a couple guys that played like all-stars as well. Jazz had two guys play like stars for a game. Big difference.


"We've got guys that are getting a little older," Snyder said of his squad. "Alec [Burks], for instance, is one of our older guys. He's 23."

Regardless of its significance, the Jazz will enjoy their first victory-even if only for a moment.

"Quin got a game ball," forward Derrick Favors said after the win. "We celebrated for, like, 3 seconds. We congratulated him and that was it. Time to move on."

afalk@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribjazz

[El Kabong]

Yes they were a different team after the time out.



Sometimes they have been too unselfish though.
Snyder mentioned in the post game presser about the unselfishness and how over passing led them passing up great shots for good shots. There's a fine line in how much is too much, but I'm sure they'll find the right balance as they progress through the season.

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Ben Bolch: X-rays were negative on Jamal Crawford but he is listed as doubtful for Clippers' game against Utah on Monday. Twitter @latbbolch

Shouldn't make much difference.

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The Adelaide 36ers have pulled off a major recruiting coup by signing recently delisted Utah Jazz player Brock Motum. Sportando

this your team?

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[QUOTE]

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D-league draft:

http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/2415768/NBA_DL_Draft_2014_Results_-_Idaho_Stampede.0.PNG


Erik Murphy and Carrick Felix -- who went #3 and #4 in the draft. There are plenty of people you may marginally know about, either because their father was an NBA player, or the Jazz brought the player in for a pre-draft workout or in one of the free agent minicamps . . . but unless you are really crazy, then the only names you'd recognize are the Marquis Teague level ones. And only then if you follow along bench warmers on Eastern Conference NBA teams. (But if you are curious, full results here)

One of Paul Millsap 's brothers was selected, and so was one of John Stockton 's sons. So all in all, this was a pretty Jazz draft, and one that will help the Stampede get going early on in their season.

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[QUOTE]The Jazz haven

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Dan Woike: Chris Paul isn't listed on the Clippers' injury report. Jamal Crawford listed as "questionable," though the word yesterday was "doubtful" Twitter @DanWoikeSports

[El Kabong]

this your team?
Yes it is. Probably need him too, hit by a few injuries atm.

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[QUOTE]

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Jody Genessy: Clips coach Doc Rivers said LA wanted to re-sign Joe Ingles after waiving him. They were bummed Utah got him. "We took the gamble and lost." Twitter @DJJazzyJody

:cheers:

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Dan Woike: Doc Rivers just said he has a man crush on Gordon Hayward for the last two years. Twitter @DanWoikeSports

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These fouls also took away some of Favors’ aggressiveness on both ends of the court, as evidenced by his six-point, three-rebound outing.
He shouldn't be in the game than. I missed most of the first 3 quarters but Kanter was having a big night. Why wasn't he playing more?


What it means: Despite the loss, there was a bevy of positives. After the Clippers jumped out ahead, leading by as many as 15 points in the third quarter, the Jazz could have easily laid down. Instead they dug deep, battled back and even briefly took the lead. For the third-youngest team in the NBA, that is character-building. There is still a long ways to go defensively, but the offense was humming in the second half. There were certainly some Utah gaffes down the stretch that proved costly, but this squad is showing it is capable of sticking with its opponents.

We'll see. They might just match up well with the Clipps? Played them well in the pre-season too.


Grading the performance: The first half defense was certainly concerning, but Utah showed tremendously scrappiness and heart in its comeback effort. While it was another case of too little, too late, the fortitude head coach Quin Snyder and company showed was an encouraging sign of progression.

Same as last year. Can they put together 4 quarters?


Utah Jazz grade: B

The Clippers had the chance to blow things open in the third quarter, but allowed the Jazz back in the game, costing their core players some welcome rest. Their wily and entertaining play allowed them to escape with a victory. Look for this talented team to be one of the teams fighting for Western Conference supremacy come March and April.

Los Angeles Clippers grade: B

Three telling stats:

-- Paced by Paul’s 12, the Clippers tallied 28 assists as a team with only 10 turnovers. Along with his 13 points and 10 rebounds, the Clipper point guard recorded his first triple-double in five years.

-- Utah’s starting back court of Alec Burks and Trey Burke shot a combined 5 of 18 from the floor, finishing with 22 points, with the former accounting for most of the total — 16 points.

That's what makes Burks so good though. He was still able to put points up by getting to the line. Tre y did have 4 himself for a change.


-- The two teams joined forces to hit 20-of-50 3-pointers. On Saturday, Utah and Phoenix managed to connect on just 14-of-57 shots from downtown.

Rematch: After their run-in during the preseason, Griffin and Trevor Booker spent plenty of time pitted against each other Monday. There was some chippy play between the pair, but nothing out of the ordinary. It is safe to say, however, that the two will not likely be exchanging holiday cards next month.

Up next: Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers are coming to EnergySolutions Arena Wednesday evening to face the Jazz. Oh, and LeBron Jams and Kevin Love will be with them, too. The revamped Cavs will make their lone appearance in Salt Lake City.

David Smith provides instant analysis for Deseret News' Utah Jazz coverage. He works for LDS Philanthropies and also writes for Salt City Hoops (ESPN's Jazz affiliate). He can be reached at mechakucha1@gmail.com or on Twitter at davidjsmith1232.

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[QUOTE]

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[QUOTE]"I

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Retired Hall of Fame coach Jerry Sloan is attending Jazz practices under new coach Quin Snyder. "We try not to bug him, but he's there to support us and help me personally and our whole staff," said Snyder, adding that he wants to maintain the tradition within the franchise.

I imagine Jerry likes the passing anyway.


TIP-INS

Jazz: F Joe Ingles of Australia, who got cut at the end of the preseason by the Clippers, had no points in 10 minutes.

Looking like Luke Walton. High IQ passer.

[QUOTE]Clippers: F Glen Davis is likely to return Wednesday after missing the four games with a strained right groin.

UP NEXT

Jazz: Host LeBron James and the Cavaliers on Wednesday.

Clippers: Visit Golden State on Wednesday.

Copyright

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Utah is first in the league in total passes thrown per game so far, moving the ball over 20 more times nightly than any other team.

20 more times a night is a lot!


Trey Burke and Gordon Hayward have appeared to be the team’s best at setting up dangerous shot opportunities, with their teammates converting at 48.0 and 52.8 percent respectively on attempts following passes from them (63.6 percent on 3-point attempts off passes from Hayward)2.

Might be because those two aren't shooting the ball when they pass it. :D


Verdict: Mostly unsustainable, likely to change. The Jazz are clearly embracing ball movement overall, but still need to become better at converting raw volume into more effective and threatening passing. As the team becomes more comfortable with Snyder and the system, as well as with each other, expect improvements.

Don't have the shooters, scorers or finishers.


Shooting:
Raw metrics paint the Jazz somewhat reasonably here. The team is 12th in field-goal percentage at 46.0 percent, and 10th for effective field-goal percentage3. They’ve shot just 30.4 percent from beyond the arc so far, but my readers likely don’t even need me to explain how 79 attempts is far too few to truly judge long-term.

New data released by SportVU on NBA.com this year gives us unprecedented levels of information to work with, and they’re especially useful here. In particular, we can now split up all Jazz shots by precise defender distance, among other filters. This can give us a great snapshot of several factors, from how well the team is spacing the floor (a higher percentage of field-goals with defenders far away is positive) to how “good” Utah’s shooters are in a vacuum (using uncontested shots as a barometer given their similar nature for all players).

The results here are mixed. The Jazz are generating a slightly higher percentage of “wide open” shots (no defender within six feet) this year, but their percentage of simply “open” shots (defender within 4-6 feet) has plummeted thus far, indicating spacing might not yet be at an optimal point. Their actual results from these distances are mixed also, as they’re shooting a worse percentage on “wide open” shots than last year’s group4 while connecting on a higher portion of their “open” shots5. Their combined figure on all 3’s taken with no defender closer than four feet is in line with last year’s, though roughly 35-percent marks here could certainly stand to improve – team data isn’t tabulated in a rank-able format on NBA.com just yet, but considering percentages here from elite shooting teams like the Spurs (40.4) or Mavericks (39.7) last year puts things in perspective somewhat.

Verdict: Almost completely unsustainable. There are simply too few total shots thus far in the year to draw any meaningful conclusions. How they’re spacing the floor through the lens of attempt percentages with defenders at various distances may be slightly more robust, but this area will also require far more data to be sure of anything.

Early Offense and Playing with Pace:
I forecasted a major leap for the Jazz in pace from last year as my first of 10 season predictions last week, and am fully on board with Snyder’s stated mission to push the tempo and look to attack early and through transition chances. I’m glad the season isn’t three games long, though, because at least as far as the raw pace stat goes, I’m off so far – the Jazz are just the 22nd-fastest team in the league.

This, however, is a great example of a metric that requires more context, especially so early on. The Jazz are certainly making an effort to get out in transition – only the Warriors are scoring a higher percentage of their points on the fast break so far in the young season. Pace is far more than just transition opportunities as well, and Utah is also clearly making an effort to initiate early offense even in halfcourt sets; they’ve taken 33.5 percent of their total shots with 15 or more seconds left on the shot clock, compared with 25.4 percent last year. Unfortunately, they’ve also upped their percentage of shots taken with under four seconds left on the shot clock, likely a key factor in keeping their overall pace figure down.

Improved d should help with transition.


Verdict: Mostly sustainable, but still ripe for change. The team is clearly embracing early offense as a mantra, but so early on in a new system and still with so much youth on the court, they’ve predictably had their share of issues getting the pace moving. But Quin isn’t changing his tune anytime soon, and I remain confident in my preseason forecasting here.

Rebounding:
Another prediction I made was the Jazz rebounding over 51 percent of all available boards for the year, which would vault them up the charts compared with last season. And wouldn’t you know it, they’re making me look smart for a change! Utah has recovered 52.7 percent of all possible rebounds thus far, good for ninth in the NBA. Not surprisingly at all, Rudy Gobert (6th) and Derrick Favors (29th) are both among the league’s elite for rebounding percentage, while Gordon Hayward is fifth of all guards in the same category.

SportVU can add a little more specificity here once again. The Jazz are recovering 62.6 percent of all missed shots where one or more of their players is within 3.5 feet of the resulting rebound, up from 59.1 percent last year6 – the difference here may seem small, but their figure through three games this year would have led the entire league over 82 last season instead of the Jazz finishing 13th.

Verdict: Fairly sustainable, very likely to continue. Gobert’s increasing court time coupled with Favors’ continued development, along with far fewer small-ball lineups than last season

Booker is getting plenty of time and he's had G and Ingles at the 4 as well.


, should keep this group among the league’s better rebounding teams over the entire year. It’s a tad early still as far as sample sizes go (though not to the same degree as shooting), but all the underlying themes point in the same direction and there’s no pressing reason to think they won’t continue.

[Xiao Yao You]

Jazz went on a 13-0 run in the 4th quarter to come all the way back from a 15 point deficit in the 2nd quarter to tie the game at 62. The group on the floor was Burke, Burks, Hawyard, Booker and Favors and when Favors picked up his 3rd foul he was replaced by Kanter and Hood came in for Burks in the midst of the run. Good sign when a run continues even in the midst of substitutions.

Not surprising when the guy getting replaced isn't doing anything.


The game was tied at 62, 70 and 75. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin came back in the game with 7:33 left in the 4th with the Clippers up 85-82. They Clippers promptly stretched the lead to 7 at 91-84 with 6:19 left and to 9 with 2:52 left.

The Jazz bench had a nice night for a road game. Booker was strong again. 12points, 5 rebounds and he two three pointers. Rodney Hood hit two threes and had 6 points. Dante Exum wowed the crowd with a quick left hand drive on the left angle with an incredible burst of speed for a layup. Exum finished with 7 points, 2 assists and a awesome blocked shot. Rudy had another solid 15 minutes.. He ended up on a Jordan poster but you have to love that he trys to make those plays.

Consider that Dante Exum had 8 turnovers the first time he played the Clippers in pre-season and tonight he was fine and really was more than fine is remarkable. He has incredible ability to take instruction and integrate it into his game. He made three or four plays with his length. All signs with Dante are pointing upward it is just going to take some time. The goal this year is to build the foundation for him to build off in the future. This is as much off the floor as on the floor. There will be times when he is overwhelmed and times when he finds a rhythm. We will all want it accelerated but it is a process and it will be slow.

Enes Kanter had a nice offensive night with with 17 points and 9 rebounds.

In 26 minutes! Favors played the same amount and did nothing.


Trey is shooting 33% with just 2 three pointers. He will get it going. He was trying very hard tonight to make plays.

Solid night tonight. Looking forward to the next two at home

Posted in Emptying the Noggin

He might get it going. Based on last year that's still a question mark. What a pre-season he had though! :rolleyes:

[Xiao Yao You]

The Utah Jazz had 19 (+1) in for training camp and parsed that down to 13, and then signed two new guys. They have a roster right now that a) is 15 players strong, and b) shows that flexibility isn't important, but development is. The sad c) part of this three part breakdown of the Jazz roster is that there's no space for a call up right now.

They have even more flexibility after surprisingly eating Felix's contract. Murray's guarantee is only through next month and Hamilton and Ingles are non-guaranteed I imagine. Ingles looks like he'll be sticking around and I'd guess Hamilton as well. Murray will be headed to the D-league shortly to prove if he's worth keeping around. Evans has to be on the trade block I'd think. I see Hamilton replacing him on the active roster eventually.


The Stamps have started their training camp with 17 players, and need to parse that down to 10 in a little over a week. If you look at the roster as it stands right now, there isn't a whole lot of information. What we do know is that the players who have shown up come from a number of places: NBA-DL draft picks, returning players, try outs / walk ons, and affiliate designations.

Another issue is that so many of them have come from all over, and have various experience levels, it's not an even playing field. There are guys pushing 30 going up against baby faced kids right out of college. What the Stamps will do is figure out who can play. And that's all that matters.

Here's the roster right now -- and their experience levels.

Player Pos Ht Wt Age College Acquired NCAA PRO (NBA) NBA Summer NBA Preseason PRO (INTL) PRO (NBADL) Total
1 Nick Covington 1 6 2 200 29 Weber St Draft 4 2 1 3 10
2 Jermelle Fraser 1 6 1 186 27 SUNY Maritime Tryout 6 6
3 Shane Gibson 1 6 2 180 24 Sacred Heart Draft 5 5
4 Tre Bussey 1 6 3 170 22 Georgia souther Draft 4 4
5 Dominique Kirk 1 6 3 185 28 Texas A&M Tryout 4 4
6 Dexter Strickland 2 6 3 181 24 North Carolina Returning 4 1 1 1 7
7 Ryan Sypkens 2 6 4 195 22 UC Davis Draft 5 5
8 Aaron Dotson 2 6 4 202 23 Utah Tryout 4 4
9 Reggie Hearn 2 6 4 210 23 Northwestern Returning 3 1 4
10 Kevin Murphy 3 2 6 6 185 24 Tennessee Tech Returning 4 1 3 2 1 2 13
11 B.J. Shearry 3 6 7 220 24 UC Irvine Tryout 4 4
12 Tyrrel Tate 3 6 5 215 22 Fayetteville St Draft 4 4
13 Joel Wright 3 6 7 225 24 Texas St Draft 4 4
14 Jack Cooley 4 5 6 9 244 23 Notre Dame Affiliate 4 2 1 1 8
15 Kodi Augustus 4 3 6 8 224 27 Mississippi St Draft 4 2 6
16 Quinton Doggett 4 3 6 8 220 24 Southern Draft 4 4
17 Brian Barkdoll 5 4 6 10 250 25 Northwest Nazarene Tryout 4 1 1 6

Covington played for the Jazz in Vegas. So I put him as the starter here. Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to figuring out the wings . . . but I have a soft spot for Kevin Murphy. The bigs are a mess . . . but that's the one part of the Jazz roster that is strongest.

Personally, I don't know who out of this crew will make the team. But I am excited to read more about them and how they progress over the next week. Watching the D league is going to be fun again now that we have our own team to root for and hope for.

This is going to be a fun season, with more NBADL coverage than previous years here at the Dunk. And I hope that you will enjoy it!

Haven't heard of any of them other than the two Jazz cuts, Covington and Bussey.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Just as that night in 2010, Gaines

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Coach Quin Snyder had seen Ingles

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As much as Burke idolized Allen Iverson, he should be looking to CP3 to emulate, not a shoot-first shooting point guard. His key to having a successful career will be passing, craftiness (because of his lack of size), and ability to hit key shots, just like Chris Paul.

You can't just change guys like that though. He's improved a lot as far as facilitating the offense but he's never going to be a pass first guy. The biggest problem is that he has had no one competing for his job the past two years. Exum will eventually but not having Neto around is a joke! I'd guess the've 2nd guessed their decision and he'll be with them next year if his buyout makes it doable. He was a free agent this year so if that's the case I'll be really pissed off! :facepalm

[QUOTE]I

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Chris Haynes: Cavs G Matthew Dellavedova will miss tonight's game against Jazz with left knee injury he sustained last night against #Blazers. Twitter @ChrisBHaynes

Good. He always killed BYU.

[El Kabong]

Nice buzzer beater. Cost me $80 (I had a 6 fold bet going, got 5 of 6 right), but I was pleased to see it.

[Xiao Yao You]

Yes probably the shot of his life. Their defense still isn't very good though nor Trey Burke. Exum might be starting before long.

[Xiao Yao You]

in the first half, the Jazz did practically nothing wrong. They shot 59 percent, outrebounded the Cavs by nine, minimized turnovers, and played nothing like a team searching for its identity, taking a 59-48 lead.

Gave up 48 points. Lots of work still to do at that end for sure.

[QUOTE]They even let the Cavaliers take a brief second-half lead. But instead of folding, they looked a lot like the team management has been advertising since Hayward showed up. Speaking of which, he did show up on Wednesday, racking up 21 points, same as Favors. That included the play of the game. James had made three free throws to tie with three seconds remaining. The Jazz went in bounds and Hayward took it from there, sinking a 20-footer.

The EnergySolutions Arena crowd went all 1998.

Speaking of which, the Jazz didn

[Xiao Yao You]

Did the Jazz just learn they could play with the best?

Cleveland will be one of the best eventually. Certainly aren't now. One week into the season. Defense has to pick up. Point guard is continuing to look like it could be a huge weakness yet again.

[QUOTE]For Hayward, it

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[QUOTE]When asked if the Jazz look any different under new coach Quin Snyder, James said no.

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[QUOTE]the Utah Jazz have made the most passes in the NBA by far, averaging a league-leading 384.5 passes through their first four games, according to NBA.com

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[QUOTE]FASTER BREAK: Through the first week of the season, Utah averages 4.1 MPH in all on-court movements, according to player tracking data from the league

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Kanter is actually shooting more from 0-3 feet (44.7 percent of his total shots) and he’s making those (64.7 percent). He’s a mere 1-6 on 3-pointers thus far, though. Snyder’s offense has limited his mid-range game. Should he start to stick his attempts beyond the arc (five of his attempts have been from the corners), Kanter will be a load on offense.

He's so good in the post it's hard to take him away from there no matter his potential from 3.


Defensively, it’s been a rough go. While he has faced a litany of potent scorers in the young season, Kanter has struggled with rotating to help, missed defensive assignments and on occasion, his effort. A 117 Defensive Rating is alarming. This has been the primary reason for his limited playing time. He made a few solid stops Monday, but the consistent effort is missing. Trevor Booker’s addition and Rudy Gobert’s rapid emergence are also factors to be considered.

I read a couple different reports of Griffin doing most of his damage on Booker. Griffin couldn't move Kanter around that's for sure.


Gordon Hayward: Stating the obvious, part two: Gordon Hayward is playing very, very well. The eventful offseason (signing the lucrative deal; playing with the USA team; adding noticeable muscle, getting married) has him playing with a renewed passion and increased confidence. Hayward is making the right decisions with the ball and it is really fun to watch the transformation. He knows he’s the leader of the team and he’s playing like it. Snyder is helping change his offensive game. His 2-point attempts past 16-feet are way down. Hayward is hitting his inside shots (80 percent), thanks in part to some great forays to the hoop. He is simply driving the ball more. Half of his shots have been from downtown2 and he’s connecting at a much more Hayward-esque 37.0 percent. This has resulting in a very nice .628 TS%.

Hayward esque? He's streaky. Let's see if he can keep it up.


His all-around game is right there – 7.3 RPG and 5.3 APG. His 12.2 Total Rebound Percentage is a significant jump (8.0 in 2013-14). He’s maintaining his elite passing game (23.9 AST%) while cutting down the turnovers (10.5 TOV%). Hayward is clearly the best facilitator for Utah right now. His anticipation and length on defense is proving to be a positive at the small forward position, where he has played 87 percent of his minutes. Hayward is looking to earn his $15.75M salary and he’s definitely off to an excellent start.

Trey Burke: It’s been an up-and-down start for the second-year point guard, with a little more of the down.

Mostly down. He and Burks led a run in the one game. Other than that I don't remember him doing much other than missing a lot of shots and giving up a lot of points. He's a back-up at best in the league until he proves otherwise. It's a joke that he has been handed the job two years in a row especially with Neto's rights in their hands.


After a stellar preseason, Burke’s game just seems off. His shooting is way off, as he’s hit just 16-48 from the floor and 2 of 17 3-pointers – 33.3 and 11.8 percent, respectively (.410 TS%). For the most part, he’s getting solid looks–they’re just not falling. On occasion, poor shot selection has also contributed. Burke has shown the ability and willingness to take the ball to the basket, where he’s finishing 70 percent of the time. He has also increased his Free Throw Rate to .271–which would be over twice as high as his low rookie mark.

Burke is also experiencing struggles facilitating the offense. His assists are down (4.8 APG and 20.7 AST%, down from 5.7 and 29.4%) and his turnovers are uncharacteristically up – 3.0 TO/G and 18.3 TOV%. His assist-to-turnover ratio has fallen from 3.0 to 1.6. To be fair, the ball is in his hands less as Snyder wants to move up court quickly.

and that is not Burke's game


Burke is helping with that by helping advance the ball to his wing teammates. While he’s not a guy who struggles with his confidence, there has to be some pressure having Dante Exum in the fold. My guess is that it will take a little getting used to. The good thing about Burke is that he is capable of a big game and chances are, that could happen anytime. Once that does, expect to see a good jump back to more normal Trey Burke standards.
Normal standards aren't anything to get that excited about.


Alec Burks: First off, I am part of the crowd who was excited to see the Alec Burks extension get done last week. The talent and skills are apparent and having another solid piece to this young core in place long-term is exciting. While the start of his season has been so-so–as seen by his 13.9 PER – there is optimism around his game. Burks’ numbers are solid: 14.8 PPG , 3.5 RPG, 2.5 APG. He’s yet to have that big game (like he had regularly the second half of last season), but that just feels like a matter of time.

Like most of his teammates, there has been some slight changes to his offensive game. He is still getting inside (.698 of his shots are between 0-3 feet) and free throw line (a stellar .488 FTr), but is taking more 3-pointers–5-13 thus far (38.5 percent). Burks, though, is shooting just 40 percent on those close shots–down from 64.4 percent last year. There are no doubts this will jump back up. A very positive development is his 95.2 percent free throw shooting. For a guy who lives at the line like Burks does, being able to hit those at a high level can enhance his game in big ways. He has shown flashes defensively, but too needs to demonstrate more consistency – 116 Defensive Rating.

Not worried about him. Missing time in the pre-season may explain his slow start.


All in all, it’s been an encouraging start. Seeing all five get good playing time together will benefit the team. They will hopefully grow together, but if not, the coaching staff and front office will have a better idea of what they truly have.

Next up, a look at the bench players’ starts.

David J Smith

Besides writing for Salt City Hoops, David contributes to the Utah Jazz coverage for the Deseret News (instant analysis articles), WeAreUtahJazz.com, UtahJazz360.com and previously for Hoopsworld.com. He graduated from BYU and works for LDS Philanthropies. His wife, Elizabeth, is the most patient person in the world and they have four amazing children; Kadence, Tayah, Stockton (yes, really), and Cambria.

[Xiao Yao You]

"He works on that shot all the time. He and coach [Antonio] Lang. The big guys work on them all the time. I prefer them from the corner but, with two seconds on the shot, clock I’m not go to argue."

Most of his 3's are up top.


After his big shot, Booker stayed in the middle of the action.

On Cleveland’s next possession, he was called for flagrantly fouling Kevin Love.

"He pump-faked me, and I went up," Booker said. "I was coming down, and I tried to keep him from going up. Unfortunately, they called a flagrant foul."

Said Snyder: "I didn’t see the flagrant. [But] we want him to keep playing hard and keep playing smart."

Looked flagrant to me. Not the first shot but the next couple! :D


Love made one of his two free throws to make it 93-90 with 2:57 left. The Cavs retained possession, but the Jazz escaped more damage when Kyrie Irving, who finished with 34 points, missed a short jumper.

According to Booker, the flagrant foul was an extension of his style of play, which won’t be changing.

"I think it gets everybody going," he said. "... I’ve always been that kind of player. I’ve always played the game with a lot of passion. That’s just me. I think it rubs off on my teammates and the crowd."

Along with his nine points, Booker contributed four points and two assists in almost 21 minutes. Among Utah’s backups, only Exum played more (25).

"It’s not what Trevor gave us," Snyder said, referring to the all-around contribution. "It’s what didn’t he give us?"

The sell-out crowd probably agrees. It exploded on Booker’s three-pointer.

"Before I came here, I would hear about it -- how great the fans were," Booker said. "I got to experience it a couple of games before this but tonight, it was different. They were crazy. Hopefully we can get this every game."

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]"It

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]it

[Xiao Yao You]

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has waived forward/guard Jordan Hamilton. Following the move, the Jazz roster now stands at 14 players (updated roster attached). NBA.com

Jody Genessy: Jazz roster is back down to 14 after the team waived small forward Jordan Hamilton. He never suited up after being claimed off of waivers. Twitter @DJJazzyJody

Wonder what's up with this? He was in the rotation last year on two teams, one very good. They got their eyes on someone else? Just being cheap like usual?

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Now retired, Raja Bell accompanied the struggling Cavaliers to Utah, having been hired as Cleveland

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[QUOTE]On Thursday morning, Jazz coach Quin Snyder celebrated the team

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[QUOTE]

[Xiao Yao You]

Beyond Hayward and Derrick Favors, Utah received strong performances from all its role players. Enes Kanter was strong offensively and rookie Dante Exum stepped in to smoothly run the team after Trey Burke encountered foul trouble.

Enes has arguably been better than Favors the past two games certainly one of them.


Bench players Trevor Booker and Rudy Gobert also brought great energy to the table. It also helped that LeBron James is less than 100 percent.

Hood was right there too.

[QUOTE]Turning point: Would it be too easy to say that Hayward

[Xiao Yao You]

http://saltcityhoops.com/the-three-emerging-utah-jazz-stars/

[QUOTE]Hayward

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[QUOTE]To prepare, Snyder said Thursday was seen as a recovery day. The team did more film watching and breakdowns than anything. The Jazz ran through a few sets, took shots and then finished up for the day.

"We learned just how good they are," Snyder said. "They are an elite team offensively, and they have multiple weapons. They can really get on a roll and they can put pressure on the rim. It

[Xiao Yao You]

The Jazz embark of their first major road trip of the season next week, a five-game tour of the Eastern Conference. As of now, the Toronto Raptors are the only team with a winning record, at 4-1.

tjones@sltrib.com

It looks like a road trip they could do very well on if they are really any good. NY is the only other team with more than 1 win

[Xiao Yao You]

J[QUOTE]azz coach Quin Snyder had considered calling for a foul, which would have prevented the Cavs from tying the game. But he didn

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]the Mavs are also ranked 29th defensively. That means the Jazz could have a chance to score some points tonight. And with a veteran lineup, it remains to be seen what effect a game with Portland last night has on Dallas.

"We

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[QUOTE]

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[QUOTE]The Utah Jazz entered Friday night

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IMITATING NOWITZKI: Snyder was quick to compliment Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki ahead of Friday

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[QUOTE] If Trey doesn

[Xiao Yao You]

the Jazz were killed tonight in the turnover and rebounding battles.
They're going to have a hard time if they get killed on the boards. They play bigger than most teams and it should be one of their strong suits.

[QUOTE]The biggest issue was the turnovers: the Jazz gave up 21 turnovers, and only accumulated 8 of their own from the Mavs. Then, they allowed the Mavs to get 13 offensive rebounds to continue possessions, which were a real backbreaker to the Jazz

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]He

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]the basketball almost stubbornly refused to drop through the net Friday night.

And nobody felt it worse than Trey Burke.

The second-year point guard watched shot after shot draw iron and bounce away, even feigning like it would fall on occasion before popping out of the rim. By the end of the 105-82 blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Burke had connected on just four of his 12 attempts.

But the young guard believes the only remedy for a slump is the next open look.

"You just got to take those shots.

[Xiao Yao You]

his team has been almost too unselfish at times, passing up great looks for simply good ones.

Still, the coach would rather have that than a stagnant offense.

"We call it advantage basketball," Snyder said. "Try to get an advantage and then keep it, and the way you keep it is with a pass."

They've had way too many rushed shots at the end of the 24 second clock. That was supposed to be Ty's fault too I thought?

[QUOTE]While the Jazz lead the league in passes, assists have not followed at quite the same clip, something Snyder believes is a result of missing some open 3-point looks. Utah

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Hayward signed a lucrative new four-year contract with the Jazz this summer, a deal that will pay him a max-money salary which averages out to around $15.75 million a year through the 2017-18 season.

Some skeptics, including myself, scoffed at the deal and felt like the franchise was paying too much for a player of Hayward's caliber when it matched the Charlotte Bobcats' offer for the free agent forward.

Then, when Hayward opened the 2014-15 regular season with a couple of subpar performances

[Xiao Yao You]

The Utah Jazz begin a five-game Eastern road trip Sunday night against the Detroit Pistons, and there likely won’t be a shortage of blue and gold Trey Burke jerseys.

If last year repeats itself, returning to his college’s territory might be just what the former Michigan star needs to snap out of his early-season funk.

Heading into the seventh game of his sophomore season in the pros, the 6-foot-1 point guard is averaging 10.2 points, 33.3 percent shooting, 4.0 assists and 2.7 turnovers.

All of those figures are worse than during his All-Rookie season of a year ago when the ninth pick of the 2013 draft put up averages of 12.8 points, 38 percent shooting, 5.7 assists and 1.9 turnovers.

They’re also well down from the preseason, when the 21-year-old looked like he’d made a big leap from his first-year level of play.

Pre-season comparison again! :facepalm Turnovers are up. That's one thing he was good at last year.


“Trey was probably our best player in the preseason,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder admitted. “He’s working. He’s got to keep at it and get him going.”

This visit to Michigan could be just what the coach ordered.

In his first trip back to the Land of Blue and Maize, Burke was welcomed by throngs of fans who’d grown quite fond of him as he helped the Wolverines make the 2013 NCAA championship game.

Burke responded to the strong show of support, which included being swarmed by local media and autograph-seeking fans at The Palace of Auburn Hills, by playing one of his best games as a rookie.

In a 110-89 win, Burke scored 20 points with 12 assists. He did have seven turnovers, but that rare outbreak of miscues didn’t hurt the Jazz on that particular night.

New coach. Different team.


Burke expects to get a similar, big reception this time around, seeing as this is just the second time he’s played so close to his college home of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“It was only about 24 months ago I was in college. I definitely think my fan base will be back out there,” Burke said. “So I’ll try to just be more calm than I was last year to start the game, just go out there like it’s another game. Try to get another win like we did last year.”

This road trip is a different type of challenge for the Jazz, who are off to a 2-4 start to the 2014-15 season. So far, Utah has only played playoff contenders, losing twice to Dallas (including Friday’s 105-82 shellacking) and to Houston and the Clippers. The team has put together impressive home wins over Phoenix and Cleveland, though.

On one hand, the Jazz are probably relieved to get away from the brutal Western Conference for a while.

Then again, this will be the first extended road trip of the season for the Jazz, although it is against multiple beatable opponents — first Detroit, then Indiana on Monday followed by Atlanta, New York and Toronto.

“We definitely need to compete, that’s for sure, and make sure we’re in every single game. These games are definitely winnable for us as a squad,” Jazz small forward Gordon Hayward said. “As long as we play our basketball and we continue to play with the pass and keep turnovers down. Too many turnovers on the road and you’ll find yourself out of the gym real quick.” Coach Quin Snyder was none too pleased with the 23 turnovers the Jazz committed, leading to 35 Maverick points and putting Utah into a funk on both ends of the court against Dallas.

defense?


That has to change this week for Utah to get some momentum back.

“It’s a different type of challenge, playing well on the road is a whole ‘nother animal. We’ll have to prepare ourselves,” Snyder said. “The last time we were on the road … well, we need to be ready.”

The Jazz gave the Clippers a good battle in their last road game, but they fell in the end 107-101 last Monday.

“It’s a different mindset than playing at home. Our fans are great. They give us energy,” Snyder said. “There wasn’t a lot to get excited about (Friday night). It just was (sigh sounds). There was a lot of that.”

On Wednesday, however, the Jazz and their fans reciprocated a good vibe and energy back and forth in the exciting 102-100 victory over Cleveland.

“Now that’s not going to be there on the road,” Snyder said. “We’ve got to generate that on the road.”

INJURY UPDATE: Jazz rookie Rodney Hood will be questionable for this 4 p.m. MST game against the Pistons. The guard/forward left in the first half of Friday’s 105-82 loss to Dallas with right plantar fasciitis and didn’t return. “He’s one of the guys that’s making shots. He's got length, he competes,” Snyder said. “He’s had an impact in a lot on ways for our team. We need to get him back.”

EMAIL: jody@desnews.com

TWITTER: DJJazzyJody

Gives Ian Clark a shot He may give them a shot in the arm.

[Xiao Yao You]

There's no need to go into Plantar Fasciitis, as we're all experts by now because Derrick Favors has a case of it flare up now and then. So what's the deal with Hood?

Well, last summer he hurt his right Achilles tendon, and had to leave Team USA camp. Nicole Auerbach of USA Today wrote:

Duke's Rodney Hood has injured his right Achilles tendon and has withdrawn from Team USA camp, USA Basketball announced Friday morning.

Hood was one of the 16 finalists for a spot on the USA team that will compete at the World University Games, which will take place in Russia in July. Now, 15 players will compete for the 12 roster spots, which will be determined by July 1.

"I feel so sorry for Rodney," USA head coach and Davidson coach Bob McKillop said in a statement. "He committed himself fully to be a part of this team, and we will miss him. He would have been a valuable team member for USA Basketball."

Matt Plizga, a Duke basketball spokesman, said Hood is returned to Duke Friday and was evaluated by the Blue Devils' medical/training staff. Early indications are that the injury is not severe, Plizga said.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski also said Hood's injury is minor.

- Nicole Auerbach, USA Today, June 2013

No biggie. As he did rest, and it did deal.Terrence Payne of NBA Sports broke it down:

On Tuesday, the team announced that Hood is back from an injury he suffered back in late June.

While trying out for the World University Games with USA Basketball, Hood was sidelined with what Cameron Crazies feared could be a torn right Achilles tendon, though, it was diagnosed as a sprain. Six weeks later and ESPN senior writer Andy Katz reported - as part of ESPN's 3-point shot - that Hood was fully back.

He is completely recovered," said Duke associate coach Steve Wojciechowski. "He has participated in summer workouts.

- Terrence Payne, NBC Sports, August 2013

Rodney Hood then played 35 games for the Duke Blue Devils in 2013-14, and logged 1150 total minutes (32.9 mpg). So were there any long-standing effects? I think he completely healed from his acute injury then. And right now he has another one, the only issue is that it's of the same foot. And, well, the Achilles tendon and the plantar fascia do deal with the whole dorsiflexion / plnatar flexion mechanism. The worst case scenario is that plantar fasciitis can lead to Achilles tendon tightness. So, if you want to worry you worry about that injury loop.

I'm not going to worry. Rodney will be fine, and he's the third wing on our team, not the first two -- Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks still have a lot of developing to do as well. The Jazz play five games in seven nights. Holding Rodney out of one or two of them isn't going to be the end of the world. Nor will this minor rookie season setback be the end of his career.

Go Jazz.

Also, this means don't add Rodney Hood to your fantasy bball team.

Still no word on why Evans replaced Booker in the 2nd half after Booker was their best player in the 1st.

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Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder has used only 50 different lineups so far in the 288 minutes his team has suited up for, so far. Seriously, fifty different lineups.

The top five most used (in terms of most minutes together so far this season) feature the usual suspects: Trey Burke, Alec Burks, Gordon Hayward, Enes Kanter, Derrick Favors, Dante Exum, Trevor Booker, Rudy Gobert, Rodney Hood, and Joe Ingles. For the most part Snyder has been going 10 deep most nights -- and these are the guys who get a chance to play. If you build the team around the framework of Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, and Alec Burks -- that's a pretty good start.

Just a week ago G, Favors and Burke were their big 3! :rolleyes:


Within the Top 5 most used lineups (so far), you see those three guys quite a bit. The two main variables being tested for right now are Trey Burke / Dante Exum, and Enes Kanter / Trevor Booker. You could add Rudy Gobert to that experimental mix, but I don't think that's quite right. Out of all the non-starters right now I think we are closest to understanding where he fits into the mix -- at back-up center. The other two variables still haven't revealed to us who should be the starter yet.

What does the experimental data show? Well ....

Utah Jazz 2014 2015 Five Man Rosters - 6 of 82

Click on that for the phool-size

Yeah. The saving grace of the starters right now is their large sample size which translates to the third best +/- over 100 possessions . . . which is still a negative value. The obvious "LOOKSEE!" points here are with Trevor Booker over Enes Kanter. This will be something we all track as the season goes on; but let's not forget that that lineup does finish some games -- but a huge part of their 31 minutes together are against the other team's "not 100% starting lineup". The Starters face the 100% other team starters to start each game -- and that usually means taking a hit in the +/- right off the bat. That suck, and is just something any of our starting lineups will have to deal with. Seriously, Trevor Booker isn't going to be the difference to stopping Dirk Nowitzki in the 1st quarter of two of the six games we've played so far.

You know it. And I know it. And Trevor knows it too.

That said, we just ADORE what Booker does when he's on the court, his energy is sorely missed, and he creates offense for himself when we need it most. It's fun to watch. Smarter men than I have suggested that he's the power forward version of Alec Burks. Which is hilarious and apt.

The less obvious experiment is the Trey Burke / Dante Exum thing. This argument will persist for at least every season they are on the same roster up to and including the first year they are no longer on the same roster. I'm just going to firmly point out that they can exist on the same roster, and that they are pretty good together so far. Let's not run one out of town 6 games into the season.

They can exist if Burke proves he can play. Jury is still out there.


As for the experimental data, well, the largest take-away is that these data sets are so very small. But it's better that we start looking at things as the returns come in than to be ignorant to what's actually happening on the floor, and make stuff up on the top of our heads . . . right?

Also Rudy Gobert blocks a lot of shots. That's probably the really only known so far.

What do you ladies and gentlemen think?

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[QUOTE]it

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http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/20141108/RNOIDA/gameinfo.html

The Jazz offense is working at the D-league level! Why isn't Murray down there though?

[El Kabong]

Will be interesting to see how long before Exum overtakes Burke as the starter. Hopefully Ingles can continue to hit 3's off the bench too.

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Yes if he can hit 3's it will make a big difference.

I'd start Exum now and see what happens. He can't play any worse than Burke. Burke might make a great 6th man and could be his longtime future anyway. They could leave G and Burks in the game together and not bench one of them early in halves to bring them back with the 2nd team which I don't like.

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Not only did they notch their first non-EnergySolutions Arena win, but they did so in a game that they probably would have lost last year.

:rolleyes:

[QUOTE]Grading the performance: Utah had some rough spells, but all in all, turned in a nice effort. The Jazz shot decently, took care of the ball, got a lot of people involved and, most importantly, showed the fortitude to come back and sneak out the win.

Utah Jazz grade: B-

The Pistons had some nice individual performances thanks to Brandon Jennings (23 points), Greg Monroe (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Andre Drummond (18 rebounds), but overall struggled in a lot of ways. 96 points on a whopping 93 field goal attempts is not efficient at all. While they held the lead for much of the second half, their errant shooting and ball handling miscues factored into their loss.

Detroit Pistons grade: C

Three telling stats:

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[QUOTE]Hood

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[QUOTE]

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[QUOTE]"I saw him do that when I was in Russia a couple times," Snyder said of Ingles, who has had success playing in Australia, Spain and Israel. "I still think his unselfishness is what makes him invaluable to our group, and when you share the ball, it comes back to you. It

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[QUOTE]Burke isn

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[QUOTE]Rookie forward Rodney Hood sat out Sunday

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[QUOTE]The defense the first few nights was not good but each team had an all-nba player and those types of players can blow up the best of game plans. Tonight they faced a team that doesn

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Aaron Falk: Jazz rookie Rodney Hood once again listed as questionable because of that right foot injury. Didn't play last night in Detroit. Twitter @tribjazz

[El Kabong]

Burke shooting about as well as I am again... Put me in coach, i'll pass the ball!

[El Kabong]

Hayward and Kanter are a combined 17-22 FGs. The rest of the team is 14-47.
Yikes! Probably get a pass because like their 3rd game in 4 nights, but still. Not looking good, should have been a game they took.

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Yeah I don't get Burke playing big minutes. Exum wasn't shooting good either but he's better defensively. Why not give Clark a look? Maybe he could have slowed Price down? Why not double team Hibbert?

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[QUOTE]"Big difference from last year," Hayward said. "As long as we play the way we

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[QUOTE]Over the course of the summer, speculation began to be whispered around Salt Lake City that a controversy could begin emerging in Utah

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[QUOTE]Only Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors provided any offense of substance. It

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Alec Burks isn't exactly shooting the lights out, either.

I'm not too worried about him. I think the time he missed in pre-season may have something to do with it. Starting may too. I think he'll be fine. I'm not sure he and G are a good match though really and the fact that one of them goes to the bench early isn't ideal either. They better figure it out because they will be together for a few years at least most likely.

[QUOTE]On Monday, team captain Gordon Hayward said he tried to keep Burke and Burks going with a positive attitude on a night the Jazz backcourt went 6 for 25 from the field in a 97-86 loss to Indiana at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

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Gordon Hayward’s rare day home during the NBA season included slices of Donatos pizza, a haircut from his favorite barber, and time with family and friends, about 50 of whom received tickets for his annual visit to the Hoosier State.

Your haircut is ****ed up man! :eek:


“It’s a good thing when you have to give out tickets,” the Utah Jazz small forward said before Monday’s game. “It means people want to come see you, and you get to try to put on a show for guys you grew up with.”

Hayward certainly put on a show.

The 24-year-old Indiana native, playing down the street from his Butler stomping grounds, had his best game yet in the arena where he hit a game-winning shot for nearby Brownsburg High to clinch the Indiana state championship in 2008.

That made it a best-case scenario for Indiana hoops fans who root for Hayward and the Pacers. The blossoming small forward scored a season-high 30 points, but his superb outing came in a 97-86 Utah loss to Indiana at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“It’s not about Gordon. Gordon’s playing his (rear-end) off, but it’s about our team. Gordon will be the first one to tell you — it’s all of us,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “After last night, you hope you can play well tonight and get another win, and it doesn’t happen.”

As his coach predicted, Hayward wasn’t satisfied at all with simply notching his best offensive output of the season. He’s all about wins and was hoping to string together two in a row for the first time under Snyder.

“Not good enough,” Hayward said when asked about his personal game, which included sizzling 11-of-15 shooting, eight rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot.

“We didn’t win. That’s pretty unfortunate. You always want to win when you’re at home,” Hayward added. “It’s tough because I felt like we kind of had this one and we kind of just fell apart late. Maybe that’s tired legs on a back-to-back or whatever. But I think a lot of it was mental mistakes, especially defensively.” There were multiple clear-cut reasons why the Jazz blew an eight-point fourth-quarter lead and fell to 3-5 a night after rallying to earn a down-to-the-wire win at Detroit.

For starters, Indiana’s behemoth, 7-2, 225-pound Roy Hibbert, put the Pacers on his broad shoulders, scoring 29 points to help Hayward’s favorite childhood team snap a six-game losing streak.

“Hibbert was a monster tonight,” Hayward said.

“He’s a big guy. It’s tough,” said the 6-10, 268-pound Derrick Favors, who was matched up against Hibbert most of the game. “I did what I had to do. He just made tough shots over me. There ain’t nothing I can do about that.”

Why not make adjustments? Corbin was slow to do so but eventually he did.


While the Jazz backcourt and bench both struggled, the Pacers were boosted by big outings from reserves AJ Price (22 points) and Lavoy Allen (12 points, 15 rebounds). It took them rising to the occasion to help Indy win on a night when six Pacers were out due to health issues — from Paul George’s foot injury to former Jazz swingman C.J. Miles’ migraine.

Also, the Pacers dominated the Jazz on the offensive boards, with Indiana (2-6) outrebounding Utah 44-37 overall and 13-5 on the offensive glass.

“Offensive boards, it’s been hurting us. They just get a lot more shots than us,” Snyder said. “When you work hard and then you give up a second shot — and usually the second shot is a good shot … 3's or putbacks — it’s a tough way to win.”

Maybe it's from trying to run? not enough guys hitting the glass?


Indiana converted the second chances into 20 points. Utah only scored eight on extended possessions.

“They had some bigger guys inside, but we could’ve done a better job,” Jazz power forward Enes Kanter said. “But I think they got too many offensive rebounds. I don’t think it was the effort.”

“We have to be more physical,” Snyder added. “Roy Hibbert’s huge, and their other guys are big too. … They’re big. And if we don’t get five guys down there digging on the glass, it becomes difficult.”

It was hard for the Jazz to see this one slip away, particularly when Hayward was so on. This was just the fifth 30-point game in his five-year career and the latest in a string of solid performances, including his game-winner against the Cavs last week and his huge fourth quarter in Sunday’s first road victory.

“He’s just instant offense for us,” Favors said. “He’s coming out hitting big shots, making it easier for all of the other guys. Hopefully, he can keep it up for us.”

EMAIL: jody@desnews.com

TWITTER: DJJazzyJody

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Aaron Falk: Rodney Hood once again listed as questionable ahead of tomorrow's game in Atlanta, per Jazz PR. Twitter @tribjazz

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David Locke: The Warriors waived Nemanja Nedovic today. Jazz have open spot and are keeping close eye on PG who could be insurance. Possible. Nemanja Nedovic is 6'4 guard coming into the draft was thought of as an elite athlete, strong leaper. Shot 40% FG 29% 3pt on D-League Twitter @Lockedonsports

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Chris Vivlamore: Hawks injury report: DeMarre Carroll (doubful), Mike Scott (questionable) and Adreian Payne (probable) vs. Jazz Wednesday. #ATLHawks Twitter @CVivlamoreAJC

That sucks. Love to watch Demarre get after it.

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[QUOTE]As it

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Rookie Rodney Hood was listed as questionable by the Jazz, who didn

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[QUOTE]When Snyder accepted the challenge to turn around a young team, he mentioned that he would also accept advice from all comers. That includes Sloan, who has been a fixture at practices through training camp and early into the regular season.

"More than anything, Jerry

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An injury to rookie Rodney Hood's right foot has given guard Toure' Murry an opportunity to dress for two straight games, after starting the season on the inactive list for six straight contests.

For Jazz coach Quin Snyder, those decisions are ones he'd rather not have to make.

"In a lot of ways, you feel like guys that are [the 14th or 15 players on the roster], they work just as hard," Snyder said. "It'd be nice not to have to make that decision and differentiate them from the group. It's hard for coaches. You don't want to do that."

So you don't want to send anyone to the D-league and give them playing time? :confusedshrug:


It's been hard at times for Murry.

"As a basketball player and competitor, you want to play," Murry said. "But it also gives me the opportunity to watch the game and really focus in on what I can do and how I can help the team. When I see things a guy's not doing, I can talk to him and help him out."

Murry has a reputation for being a solid defender, but so far he has yet to make his Jazz regular season debut."Every time he's played, he's done a good job," Snyder said. "It's just a numbers game at times with the guys we have on the perimeter and some of our guards. If he gets an opportunity, he'll be ready."

Homecoming tour

On Sunday, Trey Burke was cheered at the Palace of Auburn Hills, not far from where he started collegiately at the University of Michigan. On Monday night brought Hayward back to his home state of Indiana.

Wednesday, fifth-year big man Derrick Favors will be back in Atlanta.

[Xiao Yao You]

Trevor Booker is already a fan favorite. He has injected a lot of life and is a much-needed enforcer that Utah has lacked in recent years. Booker started out of fire and has tapered off a bit the past few games, which can be expected with anyone.

Last game was the only one he didn't do much.

[QUOTE]Through eight games, the 6

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]the Jazz started the year playing their first five games against teams that were ranked in the top seven offensively last year. In addition, all of those teams had an All-NBA player. All-NBA players can blow up the best of any game plan.

Now, the last two games against Detroit and Indiana the Jazz should have been able to show some defensive progress. That has come to fruition. Utah

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[QUOTE]Oh my goodness has Gordon ever been terrific. The numbers are absurd

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[QUOTE]

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"I don't think it was some egregious mistake that anyone made," Utah coach Quin Snyder said. "At the end of the game you have to be tougher, stronger."

What about the rest of the game?

[QUOTE]Korver had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta (4-3). After his last 3 pointer, the only other points scored in the final minute were a pair of free throws from Teague with 5.7 seconds remaining.

Winning their third straight, the Hawks were playing without starting forward Carroll and reserve forward Scott, who combined for a 21.7 scoring average in the Hawks' first six games.

Millsap, who joined Teague and Korver to compensate for their absence, was pleased to pull down six offensive boards and finish 13 for 23 from the field.

"I was really just going after the ball and being aggressive," Millsap said. "I just got back to doing the things that got me here

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[QUOTE]a quick look at the Jazz

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[QUOTE]Quin Snyder, had just been named the head coach of the Utah Jazz.

"I was mad," said Schr

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Rookie Rodney Hood missed his third-straight game due to right plantar fasciitis. He

[Xiao Yao You]

Trey Burke and Alec Burks have not started as hoped this season

Could we stop putting these guys together? Alec has been inconsistent not horrible. He's never started and was hurt in pre-season. Trey otoh...

[QUOTE], and pressure on the young guards only mounted following a combined 6-of-25 garbage game against a wounded Pacers team. A quick glance at this game

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[QUOTE]The Jazz played very well tonight. They just didn

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[QUOTE]The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has assigned guard Toure

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I guess the fact that there is a long time between the 1st and 2nd game might be a factor.

[Xiao Yao You]

The Utah Jazz are hopeful the once-popular Rocky Mountain Revue NBA summer league returns to Salt Lake City as soon as the summer of 2015, three league officials familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The people requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly until details are finalized. USA Today Sports

Preliminary plans aim to to keep the event intimate

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Utah coach Quin Snyder was familiar with Ingles. Two years ago, when Snyder was an assistant at CSKA Moscow, his team played Ingles

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[QUOTE]Murry, the ninth Jazz player to get a D-League assignment, averaged 8.4 points, 2.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds while helping the Rio Grande Valley Vipers win the 2013 championship.

All D-League games are televised on the league's YouTube channel and at NBA.com/dleague.

It remains uncertain whether Hood will be available after he missed the past three games with right plantar fasciitis. He's listed as questionable for this game between two struggling teams

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[QUOTE]Millsap says Snyder helped him improve his footwork, and the Atlanta star was grateful to have worked with somebody who worked with Kobe Bryant on similar techniques in Los Angeles.

[Xiao Yao You]

With the hiring of Snyder, Favors has had three different head coaches during his five year career. While Favors has definitely made an imprint in the league during his short career, his progression as a player might have been hindered by the lack of having a stable coaching environment.

Might have been hindered from his lack of work in the off-season? He was in SLC this past off-season putting in more work it sounds like. They are using him better I think though he seems to be posting up more and more and that's not where he is effective.


As we continue to glide through the first month of the NBA season, it looks like the addition of Quin Snyder has lead to Derrick Favors continute to progress as an offensive player. Under Snyder’s new high-energy offensive approach that centers around ball movement and a lot of different off-ball screens, Favors finally has an opportunity to fully utilize his natural athleticism.

By working inside a fast-paced offense that’s a lot more open, Favors has plenty of opportunities to work off-ball. Because he’s a lot quicker than your standard front-court player, Favors is able to cut past the competition to get an open look around the rim. That ability is clearly showcased by Favors shooting 75% from inside the restricted area, which exceeds the likes of Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge.

While off-ball penetration has a lot to do with that remarkable shooting percentage, Favors continues to make gradual strides as a post-up player. Rather than spending multiple seconds while working against another big, Favors is a lot more quick and fluid with his work in the low-post. Within seconds, Favors decides whether to lace up a right-handed hook shot or work his way to the rim, which prevents the opposition from getting in position to potentially defend his shot attempt.

He seems to like the left actually but yes when he makes a quick move he does well. When he doesn't it's usually ugly.


In other aspects of the offensive game, Favors has basically maintained the same averages from the prior year. For example, Favors is averaging 2.8 offensive boards per game (2.7 per game in ’13-’14). While the lack of improvement might appear to be worrisome, it’s still better than the likes of Nikola Vucevic, DeMarcus Cousins and Andrew Bogut.

They have a different philosophy as far as hitting the offensive glass too. They want them back for transition D.


On the defensive end, the case for Derrick Favors’ improvement becomes a bit more sketchy. When you take a look at Favors’ numbers via NBA Stats’ defensive dashboard (graph below), he appears to come out as an extremely solid inside presence. Compared to the net average, players have an extremely low field goal percentage from inside the restricted area when they’re going against Derrick Favors.

However, when you look at the grand scheme of Utah’s defense, those numbers really haven’t been able to help make the team better on that end. Entering Tuesday night, the Jazz had the 29th worst defensive rating in the NBA (113.0), which is only exceeded by the awful Los Angeles Lakers (117.0). While player tracking is definitely in favor of Derrick Favors, the 6’11 forward hasn’t been able to make a big enough impact to help push the Jazz out of the defensive gutter.

Category

On Off
Points-Per-100 107.1 102.5
Points Allowed-Per-100 103.1 102.1
Net Rating -0.9 -9.2
REB% 51.9 50.4
Team True Shooting % 57.4 52.1

They went from 30th to 29th. I guess I was wrong about their defensive prowess under Quin. Looks like they are better with Rudy but I'm sure that is Enes fault. :rolleyes:


Besides the uncertainty surrounding his work on the defensive end, it appears that the addition of Quin Snyder has definitely helped Favors become a more consistent offensive player. Under Snyder, Favors has become the main focal point of the team which is apparent from his career-high 22.9 USG%. While most players would lose their consistency with having an elevated role, Favors’ field goal percentage has elevated to a career-high 54%.

Main focal point? I'd say it's been G and maybe Burke unfortunately. Burks and Kanter should be.

While that consistency might taper off as the season wares on, Favors impact on the team is extremely apparent. Having a skilled, athletic forward like Favors is absolutely key for Quin Snyder’s offense to continue to improve. And as that improvement does happen, the Utah Jazz fanbase will have a lot more fun as the season goes on.

Dakota Schmidt

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[QUOTE]it

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Enes get hurt?

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http://dleague.nba.com/games/20141114/ERIIDA/

Murray will have to a lot better than that I'd think if he wants to stay with the Jazz into the New Year.

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[QUOTE]After a somewhat listless performance against the Indiana Pacers, followed by a hard-to-stomach loss versus the Atlanta Hawks (after having a big lead), losing Friday

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Anthony, who had a handful of different Jazz players (but mostly Hayward) defend him, scored 46 points.

Is G a two way player or not?

[QUOTE]His most memorable points came on a deep 3-pointer over the 6-foot-10 Favors with 2.3 seconds remaining to tie the game.

If you weren

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[QUOTE]Because the Knicks didn

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[QUOTE]he

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Shumpert was hurt when Jazz center Enes Kanter banged into him on a drive to the basket.

Enes with the big play of the game! I imagine Shumpert would have spent time on G and Burke and given them a little more offense.


With Amare Stoudemire sitting out to rest, it left the NBA's No. 29 team in points per game without its Nos. 2 and 3 scorers. Shumpert was averaging 13.8 points and Stoudemire 10.9.

TIP-INS

Jazz: Rookie Rodney Hood tested out his right foot at the morning shootaround before being ruled out for a fourth straight game because of plantar fasciitis. ...

sounds like he might be getting close. I'd send him to the D-league when he's ready to play. Let him get it going down there and bring him back up to help out later. Exum looking like he could use it too. Clark if he's not going to play. Too much D-league talent unfortunately.


Coach Quin Snyder said Toure Murry, a former Knicks guard who was assigned to Idaho of the NBA Development League on Thursday, needed the opportunity to get more work. He hasn't appeared in a game this season for the Jazz.

Needs to prove he's a D-leeaguer at least if the Jazz are going to keep him.


Knicks: Coach Derek Fisher said the decision to rest Stoudemire was in part because of a quick turnaround, with the Knicks playing again Sunday afternoon. It was the first game Stoudemire missed this season, and Fisher said it was part of a plan the team hopes will have Stoudemire available for 70 or more games.

Not even a back to back? Can you say tank?

[QUOTE]UP NEXT

Jazz: Visit Toronto on Saturday.

Knicks: Host Denver on Sunday.

Copyright

[Xiao Yao You]

How fun is this season?

Tanking! :wtf:

[QUOTE]A game after a meltdown down the stretch the Jazz got better. The Jazz were down 5 and proceeded to score on 7 straight possession. What a contrast from the night prior.

Trey Burke hit the game winner and it was awesome but the story of the night was Gordon Hayward going head to head with Carmelo Anthony and holding his own. He held his own matching the games best scorer bucket for bucket. He didn

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David Thrope, a development expert, has been ranking rookies for years now for the Worldwide leader. And the top of the rookie rankings so far this season list our very own Dante Exum as #1. Clearly it was his potential that dazzled so many teams, and made it a no-brainer for the Utah Jazz to snatch him up when he fell to #5.

Check out the full ESPN Insider article here, but this is a small excerpt to whet your appetite.

1. Dante Exum, Jazz

We saw Exum's "it" factor in summer league and he has been terrific this season, showing the ability to make both simple passes and tough ones (when required) to teammates for easy shots. He makes hard drives and dishes for 3s or dunks. He delivers lobs. He leads fast breaks, which result in wide-open scoring chances. And, most impressively, he finds open shooters far away from the action.

He's doing this with very few mental errors, too, while also managing the game. Exum is playing like someone who deserved to be drafted first overall.

- David Thorpe, ESPN, 2014

I guess this was written before the last 3 games?


Jabari Parker is #3, K.J. McDaniels is #4, Elfrid Payton is #5, Aaron Gordon is #6, last year's big man Nerlens Noel is #7, and Andrew Wiggins comes in at #8. It's a 20 player list, and the breakdowns are worth breaking down and buying Insider access for. Especially since Rodney Hood makes the list at #14, and I think it would be unethical for me to copy and paste what Thorpe says about him too.

Looking like an overrated draft. Hood and Exum both look like D-leaguers. You have to be able to bring it every night.


Granted, a lot of rooks have started slowly this season, so this isn't purely a numbers game right now. Though it could be in the future as the season goes on. But it's nice to see Dante get the pub early, he came into the league with a lot of momentum. Pre-draft national TV ads. He made a big splash in Vegas on his first scoring play. But since then you haven't heard a lot about him -- unless you are among that crazy Top 5% of the NBA audience, or are a Jazz fan.

Oh, and for what it's worth, Marcus Smart is last on this list. Yup. Eat it, Bill Simmons.

[Xiao Yao You]

Burke had his best game of the season. Much has been said about his struggles, some coming from yours truly. And yes, he has really struggled. But on Friday, he played with the poise and demeanor that impressed during large portions of his first year.

Not sure about large portions.

[QUOTE]He orchestrated the offense and made things happen within the game. Burke was 5-9 from the floor, including a trio of 3-pointers. He dished out eight assists with just a pair of turnovers1. Lastly, he registered a team-best +16 mark. While that stat has its flaws, it shows a glimpse into a player

[Xiao Yao You]

The Jazz stuck with the Raptors for much of the game. With this being the fifth of a five-game road series, that in itself is a positive.

They played a lot better than I expected. Probably the best they've played before the terrible finish and G didn't look to have a lot of energy from supposedly being sick.


Utah had a nice 2-3 showing. It won a pair of close outings in Detroit and New York and almost nabbed two more victories versus Indiana and Atlanta, but fell short.

Those losses hurt. Should have won them. That's the difference between being good and sucking.


There is still a lot of room for improvement, but signs are encouraging for head coach Quin Snyder and his faithful band of followers.

Haven't been that impressed. The D sucks bad still.


Grading the performance: Utah started out looking sharp. It was playing with the pass, with most of its baskets coming off assists. The Jazz shot well, but could not sustain it. The game served as a reminder that this is an up and coming team that has a lot of areas to address.

Utah Jazz grade: C+

After 10 games, the Toronto Raptors are looking like one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.

As expected and not saying much.


As they showed against Utah, Toronto has a solid blend of offensive ability, defensive attitude and veteran depth. Thanks to its strong bench, it is able to go at its opponents all night. All in all, there appears to be a contending team in Canada.

Contending for what?

[QUOTE]Toronto Raptors grade: B+

Three telling stats:

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Rodney Hood woke up the morning of the Jazz-Mavericks game a week and a half ago, and something just wasn

[Xiao Yao You]

Big men Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter each scored 18 points, shooting guard Alec Burks notched 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Burke chipped in 12 points and five assists.

The bigs need to hit the boards too.


Hayward finished with 10 points but only took 10 shots while dishing out five assists.

“He’s a tough guy, you know,” Booker said. “We know he wanted to be on the court with us and fighting with us. We know we can count on him.”

Bench players Rudy Gobert, Dante Exum, Joe Ingles and Booker also had good moments for a progressing team that is currently playing better than its 4-7 record would indicate.

You think? I don't see it. Their schedule has been favorable if you look close. They've beat teams that were coming off a game the night before and 4 shitty eastern teams on this trip. The D sucks. The bench is too young and inexperienced. They aren't very good shooters. Do they have an NBA ready pg? Look like the same old Jazz to me. If they'd put together a roster to compete they might be on to something but they haven't. Imagine if Millsap was in the mix.


“If you look at the game and three-and-a-half quarters, you’ve got to feel there were some really good things,” Snyder said of the Jazz. He then turned his focus on the Raptors, who shot 51 percent and scored 35 in the fourth, saying, “That’s a very good team. They’re difficult to defend when they get it going.”

The Jazz flew back from Canada after Saturday’s setback, will take it easy Sunday, hit the practice court again Monday and play their first home game in awhile Tuesday against Oklahoma City.

“It will be good to go home and play there,” Ingles said.

For some, it was good to go home and sleep, too.

EMAIL: jody@desnews.com

TWITTER: DJJazzyJody

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]what Casey saw as he watched Hayward and the Jazz play at Madison Square Garden caught him by surprise.

"If you had told me a year ago he was going to be guarding Carmelo Anthony in the post, I would have thought you were on drugs or something," Casey said prior to Saturday night

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Still, Hood believes his development has continued despite the injury.

"I

[Xiao Yao You]

Toronto's James Johnson sprained his right ankle after he stepped on the foot of a cameraman along the baseline while chasing a loose ball in the fourth. Johnson stayed in the game briefly but had to leave and was unable to return.

He was giving them a lot of trouble at the time too.


DeRozan shot 5 of 8 in the first, one more made basket than he'd made in either of his previous two full games. DeRozan's 10 points were matched by 10 from Favors, and Burks hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as the Jazz led 25-23 after one.

Kanter scored eight points in the second and Lowry missed a driving layup in the final seconds as Utah led 49-46 at halftime.

DeRozan had 11 points in the third as the Raptors took a 76-72 edge into the fourth.

___

TIP-INS

Jazz: Rodney Hood (right foot) was unavailable. ... Utah had an assist on 16 of its 18 made baskets in the first half. The Jazz finished with 22 assists. ... All five starters scored in double digits.

Raptors: DeRozan shot 7 for 32 in Toronto's previous two games, going 4 for 15 against Orlando and 3 for 17 against Chicago. He went 10 for 17 against the Jazz. ... Valanciunas posted his second double-double of the season. ... F Landry Fields was available after missing the previous two games with flu-like symptoms, while Vasquez played despite a sore right knee.

UP NEXT

Jazz: Visit Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

Raptors: Host Memphis on Wednesday.

They've got guys at the end of their bench that would play for the Jazz. They cut Hamilton before the Jazz picked him up.

[Xiao Yao You]

Nets Daily: Once again, Andrei Kirilenko was DNP-CD last night. So far this season, he's played a total of 27 minutes, 10 in last five games. Twitter @NetsDaily

Let's bring him home. Evans for AK probably works. Good fit. Plays D and loves to pass.

[Xiao Yao You]

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=njxlq8p

Probably get a 2nd round pick and/or cash out of it just for saving the Nets luxury tax money. They've also got 4 guys at the end of their bench not playing that the Jazz might have interest in with their extra roster spot which could soon be two extra spots. Jazz still would be just under the cap after the trade. Jeremy might get a chance with the Nets.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]As an NBA fan, I want to commend the Utah Jazz for actually trying. ESPN released an article Friday morning about how the current Philadelphia 76ers team may be the worst team in history, and all evidence points to them just tanking their season on purpose. If they perform poorly enough, they get a higher chance of a better draft pick next year.

I know the Jazz are not the most stacked team, and probably one of the worst in the league. But the new head coach, Quin Synder, seems serious about having his players do their best each night. Utah is a small market for potential NBA athletes, so just to go out each night with a goal for working hard makes me proud to be a Jazz fan, even if it doesn

[Xiao Yao You]

If you need a small sign of hope that the Utah Jazz are improved from a year ago

I thought that was an unquestionable fact? Corbin is gone. Jefferson is gone. Marvin is gone. Got our future superstar with last year's tank.

[QUOTE]

[Xiao Yao You]

the Utah Jazz and Gordon Hayward failed to agree to terms on a contract extension. As a result he played last year without the financial security that some of the other players from his 2010 Draft Class had, including teammate Derrick Favors. He would finish the season with eye popping statistics on a bad team, and entered restricted free agency. It wasn't long before the suitors started calling for the USA Basketball camp invitee. The Charlotte Hornets threw a match contract offer at him, which the Utah Jazz had no option but to match it.

Why did they have no option? I know 3 weeks proves he's a max player for the next 4 years but I'm still not convinced. He's always been streaky. The Jazz still suck.


They knew how good Gordon could be.

Did they? They gambled.


So they had to pay the market value for their potential star.

They didn't really though. They might have a better roster right now if they had spent that money elsewhere? They are thin. And next year doesn't appear to be any different. Wait for 2017 when the cap rises!


The TV airwaves, news talk radio, and internet went ablaze, and many questioned if Gordon Hayward is a max contract player. Today the jury may still be out, but so far this season it's hard to argue that Gordon recognizes the faith and trust the franchise has in him; and is doing his best to be worth that kind of investment.

He wasn't doing his best a year ago?


So far this season we saw him go head-to-head against LeBron James and drain the game winner in the 5th game of the season. This week he went out East to play a five games in seven nights road trip. So how did he do, overall against the likes of the Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, and Toronto Raptors?

Well, there should be few doubts if any about Gordon's ability. He has been nothing short of a star player during this last week. even if the team went 2-3.
If you give him a pass for a couple games and don't mind the sub-.500 record when choosing your stars which the coaches picking the all-stars generally do.


Basic Stats:

Gordon played in all five games, and played an average of 35.09 mpg. What did he do in that time? Well....

PPG: 20.60
RPG: 4.60
APG: 4.20
SPG: 2.00
BPG: 0.40
If you add that up, that's 31.80 BARPS (Blocks/Assists/Rebounds/Points/Steals) per game, which may mean nothing to you unless you play fantasy basketball. His efficiency is such that he was registering one of those simple five category stats at the rage of 0.906 per one minute. That's very close to a 1:1: ratio of getting good numbers when he's out there on the floor.

Fantasy star!


While there's no science to it, if you are a 20/5/5/1+ player that means you can call yourself playing at an All-Star level. While this was only for five games we must recognize that on this highly visible period (early games, East coast bias, whatever you want to call it), he was very good.

But is that max level?


Shooting and Scoring:

Gordon Hayward averaged over 20 points a game. Again, sample size, but if that continues to be the case for the season G-Time will be the first 20+ point scorer for the Jazz since Deron Williams ' 21.3 ppg (2010-2011, traded at the deadline and played only 53 games).

He shot 48.61 fg%, 36.84 3pt%, and 81.25 ft%.

I have my doubts as to rather he can keep that up. Still don't think go to guy/scorer is where he's at his best over the long haul.


Gordon got to the line 6.40 times a game, and if not for the 0/3 performance in Atlanta, he would have gone 29/32 during this trip.

Cool we can eliminate games when making guys stars! :cheers:


Good players make their free throws. Great players don't leave points at the line in a close game.

Actually they do. He's always hit free throws though hasn't he? Can he consistently shoot well for the field and behind the arc though?


And by that measure alone you can say that Hayward played like a player in-between those two qualitative measures. Looking at the normative picture going 50/40/80 is pretty awesome.

Or 45/35/80 anyway. :confusedshrug:


So he shot well, and he didn't jack up a ton of shots. He only averaged 14.40 shots a game (with 3.80 from outside).

He's still had a tendency to throw up bad shots to try to get himself going. He has to have more confidence in those around him. There are some other guys capable of putting the ball in the hole when he's not feeling it.


He took a shot once every 2.44 minutes on the floor. He was assertive, which he like, but not shooting the ball every single time he touched it. (Point of direct comparison, in that same year D-Will averaged 21 ppg, Al Jefferson shot the ball once every 1.70 minutes on the floor. Or once every 102.29 seconds on the floor.)

Because he got to the line so much and made those shots he had a PPS (points per shot) value of 1.43, which is above that of Karl Malone's career average of 1.41. He delivered better than the Mailman on this Eastern Conference trip.

And we expect him to keep that up?

[Xiao Yao You]

And because of his great shooting across the board he ended up with a TS% of 59.83%, and an eFG% of 53.47%.

Any way you slice it, Gordon shot the heck out of the ball, and it was awesome to see. But even better than that was the fact that he recognize it was going to be 'all on him' (something that Tracy McGrady had trouble dealing with). Gordon put the team on his (larger) shoulders, and carried the team during some of the most important stretches of the last five games. His killer instinct in Madison Square Garden was one of the best of any Jazz player. And it shows, he has a win in that building now, while the 41 year old New Orleans / Utah Jazz franchise has only 13 total.

Rebounds and Distribution:

Gordon didn't have the best game of his career in Toronto, but he was putting in work on the glass. It's even more impressive when you recognize that for some of the games he was the primary defender of the other team's best scorer. So he was playing defense, and then ALSO getting the defensive board to solidify that the other team was stopped.

They didn't do much stopping did they?


Sure, 5 rpg isn't the same thing as 10, but for a wing player it definitely will do. Getting stops has been the problem for the Jazz defense this year, and when your small forward is out there getting 8 defensive boards (Indy), or 7 defensive boards (Atl) that means he is committed to helping your team get stops.

They got killed on the offensive glass regardless and it cost them big time.


Sure, it takes away some rebounds from the bigmen -- but the other way to look at is it that he is trying to help them so the task of rebounding doesn't fall to just the players on the team who are just the PFs, and Cs.

Hayward didn't just rebound the ball, then dribble up the court and shoot it himself. Because he was torching teams it helped him draw the defense towards him. This is why having star players is so critical to success, because it changes the defensive pressure around the floor, and allows for good players to kill teams with their passing. Which is what Gordon did. Save for the Atlanta game where no one was making shots down the stretch, The Precious had at least four assists in each game and averaged 5 for the four games not in Georgia. There was a little bit of fumble-itis for all of the players on the Jazz during the trip but Gordon still managed a 2.10 to 1.00 assist to turn over ratio.

This shows that he wasn't just a guy jacking up shots to score a lot, but he played a fundamental role on defense and on offense beyond that of just shooting really well.

That is where his value lies. If he can shoot well enough to keep the defenses honest he can make plays for his team mates.


Defense and hustle:

The one thing these numbers don't show is his actual man defense, where he made life tough for so many talented players: Josh Smith, Carmelo Anthony, DeMar DeRozan . . . uh . . . C.J. Miles? Okay. So it wasn't like playing LeBron James again, but you can tell that Hayward is just one of those guys other players don't want to be defended by.

More than that, other teams just don't want to play against him period. He averaged 2.0 steals a game on this trip. He's smart enough to know what's happening on the court while being there to lock up his man, and know where the opponents are trying to move the ball. These were not Ronnie Brewer style steals where his 6'11 wingspan and track athlete physicality allowed him to cheat in the passing lanes. This was a guy getting steals with his mind, knowing when the gamble on defense, and knowing when to time his strike.

It was awesome to see. And for those who like stats that you haven't heard of, he had a Defensive Gambling value of 1.35 (which is a ratio of steals, steal attempts, blocks, block attempts, and fouls called -- which you have to track by hand to really figure out).

Have fun with that man! :D


Gordon was more than just a one-way player (like Carmelo Anthony or Monta Ellis, or other big scorers who don't bring much else to the table).
Wouldn't want to pay them max either myself.


Gestalt Offense:

GO Rating is another thing I invented to better quantify how good a player is on all aspects on offense. Sure, he wasn't just a scorer. Yes, he got boards. Yes, he passed the ball. He hustled on defense. But the easiest way to be a star in this league is to be a big deal on offense. Someone the other team absolutely has to scout and really has to gameplan for.

And for this trip Gordon Hayward's GO Rating was 109.89. For a frame of reference, what players are in the neighborhood?

150+ : Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal
140-149: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rick Barry, George Gervin, Chris Paul
130-139: Magic Johnson, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, Allen Iverson , Adrian Dantley, Julius Erving, Bernard King
120-129: Dominique Wilkins, Charles Barkley
110-119: Carmelo Anthony, Alex English, Vince Carter, John Stockton, Dirk Nowitzki, Clyde Drexler
109.89 <-- GORDON HAYWARD ON THIS TRIP
100-108: Paul Pierce, Isiah Thomas, David Robinson, World B. Free, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan
90-99: Deron Williams, Moses Malone, Ray Allen, Mitch Richmond, Steve Nash, Chris Webber, Kevin Garnett
Yeah, obviously not the most dominant ever, but between a group of legit star players who have taken their teams to (at least) the Final Four of the NBA as the best player on the team. (Yes, even Vince Carter did pretty okay as a 1st option.)

Just ahead of the gunner World B. Call me convinced! :rolleyes:


The Big Picture:

Gordon got paid. And he is earning his pay right now. A 5 game sample size of 20/5/5/2 is great. But the larger body of work is what we're going to watch -- and enjoy -- all season long. And he's averaging 19.2, 5.5, 4.8, 1.3 for the 2014-2015 season right now. How many other NBA players are currently averaging 19,5,4,1? Four players. LeBron James, James Harden, Stephen Curry, and Gordon Hayward.

Gordon Hayward is playing like a star. And by the time February rolls around, if he keeps it up, he should be an All-Star.

But who gets left off from the teams that are winning? :coleman:

[Xiao Yao You]

Snyder is also trying to keep a big picture perspective for the rebuilding Jazz.

He doesn't have much choice does he with the roster he's been dealt?

[QUOTE]So while the Jazz lost more than they won on their first long road trip of the season, the coach sees positives.

"I think the average age of our team is like 24. Teams I coached at Missouri were [just] a little younger. I don

[Xiao Yao You]

Mark Snider, the play by play man of the Idaho Stampede, interviewed Justin Zanik at halftime of the Idaho / Erie game last night. Zanik is the assistant general manager of the Utah Jazz (and the brother of Jeff Zanik, a big-wig at ASM sports, which represents Alec Burks and Trevor Booker), and as a result, this was a gem.

That's an interesting tidbit. Wonder how much of a role that played on their new contracts?


MS: Welcome back to Boise!

JZ: Thanks Mark, I appreciate it. It's always good to be here.

MS: The relationship between the Utah Jazz and the Idaho Stampede, in a lot of peoples' minds, was a no brainer given the history of the Jazz and their ownership group here in the Treasure Valley. The proximity didn't quite work out a few years ago, but when the opportunity arose to form that relationship earlier this year it seemed like Utah was enthusiastic about jumping in.

JZ: Absolutely. The history of The Miller Family and the different interests that we have up here in Boise along with a good mix of Jazz fans in Boise following our team in Utah - so it was a natural fit. And the Stampede business operations have been great to us. We've really started off to have a good relationship. So we're really happy about the relationship. And we'll see how we proceed here on the court.

Interested to see myself. The main reason to have it is to have guys actually playing games there. Hood coming off his injury and struggling before it needs to go there. Exum could use some time there too. Clark as well. Burke if they had any other options in SLC. Boise is close enough that they could play some games there between Jazz games and play for both.


MS: The Jazz used the D-League a little bit, but you now have a new head coach in Quin Synder who was a head coach in this league in Austin. You have a coach here in Boise who worked for a Houston team that was very active with the NBA Development league; you can see the weaving come together of a real close working relationship. How do you in Utah, down in Salt Lake, envision this relationship working out?

JZ: Well, we see it as a great resource for - and - another piece for our development for our young players. We consider members of the Stampede and the young members of the Jazz that may be assigned here that we are all on the same page as far as the development of our players. And then seeing where that grows. We have a young team in Utah, we have a young team here in Idaho. Those experiences and really both coaches staffs being connected in terms of how we teach, what kind of structure, what kind of culture that we're trying to build that it's replicated in both places.

MS: Dean Cooper in his first year as the Head Coach of the Stampede; what was it about Dean that Utah liked and pursued. I know he has a history with your General Manager in Salt Lake, so there's some history there with the Houston days. What is it about what Coach Cooper brings that makes him right for the Jazz organization here in Boise?

JZ: Well, there's a few things. Good question, Mark.

Aw yisssss

JZ (continued): Dean's an outstanding teacher. He's very meticulous and organized in terms of practice plans and development plans for our players - both in Utah and here in Idaho. He's an extension of Quin's staff. They've been in constant communication. Dean was with us for a good two months, and all summer, in Utah with our new Summer League program, and with Quin installing his new philosophies as well. And Dean as been there with him every step of the way so that what Quin's staff wants, and what we want here in Idaho is reflected with Dean. He's been outstanding so far.

MS: We've seen Toure' Murry assigned here for the first two games of the season. When you bring a player to Boise from the Utah roster what are you looking for?

He wasn't there the first game but why would you know that as play by play man? :wtf:


JZ: So it's an individualized plan. Every player's different, of course. With Toure' he did not have much of an opportunity to play in Utah, and this is a way with us running a very similar system in Utah and Boise that he gets a chance to get reps. And some good practice time. We've been on the road, we're finishing tonight a five game road trip on the East Coast, so there hasn't been much practice time of many reps for guys that are not in the rotation so it's a great opportunity for Toure' to come down here and play. And the assignment, I think, will be good for everyone. So Toure' gets to play and we get to see him develop.

Most importantly you see if he's worth keeping around past the deadline for guaranteed contracts. Didn't show that in game 1.


MS: He seems like he's shook a little of the rust off. He's playing better tonight, uh, today than he might have played a little bit last night. A little tentative. We're seeing more of what, I think, Utah saw when you had him on your roster.


JZ: Well I think there's probably some rust or jitters for everyone, it's the second game for Idaho as well. Certainly just trying to get into the flow of playing big minutes going from not playing and having some little practice time to 25 / 35 minutes here. It'll be a bit of an adjustment and learning to play with other players he hasn't played with yet. Every game the familiarity will obviously get better.

MS: Are there other players, without getting too far into the thinking of the Jazz, but are there other potential assignments throughout the season?

JZ: You can never predict what's going to happen as we go through the season. And the coaching staff / management identify that Idaho would be a useful tool for one of our players in terms of development. Well certainly we wouldn't hesitate since we have a close relationship here in running basketball operations. Again, it's very nice to have another tool in the tool box, so to speak; to have a D-League organization to be able to rely on and really mold basketball-wise some of the things you want to accomplish with young guys.

No reason for them to have so many young guys and an extra roster space and not use it. The Spurs have guys going back and forth all year.


MS: Final question for you Justin is when you were working with Dean Cooper and his staff and the front office of the Jazz during the NBA Developmental league draft what were you looking for when you were putting together this roster for Idaho? What were the parts you were looking to get?

JZ: So Dean and his staff here have done an outstanding job of research and film and they spent countless hours on the draft. And what we wanted to do was put a group together that I) we could find guys that we feel have NBA potential, can fit particular systems or needs in Utah in the future, but also at the main core that we have good, young, hard working guys that we can implement a system and then have them play together and see what we have.

MS: Alright, well, so far the EXPERIMENT [Ed. emphasis not added] and the relationship is off to a good start. The win last night wasn't there [Ed. Perd Hapley much?]. But see how things go, and I know we'll be seeing a lot more of you in Boise.

JZ: You will, thanks Mark.

[Xiao Yao You]

By the way, keep an eye on Jam forward Elijah Millsap. Through the first two games of the D-League season, the 6-6 forward is putting up 21.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals per contest. Because Millsap is not under contract with the Suns, he could be called up by any NBA team. The Jam do, however, run a Phoenix-specific offense because they are the Suns' single-team affiliate. It's never a bad thing to know another young talent can put up major numbers in Phoenix's system. NBA.com

I wouldn't mind giving him a look. Might help bring Paul back next year too!

[Xiao Yao You]

Last year, the former Butler All-American ranked a dismal 117th out of 124 players in field goal percentage at 41.3 percent in the NBA and was clear back in 145th place among 151 qualified 3-point shooters at 30.4 percent. Those were by far the worst percentages of his NBA career.

Max player? :wtf:

[QUOTE]There were a lot of theories about Hayward

[Xiao Yao You]

The Thunder are just 3-8 on the season, behind the Jazz (4-7) in the Northwest Division standings, and ranking last in the NBA in points per game at 89.5. They are coming off an ugly 69-65 home loss to Houston Sunday night where two teams scored under 70 points in a game for the first time since 2005 and two teams shot below 30 percent for the first time in an NBA game since 2003.

Can the Jazz hold them under 95?

[QUOTE]There

[Xiao Yao You]

the Jazz pulled off a 2-3 record on their first big road trip of the year. As I wrote last week, two wins out of five equates to a decent performance. Not great. Not even good, really. But decent. Definitely not bad.

Should have been 4. Those teams sucked!


And yet, there's still a bit of a woulda coulda shoulda taste in my mouth. Despite the decent performance, it feels like the team underachieved just a bit because all three losses were winnable. All three losses included a Jazz lead in the 4th quarter.

Clark has mentioned that if the Jazz are to become this year's Phoenix (which is what we'd all hope to see), then they need to do better. They need to win these winnable games. And to do that, they need some different things happening in games. They need:

Someone besides Hayward and Favors to break out. Seriously, two major breakthroughs should mean more than 5 more wins (pace Jazz are on now). So we need to look at Alec Burks, Trey Burke, and Enes Kanter and ask each of them: "When are you going to take a big step forward?"

Kanter might when they leave him on the floor! Trey might on the bench. Alec will eventually.


There has to be some defensive improvement. Maybe they just don't have the right guys for a decent defensive team right now ... but I still feel okay hoping/expecting some games that they can get stops when needed.

They suck defensively despite Favors supposed elite skills at that end.


And so, looking at the upcoming week, I think it's fair to make a couple projections: first what kind of performance is indicative of the team we're seeing thus far (a team taking a smaller first step to respectability), and then what kind of performance is indicative of the team we hope to see (a team taking two or three major steps toward being a good team).

This week, the Jazz play at home against the Thunder, at Golden State, and then home vs. the Pelicans.

A team that's taking big steps will win two of those. That's really the benchmark for this week: Jazz should win two. I don't know if three is a fair expectation, not when the Warriors are playing as well as they are. But the Jazz should be able to win against this Thunder and Pelicans teams. So that's what I'm holding them to.

Pelicans should beat them. They have an elite player.


Stats of the Week

I'm calling Favors the Man of the Week. I know Hayward was epic at times, but Favors was more consistent. So Favors gets the Yucca Nod

G all the way. The Favors love is hard to understand still.


Starters

Starters Week 3

Bench

Bench Week 3

Utah's Two All Stars

Right now, the Jazz have two players who are putting up All-Star quality production. We know who they are: Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward.

Right now there are only two guys putting up Favors' combination of scoring, rebounding, shot-blocking, and scoring efficiency: Derrick and Dwight Howard.
:facepalm Dwight is an elite defender and rebounder and can't be stopped close to the basket. Find a new comparison please. 2 all-stars=contender not high lottery pick.

[QUOTE]As for Gordo: There is not another wing in the NBA right now scoring, rebounding, and assisting the way he is

[Xiao Yao You]

The defense has predictably continued to struggle with all the youth littering the roster, currently mere decimals ahead of the putrid Lakers for the worst unit in the league2.

All Ty's fault! :rolleyes:


Trey Burke, quickly becoming a divisive topic in Jazzland, has alternated uneven performances with game-winners recently as he tries to claw his way back from an awful start to the year.

Is it awful or is this who he is. A move to the bench might be what he needs. Start Burks at the 1 which might get him going too. Start Ingles? Give Clark a shot at the rotation at least? I don't know. They just don't have enough talent. This roster just screams Neto anyway you look at it. Another vet or two would be nice as well. I'd guess there could be a couple moves once other teams start making moves like when they got Ingles.


Perhaps most alarming, though, has been the play of recently-extended Alec Burks. For all the good Snyder’s system has done for the team as a whole, Burks seems to be having the largest struggles of anyone on the roster adapting to the motion-oriented scheme. His basic per-minute counting stats are down across the board, and his field-goal percentage (41.5) would be the lowest of his career thus far.

Maybe he's just not an NBA starter? Better hope he is with his new contract.


Some of this can be explained away by his insertion into the starting lineup and subsequent play versus tougher average competition, but a deeper dive reveals some negative trends that go beyond this sort of context. Burks’ calling card is his ability to get to the rim and create issues for defenses, as detailed here by Ian Levy3 – simply put, he’s just not doing it as well as last season, or even close.

Per SportVU, Burks scored 7.9 points per-48-minutes on drives last year, a top-15 figure among rotation players and in the neighborhood of such elite drivers as LeBron James, Damian Lillard and Kevin Durant. This year? He’s down to 5.3 points per-48, 59th of rotation guys. He’s not shooting too different a percentage on his drives, but simply hasn’t appeared able or willing to get to the hoop as often. He drove the ball4 9.4 times per-48 last year, a figure that’s down to 6.1 so far, and the Jazz as a team are scoring barely half as many points per game as a direct result of Burks drives despite his per-game minutes increasing significantly.

Teams might be forcing him to take shots away from the rim or not fouling him when he does drive? He's not getting to the line as much. I would.


He’s been far too willing to settle for low-efficiency jumpers instead of pushing the envelope. Where Burks in previous years was often rounding corners and flying into the teeth of the defense to cause rotations and help collapses, he’s more frequently than ever stopping short and jacking impatient shots:

Whatever the reason, be it hesitance within the system or something less fixable like complacency after his payday or even a minor injury5, it’s a real issue even through a small sample of games. The numbers bear out a significant worsening of his shot selection, both compared to his peers and to his own previous seasons. Burks is attempting over 30 percent of his total shots as two-pointers from 16 feet or further, a figure that would be far and away a career high. Not only that, but his conversion rate here has been nearly 46 percent, over 10 percent better than he’s ever shot from this range over a full season for his career – it’s good he’s improved his accuracy so far, but there’s almost no way he can sustain such numbers,

Why not? G is a great shooter now despite never being one.


and his dwindling efficiency overall could suffer even more when he inevitably regresses.

There are other trickle-down effects, too. Burks has also distributed some of his new shot volume to beyond the three-point line, which is a positive sign along with another slight uptick in his accuracy from deep, now up to 37 percent. But it hardly outweighs a sharp drop in his free-throw rate6, from .449 last year to .350 so far, a big surprise given the aggression he showcased all throughout the preseason.

That's what you get when you take players away from what they do well. Same issue as making your best low post scorer a stretch 4.


Furthermore, his increase from the 16+ range has come at the expense of his looks at the rim, where Burks is attempting just 26.8 percent of his looks (compared with 34.2 percent last year), easily his lowest since entering the league. His actual performance near the basket has suffered badly, as well – per NBASavant, he’s shooting an ugly 45.9 percent in the Restricted Area, 121st of 128 guys who have attempted at least 25 shots there so far7.

It remains early, and it’s not out of the question that the vast majority of Burks’ struggles can be traced back to both a new offensive scheme and his insertion into the starting lineup. But to the experienced eye, he just hasn’t seemed the same; he’s far too willing to settle, and seems genuinely uninterested in getting to the hoop for long periods of time, even when clear opportunities to do so and create an advantageous circumstance appear to be there. Couple this puzzling reluctance to attack with continued meandering defense away from the ball, an area I had hoped he was ready to clamp down on this year, and my man Alec hasn’t had the most encouraging start to the year. It’s a long season, though, and Quin and his staff have undoubtedly seen many of the same trends and will work to correct them. Look for a bounce back game or two from the young 2-guard in the near future…or if not, don’t expect the worrying to subside.

Ben Dowsett

Maybe he's still not 100%? That could explain him not wanting contact as much.

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[QUOTE]Jazz rookie Rodney Hood is out for the game against Oklahoma City as he continues battling plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

Hood averages four points and 3.3 rebounds in 15 minutes, but he has missed the last five games. He was wearing a boot as he watched the end of Monday

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How hurting are the Thunder? Sebastian Telfair was playing in China a year ago, but he started a long stretch of games through November, and remains a key guy off the bench.

He'd be a nice starter for the Jazz.

[QUOTE]Reggie Jackson, normally a back-up, is the No. 1 offensive option. Jeremy Lamb, not even in the rotation a year ago, now has a green light to shoot it. That

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Spencer Checketts: Trey Burke: "Coach really came at us at halftime. Honestly, we were all shocked at how animated he was." Twitter

"I just thought we lost our identity," Snyder said of his halftime pep talk after his team's sluggish/terrible/awful/ugly/downright dreadful first-half performance. " ... We came out and didn't get stops early and offensively we were just stuck in mud. We showed them a couple of clips and said let's get back to doing the things we do." Deseret News

He lost it before the end of the first half telling them to wake up. It lit a fire under them and it was the best they've played all year for the stretch that followed into the 2nd half. Granted it was another shitty team.

They slowed down Reggie and Ibaka. Burke has been getting some assists at least to go along with his crappy shooting. Burks might have had the best game of his career and 2nd straight double figure rebounding game. Exum might have had his best game as well. Other than Novak he's probably their best spot up shooter which is funny considering that was supposed to be a weakness. All without their superstar showing up and Favors in foul trouble again. Enes is playing well. Maybe he'll start getting big minutes or stay in th game in favor of Favors at some point even?

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[QUOTE]But in terms of their games and skillsets, Okafor is increasingly drawing comparisons to the future Hall of Famer with five NBA rings.

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The Jazz don’t want to lose contact. With that, we mean contact with the .500 mark, especially early in the year.

With Okafor available? :coleman:


It’s fairly obvious that this is a much better team than last season. It’s obvious that the Jazz are more competitive, are developing guys that could have some star power and want to maintain the consistency and the confidence that improved play has yielded early on.

It's not that obvious to me. Everyone seems to forget that there were close to .500 in the middle of last year. They've been beating crappy teams and teams on the back end of a back to back. Also lost to some shitty teams that they should have beat. Their bench is weaker with Alec starting. The pg position is weak again. They still can't shoot. They still don't defend.They have a lot to prove yet.


So this week isn’t central to that, but it is important. You can argue that of their four games in the next seven days, Utah should only be favored tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder. After OKC on Tuesday night at EnergySolutions Arena, the Jazz travel to Golden State to face the Warriors, come home to face the New Orleans Pelicans and then meet the Chicago Bulls next Monday.

That’s quite a week. Three teams that look to be in the postseason hunt, and three teams with some of the NBA’s elite players. The Jazz are currently 4-7, a bad week can put them in a difficult spot.

"It’s definitely going to be competitive for us," Utah center Derrick Favors said. "We’re going to have to play well if we want to get some wins. We just have to pay attention to detail and take things slowly."

The good news is that the week isn’t nearly as travel intensive as last week. The Jazz will play tonight, then take a few days off before meeting the Warriors. They do face the Pelicans on a back-to-back, but then get the Bulls after another day off.

In doing so, here are the slate of players Utah will be running into: Serge Ibaka, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis, Joakim Noah, Pau Gasol, Jimmy Butler. Oh yeah. That guy Derrick Rose is currently sitting out with a strained hamstring. He could very well be healthy in six days.

So the Jazz are going to have a fun time navigating yet another stretch through the minefield’s of the NBA’s Western Conference. It all begins tonight with a depleted Oklahoma City team. Looking at all of the evidence, tonight looms fairly important.

Tony Jones

I'd expect them to lose the next 3. Than their record makes them one of the worst teams in the league which they are.

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[QUOTE]normally perfect hair unkempt, Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder did the one thing on Tuesday night he hasn

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[QUOTE]Hood, a rookie forward out of Duke, has been a key member of Quin Snyder

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Burke put together one of his best performances of the season Tuesday night at EnergySolutions Arena.

Even at his best he hasn't been that good. The fact that they write articles about him still is amazing really!

[QUOTE]He finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and committed one turnover in 37 minutes to help the Jazz beat Oklahoma City, 98-81.

"Tonight was definitely a balanced game for me," Burke said. "I tried to make plays for others and I found myself in the paint a lot. A couple of [shots] didn

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"Alec Burks played unbelievably," Kanter said. "Got his second double-double in two games. If he keeps playing like that, other players are going to help out and this team is going to be really good."

And no one seems to be talking about it. Was shocked he wasn't the interview immediately after the game but instead it was Trey. Let's hope he can keep it up against Klay Thompson now.


Gordon Hayward added 13 points and Derrick Favors contributed 10 with seven rebounds for Utah (5-7), which was playing its first home game following a five-game Eastern road swing.

"Those games when you come home off a long road trip are always a tough game," Snyder said. "I thought we did a good job responding to it.

"At the beginning of the game we didn't have any energy. Anywhere you can find it, I told them, look under a rock, look at each other. Anywhere you can find some juice, try to find it."

Dante Exum splashed in three 3-pointers in a crowd-pleasing 2 1/2-minute stretch of the second half, and Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles also contributed to the victory off the Jazz bench.

"A lot of guys had good efforts in a difficult situation," Snyder said. "Everybody played a part in trying to pick us up. What Alec was doing defensively was crucial. He's the guy that had the juice. This is the best job Trey has done running the team and keeping his composure."

For Oklahoma City, Jeremy Lamb led the way with 19 points but shot just 5 of 15 from the field for a Thunder squad that shot just 35.7 percent from the field in suffering its third-straight loss.

"We were defending with our hands and they got 15 free throws in that second quarter," said Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks. "That turned the game around. We got up 17 and then we stopped doing what we were doing.

"And then our defense didn't come to play in the third (quarter)."

EMAIL: rhollis@desnews.com

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[QUOTE]Through the first three-plus years of his NBA career, spanning 211 games, Alec Burks had never had as many as 10 rebounds in a game. That

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"It starts on the defensive end when it comes to those tight games," Burke said, pointing out that the Jazz could have won their road games at Toronto, Atlanta and Indiana on their recent Eastern road trip if they'd just tightened things up defensively in the fourth quarter. "We've got to execute at a higher level on offense as well.

"When it's a close game, anything can happen. It's just a matter of executing and then sticking to our principles on the defensive end.

"It's something we're gonna have to constantly buy into, which is the defensive end more than anything," Burke said. "The offense is gonna come but when it comes down to the last six minutes of the game and it's tight, both teams are battling, it's gonna come down to playing defense."

Try playing it the rest of the game and it might not come down to it at the end.


NO NIGHTS OFF: Oklahoma City came into Tuesday night's game without its two best players, reigning league MVP Kevin Durant and All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook.

But Favors said the biggest mistake the Jazz could make is to think that, with the Thunder's two top guys sidelined by injuries, he and his teammates could win by simply showing up.

"It's the NBA and there's a lot of good players in the NBA, so you can have any night where a guy can have 30 (points)," he said. "So, yeah, we don't have to go against Durant and Westbrook, but at the same time, this is the NBA and you have to work against everybody. They've still got guys who can put up points and have their nights."

First-year Jazz coach Quin Snyder admitted that it's a challenge to make sure his guys are mentally ready to play, knowing that the Thunder's big guns are silenced for now.

"I think it's always a concern," he said. "And these guys have beaten people, too. They don't obviously have the firepower that they would have with two All-Stars, but teams come together in these situations and I'm sure they look at this game as a game that they have an opportunity to win.

"The silver lining ... is they've got some guys right now that are getting opportunities to grow and to play. There's nothing like experience. We can talk about player development and all this, but part of development is actually getting out on the court and competing. And they'll be better for it when they get those guys back."

CONFIDENCE-BOOSTER: Burke, whose buzzer-beater knocked off the Knicks last Friday at Madison Square Garden, said making such a big-time shot can be a big boost to a player's confidence.
"It helps it a lot," he said. "It gives you confidence when you hit a big shot like that to help your team win. Obviously to hit a shot like that for a young player, I think all young players get confidence from that because that's a big shot, and a lot of guys might not even take that shot.

"So for me, it's a confidence-booster," Burke said, "something that I'll definitely carry with me. It gives you confidence, the experience of the shot by itself gives you confidence to be ready for that same shot whenever the game's close. It's always big when you make a shot like that to help your team win."

SOMETHING'S WRONG UNDER THE HOOD: Jazz guard/forward Rodney Hood missed Tuesday night's game with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, marking the sixth-straight game that the rookie swingman has been forced to sit out due to the painful injury.

"He brings that scoring punch off the bench for us, kinda like Alec (Burks) used to do for us in the past," Favors said of Hood, a 6-foot-8 sharpshooter out of Duke who's averaged 4 points and 3.3 rebounds a game in limited playing time.

No he doesn't. I think Trey could be the answer to the bench. Where's Raul? :cry:


Favors, who has dealt with painful plantar fasciitis of his own in the past, said there's only one way to get over it: "Basically rest," he said. "There isn't much anything that you can do. You've got to rest, put ice on it, and it's gonna take awhile to get it back healthy again. The main thing he can do right now is to take his time and rest."

Snyder said the Jazz definitely miss Hood's presence coming off the bench for the team's second unit.

"It affects us, it affects us," he said. "Obviously he's been a key guy for us off the bench. He makes shots, and one of the things that I don't think maybe people are aware of is he's a good defender.

"He's got length, and he knows where to go as much as any of our guys here right now that are still trying to find their way. So we miss him. He's an important part of our team."

EMAIL: rhollis@desnews.com

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[QUOTE]He had just used Jeremy Evans for the 4th time this season, then subbed him back out. He tried playing Jingles1 to unstick the ball in the offense. In his own words, he was

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[QUOTE]no doubt that Hayward is an extremely unique player that make an impact in a bevy of different ways, he

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[QUOTE]Burks is a very good catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter. Last year, he was at 41% and this year he

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Toure' Murry is playing better. And when I say playing better, I mean he's playing like the Dwyane Wade of the NBA-DL.

:wtf:


Lastly, before we go on to the players, Jack Cooley did not play in this game as he was injured in the second half of Game 1, and did not return / was not cleared for action tonight. This meant more Quinton Doggett, and he is showing some impressive things in the paint.

Kevin Murphy, once again the scoring leader from last year had a poor shooting night. Only 3 of his 12 shots went in, and was a -25 in +/-. If he's not scoring he's trying to facilitate, and it's not quite second nature to him. And if he's not doing that he's not doing much else. His defense appears to be the biggest flaw right now. We know he can score. He's just not doing it right now. We don't know if he can defend at the "next to the NBA" level yet. Murph finished with 10 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds. His main benefit on the floor seems to be a guy who can draw fouls and get to the line. But he was supposed to be more than just that at the NBA-DL level. Furthermore, he has shown that he is more with his play last season.
Toure' Murry had a much better game, finishing with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals. He shot 7/15, but missed both of his 3PTA. Here he is being used in a more natural way as a combo guard from the two position. He has the physicality to bully a lot of smaller guards and plays like his college self, not his muted NBA form that was just a pick and roll passer. I am beginning to think that he could be better than Ian Clark -- but Clark distinguished himself in the DL last year as being obviously too good for it. Time will tell if Murry will prove that this year.

Clark did not show that! He showed he needed more time there. I'm guessing he might be too good for the D-league now but would love to see him prove it since he does 't play anyway. Encouraging game from Murray anyway. Maybe he has some potential after all.


Jack Cooley, was injured.

Nick Covington went 6/11, had 17 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. I was more impressed with him in Game 2 than Game 1, obviously. But it's just clear that Erie is a very bad matchup for him. Peyton Siva and Seth Curry just torched him (and the rest of Idaho) all game long.

Trey Bussey only played 17 minutes, and got to the line and made a three. His 9 points off of 5 shots was impressive, but he did not do much else.
Joel Wright added 16 and 3, while Quinton Doggett had 11 and 8. Neither of them look like NBA ready prospects just yet.

Furthermore, it's easy to see why in previous seasons the Jazz did not call up guys from the Utah Flash, the team gunned for the best defenders. And that's who Sundiata Gaines / Othyus Jeffers were. Right now none of these cats look like solid defenders, save for the potential of Murry right now. And he may only appear that way because he was just physically that much bigger than his opponents on Saturday night.

The Stamps don't play again until a FRI/SAT back to back in LA against the Defenders.

Kevin Murphy needs to shake it off and start making some of his shots.

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Derrick Favors, the unsculpted low-post presence to anchor the Jazz defense for years to come.

I'm not convinced. Rudy maybe.

[QUOTE]It

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[QUOTE]the Jazz rallied from a 17-point first-half deficit and wound up winning by 17, 98-81

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Thankfully for the Jazz, there are four quarters in a game.

That's actually been a problem the past two years. How often have they put together 4 quarters of play? Not yet this season.

[QUOTE]The first 17 minutes were anything but great for the home squad. Utah was quite lackadaisical in getting off to a slow start. Conversely, the injury-depleted Thunder came out with a lot of energy and it took a while for Utah to match it. Once it did, execution picked up and the Jazz moved on to a comfortable win over their division rival.

Turning point: After falling behind 37-20 midway through the second quarter, Utah head coach Quin Snyder

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[QUOTE]There

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[QUOTE]Through 12 games, what are some stats, and how do the stats compare to last year?2

Through 12 games last year, we were 1-11; this year, we

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Arno Ferguson, of Golden State of Mind, wrote about the 10 Most likely MIP candidates.

I suggest you check it out, if not just for Gordon Hayward but for the other players on the list.

As for The Precious, well, Arno had this to say:

8. Gordon Hayward (Min -2.2, Pts +2.5, FG% +5.9, FT% +6.9, TOs -0.7)

Hayward is probably one of the few names casual NBA fans will recognize on the Jazz roster. Looks like his game has reacted well to the 4-year, 63 million contract he received in the off-season. With slightly decreasing minutes, he's been scoring more (and efficiently) while cutting back his turnovers.

- Arno Fergusion, GSOM, 2014

Check it out here, and hopefully Hayward's play will continue to gain some level of attention to our oft-forgotten franchise. (On the National level. Serously, name the last Jazz player to win an end-of-season award. Go!)

Mailman MVP?

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[QUOTE]Kanter has started all 11 contests for the Jazz heading into Friday

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The team practiced Thursday after taking Wednesday off to get a "mental and emotional rest," as Snyder phrased it.

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Ohm Youngmisuk: According to sources, Nets have had preliminary talks w/ Sixers about moving Kirilenko + Karasev. In such case Sixers likely waive Kirilenko Twitter @NotoriousOHM

Ohm Youngmisuk: If the Nets and Sixers were to make a deal involving Kirilenko + Karasev, Nets likely would seek and get a trade exception in return Twitter @NotoriousOHM

Mike Mazzeo: Kirilenko's $3.3 million would help #Sixers in their quest to get to (or at least close to) #NBA's $56.759 million salary floor for 2014-15 Twitter @MazzESPN

works for Jeremy Evans too.

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[QUOTE]Hayward battled Carmelo Anthony and toughed through a road-trip-ending game in Toronto with flu-like symptoms. Finally, after a week the 24-year-old was back to full health Friday.

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If there’s one upside to Friday’s shellacking it’s that none of the starters played more than Gordon Hayward’s 27 minutes. Kanter, in fact, only saw 20 minutes of action.

that could definitely be a plus tonight with the Pelicans also on a back to back. Still would expect a loss.


Despite limited playing time, Kanter led the Jazz with 18 points but was frustrated with his five turnovers. As a team, Utah had 20 turnovers, leading to 28 points for the Warriors.

Despite the turnovers He was the one guy that came to play and was left on the bench yet again. Tired of hearing about match-ups. He's a tough match-up for other teams too.


Golden State, meanwhile, got the balanced type of scoring that Snyder was concerned about leading up to the game. The Warriors were able to demolish the Jazz despite the fact that Steph Curry only scored eight points and Klay Thompson had just 14. Those two came in averaging 48.4 combined points.

Sixth man Andre Iguodala led the Warriors with 17 points, while Golden State also got nice contributions from Harrison Barnes (14 points, 11 rebounds), Marreese Speights (14 points) and Andrew Bogut (12 points).

“They can overwhelm you in a number of ways,” Snyder said. “Their pace is so fast, it’s hard to find them all the time.”

“They just have so many weapons,” Hayward said at Friday’s shootaround. “I think it’s one of those things where you try to take away what they like to do most. If they’re firing on all cylinders and everybody’s hitting them, then you have to outscore them.”

On this night, however, the only time that happened was the fourth quarter, which Utah won 31-16 to make the final score a bit more respectable. Still, Golden State easily defeated the Jazz for the fifth straight time for the first time in franchise history.

On a positive note, Warriors coach Steve Kerr noted that it’s interesting how he and Snyder both run similar types of offenses with their new teams — something he said probably goes back to their San Antonio roots in the NBA.

“We have some similar actions. I know we have the same beliefs – ball movement, spacing, flow and pace,” Kerr said of the Jazz. “Our personnel’s a little different. They’ve got some big guys inside that they like to pound you with.”

Jazz have big guys they could pound you with too and considering they can't shoot would seem to make the most sense. GS was definitely packing the paint and daring the Jazz to beat them from the perimeter as any team should be doing.


Only one team did the pounding on this night — and it wasn’t Utah, which dropped to 5-8.

When told of Kerr’s comments about the similar styles, Snyder quipped, “I hope we play like them.”

While it’s unlikely Utah will get a backcourt that’s as explosive as Golden State’s, the team will continue to work on trying to match the ball movement the Warriors use in mimicking the Spurs.

Snyder credited the Warriors’ maturity and how well-connected they are on the court.

“One of the things that makes them so good is the way they pass the ball and how unselfish they are,” Snyder said. “That’s something that’s a credit to Steve first and as well as their guys that they embrace that style.”

EMAIL: jody@desnews.com, TWITTER: DJJazzyJody

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[QUOTE]A Jazz newcomer once said he didn

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Derrick Favors, the unsculpted low-post presence to anchor the Jazz defense for years to come.

When should we expect this to begin? Gobert looks like that player actually.

[QUOTE]It

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the Utah Jazz still need to be more competitive than they were on Friday night.


As long as you're going to keep gushing over them they must. Other than the Toronto game I haven't been very impressed and of course they folded in that one and didn 't play D. Not sure Toronto is even a playoff team in the west though.

[QUOTE]That was a big message conveyed by Jazz coach Quin Snyder in the moments following a 101-88 loss to a Warriors team that truthfully played like the game was over in the second half. For the second consecutive game, Utah came out with a slow start. Unlike Tuesday night

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"We have to try and keep them off the line," Utah Jazz point guard Trey Burke said on Friday before the two teams met. "They have a lot of guys who can fill it up. So we have to get a hand in their faces, and we have to keep them to one shot."

At least you talk a big game.

[QUOTE]The Jazz face one of their biggest defensive tests in trying to deal with Curry and Thompson, each of whom have improved significantly off the dribble over the years. The bad news? A team that closely mirrors Golden State is the Dallas Mavericks

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A look of frustration on their faces after being victimized by Bay Area traffic Friday, Quin Snyder and a good chunk of his Utah Jazz players arrived at Oracle Arena a little more than 75 minutes before tipoff with the Golden State Warriors. As a result, the pregame routine, always precise under Snyder, was thrown off, even if slightly so.

And it all went downhill from there.

at least there's another excuse

[QUOTE]By the end, the Warriors won a 101-88 contest that was much less competitive than the final score would indicate. And by the end, if it wasn

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[QUOTE]"I

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they also topped the league with 19.3 turnovers per game as they adjusted to Kerr's ball-movement based offense.

Of course against the Jazz D they weren't close to that.

[QUOTE]The Warriors put on a dazzling display against the Jazz, showing off a space-and-pace scheme and a smothering defense while minimizing mistakes on both ends.

Golden State outshot the Jazz 50 percent to 42.7 percent. The Warriors also had just 13 turnovers

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[QUOTE]The Jazz aren

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It's been refreshing to see the outpouring of support FOR AK from the Nets fans, the various comments sections and @ replies to Nets reporters see to be almost universally pro-AK. The refrain is that while things appear unsalvageable with Hollins at the helm, that General Manager Billy King should move him.

Hard not to like AK isn't it?


You may remember Billy King as former GM of the Philadelphia 76ers back when he and Kevin O'Connor (then Utah Jazz GM) made a lot of trades. They remain very close, clasping hands and joking with full mirth when I last saw them together at the NBA Draft combine last spring.

N.B. King was the GM of Philly from 98 till 07. Here is a list of the UTA/PHI deals during that time period:

June 24th, 1998 -- Nazr Mohammad traded for future 1st rounder (Quincy Lewis, 1999) (on draft night)

bad trade though I though Quincy deserved more of a shot


June 7th, 2005 -- Future 2nd rounder (Alex Acker, 2005) for future 2nd rounder (Ante Tomic, 2008)

That one looks good but when will the league see Ante?


June 28th, 2007 -- Herbert Hill for Kyrylo Fesenko (on draft night)
:roll:


December 29th, 2007 -- Gordan Giricek and future 1st rounder (Trevor Booker) for Kyle Korver

great one obviously other than the fact that Jerry had too much love for Kyle


N.B. King was the GM of Brooklyn from 2010 onwards. Here is a list of the UTA/BKN deals during that time period:

February 23rd, 2011: Deron Williams for Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, Cash, a future 1st rounder (Enes Kanter, 2011), a future 1st rounder (Gorgui Dieng, 2013)

still got to wonder what they could have gotten if it wasn't the 2nd offer on the table though.


December 22nd, 2011: Mehmet Okur for a trade exception and a future 2nd rounder (2015)

sweet!


That's six Utah deals that Billy King has made in his GM career. I wouldn't mind having Andrei Kirilenko return to the Utah Jazz. Kirilenko is making $3.326 million this year, in the final year of his contract. I'd straight up trade the rights to Ante Tomic and a few 2nd rounders for him; or just try to claim him off of waivers if he gets cut.

I had forgotten about the King/O'conner connection too.

No way I give Tomic away in the deal. He's one of the top players not in the league and in his prime. An elite passing big man with various post moves with both hands and length. He has to have more value than that. The Sixers are supposed to be getting a pick for taking his and the other Russians contract. I don't think the Jazz are under the cap enough to get him without a player in the deal anyway.

Jeremy Evans makes perfect sense. He's not in the Jazz's plans this year or beyond obviously. Expiring contract. Great end of the bench energy guy who was a solid rotation player last year in a tougher conference. Even if Jeremy is at the end of the Nets bench he would be better in that role than AK and he saves the Nets money not that they care much. I would like to see Jeremy get a shot elsewhere.


Obviously his use to the Jazz are partly for nostalgia purposes, but also as that veteran off the bench who has actually played in big games before (Olympic medal games, Western Conference Playoff games, etc). I think that if there was a guy who was going to make Gordon Hayward and Rodney Hood into solid wing defenders it could be Andrei coaching them in practice / film sessions. Last season he played 19.0 mpg, and I seriously doubt that there is 19.0 mpg to be found on this roster. But I am certain that Quin Snyder, who knows the Euro game under Ettore Messina, would be able to find a place for a high basketball IQ forward passer.

Great fit. Plays D and passes. A vet. Could help lead the 2nd unit. Could start pulling Burks early in games instead of G to join him on the 2nd unit since G and AK have more similar games. Can play 3 positions. Hood to the D-league until he's ready. Could move Burks to the 1 and send Burke to the D-league.


I'm not objective when it comes to AK-47. It is sad to see that one of the better relationships he's had with a coach was the troubled one with Jerry Sloan . . . his on court utility isn't as high as it used to be. But I would welcome him back if he found his way back home. Regardless, I wish him the best and hope that the 33 year old can find a place that will feel like he can contribute to their team. It's most likely not going to be Utah. If it's in the NBA I will still watch him, unless it's with the Lakers.

I don't see it happening. They are tanking and don't want vets. His number will hang from the rafters though eventually. I thought it was certainly time to move on from AK when they did but now would be a great time to bring him back. He could be a tradable asset later in the season as well. A more valuable one than Evans I'd think. They also have the roster space to take on the other guy if they must.


Obvious propaganda video is obvious.

Update: Via Steve Aschburner, of NBA.com who points to this Tim Bontemps story today

Sources said no buyout negotiations have taken place yet, but that it's possible the team could try to trade Kirilenko and his $3.3 million expiring contract. If such a trade were to materialize, it would likely be after Dec. 15, when all rookies and players signed to contracts this summer are eligible to be moved.

If a trade doesn't materialize, it seems inevitable that a buyout would be reached at some point.

- Tim Bontemps, NY Post, 2014

[Xiao Yao You]

in a team defensive structure like the Jazz’s that relies on help-and-recover from all five guys, you’re only as good as your weakest link. And the Jazz have had a lot of weak links lately.

Despite all the hate for Enes Burke has to be the weakest no?


Part of it is that they haven’t been actively defending away from the ball. If they’re guarding someone weak side — or even guarding someone on a simple cross paint route, a lot of Jazz players just sort of hang out. They start defending after their man has caught the ball. Smart defenders are engaged all the times, but too many Utah players have been defending like they’re on-call: “Page me when I really need to start caring.” It happened throughout the Eastern trip, it happened on Tuesday and it happened a lot on Friday in Oakland.

Gordon Hayward — usually a more engaged defender all-around — did it on consecutive plays in the first quarter, waiting to lock in on the play until the ball came to his man. At one point Alec Burks was casually jogging behind his man who caught, turned and scored a layup before Burks even realized what had happened.

And then the screen defense… Yikes.

The Jazz actually had to play their bigs more aggressively on screens than they’ve been doing on the whole. That’s what you have to do against GSW, but they were probably working against muscle memory a bit, and they looked confused a lot of times. The Warriors have a set they like to run with a multiple-weave pattern out front, a series of side to side screens and constant motion. The Jazz would get completely disoriented on those, almost always allowing an open three or a lob for a short-range attempt.

And that's got to be on the coaching staff as well. They had plenty of time to prepare them for it.


That’s to say nothing of the Jazz allowing early leakouts. Seven of GSW’s points in that 12-0 opening salvo were transition points, and four were completely uncontested cherry-picks1.

It was obvious early that the Jazz weren’t paying attention to those kinds of details. They were a step late or a missed read away from good defense for most of the night.

2. That said, the Warriors ARE, in fact, good.

Their new offensive principles are really bringing out the talents their guys possess. Andrew Bogut is learning how to score opportunistically, Marreese Speights and Draymond Green are hitting their shots and playing with energy, and of course Los Hermanos Splash are doing the kinds of things they’re known to do.

Golden State runs a one-post flow offense, too, only their guys trust the offense a lot more at this point. You can tell they’re confident and have the green light from the bench because they tend to strike when a moment presents itself. They trust each other to recognize a good shot, and the result is a much more free-flowing, purposeful game than the Jazz are playing most nights.

In contrast, you still see Utah pump fake their way away from open jumpers and otherwise overcomplicate their own lives. They would do well to take note of how free and loose the Warriors are, and how ready they are to take good shots that the flow produces. Watch this play and tell me that the Jazz are trusting themselves to take what the offense presents.

The Jazz aren't great shooters. There's a reason they pass up open shots.


That’s a lot of wasted movement and passing. The offensive movement is creating moments of opportunity, but sometimes they’re not taking what’s there and instead just bounce the ball around the perimeter. This clip right here is exactly why the Jazz’s pace numbers aren’t what we expected: if the early offense isn’t there, the Jazz spend the whole clock looking and waiting for something better to come along. “No, really, YOU shoot.”

3. Ru-dy!

Context matters, so it’s hard to take too much positive from a game that was never competitive after the first four minutes. Even the nice things that happened (like Steve Novak’s three triples, including the he-must-give-to-charity high rim bounce) has a huge asterisk that says, “Yeah, but…”

That said, Rudy Gobert had a career-high 12 points on 6/7 shooting just by being active and showing good hands around the rim. All of his shots were in the restricted area, and the one he missed, he quickly collected and put back in. He was disruptive with two blocks and two steals.

Other bright spots: You wouldn’t be overwhelmed by Dante Exum’s line (2 points, 5 assits in 22 minutes), but he had a nice floor game for the most part.

That's what I'm impressed with. His stats aren't going to jump out at ya but he knows how to play.


Ian Clark had some nice minutes, too, though by that point a playground game had broken out.

Clark looks like he deserves a shot anyway. When no one else is getting it done I see no reason not to give him and Jeremy a shot.


Enes Kanter played a nice fluid game on offense. All 12 active Jazz players scored.

And, of course, there was this:

Dan Clayton

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]the Jazz had 22 fewer shots than the Pelicans, so despite holding the Pelicans to a lower shooting percentage than their own, they got beaten pretty easily in the end. The Jazz allowed the Pelicans to get 18 offensive rebounds, 8 more than the average NBA team. Then, Utah turned the ball over 18 times. The Pelicans were able to take advantage with 21 points off of those turnovers, including 17 fast-break points.

It

[Xiao Yao You]

the Idaho Stampede won their first game, and are now 1-2 with 47 games to go before the playoffs. They defeated the Los Angeles Lakers affiliate team, the Los Angeles Defenders. It was a sell-out crowd of 148 people (obviously not a sell out),

148 people is a sell out? :eek:


and a one point finish . . . and there's just so much to talk about. LA was up by 24 in the second half, but Idaho did not quit. They had a good reason to quit as starting point guard Nick Covington went down with an ankle injury, but true rookie, 22 year old Tre Bussey, stepped up. But let's be real, this game isn't an Idaho win without the efforts of Toure' Murry and Kevin Murphy.


Murray is the only one we should really care about though I guess if they'll have a good idea of how other guys could fit into their system by watching them down there.


I get that for some, that's all you want to read. So here are the stats of the players you care about:

Toure' Murry played 27 minutes and finished with 15 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, didn't make a three, but was instrumental down the stretch with his defense and offensive ability. He shot 7/15, but did have four turn overs.

Nice game! If he can keep that up they'll probably keep him around and who knows he might be able to help the big club at sometime. Hood needs to go there and prove his worth too. The fact that he'l be coming off an injury makes even more sense to do so.


Kevin Murphy can't be contained for three straight games. The NBA-DL scoring leader erupted for 32 points (10/18 FG, 2/4 from deep, and 10/11 from the line), and added 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 1 steal

He'll get another shot somewhere if he can do that consistently. I think he's got a chance as a bench scorer in the league eventually.


Jack Cooley is still hurt

Nick Covington, who played with the Jazz in Vegas, got injured early, and only played 8 minutes -- he still managed 3 points, 4 assists, and 1 steal in that time

Tre Bussey had 18 points off the bench, and 4 steals, he shot 6/11, 3/3, 3/3 in the energizer role

Joel Wright had another solid game with 23 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 assist.

Jerrelle Benimon also came off the bench and had 21 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal

some big games!


Anyway, Idaho didn't quit and were down by double digits still in the fourth quarter. The Stamps made a run right when they had to and went from being down 14 with 8 minutes to play to being up by one off of two made free throws by Kevin Murphy with 6 and change to play.

It was a dogfight from then on (which means lots of misses, it's the NBA-DL), and Idaho had to take a time out with 1:01 left, and LA being up 126-124. Out of the time out Shane Gibson got fouled on a three with 58.3 seconds to go. So yeah, the play was "inbound to a guy, and have that guy take a pump fake with 3 seconds of total clock time." They're not really running an offense here. Dude made all of his throws, LA then bricked a quick shot -- and then Kevin Murphy got called for an offensive foul. Yikes. A flagrant foul. A flagrant offensive foul . . . from a guard? Gotta love NBA-DL refs. After the review it was downgraded to a regular foul though.

LA ball, down by one with 30 seconds left. They missed a layup, got the rebound, missed another layup, and then Idaho got the ball, and threw it down court to a cherrypicking Joel Wright for an open dunk. Idaho up by 3. LA ball with 8 seconds left. Coach Cooper said in the time out for "no one to help." Guess what happened?

Jamario Moon got all backboard on a three point shot from way too deep, Idaho got the ball back. Got fouled. And Wright bricked the first FT, made the second. And that was the game. The four point lead was the largest lead for the Stamps in the ENTIRE GAME. With 1.5 seconds left LA drew up a play that got Manny Harris an open three, and he drained it at the buzzer for the final margin of 130-129.

These two teams play again tonight in LA, and it will be fun to see if Kevin and Toure' can break out again. Also, A.C.Green is a worse commentator than Matt Harpring.

I did not see a lot of the Utah Jazz offense in this game, but I wasn't paying attention to every minute of the 2 hour long D-League game in front of less than 150 fans.

[Xiao Yao You]

Another nice game last night or Murray.

MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A +/- OREB DREB REB AST PF STL TO BS BA PTS
T. Murry
38 10-21 0-2 2-3 13 2 8 10 5 4 2 3 1 3 22

Turnovers are bit high but looks pretty nice otherwise.

[Xiao Yao You]

“I’ve always been active in the community, maybe not as much as I am now, because obviously I’m more financially stable,” said Booker, a valuable backup for the Jazz who’s making $5 million this season. “I feel like I can do more with me being stable. I’m comfortable doing a lot more than I used to.”

You weren't stable on your multi million dollar rookie deal? :confusedshrug:


This past summer, the hard-working fifth-year player participated in a “Booker’s Breakfast Assist” to help round up cereal and milk donations for the Crossroads Urban Center.

“It’s definitely a great community,” Booker said of Utah. “I’m just glad to be able to give back.”

DRIVING MR. DANTE: Jazz forward Joe Ingles has come a long way over the years. Way back when, the Australian standout forward was Dante Exum’s favorite player and hoops hero.

Now the 27-year-old Ingles is apparently his younger Jazz teammate’s chauffeur.

Surrounded by multiple members of the Australian media for Friday’s game against the Warriors — also featuring Aussie Andrew Bogut — Ingles was asked about his relationship with Exum, the Jazz rookie from Melbourne.

“I saved him from his mom driving him to practice,” Ingles said. “I think he feels better coming with me than his mom. He’s 15 or whatever he is, so I’ll take care of him until he grows old enough.”

Here’s guessing Exum will return the favor if Ingles needs a driver down the road someday.

He hasn't learned to drive? What is the age to drive there Kabong?


HELPFUL ADVICE: Ingles was a Beijing Olympics teammate of Bogut’s, but Exum doesn’t personally know the former Ute all that well. The Golden State center, however, took time to speak with Cecil Exum, Dante’s father, to give him advice on the NBA during the draft process this past year. Bogut also met with the younger Exum while the teen phenom worked out in Los Angeles leading up to the June draft.

That was much appreciated by Exum, who believes Bogut’s success on the U.S. basketball scene has been “good for Australian basketball” over the past decade.

“It was big at the time when he went No. 1 back in Australia,” Exum said of Bogut, who was taken first by Milwaukee in the 2005 draft. “He was kind of talking about the differences (of) what he’s done and what he could have done differently to help me.”

EMAIL: jody@desnews.com

TWITTER: DJJazzyJody

He meet Lucy Longley yet? I watched his college career since they were in the same league as Utah and BYU.

[Xiao Yao You]

Anthony Davis, the 6-foot-10, former No. 1 draft pick from Kentucky, has become one of the NBA’s best in his third season in the NBA.

He was one of the best last year. He might be the best at the moment though.


He showed the Jazz an eyeful Saturday, scoring a career-high 43 points on 16-of-23 shooting with a team-high 14 rebounds. For good measure, he added a pair of steals and a blocked shot and played good defense against Utah’s big men, who collectively didn’t have one of their better nights.

“Obviously Davis is a great player and he had a great game tonight,’’ said Utah coach Quin Snyder. “It’s a real challenge. You can’t give him easy baskets and he got some of those tonight.’’

The Jazz couldn’t find an answer for the talented 6-foot-10 Davis all night. Several Jazz players took a turn guarding the big man with Enes Kanter, Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward and Trevor Booker all having no luck stopping Davis.

“There was really never a chance to double him, he goes so quickly when he gets the ball,’’ said Snyder.

“It’s tough — he’s long, he’s athletic, he can shoot over you, he can drive it — he has a lot of assets to his game,’’ said Booker. “I should have tried to guard him a little more. I’m not sure I could have made a difference … he’s a good player.’’

Harping did mention Booker defending him better.


With their second straight loss, the Jazz dropped to 5-9 on the season with a home game against Chicago coming up on Monday night, while the Pelicans improved to 7-5.

The losses keep coming. Tank! :rolleyes:


For the third straight game the Jazz got off to a slow start and found themselves down by 17 points at halftime. They clawed back within five points after three quarters, but couldn’t get closer as the Pelicans increased their lead down the stretch.

After getting 21 of his points in the first half on 8-of-10 shooting, Davis added 11 points in the third quarter and 11 more in the in the final period.

“It was a special night for him,’’ said New Orleans coach Monty Williams. “He didn’t want to come out of the game, but we had to get him a break (Davis played 40 minutes). He never lost his rhythm. We know he’s a special player and he’s just starting to scratch the surface, but tonight was a big-time night for him.’’

You could see he was tired late in the fourth when he got a quick breather.


Davis gave credit to his teammates, saying, “My team helped me a lot. All of our guards were finding me and making sure I got the ball in my sweet spots. So then it was my job to knock them down.’’

Every spot looks pretty sweet for him.


Jrue Holiday was the only other Pelican player in double figures with 19, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range. He also had nine of the team’s 19 assists.

Both teams had played the night before, although the Jazz starters had played less, barely half the game since Golden State had a 22-point halftime lead and coasted home from there.

The Pelicans had lost by 20 in Denver, but had been in the game until the final quarter, and four of their starters played at least 29 minutes, including 31 from Davis.

That’s what amazed Williams about Davis.

“I told him I don’t take that for granted, a guy who can go for 43 and 14 off a back-to-back with that kind of energy,’’ Williams said.

The two bright spots for the Jazz were Hayward and Trey Burke, who scored 31 and 20 points, respectively. Hayward scored 21 in the second half when he almost singlehandedly kept the Jazz within shouting distance.

Except for the fact that Holiday was killing Trey at the other end. Why not try Clark, Exum or Burks instead? Eric Gordon got hurt so they didn't have as many options.


But the pair didn’t get much help outside of 10 points and five rebounds off the bench from Booker. Derrick Favors scored just 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting, while Enes Kanter finished with eight. Alec Burks had a particularly rough night with two points on 1-of-12 shooting with four turnovers.

Kanter played well again in limited time. Hope Burks gets it together before he starts getting paid next year. Favors should have been benched late in the game after Davis scored at the other end because Derek was walking up the court pouting because the refs didn't call a foul. That is leadership? I'd love to see Snyder reward guys for their play. Too much entitlement with tanking.


As for Fredette, he entered the game with 2:50 left in the third quarter to his usual EnergySolutions reception, a loud mix of cheers and boos. He stayed in for the first half of the fourth quarter, but rarely touched the ball, getting off a 12-foot shot in the lane that rolled around and fell out and a 3-pointer from out front that also missed.

“It was great to be back here to see family and friends that I was so close with the four years I was at BYU,’’ Fredette said. “It’s fun to come back and reminisce and see everyone.’’

After Monday’s game against the Bulls, the Jazz head back on the road for a game at Oklahoma City Wednesday night and a home game against the L.A. Clippers Saturday night.

Doesn't get easier.

[Xiao Yao You]

And a rumble from the trade front: Word is Brooklyn's market for Andrei Kirilenko is expanding beyond merely dispatching AK-47 to Philly. One intriguing option, if Nets wait 'til Dec. 15 when trade market expands, is said to be AK-47 back to Utah for Jeremy Evans/Toure Murry Twitter @ESPNSteinLine

I figured they want to keep Murry the way he has played the past couple games. Makes to much sense to trade Evans for AK though. Bring him home! :cheers:

[El Kabong]

Would be nice to see him back on the team.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Utah's losing streak hit six games

[Xiao Yao You]

the Utah Jazz have gone 109 / 332 from outside, which is .32.8%. When you average it out it's 6.8 threes made a game, and 20.8 hoists from deep. The NBA ranks are 18th in makes, 14th in takes, and 23rd in percentage. That's not an awesome look.

A bad shot is the self made pull-up three. That's what we saw a lot last season. The Jazz shot 262 pull up threes last season (More than three a game). And as you can imagine, they didn't make a lot. Thankfully the Jazz aren't going nuts with this shot this year. The problem is that the spot up jump shooting (the shot we are purposefully manufacturing) isn't jump shot making.

Last season the team shot fewer spot up threes, but made more of them. This year, well, yeah. They're only making 35.7% of them, compared to 36.5% the year before.

That's a surprise without Jefferson and Marvin.


It's not just the spot ups that are the problem, it's how the players do when they are open. Last season the players on the Jazz were making contested threes (47.4%) better than the ones where they are open by 6+ feet (37.9%). But they were still making nearly 38%. This year? Only 37.1% of the super-duper wide open ones are made. Not much of a difference. But you know what is? The 4-6' open shots, where the Jazz are only making 29.7% of them this year. Last season they made 33.8% of those quite open shots.

But the team's gotta keep taking them. That's the shot that we want. Eventually they'll start falling.

Why will they start falling? They have one proven shooter and he sucks at everything else.

[Xiao Yao You]

Kevin Murphy had 21 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, and while he went 7/7 from the FT line, I'm more impressed that he has finally started to make three pointers (going 2/6). He also had 7 turn overs, so that's not so hot.

2-6 is not making 3's


Toure' Murry had another all-around game with 14 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block -- but he shot only 5/12 from the field.

Nick Covington came back, but the starter in his first game from injury game off the bench, and he had 9 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds in 22 minutes of action

Jerrelle Benimon had a great game inside with 20 and 17, with 12 assists to boot. Yes, Triple double. And yes, I buried the lede here. He had no answer, but no, he's not Arvydas Sabonis . . . yet . . .

Jack Cooley is still injured

Tre Bussey is coming along well as an actually legit prospect, but played only 15 minutes and had 6 points and 2 assists. His defense is getting better.
There was a lot of scoring in this game for both teams (obviously), with John Stockton 's son Dave putting up 16 and 14 assists, with 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 threes for his efforts.

Might be someone to take another look at. He's putting up John type numbers.


The Utah Jazz affiliates up in Idaho are now 3-2 on the season and are leading the West division by 0.5 games. There are now 45 more games left in the season, and our boys have won three straight. Out of the prospects we have only two are on the bubble to be called legit NBA players so far: Kevin Murphy and Toure' Murry. Murphy is slowly getting it, and as the focal point of the offense he doesn't have to shoot it each time down the court. Too often he does regress to his NCAA days where he was the best player on the floor, and didn't have help. Recognizing that you have to help the other guys score is an NBA player trait. Toure' looks good to go, and is eating up the competition right now. But more on them in a future post.

These two teams play again tonight at 3:00 PM MT.

Wouldn't say Toure' is eating up the competetion but he's looking liking a decent prospect at least

[Xiao Yao You]

the Utah Jazz may have rookie forward Rodney Hood back in the lineup. It couldn't come at a more necessary juncture as the team's bench hasn't been putting up a lot of points lately. Getting healthy will go a long way for Hood, as his talents can really help the team get over those bad lulls.
Are we watching the same player? He looks like he needs some time in the D-league especially coming off his injury.


With 14 players on the roster, and one of those 14 being assigned to the NBA-DL affiliate right now, there is space for one more player. And that player could come from the NBA-DL.

Utah has used the NBA-DL before to bring in guys like Sundiata Gaines, Othyus Jeffers, Malcolm Thomas, Jerel McNeal, Travis Leslie, Lou Amundson, and so many more. Maybe the next Jazz player, one who could spice up the bench rotation right now, could come from the Idaho Stampede?

:coleman:


Let's take a look what these players have been doing so far this season:

Idaho Stampede 2014 2015 - Player Stats GM 5

Nick Covington (long been on the Jazz radar) and Jack Cooley are two starters who have been injured so far this season, and as a result, their time on the court has not been equal to their abilities so far. Quinton Doggett is a strong rebounder who just doesn't play a lot of minutes. Though, it's not like the Jazz would be looking for a bigman to help them right now as they have so many that they can't even all get playing time.

Kevin Murphy and Toure' Murry look to be obvious possibilities. Murphy was drafted in the second round, has played in the NBA before, and is a big-time scorer, even if he hasn't shown it so far this season. And his three point shot has been gone, but his ability to get to the line can really break up a defensive gameplan. Murry is a combo player who has an All-Around game, and he's showing it on the court.

Beyond the starters two big possibilities show up in Joel Wright and Jerrelle Benimon. Both can explode for big games (heck, in their last one Wright went for over 40, and Benimon nearly had a 20/20 game, but ended up settling for just a triple double). Offensively they already do come off the bench and attack, attack, attack! They are under-sized to play inside at the NBA level, but both are threats to score from almost anywhere.

The last guy I'm following closely here is Tre Bussey. We don't need another point guard, right now. But it's always good to have one in your back pocket.

If you look beyond scoring, and you should, you'll see all types of crazy things.

Idaho Stampede 2014 2015 - Player Stats 2 GM 5

But I can hear what you're thinking right now -- why go into a full breakdown of Idaho? Why didn't you spend all this time looking at the Jazz roster this season instead? I know. I'll get onto more Jazz coverage in my next few posts this weekend.

Anyway, Bussey, Wright, and Benimon are legit prospects in my books. Benimon could be the next Boris Diaw, and Wright is playing well inside, but needs to expand his range.

I don't think the Jazz are going to be making any roster additions so far, but after another 10-15 NBA-DL games, who knows?

Or, you know, Rodney Hood could just go nuts again, and fix all of our bench scoring problems by himself?

Either is good.

They need some proven vets. Let the kids develop at their own pace in the D-league.

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Ingles just doesn

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Possibly the single most significant issue plaguing this Jazz squad has been their off-ball defense. Despite a simpler and less labor-intensive scheme put in place by Snyder, the team continues to operate at a bottom-five rate leaguewide in large part due to their inability to stay focused when their own man doesn

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]As with last year

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]Derrick Favors called in sick.

The Utah Jazz

[Xiao Yao You]

The Jazz went 0-9 when Favors was injured and 6-37 with any lineup other than the standard five.

Not much of a stat considering how bad they were period. This year will be even worse with their lack of depth or veteran presence.

[QUOTE]I

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]It

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]the turning point of the game really came at the 4:11 mark of the 3rd quarter, when the Jazz had an 18 point deficit. That

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]The problem on the night is the Jazz were trying to come back from a 22-point deficit after a disastrous stretch when the starters were on the bench. This team is built for the next generation of Jazz players to take over and become the team

[Xiao Yao You]

[QUOTE]don

[Xiao Yao You]

In his first game back from a right foot injury, rookie forward Rodney Hood played 13:46 on Saturday against the Clippers. He went 0-for-6 from the floor.

Doesn’t sound as though there was any setback with Hood, but how much he could play tonight is still up in the air.

"He’s making his way back," Snyder said. "Whether it’s conditioning or timing, things like that, he didn’t shoot the ball great the other night. But I think he did some other good things. He’s going to work his way back into the rotation, I’m sure."

— Aaron Falk

Wasn't playing that well before the injury. Idaho seems obvious.

[Xiao Yao You]

"I know our record doesn't reflect it, but I think we're ahead of where a lot of people thought we'd be by this time," Hayward said. "I thought we've had our moments, but we have to find some consistency. It's been a couple of steps forward, and a couple of steps back. We haven't played our best basketball recently, but this doesn't feel the same as it did last year. We're learning a lot more."

You are ahead of what people thought? People were saying you were this years Suns based on pre-season! :rolleyes:

[QUOTE]To underscore that notion, 5-13 is right about where most NBA observers thought the Jazz would be.

Going into Wednesday's meeting with the Toronto Raptors at EnergySolutions Arena, the Jazz are finding out just how difficult it is to win in the Western Conference. That pesky consistency Snyder craves has been fleeting at best. And so has the defense.

Utah is 24th overall defensively, allowing 101.5 points per game, Conversely, the Jazz are scoring just 95.6 points per game, 23rd in the league. Under Snyder, Utah is playing its core five together exclusively in the starting lineup, but the Jazz are struggling to put the right combinations on the floor defensively.

This has been a factor in multiple losses. Utah

[Xiao Yao You]

Toure' Murry will return to Salt Lake City just before his alma mater, Wichita State, comes to town to take on the Utes in the Huntsman Center.

The Utah Jazz announced that the team is recalling the guard from a stint with the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Developmental League. Murry averaged 14 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists in six games (five starts) for Idaho.

Murry, who signed with the team Aug. 28, has not appeared on the court for the Jazz yet this season. Last season, Murry played in 51 games for the Knicks, averaging 2.7 points per game.

The Jazz host the Toronto Raptors in the EnergySolutions Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Wichita State takes on the Utes at 9 p.m. that same night.

send him back down this weekend for games? unless he's going to play he should be in Idaho I'd think.

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The one positive for the Jazz is that they had a better record than last November when they were 3-15.

Might have more to do with injuries and schedule. They are certainly a worse team this year. Tank is looking successful so far! :rolleyes:

[QUOTE]Perhaps a new month will revitalize the Jazz, who begin December with five of six games at home, beginning with the Denver Nuggets Monday night at EnergySolutions Arena.

Right now, the Jazz are in a funk, with slow starts most nights and inconsistent play, particularly on the defensive end, which has kept the team from getting in the winning column for nearly two weeks.

In all five games of the losing streak, the Jazz have lost the opening quarter, averaging just 17 points, while their opponents have averaged 30. The average 13-point differential after one quarter has left the Jazz in a hole most nights.

As coach Quin Snyder said,

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[QUOTE]Although Gobert seemed to make a big difference for the Jazz defensively, Snyder said he wasn

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The Jazz have already changed the way starting small forward Gordon Hayward is used, alternating between leaving him in for the entire first quarter and bringing him out at about the midway point of the opening period.
They alternated it between him and Burks at the first of the year but it's been all G for many games now I do believe.

[QUOTE]Utah has experimented with how it uses starting guards Alec Burks and Trey Burke with the second unit as well.

The Jazz subs have been struggling to score this season. Coming into Monday

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Two players that Jazz fans figured would see more time on the floor have barely played at all so far this season.

Where at the 3? The addition of Booker pretty much assured this unless they can play the 3 which apparently they can't or hit a 3 which apparently Jeremy can't. Novak is an end of the bench guy. Evans might be too though I thought he was solid last year and could help someone.

[QUOTE]Fifth-year player Jeremy Evans averaged 6.1 points and 4.4 rebounds last year in a career-high 18.3 minutes per game. However, this year, he

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[QUOTE]After Friday night

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Victor Claver is very close to leaving Portland. Superdeporte

The Spanish forward can't take it anymore and has given orders to his agents to work a way out of Portland. Superdeporte

His priority is to get traded to another NBA team, but if it's not possible he could return to Europe to play with a Euroleague team. Superdeporte

Jazz could use help on the wing. Didn't shoot that well last year when he played though.

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In the first 9 games of the season the Jazz defense with Gobert on the floor allowed 108.2 pts per 100 possessions. In the last 9 games it has allowed just 96.7 pts per 100 possessions.

The answer may be rebounding. In the first 9 games of the season with Gobert on the floor the Jazz garnered just 69.8% of defensive rebounds. Over the last 9 games the Jazz have grabbed 79.9% of defensive rebounds with Gobert on the floor.

In the first 9 games of the season teams shot 67.9% in the restricted area with Gobert on the floor and took 34% of their shots in the restricted area. Since then they have shot 61.8% in the restricted area while taking 39% of their shots in the restricted area.

Moreover, in the first 9 games of the season the Jazz were -8.8 per 100 possessions Gobert was on the floor. In the last 9 games the Jazz are +2.5 with Gobert on the floor and -11.3 when he is off.

Over the last 5 games the Jazz defense with Gobert on the floor has allowed 98.5 pts per 100 possessions and with him on the bench has allowed 117.1. Some of this is because Gobert has not been playing against the other teams starters, but nonetheless it is obvious he is having a huge impact.

Posted in Insider

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[QUOTE]Every good defensive team has a 7 foot holding down the middle of the floor. The five best defensive teams in the NBA this year are the Warriors (Bogut), Rockets (Howard), Spurs (Splitter/Duncan), Memphis (Gasol) and Wizards (Gortat).

Most of the best rim protectors in the NBA are 7 footers, Hibbert (38.5%), Dalembert (38.9%) Howard(39.5%) and Bogut (39.7%)

The Jazz have a remarkable 7 footer in Rudy Gobert. Not only is Gobert listed at 7

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[QUOTE]A shoulder injury will keep Alec Burks out of the Jazz

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[QUOTE]Snyder recently said he wouldn

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"It starts at the defensive end," Trey Burke said. "Defense is what wins you games. We have to be willing to, first and foremost, guard our own man when he's attacking and when he doesn't have the ball, we have to know where we are, know where we're supposed to be. Concentration and communication are the biggest areas where we have to grow to take the next step. Just talking to each other. When a guy's going iso, you've got to have the other four guys talking, letting him know he's all right, he's got their help. The more you talk in pick-and-roll situations and in transition, the better you're going to be as a team. Communication is everything."

might keep you from staying in the league too

[QUOTE]Late in Monday night's game, after the Jazz fought back from a large deficit to tie the game at 83, the Nuggets tore off seven quick points to surge back ahead. It was one of those significant stretches Burke said they must eliminate. If they are good enough to fire back from 22 points down, can't they be good enough to not fall behind like that, or sustain a high level of play once they do catch up?

"Coach shows us film, shows us what we can be, what we can do," Burke said. "We just have to be more consistent at both ends of the floor. A lot of that starts with the leaders

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[QUOTE]Hood's shot is waiting to come back, too. He's only hit 1 of 9 shots

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David Locke: The NBA has rescinded the technical foul on Jazz trainer Gary Briggs. The one point had huge impact on final plays of Jazz v. Nugs Twitter @Lockedonsports

Cost them the game. A lot a good that does them now.

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[QUOTE]Gobert came into Utah

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[QUOTE]22 out of 32 uncontested shots doesn

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The Jazz are not ready defensively for the top level offensive teams.

They're ready for low level offensive teams?


The Raptors, the #2 offensive team in the NBA, surpassed all of the opponents highs set by the Mavericks, the #1 offensive team in the NBA. Second, the Jazz depth is not able to keep the Jazz in games.

And anyone should have seen that coming. That's what tanking is.


The script each night is very similar, the Jazz play fairly well early in the game and then when the substitutions start the game begins to slip away and gets away entirely in the 2nd quarter.

This team needs to learn how to put its will on a game. However, that is much easier said than done. Golf seems to be the most common analogy but it could be anything. If you have failed at something in the past and you are uncertain of yourself it is hard to dive right in with all your gusto. Take a big fall on a ski hill and then next time you come down that same run you are tentative. Pull back to back drives into the trees and how are you feeling on the next tee box? That is where the Jazz are at this point. They lack a confidence to play with the type of vigor they need to play with.

The Raptors are really good. They are 15-4 and the best in the East and with the energy in Toronto that exists after last season they are going to be a tough out in playoffs. What they did tonight is what really good teams do. They were playing a team that is not as good and they came out and put the hammer down. They had not been playing defense well recently and they tightened that area up while dominating the game. Kyle Lowry was terrific.
I admire Coach Casey when he finds a play that works he never leaves it. High pick and roll here we go again.

The Jazz started fine, but the Raptors went on a 9-2 run to close the 1st quarter and a 19-8 run to open the 2nd quarter. Game over. That is the 18 point difference that ruled the night. Everything else was window dressing as they said.

Realize the Jazz opened the night with a kid who has played 8 NBA games trying to guard Kyle Lowry who is an 8 year veteran and heading to an all-star game. The rest of the roster was a point guard who has played 1 year and 19 games, two 4 year “veterans” and a guy starting for his first year.

Again a big part of their problem is Burke being anointed as the man without any competition. No veteran mentor this year.


Players doing things for the first time in the NBA are not usually very good at what they are doing. If a player is inserted in the starting line-up for the first time as a regular it takes a while, if a player is a lead dog for the first time it takes a while. Who are the two players on the Jazz that are handling themselves well. Guys who are doing the same thing for the second straight year, Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward.

Burke started last year too. Not sure he's improved at all and he wasn't that impressive last year as it was despite the hype to the contrary.


It is not pleasant to be down by 15 or more every night but make sure that we are being realistic to what this team as constructed with its youth is capable of doing.

Lots of good things are happening. Rudy Gobert who has played 63 games in his career is showing signs of being a defensive force in the NBA. He still has a long way to go.

But not as far as Favors the so called defensive stopper.


Trey Burke who has played 88 games in his NBA career got out of a huge shooting slump for one of the first times in his life and will grow from that.

And the other teams pg's are just licking their chops at the other end.


Dante Exum who is 19 and has played 19 games is showing all the signs of why he was drafted 5th and people believe he could be terrific. Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors who have played enough to know what to anticipate in this league have been good, in fact very good.

But not the stars that they've been made out to be. If they were the Jazz would actually be competitive.


Take a second and imagine Gordon or Derrick surrounded by veteran experienced players and they would be fabulous.

OK. I'll imagine last year when that was the case and they weren't that fabulous. Why not have some vets around if those two are so fabulous than?


It is a process. We knew it was a process. And it is not an easy process. There is no magic pill. It doesn’t get fixed right away. There will be many more nights like this and more losing streaks but there is a lot good going on in the midst of this.

Posted in Emptying the Noggin

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For the first time in 4 years Gordon Hayward hits December with momentum In the three previous year, Gordon Hayward shot 33%, 41% and 39% in November. This year Gordon has been on fire. He is shooting 49% from the field and has hit on 39.7% from 3.

Prior to this season, Gordon was 35 of 130 from 3. This year he is 27 of 68 in November.

gordon november

Posted in Insider

still inconsistent

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"It's just a mental thing," Favors said. "Everybody is trying to learn the defensive system and try to do the right thing, but I think it's just a mental thing."

seems like more of a talent thing. Outside Gobert and Exum everyone should be available.

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[QUOTE]One of the game

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[QUOTE]Utah

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Alec Burks is hurt. So the 22-year-old rookie Rodney Hood got his first NBA start in place of the 24-year-old Burks.

He got his first start because of tanking. Hood should be in Idaho with a couple of other guys until he proves he's ready for the show.

[QUOTE]As a result, the Jazz

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While both played 33 minutes, Kanter outscored Valanciunas 19-9. Kanter also outrebounded his longtime foe 9-6 and 4-0 on the offensive glass. Both big men recorded a block.

A tale of the tape heading into the matchup

Kanter: 13.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 0.3 blocks

Valanciunas: 11. 9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.2 blocks

First quarter

Kanter: 11 points (5-9 shooting), 4 rebounds, 1 steal

Valanciunas: 1 point (0-3 shooting), 2 rebounds, 1 block

Starting at power forward on the night, Kanter led all Jazz scorers in the opening quarter with 11 points, while Valanciunas, matched up against Derrick Favors to start the game, struggled. Though he wasn’t always matched up with his familiar counterpart, Kanter flourished with his offensive opportunities.

Which is why you shouldn't really be comparing them. Maybe Tristan Thompson and Kanter?


In one particular offensive battle with Valanciunas, the Jazz forward rotated around the opposing center for an easy layup. After making a fastbreak layup, Kanter made a solid defensive play on Valanciunas, forcing the Raptors' center into an awkward and errant shot that went out of bounds for a turnover. It was the last time Valanciunas played in the quarter.

Kanter was paired with both Tyler Hansbrough and Patrick Patterson the rest of the quarter. The Jazz big man made the most of his chances in that span, making a perfect pirouette around Patterson for a layup during one opportunity and making another basket after that.

Second quarter

Kanter: 4 points (2-4 shooting), 2 offensive boards, 1 block, 1 assist

Valanciunas: 6 points (3-4 shooting), 2 rebounds, 1 assist

Both saw significantly less time than the opening quarter. Kanter did a better job on the offensive glass in the second quarter, and even stuffed Valanciunas while on the defensive end. However, Valanciunas awoke offensively as the quarter wore on.

He hit a 10-foot jumper from the baseline in Kanter’s face, in which Kanter failed to put a hand in Valanciunas’s face. Kanter, though, responded with a quick layup on the other end.

Valanciunas skied over Kanter for a defensive board late in the quarter, then capitalized with an easy dunk shortly after on another possession. Both had embarrassing moments defensively in the waning moments of the first half. Kanter failed to rotate while guarding Patterson, which allowed Patterson to drill a 3-pointer right over him. Valanciunas was forced to foul Jazz forward Gordon Hayward to prevent Hayward from posterizing him with a monster dunk attempt just before halftime.

Third quarter

Kanter: 0 points, 1 offensive board

Valanciunas: 0 points, 2 rebounds

Both players were quiet again in the third quarter, though they were matched against each other a few times. Valanciunas picked up two defensive boards, but allowed an easy Trevor Booker tip-in. Kanter’s best play was an offensive board.
Fourth quarter

Kanter: 4 points (2-3 shooting), 1 defensive rebound, 1 offensive rebound.

Valanciunas: 2 points (1-2 shooting), 0 rebounds

Valanciunas was held to just one basket in the fourth quarter, while the offense continued to look for points from the perimeter. His lone bucket came on a nice wraparound layup on Jazz center Rudy Gobert, while his other attempt was blocked emphatically by Gobert on Toronto’s following possession.

Kanter picked up an offensive foul while trying to dish the ball to Gobert. He had a nice slam midway through the quarter and his night ended after a hoop-and-the-harm layup with 4:30 left in the game.

Final analysis

The scorecard goes to Kanter in this battle; however, since it’s basketball and not boxing, Valanciunas wins the important part. Neither played particularly great defense in the game. Kanter was efficient with his team-high 19 points on 9-of-15 shooting. His four offensive rebounds also led the team. That being said, he struggled to pick up perimeter shooters when needed and to help out when opposing guards slashed to the basket.

I see him improving defensively with each game and only one TO last night as well. Should have went to him more in the 2nd half.

V
alanciunas fell below in his season averages, but his team shot 57 percent from beyond the arc, so he shouldn’t feel too bad.

As for Kanter and his position, Jazz coach Quin Snyder applauded parts of the game he excelled in. In the end the effort stopping the Toronto guards, however, did too much damage to salvage a win.

“We took care of the ball and by in large, we took care of the glass,” Synder said. “When we’ve done that in previous games, we’ve had good results. Tonight it was just … sometimes they’re just shooting and you tip your hat.”

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[QUOTE]

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[QUOTE]

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[QUOTE]The Utah Jazz began practice at 11 a.m. Thursday. Nearly four hours later

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[QUOTE]Lindsey

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[QUOTE]"There