2021-22 regular season Utah Jazz news, notes and game coverage [Archive] - Message Board Basketball Forum

Xiao Yao You

10-20-2021, 03:54 PM

The draft-night trade? That was more difficult for Favors. He expected the first trade. He didn’t expect this one. At 30 years old, winning a championship is prevalent on his mind. As most of us know, Oklahoma City is not in win-now mode. Favors’ presence on the Thunder roster is kind of a square peg. He knows that he’s going to have to play as hard as he can and let things fall where they may. “At first, I was kind of confused,” Favors said. “I was caught off guard. But, I knew it was nothing personal. When I reflected on it from a business standpoint, I knew that something had to happen. I accepted it, and I’m in a great place. (https://theathletic.com/2896507/2021/10/20/derrick-favors-reflects-on-his-time-with-the-jazz-as-he-returns-with-the-thunder-i-know-that-its-not-another-game/?source=nbatw) I love what the Jazz have done for me, and I love the fans there. OKC, we have a very talented team. We have a lot to learn, and a long way to go. But, we have a group of guys that work hard. It’s going to be a journey in this first year. But this is a talented group of guys.”
– via Tony Jones @ The Athletic (https://theathletic.com/2896507/2021/10/20/derrick-favors-reflects-on-his-time-with-the-jazz-as-he-returns-with-the-thunder-i-know-that-its-not-another-game/?source=nbatw)

“I’m going to try and treat it like it’s another game,” Favors said in an interview with The Athletic. “But, I know that it’s not another game. Honestly? I just hope I don’t get emotional.” (https://theathletic.com/2896507/2021/10/20/derrick-favors-reflects-on-his-time-with-the-jazz-as-he-returns-with-the-thunder-i-know-that-its-not-another-game/?source=nbatw) Favors will make his return to face the Utah Jazz on Wednesday as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. It will be the season-opener for both teams, and, since twice being traded away from the franchise, it will be the first time Favors makes his appearance in a visiting uniform. Many remember he was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans two years ago. Twice, he was supposed to come back to Utah with the Pels. Once, he got injured at the last minute. The other? COVID-19 hit that very week.
– via Tony Jones @ The Athletic (https://theathletic.com/2896507/2021/10/20/derrick-favors-reflects-on-his-time-with-the-jazz-as-he-returns-with-the-thunder-i-know-that-its-not-another-game/?source=nbatw)

Xiao Yao You

10-20-2021, 03:59 PM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50266128/jared-butler-says-hell-get-minutes-during-season-opener-jazz-bring-back-scholarship-program

The 10th man on NBA rosters are rarely that strong, but Utah does have some options with Butler and Eric Paschall that could push the rotation to as many as 11 deep once Rudy Gay returns.

the rotation won't be 11 :roll:

Xiao Yao You

10-20-2021, 04:08 PM

https://saltcityhoops.com/sportsbook-preview-202122/

That said, I think the Jazz have experienced firsthand that their machine-like regular season formula has a peak that can be scaled by opponents in the playoffs. They are a great, but not unassailable, team. The Jazz deployed Gobert as best as they could to simultaneously guard the Clippers’ endless drives into the paint and cover non-shooter Terance Mann, but had no prepared adjustments to make when Mann transformed into Ray Allen. The health of Mitchell and Mike Conley Jr. (and perhaps a worn-down Joe Ingles, but that is just speculation) was the primary factor in Utah’s most recent playoff exit, but schematic inflexibility was not far behind.

let's not forget COTY and Clarkson

My boldest suggestion, and I guess by extension my biggest hot take prediction, is that Utah should and will showcase Gobert more as a star player. This starts by exhibiting him as a great perimeter defender, capable of defending switches. In the past, players who wind up with Rudy guarding them on a switch would abandon the offense as if to say, “I can take this guy from here.” And they often failed! Players going against Rudy scored just 0.71 points per isolation possession, per NBA.com. I am begging Jazz coach Quin Snyder to expand Gobert’s defensive utility to see what might work (or not!) in the playoffs, and what new branches of defense (doubling? pre-switching or pre-rotating?) can be deployed off that tree, even if that requires some regular season experimentation.

not too familiar with COTY eh?

The quieter, but arguably bigger, issue is how best to wield Gobert’s skillset offensively when defenses dare the Jazz to deploy him in a larger role. It has been incredibly frustrating for years to see a defense unintentionally end up plunking a small guard to defend Rudy on a possession (like the Clippers did!), and see Utah fail to exploit it. The issues ran the gamut: aborted entry passes, strips when the ball came down, not recognizing a double team, record-scratching ball movement. It is a systemic failure that is equally shared by the Jazz ballhandlers, Gobert, and the coaching staff. Conversely, Rudy shined in the Olympics when defended by smaller players (including Team USA’s Draymond Green, a defensive star), putting their ass under the basket while France worked the ball inside at just the right time before the defense adjusted or could send help. Utah’s offense will only be able to reliably frighten teams with this tactic if they get some reps on it with real game action, and I hope it comes to fruition. I don’t need Gobert shooting threes; I need him punishing the Reggie Jacksons of the league to keep opponents from reaching into all-guard/wing lineups that will expose Utah’s defense.

good luck getting the ball out of Mitchell and Clarkson's hands

While I foresee Utah taking a more conservative approach to players’ minutes and a more aggressive approach in experimentation as described earlier, the two best players (Donovan and Rudy) are going to play a shitload of minutes, and they won’t experiment so much that they lose their grasp on a top-2 seed.

Conley/Gobert

And every Jazz shooter should continue their long-range-centric profile: Donovan has full offensive license but knows he is best at bombing away or ramming the ball down a defense’s throat. Conley has the juice from floater range but he’s otherwise hunting threes from everywhere. I don’t think Bogdanovic has taken an intentional midrange shot in 3 years. I don’t think Ingles has taken an intentional midrange shot in his NBA career. Royce O’Neale is tasked solely with shooting threes (although I always implore him to use his dribble-drive game more because there is a lot of untapped potential there). Clarkson also has full license, but ever since his arrival in Utah he’s figured out how to hunt the three over the long two.

too bad Clarkson can't shoot

I’m also hoping that the supporting cast exercises a little more verve on the glass—Royce occasionally will have an out-of-body experience on the glass and averaged a career-high 6.8 rebounds per game last year, but it would be stellar if he could hit 7 to 8 every night more consistently. Gay is the most positive rebounder Utah has had at the 4 spot in quite some time.

be better if they had an actual 4 and Royce could get back to the wing

Let’s put some money on Jordan Clarkson, although these are high, high odds for Clarkson in a category that can be fluky from year to year. Clarkson’s runaway campaign was heavily buoyed by a remarkably efficient and scorching-hot start to the year.

hopefully he'll be elsewhere

Xiao Yao You

10-21-2021, 06:09 AM

Joe Mussatto: Quin Snyder was asked about Lu Dort having the most success of any player in the league when guarding Donovan Mitchell: (https://*********.com/social/) “My guess is you could say that about Lu Dort with a lot of guys.”

– via Twitter joe_mussatto (https://twitter.com/joe_mussatto)

Eric Walden: Donovan Mitchell just revealed that he doesn’t wear contacts during games because he doesn’t like the feeling of his finger touching his eyes. Said he’s been told to go with prescription goggles, but doesn’t feel his eyesight is bad enough yet. (https://*********.com/social/) pic.twitter.com/jNsVQ6qShj
– via Twitter tribjazz (https://twitter.com/tribjazz)

might explain a lot?

Xiao Yao You

10-21-2021, 07:29 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50266505/a-life-long-relationship-derrick-favors-homecoming-an-emotional-one

just don't bring him back again. Chose him over their best player Millsap. Wasted years of Gobert's prime spotting him up in the corner. Gave him a ridiculous contract instead of getting the starting 4 they still don't have

Xiao Yao You

10-21-2021, 07:37 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50266409/problem-solved-utahs-perimeter-defense-takes-step-forward-in-season-opening-win

They're all big guards that can cause a lot of trouble for teams when they get in the paint. The Jazz at least limited that on Wednesday. Were they perfect? No, but a stronger desire is a good starting point.

sure. Mitchell is at least putting some effort on that side for now. He still can't keep anyone in front of him

Xiao Yao You

10-21-2021, 08:14 AM

https://kslsports.com/470531/jazz-c-rudy-gobert-quickly-reaches-double-double-against-thunder/

not the best player in franchise history

Xiao Yao You

10-21-2021, 05:46 PM

Justin Kubatko: Rudy Gobert last night: ? 16 PTS ? 21 REB ? 6-9 FG Gobert is the first player in @Utah Jazz history to record a 20-rebound game in a season opener. (https://*********.com/social/) pic.twitter.com/yoGerTEkLO

– via Twitter jkubatko (https://twitter.com/jkubatko)

Justin Kubatko: Jordan Clarkson has made at least one 3P in each of his last 95 games, tying Klay Thompson for the fourth-longest such streak in NBA history (https://*********.com/social/). He has made at least one 3P in each of his last 92 games in which he’s come off the bench, by far the longest such streak in NBA history. pic.twitter.com/8PJ9gJnUNb
– via Twitter jkubatko (https://twitter.com/jkubatko)

that's just sad considering the % he shoots

Xiao Yao You

10-21-2021, 08:07 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/10/21/22738930/pete-maravich-named-to-nba-75th-anniversary-team-utah-jazz-new-orleans

Dantley deserves it more

Xiao Yao You

10-21-2021, 08:17 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/10/20/22732911/instant-analysis-utah-jazz-start-off-the-season-on-the-right-foot-with-easy-win-over-okc-thunder

Mitchell started the game slow on the offensive end, but I have absolutely no problem with him not getting on the board until midway through the second quarter. The Jazz are stacked when it comes to scoring and Mitchell is not a guy you have to worry about going through much of a slump. Also, as things weren’t coming for him on the scoreboard, he was dialed in on the other side.

yeah he usually gets going by January anyway

Xiao Yao You

10-21-2021, 08:21 PM

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2021/10/20/22735537/lebron-james-newest-super-team-may-not-be-so-super-russell-westbrook-anthony-davis-carmelo-anthony

no mention of injuries or fit :facepalm

Xiao Yao You

10-21-2021, 08:33 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/10/21/22739008/5-takeaways-from-the-jazzs-opening-night-win

The Jazz getting a healthy Bojan Bogdanovic might actually be bigger than any offseason move they made this summer. Bogdanovic adds so much scoring depth to the Jazz offense, and makes it really difficult to defend when he shares the floor with Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley. Bojan’s shooting is so important to the Jazz. If he can stay healthy all year and throughout the playoffs, the Jazz offense will be borderline unstoppable.

too bad offense hasn't been their problem the past two years

He also had five fouls in 18 minutes, and kinda just seemed disengaged at certain points of his stints on the floor.

that's Whiteside

After 18 minutes of being on the floor last night, Whiteside actually ended up a +1 in the plus-minus, which is a huge win. Jazz backup centers +/- have been pretty abysmal over the years, so anything positive is a good sign. As of right now it looks like Whiteside has the edge over Udoka Azubuike as far as minutes go, but it will be interesting to see if that changes if Whiteside starts slipping.

Udoka is a long ways from taking the spot. Ideally he goes to the Stars and makes Whiteside expendable by the trade deadline but I doubt it

Approaching last night’s game, I was curious to see how the rotation would play out with the Jazz’s new off-season acquisitions. With Rudy Gay out for a little bit, we’ll have to wait to see how it is with everyone healthy, but last night we got a good taste of the new rotation. Eric Paschall looks to be filling in the role that Georges Niang was in last season, playing in 14 minutes last night. Paschall looked fine, didn’t really get a lot of opportunity on offense, but it’s probably going to be on the other side of the ball that we see added value over Niang from last season. Hassan Whiteside logged almost 20 minutes, which taking out a few garbage time minutes seems about right. Jordan Clarkson assumed the role of flamethrower again last night, which makes everything right in the world. He played almost as many minutes (26) as most of the starters, and actually played more than Mike Conley did.

Niang was one of the few guys that played D and Paschall isn't known for D so how is he going to be better on that side?

Xiao Yao You

10-21-2021, 08:57 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/21/ranking-utah-jazz-player-opening-win/

In particular, Elijah Hughes and Malik Fitts showed significant promise during the preseason slate for the Utah Jazz. And Miye Oni was at times a key contributor for the franchise last season. But judging from their limited action against the Oklahoma City Thunder, it appears unlikely that any of them will crack the regular rotation this year.

Oni might not be on the team past December which is sad if Hughes is

Chalk up Jared Butler’s struggles, primarily of the cold-hand variety, to nerves. The rookie guard and former No. 40 overall draft pick exhibited the most promise of any Utah Jazz newbie in the preseason, as he led the team in scoring at 18.0 points per game while showing off a wealth of top-shelf perimeter abilities. However, the real-deal regular season presents a different beast.

more than nerves. No rookie has been ready under COTY

Simply put, the 6-foot-6, 255-pound Eric Paschall should give the Utah Jazz what they sorely lacked at times last season: a bruiser of a power forward who can both score and defend.

GS benched him for not defending. Where did this belief come that he could defend?

Yes, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound O’Neale provides all of that and more. Yet against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the “more” part did not include a single made basket. So until the 28-year-old finds his shooting touch this season, there’s no way he’ll be anywhere close to a Grade A performer.

he'll be one of their most valuable regardless

Xiao Yao You

10-21-2021, 09:03 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/20/utah-jazz-rudy-gobert-dozen-double/

Whatever the explanation, one thing is clear: Rudy Gobert isn’t messing around this year in seeking a third straight All-Star nod and the franchise’s first Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. Last season, his scoring average dropped a smidge to 14.3 points, but he matched his career-high with 13.5 rebounds per game as the Jazz (https://thejnotes.com/) secured the best record in the league (52-20).

just another night at the office

Xiao Yao You

10-21-2021, 09:07 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/20/utah-jazz-3-reasons-love-championship/4/

Any discussion of Utah’s overall talent starts with the most talented player on this roster. Donovan Mitchell is only 25. This is a player who just finished a season averaging 26.4 points per game (not to mention a jaw-dropping 32.3 in the playoffs), and he stands to improve.

Only if you aren't paying attention. Gobert and Conley were their best players. It wasn't close

The Utah Jazz present as a club who know how to play with each other, know what they want, and have the talent to get it. They may not be overwhelming favorites to end this season with the NBA Championship, but fans of the team should still be happy with their odds.

same coach. Same 5th man. Same best player in franchise history. Not too confident

Xiao Yao You

10-21-2021, 09:25 PM

https://kslsports.com/470609/maravich-wade-lillard-named-to-75th-anniversary-team/

Finally, Ray Allen, Carmelo Anthony, Elgin Baylor, Dave Bing, Kobe Bryant, Billy Cunningham, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Dave DeBusschere, LeBron James, Jason Kidd, Kawhi Leonard, Bob McAdoo, Reggie Miller, Earl Monroe, Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton, Paul Pierce, Dennis Rodman, Dolph Schayes, Russell Westbrook, Lenny Wilkens, and Dominique Wilkins were named Thursday.

Carmelo and Dominique :facepalm

Xiao Yao You

10-21-2021, 10:22 PM

Tony Jones: Trent Forrest has cleared concussion protocol and will be AVAILABLE for tomorrow night (https://*********.com/social/) in Sacramento. Rudy Gay remains OUT
– via Twitter Tjonesonthenba (https://twitter.com/Tjonesonthenba)

Xiao Yao You

10-22-2021, 06:06 PM

Ben Anderson: Holly Rowe will serve as the @Utah Jazz game analyst for tonight on the team’s broadcast. It’s the first time a woman has served in the role for the Jazz per the team (https://*********.com/social/). #TakeNote | @KSLSports

– via Twitter BensHoops (https://twitter.com/BensHoops)

got to be better than Matt

Xiao Yao You

10-22-2021, 06:14 PM

James Ham: Just spoke to Moe Harkless after shootaround. He’s still sore, but he said he’ll need to see how he feels later tonight before making a final determination on playing. (https://*********.com/social/) Nothing long term, just some bumps and bruises after a big fall against the Blazers.
– via Twitter James_HamNBA (https://twitter.com/James_HamNBA)

Xiao Yao You

10-22-2021, 06:18 PM

In partnership with University of Utah Health, the Utah Jazz today announced a community vaccination clinic, with two free Jazz tickets to a future game for the first 50 individuals receiving a vaccine shot, (https://www.nba.com/jazz/utah-jazz-host-community-vaccination-clinic-oct-29-vivint-arena) and health fair to be held from 2-5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 29 at the main entrance of Vivint Arena.
– via NBA.com (https://www.nba.com/jazz/utah-jazz-host-community-vaccination-clinic-oct-29-vivint-arena)

Xiao Yao You

10-22-2021, 06:45 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/10/22/22740914/undefeated-utah-jazz-take-on-unproven-sacramento-kings-game-preview

The Jazz may also be ahead late in this one. That’s gives them a chance to play their young players again. Trent Forrest was just cleared to play from his recent concussion and it will be interesting to see who Quin Snyder plays between him and Jared Butler.

He played a 10 man rotation just to get Butler some minutes. He's not playing Forrest :facepalm

It was no surprise, but Rowe was fantastic in her first regular season game covering the Jazz during pregame and on the sideline. She’s been a fantastic addition and it will be fun to listen to her color commentary.

Steve Brown on the sidelines?

Xiao Yao You

10-23-2021, 10:00 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50268110/donovan-mitchell-thinks-win-over-kings-may-end-up-being-one-of-seasons-best

It was clear that a flagrant 1 was merited — Ingles had undercut Mitchell somewhat but turned away to at least try to limit the contact. Unnecessary contact? Sure. Excessive? Not really.

it wasn't clear to me. He went to make a play than tried to get out of the way

The Kings went on an immediate 15-0 run with an increasingly aggressive defense that served as Davion Mitchell's coming out party. In fact, the Kings challenged the Jazz so much they almost seemed to take it personally, with each playing wanting to show that the once lowly-Kings couldn't guard them. There was one little problem: They could. And all the ball-stopping isolation led to some pretty bad basketball.

Thank you COTY, Clarkson and Mitchell :(

Rudy Gobert struggled, Donovan Mitchell got his drives halted, and the Jazz relied on their bench — including promising performances from Hassan Whiteside, Trent Forrest and Eric Paschall — just to keep them connected.

Rudy had 4 turnovers some because of low passes but other than that not sure how you could say he struggled. Carried them to victory again. Forrest looked good. Paschall didn't. Whiteside puts up numbers as expected but he doesn't put forth much effort. He's not the answer

"That's gonna be a consistent thing we're gonna see," Snyder said of going against small lineups. "I thought we did a really good job. Rudy got switched out onto (De'Aaron Fox), he guarded (Harrison) Barnes, and that was a stretch where we got stops."

nothing we haven't seen before. Will his teammates help him is the question

Xiao Yao You

10-23-2021, 10:09 AM

https://kslsports.com/470710/tough-jazz-triumph-over-kings-down-the-stretch/

“Although from a minutes standpoint, it’s not heavy minutes, you saw tonight how impactful that role is,” Snyder said of the Jazz backup center, “his plus-minus was through the roof.”

plus minus! :roll:

Those minutes were important as the Jazz were outscored by nine in Gobert’s 32 minutes against the Kings. The team was just 4-11 last season when Gobert had a negative plus-minus, so a win early in the season when the All-Star center didn’t have his typical impact might be an early sign of improvement for the roster.

let's not get ahead of ourselves

Xiao Yao You

10-23-2021, 10:26 AM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/10/22/22740417/instant-analysis-utah-jazz-grind-out-win-over-sacramento-kings

Through two games, the defensive effort from Jordan Clarkson has really been something to take note of. He also finished with 15 points off the bench.

6-19 and 2-11 :facepalm

Despite the Jazz looking like they weren’t in control for a lot of the game, this was a really good win for them this early in the season. They were able to regain the upper hand and then hold onto their lead in the fourth quarter. Closing games the right way is more important than opening them the wrong way.

they're both important. If they don't go on a 0-15 run they don't need to close strong

— there was a stretch where Donovan just looked like he wanted to take it to Davion and because he wanted the better part of that individual matchup, it took away from the team offense and things got really stagnant and there were a lot of turnovers.

typical of the best player in franchise history. Good thing they have Gobert to carry them

Xiao Yao You

10-23-2021, 10:31 AM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/10/22/22741536/utah-jazz-kings-battle-tough-road-game-donovan-mitchell-davion-mitchell

Jordan Clarkson did Jordan Clarkson things, hitting a couple huge shots during the Jazz’s momentum-swinging run. Clarkson finished with 15 points and 5 rebounds on 6-19 shooting.

you forgot the other Clarkson thing 2-11 :cry:

Interesting lineup change tonight with Jared Butler only getting two minutes. Quin Snyder opted to go with Trent Forrest off the bench instead of Butler, with Forrest making a couple nice little plays. Will be interesting to see how this spot and minutes distribution does going forward.

Forrest deserves it right now. Send Butler to the Stars

-Mitchell for Sac is really awesome defensively. Mitchell for UJ really isn't.

but he has to work so hard missing shots!

-Clarkson remains the handsomest player in the NBA on both a physical and game-swag level. In a little under two seasons, he has become one of my favorite players in the league.

:facepalm

Xiao Yao You

10-24-2021, 08:38 AM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/23/utah-jazz-1-stud-2-duds-sacramento/2/

While an outstanding shotblocker, the real beauty in Gobert’s rim protection comes from disrupting shots to the point that they’re practically impossible to hit, and then collecting the ball afterwards. Ultimately, that’s a more effective defensive strategy than sending shots into the bleachers. While that’s an entertaining and acceptable play in its own right, it does ultimately confer possession back to the opposing team.

the real beauty is when they dribble towards the rim and back out again :bowdown:

Furthermore, Utah Jazz fans have to be encouraged by Gobert’s outstanding performance at the free throw line. Obviously, his 9/10 efficiency is likely to be an outlier, but if Gobert can raise his free throw percentage from his career 63.1% mark to something closer to 75-80%, it changes his entire impact on the game. Confident free throw shooters make for confident inside scorers, and while Gobert has been effective under the basket for the duration of his career, an uptick in his efficiency resulting from improved free throw shooting would be a boon for this Utah Jazz offense.

you don't really expect that do ya? If he could hit in the high 60's to low 70's you'd have to be ecstatic

Utah Jazz duds: Donovan Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson

and COTY. The usual threesome

Xiao Yao You

10-24-2021, 06:17 PM

Lauren Rosen: Doc Rivers says Georges Niang’s presence has been big for the @Philadelphia 76ers’ second unit, saying he’s led by example since day one: “He’s a natural leader. (https://*********.com/social/tweets/) He doesn’t try to lead – he’s just Georges.”
– via Twitter LaurenMRosen (https://twitter.com/LaurenMRosen)

Xiao Yao You

10-25-2021, 03:50 PM

Andy Larsen: Boris Diaw a visitor at Jazz practice today (https://*********.com/social/).
– via Twitter andyblarsen (https://twitter.com/andyblarsen)

Xiao Yao You

10-25-2021, 03:51 PM

Marc J. Spears: The Jazz hire Andrea Williams as Chief Experience Officer, a newly created position focusing on the experiences for guests, partners, and employees of the organization. She will also lead all diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within the organization (https://*********.com/social/).
– via Twitter MarcJSpears (https://twitter.com/MarcJSpears)

Xiao Yao You

10-26-2021, 02:04 PM

Zach Kram: It’s a sample of just 36 shots, but right now Evan Mobley’s allowing makes on just 47% of shots he defends at the rim (https://*********.com/social/). For context, last season Rudy Gobert led the league at 48% (among high-volume players).

– via Twitter zachkram (https://twitter.com/zachkram)

better step it up Rudy!

Xiao Yao You

10-26-2021, 10:11 PM

https://saltcityhoops.com/sc7-102521-what-we-know/

This was a huge advantage to the Jazz last season, as it gave the starting unit a few minutes to dominate together (+11.2 per 100 possessions) before a Donovan Mitchell-led hybrid unit held the torch for the few minutes (+8.3). The real payoff came when Gobert and Conley returned for their second stints of each half to smash opposing benches. The most used Gobert-Conley hybrid lineup was +14.4 per 100 possessions, the second best high-possession fivesome in the entire NBA last season, per Cleaning the Glass. But all variations of that lineup — with Gobert & Conley on while Mitchell rested — were an obscene +22.4.

what does that say about the best player in team history?

Utah’s fifth-year star is going to have the ball in his hands a lot. So far, the numbers on possession time, drives and passes aren’t that different between him and Conley, but anecdotally, it feels like Mitchell has been the primary ballhandler on most possessions when the two have been on the court together.

too bad

Turns out, it wasn’t anything to worry about. Bogey’s usage rate is just a tick higher than Conley’s, behind only Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson among rotation regulars. What’s more, he has the best efficiency of any of Utah’s high-usage guys, and that’s despite the fact that his 3-point shot has been a little off to start the year.

the best one 4th :facepalm

Snyder made a point to carve the rookie out a few minutes alongside the rotation guys in the opener, but it was Oni who got called into the lineup when Ingles was tossed (after the most passive flagrant-2 foul in league history) on Friday night. That’s the first indication that the specific rotation role of 5th guard in a 4-guard rotation might not be totally decided yet. One of those two will be the “on deck” guard who will be called into action any time a player sits, and it’s not really clear yet which. Butler looked pretty tight in his NBA debut, but then Oni got behind his guy a few times during a 12-0 Kings run. This is likely one rotation battle that will continue throughout the year, as both guys bring very different things.

and Forrest looked better than both

Meanwhile, Eric Paschall has clearly established himself as the big/wing who is on deck to soak up minutes when a large bodied teammate sits. He’s filling in for the injured Gay, and you can already see how nice it is for Utah to have a bit more size at the backup four spot.

had more size last year but don't let that cloud your logic

To some degree, the Jazz are OK letting the defense decide how many threes they take. They’d be just as fine getting the ball inside the restricted area to Gobert (and even his new backup, Hassan Whiteside) on every play. But because teams spend a lot of mental energy trying to prevent those interior passes, outside shooters will have many opportunities. And so far, they’re not being any more shy about taking those shots than they were a season ago.

as long as Clarkson and Mitchell dominate the ball the bigs aren't seeing the ball much

The Jazz got to Sunday night with the league’s best point differential despite the fact that the main staple of their offense hasn’t been working great so far. Usually a prolific 3-point shooting team, Utah has opened the season with the ninth worst 3-point shooting percentage, 33.7%. One has to imagine that figure will correct itself at some point on a roster with this much shooting talent.

depends on how many Clarkson is shooting

insidehoops

10-26-2021, 10:13 PM

Updated the topic name. Let me know if you like that topic name or if it should be edited to something else!

Xiao Yao You

10-26-2021, 10:30 PM

Updated the topic name. Let me know if you like that topic name or if it should be edited to something else!

it's fine thanks!

Xiao Yao You

10-26-2021, 10:30 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/10/26/22711044/is-the-utah-jazz-defense-finally-changing

So far this season, Snyder has shown that he is doing just that. The Jazz are adjusting. They’re trying new things. Of course, they still lean on their drop-big defense that they’re exceptionally good at, but they are also experimenting with zone defenses, switching schemes, and more.

only taken how many years?

The reason the Jazz haven’t used a switch-everything defense is that that would require the rest of Utah’s defenders to be more independent and less reliant on Gobert’s interior presence. However, if Utah had been practiced at such a defense, they could have used that to counter the Clipper’s 5-out scheme that was so effective in last year’s playoffs. The Jazz need to have options. They need versatility. It seems that Quin Snyder has realized this, as he has begun implementing switching into Jazz games.

could have used it anyway. Different coach

El Kabong

10-27-2021, 06:02 AM

I haven't watched the Nuggets game yet, but seeing people praise the win since the Nuggets went small and physical and the Jazz handled it, but somewhat concerned Jokic could score 24 points in 15 minutes. Had he stayed on the court that's a 50-60 point game the way he was going.

Xiao Yao You

10-27-2021, 07:34 AM

Xiao Yao You

10-27-2021, 07:35 AM

Ohm Youngmisuk: Monte Morris says Nikola Jokic said “he thinks he’s fine.” (https://*********.com/social/)
– via Twitter NotoriousOHM (https://twitter.com/NotoriousOHM)

Eric Walden: Rudy Gobert said he didn’t feel the contact with Jokic, but saw a replay and said they bumped knees. (https://*********.com/social/) Gobert wished him well.
– via Twitter tribjazz (https://twitter.com/tribjazz)

TJ McBride: So far this season, the Nuggets are +37 in Jokic’s 118 minutes on the court and -43 in the 74 minutes he is off the court (https://*********.com/social/).
– via Twitter TJMcBrideNBA (https://twitter.com/TJMcBrideNBA)

Eric Walden: Rudy Gobert, on getting hacked late in the game: “I was mad at myself for missing 4 FTs in a row in the 1H. (https://*********.com/social/) They gave me the opportunity to redeem myself. I know I’m a good FT shooter.”
– via Twitter tribjazz (https://twitter.com/tribjazz)

Xiao Yao You

10-27-2021, 07:59 AM

One source with knowledge of the situation maintained Mitchell had no involvement in Wade purchasing a stake in the team. In any case, it’s a move many league observers have viewed as a direct attempt by Smith to appease Mitchell, (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2949774-utah-jazz-confront-elephant-in-the-room-to-keep-stars-long-term) who first formed a strong connection with Wade through their representation at Creative Artists Agency. “It’s a little bit of new-owner syndrome, too,” said an assistant general manager. “You come in, and you’re immediately told, ‘The star player, you want them to like you.'”

– via Jake Fischer @ Bleacher Report (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2949774-utah-jazz-confront-elephant-in-the-room-to-keep-stars-long-term)

There’s a player option in the fifth year of Mitchell’s $163 million contract, which still wouldn’t let the All-Star reach free agency until 2025 at the earliest. And despite the superstar trade request seemingly more en vogue than ever, the Jazz appear to be doing just fine building around Mitchell in Utah. Around the NBA, he’s known as a team-oriented and affable leader, believing this group can compete for a championship. Utah did finish top-five in both offensive and defensive efficiency last season (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2949774-utah-jazz-confront-elephant-in-the-room-to-keep-stars-long-term).
– via Jake Fischer @ Bleacher Report (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2949774-utah-jazz-confront-elephant-in-the-room-to-keep-stars-long-term)

and Paschall and his posse over team doctors. Not going to end well just like Hayward. He's not even one of your top two players!

There does not appear to be any connection between Mitchell’s interests and the ouster of former president Dennis Lindsey. (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2949774-utah-jazz-confront-elephant-in-the-room-to-keep-stars-long-term) That decision stemmed largely, sources confirmed to B/R, from a rift between the executive and Snyder in which Smith sided with his head coach. Jazz staffers point specifically to Lindsey selecting Udoka Azubuike in the first round of the 2020 draft, as well as other draft additions that failed to make an NBA impact as a main stimulant in the turmoil between the president and Snyder.

– via Jake Fischer @ Bleacher Report (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2949774-utah-jazz-confront-elephant-in-the-room-to-keep-stars-long-term)

I wasn't happy with everything the Wizard did but there were guys that could have helped them and COTY refused to play them. The owner sticking with the guy that lost the last two playoff series is not a good sign

As other teams like the Nets spent training camp in destinations like San Diego, Mitchell was vocal about the Jazz conducting training camp out of market, sources said, which led to Utah holding workouts in Las Vegas. (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2949774-utah-jazz-confront-elephant-in-the-room-to-keep-stars-long-term) The Jazz bunkered down in the Wynn hotel, creating an environment Snyder’s coaching staff valued, similar to the Orlando bubble experience.

– via Jake Fischer @ Bleacher Report (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2949774-utah-jazz-confront-elephant-in-the-room-to-keep-stars-long-term)

what do the best players on the team think? Who cares I guess?

Xiao Yao You

10-27-2021, 12:15 PM

When he signed, Gobert sent him a text, welcoming him to the franchise, and sending the message of how important the season would be for the Jazz as a whole. He had a long discussion with Utah head coach Quin Snyder. And he spoke with the front office. “He’s been great for us so far,” Gobert said. “He’s really providing a presence. He’s been effective on both ends.” (https://theathletic.com/2913544/2021/10/26/hassan-whiteside-has-made-his-mark-as-a-backup-center-for-the-jazz-hes-been-great-for-us-so-far/)
– via Tony Jones @ The Athletic (https://theathletic.com/2913544/2021/10/26/hassan-whiteside-has-made-his-mark-as-a-backup-center-for-the-jazz-hes-been-great-for-us-so-far/)

“I want to be with the winners,” Whiteside said. “I have to prove that. (https://theathletic.com/2913544/2021/10/26/hassan-whiteside-has-made-his-mark-as-a-backup-center-for-the-jazz-hes-been-great-for-us-so-far/) I think I can contribute to a winning situation, but it’s up to me to show that. I led the league in multiple categories, but now I have to show that I can make an impact on winning and I want to be on that caliber of team. That’s why I signed with the Jazz.
– via Tony Jones @ The Athletic (https://theathletic.com/2913544/2021/10/26/hassan-whiteside-has-made-his-mark-as-a-backup-center-for-the-jazz-hes-been-great-for-us-so-far/)

Xiao Yao You

10-27-2021, 12:29 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/26/utah-jazz-3-bold-predictions/

Rudy Gobert ranks within the NBA’s top 5 in rebounds per game on a virtually annual basis, but he’s never led the league in the category. Look for that to change in 2021-22.

no more Drummond helps

Look for that to change as the season progresses. Mike Conley is the only point guard on the Utah Jazz averaging 10 or more minutes per game this season, and like any team in the NBA, the Jazz will need a backup point guard (https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/10/utah-jazz-free-agency-3-guards-rotation/). Jordan Clarkson has been slotting in as the team’s de facto floor general for stretches, and while that’s fine, his score-first mentality is probably better suited alongside a pure point guard in the long term.

Clarkson is no floor general. Ingles is a pg

Rookies need to be afforded the breathing room (https://www.businessinsider.com/nba-rookies-transition-physicality-2018-2) to adjust to the big league, and Butler has been granted exactly that through two games in 2021-22. Eventually, look for Snyder to make use of his immense talents, and grant him a modest place in the regular rotation.

they don't really. Gleague is there for a reason. Only reason I've promoted the kid is cuz Clarkson sucks!

That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t, or won’t, give it a chance. The Jazz had tremendous success running a wing player at the 4 spot last season between Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O’Neale. It seems unlikely that they brought both Rudy Gay (https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/10/recent-utah-jazz-pain-5-years/) and Eric Paschall (https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/04/utah-jazz-3-comparisons-paschall/) into the fold this offseason to add bulk at that position.

Paschall is here because he's bff. Gay is here to replace Niang. Wouldn't count on anything changing. They had plenty of size a year ago

Plus, it is worth monitoring whether the team’s offense progresses to the levels it reached last season. As it stands, Snyder is playing a traditional big man at the 5 spot for 48 minutes a contest between Rudy Gobert and Hassan Whiteside. It seems overwhelmingly likely that this offense would benefit from an injection of floor-spacing at that position.

rim runners help space the floor. Clarkson and Paschall don't

We’ve written extensively about the Utah Jazz improving their defensive versatility with the addition of the two small-ball 5s. It may end up being the case that their biggest benefit to the Utah Jazz actually comes on the offensive end.

offense isn't the problem outside Clarkson and Mitchell gunning

Xiao Yao You

10-27-2021, 12:35 PM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50270398/jazz-adapt-on-the-fly-to-beat-nuggets-after-nikola-jokic-injury

"I saw the ball sticking, we passed up shots and, I know we didn't shoot well, but when we don't take our shots and we don't move the ball, things get stagnant," the Jazz coach said. "That affects us on the other end. If we think about our defense, odds are, the ball's going to move and we are going to be more efficient on offense."

than pull Clarkson and Mitchell

Xiao Yao You

10-27-2021, 02:03 PM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50270024/the-early-impact-of-the-leagues-new-rules-on-donovan-mitchell-and-the-nba

That helps shed some light on Mitchell's odd percentages in the early part of the season. With the obvious disclaimer that it's only been two games, Mitchell is actually shooting better from outside the arc (37.5%) than inside of it (33.3%).

never been much of a finisher. Only recently started getting to the line more once he learned how to throw his body in to the opponent and that is on the perimeter not at the rim

Xiao Yao You

10-27-2021, 02:09 PM

https://kslsports.com/470982/goberts-big_numbers-carry_jazz-over-nuggets/

Though he’s struggled to shoot the ball early in the year, the guard is still leading the team in scoring. Mitchell is averaging 21.7 points per game to go along with a team-high +11.3 plus-minus to open the season.

a guy that dominates the ball leads them! :lol

Just three games into the season, Bogdanovic has once again shown a willingness to accept a smaller role when needed, and it helped the Jazz stay undefeated on the season.

hopefully he feels that way when he becomes 6th man!

Xiao Yao You

10-27-2021, 11:06 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/10/27/22748693/eric-paschall-and-hassan-whiteside-have-been-welcome-additions-to-utah-jazz-through-three-games

It does sound really simple, but for a newcomer to Snyder’s system it can be easy to just fall into isolation offense, something that Paschall has avoided to this point.

newcomers aren't the problem. Best player in franchise history and 6th man of the year are

Xiao Yao You

10-27-2021, 11:14 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/10/26/22744904/instant-analysis-utah-jazz-undefeated-after-win-over-denver-nuggets

Aaron Gordon was really giving it to the Jazz, and Quin Snyder was more than willing to try different guys to defend him. He sent out Bojan Bogdanovic and that didn’t work. He tried out Royce O’Neale and that didn’t seem to be any better. There was a short stint that he used Eric Paschall for a little bit on Gordon and that actually seemed nice, but it didn’t really line up with Snyder’s preferred sub pattern. Then, when Nikola Jokic went out of the game it was Rudy Gobert and Hassan Whiteside’s turn. I don’t really care right now — third game of the season — if they didn’t find the perfect answer. What I like was that Snyder was willing to try out different stuff and wasn’t waiting that long to do it.

maybe they told him his job is on the line?

As per usual, Gobert and Donovan Mitchell are very impressive, as is Jordan Clarkson, who somehow never seems phased by anything.

not sure what is impressive about gunning while your open teammates watch but I guess that is just me

You could probably look at Jared Butler’s minutes and think that it’s a low note. The Jazz lost part of their lead and he didn’t do anything to great and picked up a couple of fouls. But the good thing is that the Jazz had enough of a lead to comfortably play Butler and give a rest to Mike Conley for a few minutes. That, in the long run, is an absolute net positive and Butler is going to find his footing.

but Forrest should be ahead of him and probably Oni too

Xiao Yao You

10-27-2021, 11:20 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/10/27/22749483/rudy-gobert-hot-start-donovan-mitchell-slow-start

Gobert is having a historic start, Mitchell not so much

maybe by February the best player in franchise history will get it going!

Such a start maybe shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Beginning with a standout performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics this summer and then a statistically dominant preseason, the signs were there.

he's been doing it for almost 7 years.m What else would we expect. They suck without him carrying them. Pretty simple really

Mitchell’s slow start shouldn’t be too alarming though. Looking back on his career, Mitchell seems to have made a habit of starting off a season with really poor shooting. The 2019-20 season is the only time Mitchell posted better shooting in his first three games than he did over the course of the full year. In every other year, he’s posted sub-40 percent shooting and often sub-30 shooting from three.

he fact that he's made 2 all star games despite not showing up until December or January is a joke

Expecting Mitchell to bounce back does bring with it the obvious possibility that Gobert will also be subject to the law of averages. Over the last several seasons, Gobert has settled around averaging roughly 15 points and 13 rebounds. If the Jazz are going to take the next step (getting beyond the second round in the playoffs), the improvement in scoring at least is something Gobert will have to keep up.

offense isn't their problem

Xiao Yao You

10-27-2021, 11:42 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/10/26/22748144/utah-jazz-pull-away-late-to-beat-the-denver-nuggets

It was a win for the Jazz tonight but there were a lot of things to be concerned about. One of the major things was the play of Aaron Gordon. For most of this game, Aaron Gordon attacked Bojan Bogdanovic relentlessly. Gordon went 9/13 from the field and Bogdanovic could do nothing to stop him. With Jokic on the perimeter, it kept Rudy Gobert out of the paint and he couldn’t help Bogdanovic. In a Jazz 12-point win Bogdanovic was a -4. That’s an issue.

Bojan's d being an issue is news?

The solution might be his backup. Eric Paschall was a +16 for the game. He brings a toughness on defense that the Jazz sorely need on the perimeter. Paschal took, and missed, 1 shot tonight but you could argue he was a much more impactful player because of his overall game. This doesn’t mean that Bogdanovic won’t improve and provide the play the Jazz need but tonight Bogdanovic was 1/5 from 3 and 5/14 from the field. If his shot isn’t falling, and his defense was as poor as it was tonight, the Jazz have to look for other options.

but they won't

To advance further in the playoffs, they need more individual accountability on defense. No more asking Rudy to cover a third of the court. Maybe when Rudy Gay is healthy they can limit time that Bogie and Don are playing together. Maybe trade Bogie, if the right deal is available. I dunno. But seems like unless Don can make a leap in his perimeter d this team will always have a playoff ceiling.

Clarkson needs to go. Bojan to 6th man. Get a starting 4

As an aside, I haven't really been shy about my dislike for Whiteside. I thought he was really bad last night on defense and totally checked out of some plays. I was pretty annoyed at him when he was chirping and shoving and got thrown out, and my GF who was sitting on the couch next to me watching her phone way more than the game, called me out that if it was Ingles or Gobert that was chirping and talking shit I would be cheering it on and loving it. She is right. Being a human and having blindspots suck.

he doesn't look like he plays hard to me. Lots of talent but doesn't work

I haven't seen a timeframe for Gay returning so it could be a while. And coming back from an extended injury, it may take even longer for Gay to become a valuable contributor. And while I still think he's a great addition, he may not be a huge improvement over Paschall and Whiteside–the real benefit from Gay is probably his different skillset, giving Snyder another option to play with depending on lineups. Whiteside probably won't get any minutes if an opponent plays small ball with the backups.

COTY won't go small

Bogie gets a bad rap. He's under valued. I don't think fans appreciate what he brings to the table. He makes us a lot better. His defense isn't always a liability like that. Someone scoring 20 points on us isn't the end of the world it happens every night. Barnes scored 24. It's not a death sentence. Out defense has been very good overall. Perfection is hard to attain. That's why we brought in Paschall and Gay. To have that versatility on defense. To match with these over powering wings.

Paschall was brought in because bff. Gay to replace Niang

Donovan Mitchell has attempted, and missed, four shots from beyond 30 feet in the first three games of this season. All four off the dribble.

BEST PLAYER IN TEAM HISTORY!!!

He makes big shots, especially in the playoffs.

they lost twice in two years :facepalm

Mitchell with his slow walking, head down, superstar shots is believing all of the wrong hype. He plays out of the offense more than anyone except JC and JC is not supposed to play within our standard offensive set. Mitchell is screwing with the team dynamic. All he has to do is take his good shots, be amazing like he is, and play within the offense, and we would be far, far, better off. But that isn't going to happen unless we have a coach that will actually coach him which isn't going to happen because we have years of examples of zero restrictions on anything Donovan does.

COTY!

That seems like a terrible trade. Your trading a guy that averages close to 20 per game for someone that averages less than 10 and shoots 35% from 3? If you are going to trade Bogey, you might as well ask for someone good.

a starting PF for a guy that doesn't defend? or do much besides shoot?

Again, nice article by James.

IMO, Bogdanovic is easily the most redundant player on the Jazz roster based on his play in 2021.

He would certainly be my first option if a mid-season trade were to happen.

To this day, I just don't get how anyone would propose to trade Clarkson over him.

Clarkson brings a valuable element to the team even if flamethrower mode is off.

I really hope Paschall keeps showing signs that he can play competent perimeter defence. I honestly think he could prove to be more valuable than Bogie in the playoffs.

Clarkson sucks

Xiao Yao You

10-28-2021, 07:13 AM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/27/2-utah-jazz-guards-goldfish-vibes/

Meanwhile, backcourt teammate Jordan Clarkson (https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/clarkjo01.html) has seen his scoring dip a smidge from 18.4 points per game a season ago to 17.3 right now. One explanation is that the “Flame Thrower” is only throwing actual flames on a career-low 25.9 percent of his 3-point tries.

God he sucks

With all the heaves — even the loudest clanks — comes greater spacing for themselves and the other freewheeling yet remarkably synchronized Jazz players.

Who cares if there is spacing if they won't pass the ball?

Xiao Yao You

10-28-2021, 07:16 AM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/27/utah-jazz-terrence-ross/2/

Ross is a born scorer, as the 19.2 points per game he scored per 36 minutes last season will attest to. He could also be a compliment to Quin Snyder’s bevy of ball-dominant guards, as 87.3% of his career three-pointers made have been assisted on. While his career 36.7% accuracy from three-point range isn’t elite, it is solid, and it doesn’t account for the difficulty of his shots. Ross is the type of three-point shooter who is utterly indifferent to defensive coverage: he launches, and there are decent odds it’s going in no matter who was checking it.

upgrade on Clarkson anyway. Not a 4

While both of the Jazz’s prospects are point guards, and Ross is a shooting guard whose secondary position is small forward, it may not matter given how much of an upgrade the veteran could be over the two young Jazzmen. Furthermore, while not necessarily a stout defender (more on that later), at 6’6, Ross does bring some size to a Utah Jazz backcourt that features Mike Conley (https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/09/utah-jazz-mike-conley-best-value-signing/) (6’1) Donovan Mitchell (https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/23/utah-jazz-donovan-mitchell-compete-mvp/) (6’1) and Jordan Clarkson (https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/24/utah-jazz-ranking-jordan-clarkson/) (a thin 6’4) on a regular basis.

O'Neale would bring size and they'd have a PF.

Another attractive reason for the Jazz to trade for Ross is the likely insignificance of the package they’d have to part with in the process. The Magic have no incentive to hang on to the 30-year-old veteran. The Jazz could offer one of Udoka Azubuike, Miye Oni or Trent Forrest and a second-round pick, and the Magic would probably bite.

no. Hughes, Clarkson and Whiteside are the guys I'd be looking to move for a starting 4/back-up 5

Xiao Yao You

10-28-2021, 07:27 AM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/27/utah-jazz-3-key-takeaways-win-nuggets/2/

Mitchell finished the game 9/20 from the field. In other words, all of his misses from three-point range but three were on three-point attempts. It has become quite clear that we are watching an NBA superstar in the prime of his career suffer a severe shooting slump.

just his usual bad start.

In the meantime, the Jazz are 3-0. Whenever you can start the season undefeated with your best offensive player in the midst of a shooting slump, you’ve got reason to be encouraged. Once Mitchell regains his three-point shooting form, the Utah Jazz will become all-the-more difficult to beat.

if only he was :facepalm

Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets Takeaway #1: Rudy Gobert might have a career-year

his yearly career year

Xiao Yao You

10-28-2021, 12:13 PM

https://www.nba.com/jazz/news/five-things-know-following-utahs-win-over-denver

"I think we started to move the ball more," Rudy Gobert said of what changed in the fourth quarter, where Utah outscored Denver 31-20. "It's kind of the cycle when we play well defensively, our offense gets better. … I don't know, I like when that happens, and that's when we play our best basketball."

not a coincidence that they played so well last year when Mitchell was out

Xiao Yao You

10-29-2021, 10:06 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50272130/jordan-clarkson-part-of-history-as-first-2-players-of-filipino-descent-share-nba-court-

too bad he sucks!

Xiao Yao You

10-29-2021, 10:29 AM

https://kslsports.com/471125/ryan-smith-aces-first-year-as-jazz-owner/

The team did make a cost-cutting move by sending Derrick Favors to the Oklahoma City Thunder along with a first-round draft pick but wisely added veterans Rudy Gay, Hassan Whiteside, and Eric Paschall in his absence.

seems more of a personnel move to me no matter how much you want to spin it. Too bad Clarkson and COTY are still around

Smith’s willingness to spend should give the Jazz a competitive advantage while their championship window is open, and is perhaps the best sign fans could have gotten early in the new owner’s tenure that he is serious about elevating the team to new heights.

we'll see. You have to spend smartly. Giving Mitchell super max that he didn't earn and Clarkson anything is stupid as was Favors

Xiao Yao You

10-29-2021, 10:40 AM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/10/28/22750678/instant-analysis-utah-jazz-had-no-problem-beating-the-houston-rockets-joe-ingles-eric-paschall

It seems like every single game there is something new to like about what Eric Paschall brings to the Jazz. We saw a little bit more offensive aggression and some strength on the boards and sacrificing his body for the play. It’s that kind of stuff that is going to make Quin Snyder’s job even harder when Rudy Gay is cleared to play. But hey, that’s a good problem to have.

trade Clarkson. Move O'Neale back to wing where he belongs

In the opening minute of the fourth quarter Jordan Clarkson drove into traffic and in the second that he was off the floor, in what was originally going to be a move for a layup, he noticed Rudy Gobert behind him and hooked the basketball around to Gobert who got the easy dunk. These are the kind of plays that are almost expected out of ball-handling guards in the NBA, but I don’t think that players get enough credit for the recognition and decision-making they’re able to accomplish in a split second.

it's noticed more when a guy rarely passes

It’s hard not to feel bad for guys like Christian Wood, who was getting better and better with every year and it earned him him a bigger contract in the sign-and-trade that brought him to Houston from Detroit. Is he going to get a chance to be on a good team at all during his prime? Probably not if he stays in Houston.

feel horrible for a guy that makes 10's of millions :facepalm

Xiao Yao You

10-29-2021, 10:45 AM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/10/28/22744790/utah-jazz-donovan-mitchell-will-need-to-do-more-be-better-if-team-is-to-make-nba-title-run

In the offseason the Jazz added Rudy Gay (https://www.deseret.com/2021/8/3/22608459/what-does-the-rudy-gay-signing-mean-for-the-utah-jazz-analysis-san-antonio-spurs), Eric Paschall (https://www.deseret.com/2021/8/4/22609511/breaking-down-the-utah-jazz-trade-with-golden-state-warriors-to-get-eric-paschall-donovan-mitchell), Hassan Whiteside (https://www.deseret.com/2021/8/3/22608778/report-utah-jazz-sign-center-hassan-whiteside) and drafted Jared Butler (https://www.deseret.com/2021/10/19/22732710/utah-jazz-jared-butler-rookie-season-will-require-patience-quin-snyder-donovan-mitchell-mike-conley). They made moves that make the team deeper, more versatile, and more stable for the future. But even with those tweaks around the edges of the roster, the fact remains that the Jazz’s success is largely going to depend on the trajectory of Mitchell’s growth.

remains to be seen if they are more versatile, deeper and stable

Through the 2021 playoffs Mitchell was in significant pain. He came back early from a serious ankle sprain and continued to take hits as the postseason unfolded.

maybe next time listen to the doctors?

He was still phenomenal. Through grimaces and trying as much as he could to not land on his injured right ankle, taking jump shots with most of his weight on his left side, Mitchell was sensational. But the Jazz lost 4-2 to the Clippers (https://www.deseret.com/2021/6/19/22532311/utah-jazz-season-comes-to-an-end-after-a-second-half-collapse-in-game-6-la-clippers-donovan-mitchell) and were sent home after the second round.

too bad his defense and selfish play cost them yet again

Some people might say that with the energy that Mitchell expends on the offensive end, with the load he carries for the Jazz in scoring and playmaking, it might be unrealistic to ask him to turn into a lockdown defender.

tired of hearing it. Rudy, Conley, O'Neale do it at both ends

It’s not just the defensive side where Mitchell sees room to get better. He talks about becoming more efficient, and he’s not just talking about shooting percentages. Efficiency to Mitchell means making the most of every minute on the court and cutting down on errors.

and pass the ball for a change! :facepalm

Xiao Yao You

10-29-2021, 10:54 AM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/10/28/22751540/utah-jazz-jared-butler-2021-rookie-butler-game-playing-time

Butler’s first NBA stint was a short one, as he was subbed out after just 90 seconds. Everyone has wondered how Quin Snyder would handle Jared Butler’s minutes. The Jazz are insanely deep. Arguably the deepest team in the league as far as talent goes in positions 1 though 7, and even beyond. We wondered where Snyder would find a fit for Butler in the rotation, and it seemed a little strange that he was yanked after a minute and a half, especially cause he really didn’t do anything bad or stupid. Snyder has a reputation of keeping younger guys on a short leash, but we don’t really need to get into that, right Exum Islanders??

Exum sucks. Butler doesn't. Forrest is better right now and probably Oni too. Gleague is there for a reason. As is the ability to trade Clarkson

The reference to Exum Island terrifies me... let's hope Q gives Butler some decent playing time. Thank heavens Shelvin Mack isn't on the roster!

Shelvin didn't suck

I think the idea that Snyder won't play rookies is a bit overblown. There are obviously a lot of rookies that Snyder did not give playing time to but in most instances these players just weren't NBA-caliber players. When rookies (or young players in general) show ability to contribute, they get playing time (e.g., Hood, Ingles, pre-injury Exum, O'Neale). Mitchell even led the team in minutes his rookie year.

Hood and Allen went to Duke. Ingles was a vet just NBA rookie. O'Neale earned it. He wasn't trying to get the Wizard fired yet either. Last two years he'd rather lose than play rookies

Xiao Yao You

10-30-2021, 07:58 AM

Ricky Rubio has had a positive impact for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the early part of his tenure with the team. Rubio is one of Cleveland’s key veterans on a roster filled with young players. “Without getting too far out over my skis and getting aggregated too much, Ricky Rubio, from what I understand, was not thrilled about being traded to Cleveland,” (https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/264573/Ricky-Rubio-Wasnt-Thrilled-About-Trade-To-Cavaliers) said Brian Windhorst on his podcast. “And at this point in his career, I don’t really blame him.” “It was also like the 14th time he was traded in the last two years,” interjected Tim MacMahon.

– via RealGM (https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/264573/Ricky-Rubio-Wasnt-Thrilled-About-Trade-To-Cavaliers)

“He signed thinking he was going to be playing alongside Devin Booker in Phoenix and next thing he knows he is in Cleveland. Okay, so it took some convincing to get Rubio sold on that this was the best place for him. Whatever they did, they got Rubio focused and he is providing very level-headed competent ball handling and execution, (https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/264573/Ricky-Rubio-Wasnt-Thrilled-About-Trade-To-Cavaliers) which considering the last couple of years, they’ve played with very young and sometimes very wild guards. Putting Rubio out there makes a difference.”
– via RealGM (https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/264573/Ricky-Rubio-Wasnt-Thrilled-About-Trade-To-Cavaliers)

can't shoot, make a lay up, stay in front of your man on D and make 17 mill a year. Poor Ricky!

Xiao Yao You

10-30-2021, 08:00 AM

Give me the short version of how you handled the disappointment of the playoff loss, and then you have your personal choice (in free agency) to start processing? Did it always feel like a no-brainer that you’d be back? Mike Conley: No, you know, just being so freshly removed from the playoffs you always think about, ‘All right, next year, next year, next year, we’re gonna figure it out; we’re gonna figure it out.’ And my mind went there. And then, you know, two weeks after that, it was like, ‘Well, now I have to really sit down and evaluate (his choice). Just look back at everything and reflect on decisions that I’ll have to make and what teams might be involved (in pursuing him). And once it kind of became more and more and more clear who was at the table, who was involved… Who was involved? I’m honestly forgetting. It’s been a little while. Mike Conley: There were a couple of teams that were involved. It was Chicago, Dallas. … New York was early, and then they kind of were off and on. (https://theathletic.com/2921269/2021/10/29/tale-of-two-point-guards-how-russell-westbrook-and-mike-conley-are-impacting-the-west/) For me, it was simple. It was the easiest decision.
– via Sam Amick @ The Athletic (https://theathletic.com/2921269/2021/10/29/tale-of-two-point-guards-how-russell-westbrook-and-mike-conley-are-impacting-the-west/)

New Orleans? Mike Conley: Yeah, New Orleans. So for me, it was an easy decision (https://theathletic.com/2921269/2021/10/29/tale-of-two-point-guards-how-russell-westbrook-and-mike-conley-are-impacting-the-west/) (based) on what we had built here and what I was able to be a part of last year and in the last few seasons. Just wanted to be a part of that journey with these guys. Trying to bring a championship to a place that, you know, it’s not easy to do. I think that seeing Milwaukee win was awesome.
– via Sam Amick @ The Athletic (https://theathletic.com/2921269/2021/10/29/tale-of-two-point-guards-how-russell-westbrook-and-mike-conley-are-impacting-the-west/)

Xiao Yao You

10-30-2021, 11:13 AM

Eric Walden: Jazz have exercised their third-year option on Udoka Azubuike (https://*********.com/social/)
– via Twitter tribjazz (https://twitter.com/tribjazz)

Xiao Yao You

10-30-2021, 11:14 AM

Eric Walden: New additions to the Jazz injury report: OUT- Mike Conley- Right Knee Injury Maintenance (https://*********.com/social/) PROBABLE- Hassan Whiteside- Right Hand Contusion

– via Twitter tribjazz (https://twitter.com/tribjazz)

knee not hammy. Good news?

Xiao Yao You

10-30-2021, 11:17 AM

Eric Nehm: Just chatted with Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer. He told reporters he does not expect Jrue Holiday or Brook Lopez to play this weekend (https://*********.com/social/). The Bucks have a back-to-back against San Antonio and Utah on Saturday and Sunday.

– via Twitter eric_nehm (https://twitter.com/eric_nehm)

need to take care of the Bucks

Xiao Yao You

10-30-2021, 02:54 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/10/29/22753536/what-the-jazz-exercising-the-option-on-udoka-azubuikes-contract-means-moving-forward

In the short term, it gives Azubuike assurance that he’ll have an NBA contract next season, barring getting waived. While it seemed likely the Jazz would exercise the option, it wasn’t entirely a slam dunk, as Azubuike has yet to make any real impact in the league after being somewhat of a surprise selection with the 27th pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

rather he gets waived or not he gets paid

Additionally, it seems unlikely he’ll make much of a mark this season barring injury to another player, as Hassan Whiteside seems to have solid hold of the backup center spot behind All-Star Rudy Gobert.

we'll see. Whiteside coasts. If Udoka puts it together with the Stars I'd be looking to move Whiteside at the trade deadline

A recent example provides some good reasoning. At the beginning of the 2018-19 season, Utah faced a similar situation with 2017 first-round pick Tony Bradley. He hadn’t done much at all to that point, but the Jazz exercised his contract option anyway.

Bradley was 21. Udoka is 22? Are they improving? I think so.

Bradley then didn’t do a whole lot in his second year either, but in his third, he showed some flashes of being a decent backup center when Utah needed him, and he is still in the league, now in his fifth year (playing for the Chicago Bulls).

What was he doing with the Stars? He was improving and he showed in his one game with the Jazz he could play with a double double

In essence, exercising Azubuike’s option guarantees the Jazz more time at a low price to try to help develop him as a player to see if he can realize the potential his big 6-foot-10, 280-pound frame could have before Utah gives up on the investment it made in him as a first-round draft pick.

could just mean they see him as a valuable piece that could be included in a trade

Xiao Yao You

10-30-2021, 02:57 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/10/29/22751424/utah-jazz-insiders-newsletter-face-tough-test-against-bucks-on-sunday

Too early to draw any real conclusions, but Sunday’s game will provide important lessons

Will it? Conley not playing tonite. Gay is still out. Mitchell doesn't get going for another month or two at least usually. Butler could still be a big piece...

If the Jazz are able to prove their mettle against the Bucks, they can build on what they showed in that game. If they aren’t able to beat the Bucks, the game will serve as a sort of starting point on the things the Jazz need to correct and work on as the season progresses.

they match up well with the Bucks. We already know that. It's too bad COTY didn't give them a chance to play them last year in the finals

Xiao Yao You

10-30-2021, 03:06 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/10/30/22754314/utah-jazz-look-for-next-win-in-chicago-2021-nba-game-preview-donovan-mitchell

The Jazz’s schedule has been pretty soft so far this year with wins against the lowly Thunder and Rockets as well as a win against the Nuggets with no Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic leaving before halftime. Their win against the Sacramento Kings (https://www.sactownroyalty.com/) is looking better as the Kings have rung off some nice wins of their own, but it would be nice to see the Jazz tested by a team at full strength. They’ll get a little taste of that with the Bulls who are the #2 team in the Eastern Conference standings. The Bulls also surprisingly have the #5 defensive rating this season. That’s a great test for the Jazz who need to show that their #1 offensive rating is for real.

Kings look improved certainly. We'll see if the Bulls really are or not

The Jazz have been steamrolling their bad opponents this season, picking up where they left off last season. They’ve also had something happen that hasn’t happened for years. Their offseason picks and acquisitions haven’t blown up in their face. Hassan Whiteside has been a very pleasant surprise. His rim protection has been great this year. For the season so far, Whiteside is #3 in individual defensive rating and it passes the eye test. In the Jazz system, which emphasizes rim protection, Whiteside has flourished. This season, when the Jazz can play drop coverage in the pick and roll, expect a Jazz win. That’s why a game like tonight is interesting. With a pick and pop center in Nikola Vucevic, how do the Jazz play? Are they able to keep up the defensive intensity if their centers are out of the paint? That’s the biggest question of the season for the Jazz who have an obvious achilles heel.

everyone loved Favors last year until they didn't too!

The other surprisingly good acquisition for the Jazz this season has been Eric Paschall. I’ll be honest, I had zero expectations of Paschall and looked at him more as bringing on a friend of Donovan Mitchell. I was wrong. Paschall has been playing fantastic defense and looks like he’s learned a few things from his time with Draymond Green. Paschall has been consistently denying penetration and has played physical defense. Along with Whiteside, he’s brought an edge and physicality this Jazz team desperately needed. Quin Snyder has some tough decisions coming when Rudy Gay returns because Paschall has been playing at a starter level. How does he get them both on the floor? For the season Paschall has the #9 defensive rating in the league. You have to figure out a way to keep that type of play on the floor. It may mean some experimentation with lineups. Could we see a defensive lineup focused on switching of Mitchell, O’Neale, Paschall, Gay, Gobert? I would love to see it. Until Rudy Gay come back from recovering from surgery, we’ll have to see.

Paschall has put up numbers in the league. Not really surprising he can play is it? If they were smart which they aren't Clarkson would be gone as soon as possible. Bojan would come off the bench. Maybe Paschall could start at the 4 and O'Neale at the 3 where he belongs? Then you still have Butler who will need a spot eventually. Assuming you don't get something for Clarkson besides tax relief/assets?

Conley out tonight as well. That news followed a report that Jrue is out for the weekend as well. I can’t remember; is Mike’s load management consistently the first game of back2backs? or are we not giving the Bull’s back court enough credit? I wouldn’t be surprised to see Don’s slumpy shooting continue. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he takes extra touches and flames them for 40+ ��

wouldn't expect anything from the best player in franchise history for a month or two

Xiao Yao You

10-30-2021, 03:42 PM

I'm a little worried about Clarkson however. I know he is the flamethrower, but 11 three pointers on his last years average of 34.7% isn't great. I would love to see him take closer to 8 and make sure those 3 less are the bad ones so his shooting percentage hovers closer to 36% percent. Still 34.7% is about 52% eFG% which was slightly above league average last year.

He sucks. It's ridiculous that the one guy that can't shoot takes the most 3's

Not seeing Niang & co play significant playoff minutes will be luxurious.

what if the guys playing don't do anything either and COTY sticks with them anyway?

I was actually surprised he signed for so little with Philly. I thought he played himself into a bigger contract. I'm just glad the jazz didn't pay it.

He did get a bigger contract and as I had said all year he was gone because of it.

It was hard not to like Niang on a personal level, but it drove me crazy to see him get significant minutes for the Jazz because of his lack of defense and rebounding—even with the marked improvements he made last season in those areas—especially when his shot wasn’t falling. I’m pleased he has found a good landing spot and is having success.

He was one of the guys that actually did defend last year.

I always thought that Niang should have been given a “Kyle Korver” type of role, but he ended up having a much more significant role for which he was not really suited.

Korver's role was too significant for Sloan too

I was just the season before last that the Jazz was starting Juwan Morgan in the playoffs, and giving real playoff minutes to Tony Bradley, Emmanuel Mudiay, Miye Oni, Jarrell Brantley and Rayjon Tucker.

sadly all those guys could have helped them the past two playoffs

We went from one of the shallowest teams in the league to one of the deepest in two seasons.

we'll see. IF COTY doesn't play guys they aren't deep even though no one called them shallow until they lost in the playoffs when COTY wouldn't try anything else

He won't take them from Butler. Gay will play the 4-5 role. So he would take minutes from Oneale, Bogey, EP, HW, and Gobert.

quit assuming anyone but Gobert and Whiteside will play the 5

Butler will get his minutes. In close games, he may get 2-3. In less intense games more like 5-6, and blowouts, 15 minutes based on the 4 game sample size. And Conley resting games I would be surprised if it were more than the 15 as well with Ingles taking the rest of Conley's minutes, and EP/Clarkson/Mitchell potentially taking the remaining minutes available.

stupid to have Butler sucking in a couple minutes a night when he could be playing big minutes for the Stars

Niang is a very good shooter, but we had shooting to spare. We desperately lacked toughness last year, and perimeter defense. Niang didn't provide either.

except he did. Niang wasn't their problem on D

By the way, the video of EP guarding Will Barton was amazing. Imagine EP on Terrence Mann in the playoffs last year? I think he doesn't go for more than 20 on us.

Imagine Illasova, Brantley, Morgan, Forrest etc. on him. COTY couldn't unfortunately

And with Barton being a SG/SF, that makes me think lineups with Gobert/Whiteside, Gay, Paschall, and any two guards is realistic. Could you imagine the lineup of Gobert, Gay, Paschall, Clarkson, Mitchell? Shooters, paint protection, and two physical defenders in Gay and Paschall. If Paschall can remain around 34-35% from 3 and the rest of the team maintain their usual 38-40% that is a 4+1 lineup that might be able to guard the perimeter and allow Gobert to dominate inside.

2 shooters. We've been there before. It didn't work

Yeah Ingles was not only starting at point he was playing 36+ minutes during many of those games. He's actually a really great point guard, probably the 2nd best player on the team at running the floor, however having him do that for too many minutes for too many games seems to really wear him down. 24 minutes a game is probably about what you want from him at this point in his career.

COTY. Elephant in the room?

Xiao Yao You

10-30-2021, 03:42 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/10/29/22751537/the-utah-jazz-have-a-good-problem-incoming-nba-eric-paschall-jared-bulter-donovan-mitchell-gobert

The Jazz have a deep roster. In fact, so deep that players who deserve playing time won't get it.

is their a year where they aren't supposedly deep until they aren't?

This is an amazing problem for Utah to have. Every team in the NBA wishes it was in a position where their roster slots 9-12 were filled by rotation level players. It’s a comforting position for the Jazz to be in. This, however, does come with its own (very slight) drawbacks. With Rudy Gay, whose yet to play a minute for the Jazz this season, coming back from a heel injury sometime in the near future, two players, Eric Paschall and Jared Butler, are likely to experience a cut in their minutes.

Butler hasn't shown he deserves any minutes yet. Forrest might have an argument though. Paschall was benched last year on a team not as DEEP as the Jazz. Clarkson still sucks

This, since Paschall has been playing so well and since Butler is in need of minutes to develop, is a little unfortunate. Paschall has actually played so well in his short time in Utah that I have a feeling he might still creep into the rotation regularly. He has played with an immense amount of energy, has consistently made intelligent plays on offense, and most importantly, has played fantastic defense at the 4/5 slot. I mean, just look at this phenomenal perimeter defense against the Denver Nuggets:

Butler can develop with the Stars!!!

Butler, on the other hand, hasn’t had as rocking of a start to his season. As a matter of fact, in his handful of minutes played this year, Butler has essentially been Utah’s worst player in every advanced statistic. This is totally okay though! Butler needs to experience those growing pains and play against real NBA-level talent this season to develop more as a player. Unfortunately, unless any of Utah’s starting guards are sitting out, he probably won't see very many minutes.

it's not ok really. Forrest looked better the one game he played besides last year. Oni at least brings defensive energy. Butler hasn't looked good. Even my much maligned Hughes maybe should be ahead of Butler right now?

In the end, what is great about all of this is that as the season progresses, Utah has the ability to rest its starters with more confidence. Given that Utah has gone into the last two playoff runs at far below full health, having such a deep roster will open the opportunity to playing regular rotation players less on a nightly basis and could reduce the likelihood of premature burnout, something that impacted the Jazz heavily last season. In essence, this problem might just be the key to Utah having a real run at the title this year.

We'll see how confident COTY is now that he got the Wizard fired

Butler will probably have to spend some time in the G-League. It's going to be hard for him to get meaningful minutes on a team that's a title favorite. So playing some games in the G-League to help his development is probably going to be the best case scenario for him in the short term.

why do people act like this is a bad thing? Every player should be considered a Gleaguer until they prove otherwise

I also really like Paschall. Based on what I've seen, it wouldn't surprise me if Paschall replaced O'Neale as a starter (not saying this is likely to happen, but I wouldn't be surprised). Both seem like very good defenders but Paschall is a bit bigger, a more natural PF, and a bit better shooter (maybe). Either way, he gives UTA a second wing defender which is desperately needed.

Niang was a great shooter but he was a bit redundant with Bojan and Ingles. Paschall fills a pretty big gap and gives Snyder more lineup flexibility. He also gives Gay more time to get healthy or makes Gay redundant (not a bad problem to have at all). Fingers and toes crossed that Paschall's early season performance continues.

Paschall played best with the Warriors at the 3 and 5 not the 4 where the Jazz need him.m His shot is ugly. Doubt he is ever a very good shooter. O'Neale can shoot. I'd love if he was their answer at the 4 so O'Neale could play the 3 but Bojan is the guy to bench not Royce

Not sure Snyder does that since he seems to have settled on a rotation. HW, and Ingles coming in for Mitchell and Gobert just like he did with Favors and Ingles. Then he has Clarkson for Bogey a few minutes later, and finally EP, Conley, and Gobert back in for Mitchell, Oneale, and HW. Seems to be a similar pattern to last year. Maybe he could move EP into the lineup earlier and sub Oneale out with Bogey?

exactly. COTY isn't doing anything drastic unless he wants to get someone else fired besides the guy that should be him

Oneale is by far the better 3pt shooter between him and paschall. Toss up with defense maybe and rebounding probably goes to Eric. However experience and continuity heavily favor Royce. He also hasn't really done anything to lose his job. He hasn't been outplayed.

Paschall hasn't rebounded much. Royce is certainly better there. Would be nice if Royce didn't have to rebound

Our second unit a advantage with 2 all Stars the top 2 vote getters in 6th man along with Paschall is dominant. We roast teams second units. It's very tough to match our team for 48 minutes and not take a beating for stretches. Teams must pull there hair out trying to score on us in the half court. 48 minutes of elite rim protection. If Forrest or Butler figure something out and develop some more by playoffs then look out. Or both. Forrest for distribution and defense. Butler for shot creation and shooting.

Forrest and others could have helped last year. Again COTY

Eric Paschall plays very similar to Jae Crowder. For the past two years I feel like we really missed what Crowder brought to the Jazz--even though he wasn't a stellar 3-point shooter. The Jazz haven't really had anyone to replace his role since he was traded, but now we do, and at a much lower cost. If Paschall can continue to do the type of things that players like Crowder and P.J. Tucker can do, he could be very valuable for the Jazz going forward.

Jae was missed. His 8 3 attempts a game were not

I think Paschall is a big upgrade over Georges Niang at the backup PF, and I believe Rudy Gay will be also once he's ready to go--two upgrades at the same position.

we'll see. Niang could play. He defended. He wasn't good in the playoffs but will Paschall be? Does it matter with COTY?

Crowder and Paschall are both listed at 6'6" but Paschall seems taller. And I know Paschall won't keep shooting 44%, but if he can even be in the mid to upper 30s, he would be Crowder-with-a-3p which is exactly what UTA needed (and needs).

somehow he shot 33% last year. Hard to imagine him in the upper 30's

Xiao Yao You

10-30-2021, 03:48 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/30/utah-jazz-3-crazy-stats-2021-22-season/

The fact that the Utah Jazz could routinely miss so many triples and still rank second in the NBA in TS% validates the entire three-point revolution (https://www.forbes.com/sites/shaneyoung/2019/11/30/the-nbas-three-point-revolution-continues-to-take-over/?sh=1b478b3256b8). It demonstrates that shooting more three-pointers makes an offense more efficient, even if those attempts aren’t consistently dropping.

could just mean they've only played 4 games

With all of those factors in mind, it only makes sense that the Jazz have the second lowest percentage of three-point makes assisted on in the league, at 65.5%. It’s not that this team is selfish: more so, having four elite spacers on the floor at all times creates a number of easy, unassisted three-point attempts.

Clarkson and Mitchell is all that needs to be said here :cry:

Xiao Yao You

10-30-2021, 03:50 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/30/one-area-utah-jazz-must-improve/

Donovan Mitchell is shooting 31.6% on 9.5 three-point attempts per contest. Running mate Jordan Clarkson (https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/24/utah-jazz-ranking-jordan-clarkson/) must be jealous: he’s shooting 26.3% on the exact same volume. With those two lead guards struggling mightily from deep, some key wings aren’t helping matters. Bojan Bogdanovic is at 31.8% on 5.5 attempts per game, and Royce O’Neale is hitting 28.6% of his 3.5 threes per night.

Clarkson shot horribly most of last year. The others should get better

Xiao Yao You

10-30-2021, 03:53 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/29/utah-jazz-2-studs-1-dud-houston/2/

Butler’s hustle and offensive gifts (https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/04/utah-jazz-rookie-potential/) were on fuller display than they’ve been at any point in this young NBA season. Utah Jazz fans should feel reassured that they may have landed the steal of the 2021 NBA Draft.

garbage time stud!:facepalm

The veteran point guard fell short in terms of both volume and efficiency last night. He finished with 6 points on 2/7 shooting from the field, 4 assists and 2 turnovers in 24 minutes.

2-7 I'll take any day. Clarkson 1-11 from 3 or whatever shit he's putting up is hard to stomach

Xiao Yao You

10-30-2021, 07:22 PM

Tony Jones: Quin Snyder said Conley sitting out is a back to back situation. Rarely played them last year. Will probably rarely play them this season (https://*********.com/social/)
– via Twitter Tjonesonthenba (https://twitter.com/Tjonesonthenba)

Xiao Yao You

10-31-2021, 11:24 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50273249/undefeated-no-more-battle-with-bulls-refs-lead-to-jazzs-first-loss-of-the-season

The frustration had boiled over by that point. Sure, Mitchell thought he had been fouled on a shot attempt, but he believed the Jazz had been getting a rough whistle all night. Those three claps was him voicing his displeasure of the entire game.

hard to blame the refs for the way you, Clarkson and Bojan shot the ball

Mitchell was 9 of 27, Jordan Clarkson was 5 of 19, and Bojan Bogdanovic was 5 of 14; buckets were simply hard to come by against a stout Chicago defense. With a lot of missed shots and a few missed calls, it quickly became a frustrating night for the visitors.

try passing the ball?

That meant the Jazz were without their best guard against pressure. So when Chicago got aggressive on the perimeter, Utah didn't have that person to fall back on.

their best guard period. It's not close despite best player in franchise history and 6th man of the year

Xiao Yao You

10-31-2021, 11:35 AM

https://kslsports.com/471379/jazz-offense-flounders-without-conley-in-loss-to-bulls/

Without Conley on the floor, rookie Jared Butler got his biggest opportunity of the season playing nine meaningful minutes in a close game.

if Forrest or even Oni get those minutes they might win. Kid will be good. Not ready like every Jazz rookie under COTY. Should have been playing with Stars yesterday

Last season the Jazz almost always won the minutes that Rudy Gobert was on the floor which is why he led the NBA in plus-minus to finish the season. However, this season Gobert ranks eighth on the team with an average of +3.8 per game, with Paschall coming in at +0.8, the lowest of the Jazz top nine rotation players.

get him some help please :facepalm

Xiao Yao You

10-31-2021, 11:41 AM

https://kslsports.com/471348/jazz-lose-first-game-of-the-season-to-bulls/

Without Conley, the Jazz couldn’t afford bad nights from Jordan Clarkson and Bojan Bogdanovic but that’s what they got.

the problem is almost every night is a bad night for Clarkson

Xiao Yao You

10-31-2021, 11:46 AM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/10/30/22753497/mental-mistakes-lead-to-jazzs-first-loss-of-the-2021-22-season

That means that the Jazz are going to need a little more mental fortitude and better efficiency and production out of their remaining ball-handlers, namely Mitchell, Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles.

efficiency from the best player in franchise history and 6th man of the year? :lol

Additionally, Clarkson and Mitchell combined to go just 14-of-46 from the field and 5-of-20 from 3-point range. They both seemed to be making things more difficult than they needed to offensively while also missing shots that they normally make.

Clarkson doesn't normally make 3's. He takes a lot sure

Xiao Yao You

10-31-2021, 11:51 AM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/10/30/22753496/instant-analysis-jazz-go-cold-against-the-bulls-lose-for-the-first-time-this-season

When Donovan Mitchell, and frankly the rest of the Jazz roster, was having trouble hitting from outside, Mitchell was working his butt off to get to the rim and just get something to go down. One of the things I’ve noticed over the first few games of this season is that Mitchell has gotten very good at switching his layup hand mid-flight. It seems like it could be a really dangerous thing to do, but it’s clear he’s put a lot of time into it and he’s really controlled when he does it. It’s a nice new wrinkle to his game.

can he shoot a left handed layup from the left side yet?

In the fourth quarter, Quin Snyder decided to put Trent Forrest in for a few possessions. One of the things that Forrest does well is stay in front of his man in transition and slow down breaks, and he did that.

it's clear he should be on the floor ahead of Butler as should Oni and maybe even Hughes and Fitts. A joke that he's not really

Finding silver linings in losses is often what the ‘high notes’ section is about, and if you’re looking for one from this game, it’s that the Jazz played pretty badly against one of the hottest teams in the league right now and they were right there through most of the night. The fact that they only lost by eight and that they were within striking distance is actually pretty surprising. Probably not going to see a lot of games with that many mistakes and so many guys on the Jazz roster shooting that badly all in the same night.

Rudy Gobert always gives you a chance

It takes quite a bit for me to write something about the way the officials call a game. But here are the things that I noticed from my vantage point courtside at the baseline: Multiple Jazz players were complaining about no-calls, there was a lot of jersey pulling by the Bulls, Snyder was begging for the officials to pay attention to what was happening under the basket and there were Bulls players that were laughing about what they were getting away with. So when there’s frustration from Mitchell, who was assessed a technical foul in the fourth quarter for clapping at the officials, I understand it. How could you not be frustrated and then validated in continuing to be frustrated when everyone around you is frustrated and the opposition is just snickering about it?

so why not try passing the ball instead of continuing to throw up shots that aren't going in?

Hassan Whiteside getting blocked and stopped over and over by former Jazzman Tony Bradley was not the best look he’s had in a Utah uniform.

Tony can play. Too bad he was a scapegoat here for all of their issues which they continue to have without him

Xiao Yao You

10-31-2021, 12:05 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/10/30/22755129/utah-jazz-take-their-first-loss-of-the-season-in-chicago-bulls-game-recap-nba-2021-donovan-mitchell

One concerning early-season trend that continued tonight was Donovan Mitchell’s struggles as a jump shooter, as he had yet another poor game shooting the ball from 3pt range. He shot just 2-11 from there tonight, his worst mark so far this season, and now is just shooting a lowly 28.6% from 3 on the year. This is obviously a far cry from the Donovan that we are used to, especially after he shot a scorching 39.6% across last year's regular season and playoffs (a full 11% higher than this year!).

you should be used to this Mitchell in the early months of the season

It’s very likely just a small sample size cold stretch that will correct itself over the course of the season, but it’s still disappointing after what we saw from him in the playoffs. Donovan seems to have a bad habit of starting off the season playing poorly (for his standards) and while it’s nice that he usually finishes the year on fire, it would be cool to see him be dominant for an entire season instead of having to play his way into a rhythm.

yeah I'd love to see the best player in franchise history show up at both ends for a full year. Might actually deserve to be an all star and the hype

It would be irresponsible to blame the loss on Donovan however, as he still had an alright game even without his shot falling. He finished with 30/7/6 and as much as you can gripe about his inefficiency, the Jazz offense was still clearly a lot more functional with him on the floor than off.

most of the blame is on the usual subjects. Mitchell, Clarkson and COTY

As tough as tonight’s loss was, however, it shouldn’t be cause for too much concern going forward. Credit a good Bulls team for playing well and defending at a high level on the perimeter, but the Jazz still were in the game late even with all that went wrong. The fact that this game was still fairly competitive despite the Jazz missing Mike Conley, shooting terribly from distance, and some questionable whistles, says a lot about how good the Jazz are. Some games you just have to forget about and move past, and hopefully, Utah can do that tomorrow with another big game looming against the Milwaukee Bucks (https://www.brewhoop.com).

it says how good Gobert is which at least a few of us have known for years

-In the second quarter, when DeMar was DeRozaning all over the Jazz, Q just watched it happen again and again and again. He is just like, We drop in p/r. Drop some more. And DD dropped buckets. I would have loved to see a blitz to force it out of his hands or a switch.

in game changes from COTY? :facepalm

Butler looks bad. Either he doesn't have any reads right now or he's playing for himself. The ball just sort of dies when he touches it, and he's expecting to be able to get by his man at ease. NBA players are built differently than he's used to scoring against. He needs to move the ball or attack quicker. He probably shouldn't be playing at all.

probably?

-If Clarkson's bad shooting night goes from abysmal to meh, we win this one. If we don't turn the ball over 20 times, we win this one. If we don't shoot sub-30% from three, we win this one.

asking a lot. He's usually abysmal

Again, this game was strange. My biggest takeaway from it is two-fold. One, Q will not do something different defensively even if it will stop climate change. Two, Chicago's drop defense w/ aggression at the point of the screen is really interesting to me.

I wish that was strange. Par for the course for COTY

JC was absolutely at his worst tonight. He had a couple 3s late to make his numbers more decent but started 0/10. And just kept forcing it and forcing it, 4 turnovers. 19 shots, 1 assist. 28% on 3s for the year. 38% FG. Very poor. But as usual he gets a pass cause he's a cool guy

typical night for him. The fact that anyone likes him is baffling

The areas which do concern me a bit though are all the unforced turnovers, which seems to already be a trend. And maybe I'm overreacting but Q still doesn't seem willing to make any in game adjustments, with the way they were playing Clarkson & Bogie should have just sat for most of the 2nd half, with their minutes being spread to Paschall, Butler, & Forest, etc.

Butler shouldn't have been playing but why not try other guys that should have been with the Stars and weren't?

Paschall was not impactful tonight but that was more due to Jordan jacking up 19 shots and not letting anyone else touch the ball.

but Clarkson does that every game. Better figure out a way to be impactful

Small ball? Did not Chicago play Vucavic and Bradley at Centre for the whole game? I thought Rudy and Hassan were the only positives of the game as they had numerous offensive rebounds, putbacks, dunks, etc

Jazz could go small against a big team but they won't

Xiao Yao You

10-31-2021, 12:11 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/31/utah-jazz-2-duds-1-stud-chicago/

By now, it’s so official that it might as well have been notarized by a legal authority (https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/30/one-area-utah-jazz-must-improve/): Donovan Mitchell is slumping. The Utah Jazz star’s basic counting stats from this loss to the Bulls were appropriate to his star status, as he finished with 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists.

is it a slump when it is a yearly thing?

Clarkson shot 5/19 from the field against the Bulls. He actually shot a barely respectable 3/9 from three-point range, but his shot was generally where it’s remained this season: in the gutter.

and most of last year

Xiao Yao You

10-31-2021, 12:16 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/30/utah-jazz-3-things-rudy-gobert-star/

Utah Jazz: 3 things Rudy Gobert must do to be an All-Star again

hope the voters don't blow it like they did two times

First things first, Rudy Gobert needs to keep doing what he’s always done best for the Jazz (https://thejnotes.com/), anchor the defense. Over the last five years, he has been one of the best defenders in the league, if not the best. Due to this rock-solid defending, he has been able to make four All-NBA teams without a stellar offensive repertoire.

one of the best offensive players in the game

The best thing Gobert could do right now to help the Jazz scoring output is to develop a better low-post game. At 7-foot-1 and nearly 260 pounds, if he could punish smaller defenders on the block, it could change how teams game-plan for Utah. And this would surely secure the big man’s spot on the 2022 All-Star roster.

as we've seen they just have to get him the ball

However, for Gobert to show he’s truly one of the league’s best big men, he’ll need to show that he can expose teams that routinely go small against him by punishing them in the paint. That’s something he wasn’t able to do in last year’s playoffs, where he averaged 12.5 points per game against the Clippers.

which he's always done. Might want to try writing better articles not more

Xiao Yao You

10-31-2021, 12:25 PM

https://www.nba.com/jazz/news/utah-falls-first-time-season

"Shoot it, that's it," Mitchell said when asked what he tells Clarkson following his 5-of-19 shooting night.

great advice for both of ya :cry:

Xiao Yao You

10-31-2021, 06:12 PM

Eric Walden: Asked about the Jazz talking about the extra physicality they’ve faced from defenders this year, Quin intimated that the new point of emphasis rules have had the unintended consequence of enabling defenders to apply excessive contact in disrupting offensive players (https://*********.com/social/).

– via Twitter tribjazz (https://twitter.com/tribjazz)

good!

Xiao Yao You

11-01-2021, 12:19 PM

But Sunday night was about Mitchell, who scored a game-high 28 points, 18 of which came after halftime. When the Bucks got close in the third quarter, he scored seven consecutive points to give his team breathing room. When the Bucks rallied furiously in the closing minutes, Mitchell closed out the win with tough shots. “The biggest thing is that we executed when we needed to,” Mitchell said. “I thought tonight and last night, we were in two polar opposite situations. Chicago amped up the pressure. They trapped the ball. They made us uncomfortable, and we weren’t ready for it. Tonight, Milwaukee did some of the same things and we were a lot more prepared. We just went out and continued to fight. We competed on both ends of the floor. We made hustle plays. (https://theathletic.com/2926082/2021/10/31/donovan-mitchell-finds-the-right-balance-to-help-jazz-bounce-back-from-first-loss-of-season/) We knew they were world champions, and they just weren’t going to roll over and call it a night. They were going to continue to fight, and I think we did a good job of being ready for that.”

– via Tony Jones @ The Athletic (https://theathletic.com/2926082/2021/10/31/donovan-mitchell-finds-the-right-balance-to-help-jazz-bounce-back-from-first-loss-of-season/)

Ben Anderson: Jordan Clarkson on the end of his 99 game three-point shooting streak. “It’s over, start another.” (https://*********.com/social/) #takenote | @KSLSports

– via Twitter BensHoops (https://twitter.com/BensHoops)

please don't! :facepalm

Xiao Yao You

11-01-2021, 02:13 PM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50273683/jordan-clarkson-doesnt-seem-to-care-about-99-game-3-point-streak-ending-in-jazz-win

"I feel like I've been saying it for a long time about his care factor and his will and he's got a lot of pride and he wants to win," Quin Snyder said of Clarkson. "He wants to win. He can really score but he wants to win more than he wants to score. There is a competitiveness. ... If you're not making shots you want to figure out another way to impact the game and that's that's exactly what he did. And those were big plays."

delusional

Clarkson said he wasn't worried about his shot — hence why he could laugh off the end of his streak. He's had some shooting slumps before and he's found a way out of them. He thinks this current dip in efficiency is no different.

he's almost always slumping

Xiao Yao You

11-01-2021, 02:17 PM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50273500/jazz-are-taking-the-long-view-with-mike-conley-this-season-

Donovan Mitchell finished 9 of 27 and Jordan Clarkson was 5 of 19. The Jazz really need more efficient nights from those two ball handlers when Conley is out of the lineup.

good luck with that

Those are things Conley excels at. He's so quick at knowing what the defense is going to give up on certain possessions and then finding it. It's less exciting than a Mitchell crossover or a Clarkson out-of-control-but-somehow-not-out-of-control search dribble, but it's often more effective.

Their 2nd best player

Butler isn't ready to handle regular minutes, but these games should provide much-needed growth opportunities. Butler hasn't grasped the offense yet and isn't always sure where to be and what to do on the court. Once that changes, though, things should calm down for the rookie.

wasted minutes when Forrest and Oni are available or even Hughes

Xiao Yao You

11-01-2021, 03:40 PM

https://kslsports.com/471521/jazz-bounce-back-with-win-over-shorthanded-bucks/

It also happens to be longer than any stretch backup center Derrick Favors had for the Jazz last season despite appearing in 68 games for the team.

how did Favors compare with Bradley the guy behind all their problems the previous year supposedly

“I try to stay away from the plus-minus stuff,” Snyder said before the Jazz faced the Bucks. “But to the Donovan and Hassan point, it’s a good one. We want to keep seeing those guys work together and play together.”

one of the worst stats out there

Xiao Yao You

11-01-2021, 05:26 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/10/31/22755245/instant-analysis-utah-jazz-finish-road-trip-on-a-high-note-with-win-against-milwaukee-bucks

I know that this doesn’t have to be said, but sometimes it’s worth just pointing out how good Rudy Gobert is. He’s so impactful and I think that anyone who watches the Jazz on a regular basis can become spoiled because Gobert’s impact is just expected night-in and night-out. But he’s such a special player and it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for him to get some MVP buzz this season.

nah he's not the best player in franchise history

Xiao Yao You

11-01-2021, 09:52 PM

https://saltcityhoops.com/paschall-provides-defense-decision-making-as-a-backup-4/

Paschall came to the Jazz with a reputation of a midrange bruiser, taking 45% of his shots from that area with the Warriors (91st percentile in the league). That number is now down to 15%, which is much lower than I expected. We saw Emmanual Mudiay retain his midrange shot with the Jazz as it was his primary weapon. Not so with Paschall, and that commitment to fitting with Utah’s system is impressive. Something to keep an eye on.

Mudiay was a better shooter too

Speaking of which, I’ve also been impressed with Paschall’s decision making. While I like the comparison to Jae Crowder, who had a similar physical profile and was not gun-shy from three (which to his credit, did keep his defenders honest) — Crowder had a tendency to take shots when better options were available.

if only Clarkson could do that

What’s more, Eric can put the ball on the floor. The difference between his ball handling and his predecessors at the backup 4 and 5 last season is stark. When Georges Niang or Derrick Favors received a pass, it was usually only because they were open for a three or rolling toward the basket. Paschall can put the ball on the deck, force the defense to rotate, then kick out to an open shooter.

Niang could handle the ball just fine. It's all a matter of how much COTY allows one to do. As bff I'm sure he has free reign

The physical tools are there. This play displays a rare combination of movement and size. Can this kind of defense be sustained? We’ll watch for effort and defensive IQ throughout the season. Playing in lineups with Gobert will certainly help him shine.

gives him a better chance to shine. We'll see. That lineup wasn't good without Conley against the Bulls

Last season’s playoff matchup against the Clippers partially came down to whose end-of-bench guys showed up. Both teams were hit by injuries, and LA’s depth won out. Terrance Mann went from DNPs to hero of the series. Utah’s deep rotation couldn’t overcome the lack of ball handling and perimeter defense.

Lue won out. COTY didn't use his depth

It will be tough to push Eric out of the rotation when he’s been playing so well. While it seems unlikely, Quin did experiment with a 10-man rotation, and maybe he’ll do something to accommodate Paschall, who could thrive in limited minutes in an energy and dirty work role.

trade Clarkson. Start Paschall. Move Bojan to the bench

But Paschall will likely find opportunity in other ways. Conley, Ingles, and Gay are in their mid thirties and could strategically rest. Whiteside (who deserves his own expanded shoutout) may hit rough patches in the season, and I’m curious how Gay and Paschall play together sharing front court duties. And if the Jazz continue their net rating dominance, maybe Snyder will rein in the starter minutes and allow more “garbage time” play for the end of bench rotation.

COTY again doing things he doesn't do!

Xiao Yao You

11-01-2021, 10:27 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/01/utah-jazz-amazing-streak-jordan-clarkson/

Consider the countless 3-point heaves from Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson (https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/clarkjo01.html) that belong in the “prayer” category. With that in mind, one could say it’s a wonder how the 6-foot-4, 195-pound bucket-getter went 99 consecutive regular-season games with at least one make from downtown.

Really? He's taking 9 a game. Chances are you're going to hit 1

Before his frigid shooting in Milwaukee, Jordan Clarkson’s 99 games trailed only the 131 games from Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Steph Curry on the list of active streaks. Now, Duncan Robinson of the Miami Heat sits in second place with his 54-game clip.

2 great shooters and Clarkson :facepalm

Earlier this season, Clarkson moved past a former 95-game streak of Golden State’s Klay Thompson into fourth place on the list of all-time 3-point streaks. The top two spots still belong to Curry; his current 131-game streak needs 27 more to surpass his record of 157 straight outings, which spanned almost two full years from November 2014 to November 2016.

another great shooter and Clarkson

Xiao Yao You

11-01-2021, 10:35 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/01/utah-jazz-2-studs-1-dud-bucks/

The shooting slump may be over.

another month or two minimum

Mitchell looked considerably more comfortable in this contest than he has throughout the 2021-22 season. Interestingly, he finished this game with only 2 assists, to go with 4 turnovers. In an odd way, that might have been an encouraging sign. Mitchell wasn’t trying to serve double duty as a facilitator throughout this contest: he was focused on scoring.

he needs to pass and play D

It’s also worth noting that Conley was -3 in this contest. In fact, he was the only member of the Utah Jazz to post a negative plus/minus. Chalk that up as a noisey statistic. Lineups featuring him alongside Jordan Clarkson ran into some trouble last night, however, that blame has to be placed squarely with the reigning Sixth Man of the Year.

Clarkson sucks!

Nobody is saying the Utah Jazz spark plug should be shooting less, or even playing any differently (https://kslsports.com/471521/jazz-bounce-back-with-win-over-shorthanded-bucks/). It’s Clarkson’s job to score, and score in volume. He didn’t take bad shots last night, insofar as Clarkson is capable of hitting any shot known to man. The shots simply refused to fall.

I'm saying it

There’s really no solution for Clarkson’s issues. He simply needs to continue shooting until the shots start landing in the basket. However, his inefficiency has to be a major concern for the Utah Jazz. Had either Khris Middleton or Jrue Holiday been active, there’s a pretty good chance it would have cost the Jazz this game.

wasn't a concern last year why start now? :facepalm

Xiao Yao You

11-01-2021, 10:37 PM

https://sircharlesincharge.com/2021/10/31/nba-trick-treat-hot-starts-heat-warriors/7/

The Utah Jazz may have benefited from a big of a softer schedule to open the season but this is a team that has picked up where they left off last regular season. The Jazz has two top stars, is deep, and has one of the best coaches in the Western Conference.

best coaches? :lol

Xiao Yao You

11-01-2021, 10:41 PM

https://www.nba.com/jazz/news/rudy-gobert-named-western-conference-player-week

"When you're so good at something, they want to just focus solely on that. He's so good at being a defensive force that people sometimes don't look at the other side," fellow all-star and teammate Donovan Mitchell said of Gobert. "He knows what he needs to work on and get better. … He puts a lot of pressure on himself to be able to do certain things. The biggest things we're seeing is catching and finishing, the playing through contact. … That's where I'm saying like, 'okay, he's taken that next step.'"

do you know what you need?

Xiao Yao You

11-01-2021, 10:42 PM

https://www.nba.com/jazz/gobert-named-western-conference-player-week

The two-time NBA All-Star has totaled 98 points, 103 rebounds and 10 blocks in the first six games of the 2021-22 season which is only the third time a player has owned totals of at least 90 points, 100 rebounds and 10 blocks since 2001-02 through their first six games of a season (Andre Drummond, 2015-16 and 2019-20). For the 2021-22 season, Gobert has averaged 16.3 points on 72.1 percent from the field, 17.2 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 assists, also shooting a career-best 72.0 percent from the free throw line in 31.0 minutes per game.

:bowdown:

Xiao Yao You

11-02-2021, 05:58 AM

Rich Hoffman: Georges Niang on MVP chants: “Joel told me to never let that happen again.” (https://*********.com/social/) “I’m a player that plays off emotion. I don’t have the swagger like Seth so I can’t pull some stuff off.” Seth Curry on shorthanded lineup: “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, play the same way.” pic.twitter.com/NUsDkhCUN9

– via Twitter rich_hofmann (https://twitter.com/rich_hofmann)

not surprising that Philly would appreciate Niang like Utah couldn't

Xiao Yao You

11-02-2021, 02:41 PM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50274440/zaire-wade-seizing-opportunity-with-his-new-home-salt-lake-city-stars

There are both pros and cons to skipping the traditional college route — the path worked for Jalen Green, who was drafted No. 2 overall in the 2021 draft by the Houston Rockets and Jonathan Kuminga who was drafted No. 7 overall by the Golden State Warriors. Green and Kuminga initially entered the NBA's G League and played for the lone team unaffiliated with an NBA team: G League Ignite.

and there's the Golden Child Exum :facepalm

Xiao Yao You

11-02-2021, 03:02 PM

https://kslsports.com/471563/cold-shooting-jazz-to-host-kings-between-road-trips/

Though they sit atop the Western Conference standings, the Jazz have yet to find the shooting touch that allowed them to finish with the best record in the NBA last season.

improved D was the difference last year not that you should know that!

Through six games, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic, Royce O’Neale, and Jordan Clarkson are all shooting 31 percent from three or worse.

only one of them to be worried about

Xiao Yao You

11-02-2021, 03:15 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/1/22757107/utah-jazz-jordan-clarkson-struggling-from-distance-but-keeping-defenses-honest-quin-snyder

“I tell him the same thing I told Bojan last year,” Snyder said of Clarkson on Sunday night after the Jazz’s 107-95 win over the Milwaukee Bucks (https://www.deseret.com/2021/10/31/22755245/instant-analysis-utah-jazz-finish-road-trip-on-a-high-note-with-win-against-milwaukee-bucks). “It can’t go in if you don’t shoot it.”

Bojan great shooter. Clarkson not a great shooter. COTY :facepalm

There are still 76 games remaining in the season. That leaves a lot of room for Clarkson to get back to hitting shots at a high level and the Jazz fully expect him to do so.

which is why there the Jazz :cry:

Xiao Yao You

11-02-2021, 10:42 PM

https://saltcityhoops.com/sc7-110121-distance-depth-def/

This isn’t the first place this has been pointed out, but keep an eye on Utah’s weirdly low passing numbers. Once a living shrine to “playing with a pass,” the Jazz are last or second last in the NBA this season in various tracked metrics around passing (https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/passing/?sort=PASSES_MADE&dir=-1), including passes per game (30th), assists (30th), points created by assists (29th) and assist to pass ratio (29th). This could be just early static, or it could represent a subtle shift in how Utah leverages core actions. For example, they’re currently #2 in the NBA in points produced on the average possession used by a P&R handler (https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/ball-handler/?sort=PPP&dir=1), so maybe since they’re getting a lot of of having the ball handler keep it, they’re just not having to go deeper down into their list of options on that play type. Mitchell and Clarkson are both in the top one-eighth of the league in points per possession in that particular setting.

Mitchell/Clarkson. Nuff said

Xiao Yao You

11-02-2021, 10:53 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/02/br-utah-jazz-rookie-jared-butler-f/

what does coty get for playing him?

Xiao Yao You

11-03-2021, 12:25 PM

It was Maravich, of course, who first showed a young guard from Michigan the razzle-dazzle of the no-look pass. (“That’s where I saw all that,” Magic Johnson once said. “From Pistol Pete.”) It was Maravich who created the prototype for Curry and Steve Nash and Trae Young — and every NBA guard who ever hoisted a jumper off the dribble from 25 feet. It was Maravich — the Pistol — who was the progenitor of “Showtime,” the revolutionary with the shaggy hair and the floppy socks and the strange dietary quirks — plant-based, before that was a thing. When the holy terror of the basketball world had the ball in his hands, the aesthetic that felt like art, closer to Bob Dylan than Bob Cousy. “He was the original,” Pat Riley once said. “When you talk about ‘Showtime,’ you talk about creativity and bringing a whole different concept to the game of basketball. Pete was the original.” (https://theathletic.com/2887656/2021/11/03/nba-75-pistol-pete-maravich-prodigy-offensive-showman-fearless-visionary/?source=rss)
– via Rustin Dodd @ The Athletic (https://theathletic.com/2887656/2021/11/03/nba-75-pistol-pete-maravich-prodigy-offensive-showman-fearless-visionary/?source=rss)

He had 17 straight seasons averaging double-digit points. During that time, he played more than 1,300 games and averaged 16.3 points and 10.1 rebounds per night while making 54.1 percent of his shots. Those numbers aren’t that far off from that decade-long sample mentioned above, only this happened from the age of 24 to 40, including one of his best seasons at age 35. Only 23 players in NBA history have played at least 1,300 games in their careers. Six of them have averaged at least 16 points per game in those first 17 years they played. Four of those players (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Elvin Hayes and Parish) also grabbed 10 rebounds per game. Only Abdul-Jabbar (56.2 percent) of those players shot a higher percentage from the field than Parish (54.2 percent) (https://theathletic.com/2912009/2021/11/02/nba-75-at-no-74-robert-parish-was-the-unselfish-and-underappreciated-backbone-of-80s-celtics/).

– via Zach Harper @ The Athletic (https://theathletic.com/2912009/2021/11/02/nba-75-at-no-74-robert-parish-was-the-unselfish-and-underappreciated-backbone-of-80s-celtics/)

Wilkens took pride in his defense and said he drew the assignment of guarding the likes of Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Jerry Sloan and Walt Frazier — the opponent’s top guard. The NBA didn’t start tracking steals until 1973 when, at 36, Wilkens still managed 1.3 swipes per game for the Cavs. “I think that I would have led the league in steals if they had been keeping track early on,” Wilkens said. “I was a better player than a lot of people realize. I think that I contributed to the game. (https://theathletic.com/2914632/2021/11/01/nba-75-lenny-wilkens-was-the-embodiment-of-the-player-as-coach-on-the-floor/) “When I was a player, I think that I worked hard at being as good as I could be. When I was a coach, it was the same thing. Each has its own reward, so to speak.”
– via Joe Vardon @ The Athletic (https://theathletic.com/2914632/2021/11/01/nba-75-lenny-wilkens-was-the-embodiment-of-the-player-as-coach-on-the-floor/)

Xiao Yao You

11-04-2021, 01:00 PM

https://kslsports.com/471717/joe-ingles-jordan-clarkson-will-figure-out-how-to-break-shooting-slump/

“JC is kind of JC on and off the court regardless of the basketball side of things,” said Ingles. “No doubt it’s frustrating. Especially because a lot of the shots are shots he’s made in the past or made basically all of them last year. There’s obviously a number of things you could throw up as excuses. He would never do that. I mean, JC is the sixth man so, people are going to defend him differently than what they have in the past He’ll figure it out. We can do a better job as well as a team in making it easy for him getting him some easier looks, getting him some layups, getting him into paint.”

except it's not true. He started out hot and sucked most of the year. This is who he is. He's not a great shooter

Xiao Yao You

11-04-2021, 01:13 PM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50276009/emotion-and-passion-how-hassan-whiteside-has-helped-jazz-to-league-best-start

Whiteside is far from just a light-hearted jokester that is always good for a laugh. In fact, he may be the answer to a long-lasting problem. Whiteside has given the Jazz what they have long been searching for: a reliable backup center.

he's on a minimum contract for a reason. Let's not get ahead of ourselves!

Utah has spent a ton of equity trying to find an adequate backup to Rudy Gobert. They've used recent first-round picks on Tony Bradley and Udoka Azubuike, spent large portions of their mid-level exceptions on Ed Davis and Derrick Favors, and then used future draft picks to get out of bad deals.

and still don't have a starting 4! :facepalm

It's not the first time Whiteside has made a strong first impression with a franchise before frustrations sunk in and his level of play dropped — it's been a pattern. He's older now, more mature, more wise and he's basking the opportunity he's been given in Utah. So will those same issues creep up? Maybe or maybe not.

from what I've seen he's very talented but doesn't play hard. He's getting by on talent alone as always

"It's indicative of how much he cares," coach Quin Snyder said. "That emotion and that energy can feed a team, whether it's making a physical play like the other night, making a block, getting excited about a play. … Anytime you add emotion to competitiveness, that's rocket fuel."

energy isn't how I'd describe him for sure

Xiao Yao You

11-04-2021, 10:21 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/4/22762294/nba-power-rankings-roundup-utah-jazz-espn-sports-illustrated-cbs-sports-nbc-sports-nov-3

You might not be surprised that the Jazz have a top-five offense despite Donovan Mitchell registering career-low marks in effective field goal percentage (47.9%) and true shooting percentage (52.9%). Mitchell has never been a very efficient scorer (in the regular season, at least), but this is a team that, overall, takes efficient shots and shares the ball.

you forgot Clarkson

Mitchell has seen a small jump in usage rate, but a big drop in the percentage of his buckets that have been assisted (from 28.0% last season to just 14.6% this season). The Jazz’s loss in Chicago on Saturday was their worst offensive game (by a wide margin) of the season and came with Mitchell’s highest usage rate (by a wide margin) of the season. Last season, the Jazz were 4-6 in the 10 games Mitchell registered a usage rate of 38% or higher.

thanks you COTY, Clarkson and best player in franchise history

The Jazz have more or less picked up where they left off last regular season. Through the first two weeks of the season, Utah is leading the league in percentage of field goals coming from three, which it led the NBA in last year. The Jazz are second in net rating and dominating despite uncharacteristic inefficiency from Donovan Mitchell. — Rohan Nadkarni

someone that is clueless

Xiao Yao You

11-04-2021, 10:28 PM

https://saltcityhoops.com/believing-in-hassan-whiteside/

The consensus among fans of Whiteside’s former teams is that he’s undeniably talented, but the effort was not always there. Heat fans noted that Hassan coasted at times after he earned his big contract. We’ve seen plenty of players let off the gas in a non-contract year. This should not be a factor for Whiteside now. He’s on a minimum contract, in a contract year, and was close to being out of the league. In that sense it’s hard to add in more motivation.

appears to be coasting to me

We could point to Quin’s coaching, Dywane Wade’s influence, or teammates’ leadership as reasons. But give Whiteside credit: through seven games he’s bought in and is playing to win.

or a bigger contract

Xiao Yao You

11-04-2021, 10:34 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/11/3/22762085/jared-bulter-needs-to-play-more

Now is the time for Jared Butler to be getting minutes (especially as an injury fill-in)

no it's not. They already lost one game that they might have won without him playing. He belongs with the Stars until he proves otherwise

By not playing Butler more against the Bulls, Snyder was trying to have his cake and eat it too. He wanted to get the benefit of resting Conley on a back-to-back but also go all-out to win the fifth game of an 82-game regular season. Sure, the goal is to win, but rest Conley just to play Joe Ingles extra minutes? And what about subbing out Butler for Trent Forrest in the fourth quarter? All of these decision don’t make sense when stacked next to each other.

Forrest is the better player right now as is Oni and maybe even Hughes.

This positive defensive impact can work really well for Butler in getting minutes if he’s say, playing alongside a flamethrower scorer like Jordan Clarkson (assuming Clarkson climbs out of his current slump). His lackluster offense can be hidden in units that have other great scorers while providing real value on the defensive end. This can give him time to catch on offensively, which seems likely to happen given the skills he showed off in college and the preseason.

Clarkson has sucked even more than Butler

Xiao Yao You

11-04-2021, 10:47 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/03/utah-jazz-report-cards-every-player/2/

Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson: F

someone gets it

There’s no kind way to say this: Jordan Clarkson has been absolutely awful for the Utah Jazz through their first seven games.

he's mostly been awful as a Jazzman. Even when he's good he sucks

Conley loses points on two measures. Firstly, his 3.3 assists per game across seven games leave much to be desired: Jazz fans should hope for that number to increase as the season wears on. More playmaking from their best playmaker should juice what’s already the league’s 5th best offense. Secondly, he’s already missed a game for the sake of load management. Seven games into the season, that has to count.

hard to get assists when Clarkson and Mitchell dominate the ball

Xiao Yao You

11-05-2021, 11:35 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50277321/former-jazz-guard-deron-williams-reportedly-set-to-fight-in-first-pro-boxing-match

Xiao Yao You

11-05-2021, 11:38 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50276921/belief-removes-doubt-as-jordan-clarkson-catches-fire-in-jazz-rout-of-hawks

Throughout Clarkson's slump, he kept hearing the same thing: Keep shooting. He heard it from coach Quin Snyder, his teammates, management, and everyone up and down the organization.

which is the problem. The guy has been mostly horrible and you ask a guy that isn't a great shooter to keep shooting

"I've taken a couple guys out (for poor shooting) but not Jordan Clarkson," Snyder said. "I believe in him. When someone believes in you, the moments where you may have some doubt, you don't."

time for a new coach please!

Xiao Yao You

11-05-2021, 11:42 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50276516/the-new-cowhide-globe-the-jazz-arent-blaming-shooting-struggles-on-the-new-ball

Does that explain Jordan Clarkson missing his last 18 3-point attempts? Or the Jazz, sans Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley, going 3 of 27 from deep in Tuesday's win over the Sacramento Kings?

Conley maybe. Mitchell doesn't get going for another month or two and Clarkson sucks

"We've had a long year," he said. "People seem to ignore that, but it is what it is."

what seems to get ignored is the extra off-season everyone got when the Trump virus first hit and then the non travel in the bubble

Xiao Yao You

11-05-2021, 11:54 AM

https://kslsports.com/471775/jordan-clarkson-torches-hawks-as-jazz-move-to-7-1/

Quin Snyder opted to play Trent Forrest instead of Jared Butler in the first quarter, and while Forrest is comfortable running the offense, he doesn’t steady the Jazz poor shooting.

he's the best player there. Oni should be next in line. Then maybe even Hughes or Fitts. Butler hasn't earned time

Xiao Yao You

11-05-2021, 11:57 AM

https://kslsports.com/471779/jazz-guard-jordan-clarkson-finally-connects-from-downtown-against-hawks/

Clarkson’s shot broke a streak of 23 consecutive misses from distance. He arrived in Atlanta having shot a combined 0-18 from three during Utah’s last two games.

But keep shooting! :cry:

Xiao Yao You

11-05-2021, 12:07 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/4/22763426/analysis-jordan-clarkson-leads-utah-jazz-second-half-comeback-against-the-hawks-trae-young-nba

Passing up open shots is just hard to watch. If you’re open, shoot the ball, please.

unless you are Clarkson

Mitchell missed the game due to a right ankle sprain sustained just before the half of Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. The Jazz expect to re-evaluate Mitchell on Friday and from all reports the injury doesn’t sound serious, as Mitchell indicated after the game on Tuesday in which he played even after rolling his ankle. I get that fans were a little worried to see Mitchell on the injury report, but before the game he was doing some warmups and then some strengthening exercises in the hallways, and those are good signs.

the good news is he listened to the doctors and trainers for a change!

This is just something I’ve wanted to say for a while, and almost all NBA arenas are guilty of it. T-shirt tosses should include the upper bowl just as much as the lower bowl. It is not cool to watch kids yell and scream and wave their hands hoping for a shirt or any of the other swag they hand out at the games only to see all of it go to the people that have the “better” seats. I hate it.

rich people love free stuff too. Chik-Fillet!

Xiao Yao You

11-05-2021, 12:11 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/11/5/22764817/shooters-shoot-and-jordan-clarkson-does-just-that

Says a lot about Coach Snyder and Clarkson. Most players would've been yanked by their coach, and missed the opportunity to catch fire. Would we prefer consistency yes...but it's not like he's Rodney Hood brand of streaky.

take Hood and his injuries and Duke pedigree any day over Clarkson

Xiao Yao You

11-05-2021, 12:19 PM

https://www.nba.com/jazz/news/five-things-know-following-utahs-win-over-atlanta

It'll be interesting to see how Snyder doles out minutes when Rudy Gay returns — but until then, Paschall is more than making the case that he belongs in the regular rotation regardless of who's healthy and available.

if they had a clue Clarkson would be gone and O'Neale would move back to the wing and Paschall or Gay or a guy they get for Clarkson would start but we know that won't happen unfortunately

Xiao Yao You

11-05-2021, 10:31 PM

Tony Jones: Donovan Mitchell and Royce O’Neale are both questionable tomorrow night in Miami with ankle sprains. (https://*********.com/social/) Dok and Rudy Gay remain out
– via Twitter Tjonesonthenba (https://twitter.com/Tjonesonthenba)

Xiao Yao You

11-05-2021, 10:31 PM

Ira Winderman: Kyle Lowry (ankle) is listed as questionable for Saturday (https://*********.com/social/) vs. Jazz.
– via Twitter IraHeatBeat (https://twitter.com/IraHeatBeat)

Xiao Yao You

11-05-2021, 10:34 PM

The Utah Jazz and global sports and lifestyle brand adidas announced today a multi-year partnership extension, focusing on recreational basketball and community programs while connecting youth with Jazz star Donovan Mitchell (https://www.nba.com/jazz/news/jazz-announce-multi-year-partnership-extension-adidas-showcasing-donovan-mitchell).
– via NBA.com (https://www.nba.com/jazz/news/jazz-announce-multi-year-partnership-extension-adidas-showcasing-donovan-mitchell)

As a major part of the partnership, adidas will be the presenting sponsor of Junior Jazz, which features more than 60,000 players. (https://www.nba.com/jazz/news/jazz-announce-multi-year-partnership-extension-adidas-showcasing-donovan-mitchell) The youth basketball program is the largest and longest-running youth basketball league in the NBA for the past 38 years. Individual programs are managed through more than 120 recreation centers in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Arizona and Nevada.
– via NBA.com (https://www.nba.com/jazz/news/jazz-announce-multi-year-partnership-extension-adidas-showcasing-donovan-mitchell)

Xiao Yao You

11-05-2021, 10:35 PM

JD Shaw: The G League Ignite has added Kosta Koufos and Kevin Murphy. (https://*********.com/social/) They join Dakarai Allen, Jessie Govan, Amauri Hardy, Pooh Jeter, Amir Johnson and Malik Pope as the team’s eight veterans.
– via Twitter JShawNBA (https://twitter.com/JShawNBA)

Xiao Yao You

11-05-2021, 10:51 PM

https://kslsports.com/471840/utah-jazz-announce-multi-year-partnership-extension-with-adidas/

Xiao Yao You

11-05-2021, 11:04 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/11/5/22763627/rudy-goberts-strong-start-jordan-clarksons-slump-and-much-more-the-utah-jazzs-season-thus-far-nba

Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, and Mike Conley, Utah’s three All-Star-selected players from last season, are playing at a high level to start the year. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone.

Gobert is anyway and no it's no surprise

While Mitchell has had some issues with scoring efficiency, he has looked like a top-15 player in the league. Between an improvement in his vision, passing, and game control, Mitchell is slowly-but-surly becoming much more of a floor general. His performance against the Sacramento Kings (https://www.sactownroyalty.com/) displayed that perfectly, with him putting up 36 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists in a win. If this kind of play continues, Mitchell should make some serious noise in the All-NBA conversation.

:facepalm

Impressively so, Mike Conley seems to have improved at 34 years old. He has started out the season shooting the ball at a 45% clip from downtown, is moving around the court briskly, and seems to have become fully comfortable using Rudy Gobert’s screens in the pick-and-roll. When Conley first came to Utah, it was clear that he was used to playing with a pick-and-pop big like Marc Gasol instead of a rim-roller like Gobert. But now, he looks to have mastered finding his shot or making the correct pass nearly every time he comes off a Gobert pick. So long as he is given an adequate amount of rest throughout the season (cough, cough, play Jared Butler more, cough, cough), I don’t see why Conley couldn’t repeat his All-Star appearance.

he hasn't been as good

However, as fun as it is to root for Paschall, it should be noted that he’s still a -2.7 in box plus/minus, shooting 29.4% from downtown, and will almost surly be surpassed by Rudy Gay when he returns from injury. That’s not to say that Paschall doesn’t have a role on the team in the future; he most definitely does. I think adding a more consistent perimeter jumper is all he needs to become a staple in the rotation.

or at least trading Clarkson

Jordan Clarkson does not look good. At all. In particular, Clarkson is having an immensely difficult time hitting any shot from behind the arch. Just take a look at a few of his shooting performances from three this season:

He's never looked good even when he is which is rarely

Granted, last night, Clarkson turned into an absolute flamethrower, scoring 30 points on great efficiency. But more importantly than that, Clarkson has managed to keep himself from becoming an absolute negative on the floor with his defense. It’s been a pleasant surprise to see him play actively on that side of the ball, even after laying brick after brick. Obviously, Clarkson won’t shoot like this for the rest of the season (e.g. last night), but these kinds of epic low’s and high’s have become a defining characteristic of his game, for better or for worse. In his third year with Utah, I’ve just accepted them for what they are.

what's worse is the coach has accepted it

After already being fatigued from the NBA season and the Playoffs, Ingles spent last summer playing in the Olympics for Australia. It isn’t surprising to see him already experiencing the effects of fatigue this early on in the season on SEGABABA’s. Does that make this any less concerning? No, not at all. As a matter of fact, it really scares me to see Ingles so clearly tired less than 10 games into the season. The good thing is, the Jazz have a plethora of time to fix this problem. With Rudy Gay coming back soon, Eric Paschall playing well, and Jared Butler needing minutes, I see no reason why Ingles should play more than ~20 minutes each night. As a matter of fact, I think that playing Ingles any more than that figure is detrimental for the Jazz since then they’d run the risk of having an exhausted Ingles in the playoffs. We’ll have to see if Jazz think so too.

COTY started him last game. Nothing will change

In the end, I don’t think the Jazz could have asked for a better start to their season. Obviously, there are still plenty of things for the team to work on. But, if these eight games are any indicator for the rest of Utah’s season, there are plenty of good things to come.

sure they could have. Should have beat Chicago

I don't know why Q doesn’t call a few more plays to get Joe involved more. Yeah he passes up a few but like 17-2 shots between him and JC is just stupid. I blame coaching.

COTY!

Bogey is probably the guy with the right mentality in between those two. He gets about the right amount of shots on most nights. If JC and Ingles were both mentally a little bit more like Bogey, they'd all three average 16-18 PPG with improved efficiency. That's 50 points every night without even including Mitchell (25), Conley (15), Gobert (15), and the rest of the rotation guys (O'Neale, Whiteside, Paschall, et al.) who should be good for 15 combined points every night. The Jazz could be over 120 PPG which would easily lead the league. And it would get even better when Gay finally joins the rotation.

Ingles isn't a 16-18 point a night guy. Clarkson shouldn't be

Xiao Yao You

11-05-2021, 11:09 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/05/important-utah-jazz-friendship-season/

Donovan Mitchell as Jordan Clarkson’s most visible Utah Jazz supporter

one gunner supporting an even bigger one

Look, the last thing this Jazz team (https://thejnotes.com/) should want is for Jordan Clarkson to become even the slightest bit hesitant with his patented “Flame Thrower” arsenal. On that same note, the group certainly does not need Donovan Mitchell, who is shooting only 41.6 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from downtown himself, to ever second-guess his shot either.

top 15!:lol

Xiao Yao You

11-06-2021, 03:25 PM

https://kslsports.com/471903/jazz-heat-battle-with-battered-backcourts/

The matchup between the Jazz and Heat will feature two players in contention for the Sixth Man of the Year award this season.

Clarkson isn't in contention :facepalm

Herro was averaging 22.4 points per game on 47 percent shooting from the floor and 40 percent from the three-point line before Thursday’s six point outing against Boston. The third-year guard had scored at least 20 points in five of the Heat’s first seven games prior to his single-digit outing in his last game.

that's a 6th man and shooter

Xiao Yao You

11-06-2021, 03:33 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/11/6/22767071/utah-jazz-visit-the-miami-heat-in-interconference-showdown

COTY actually playing the right guy for a change!

Xiao Yao You

11-06-2021, 06:37 PM

Ira Winderman: Erik Spoelstra on Hassan Whiteside returning tonight with Jazz, “I enjoyed my time coaching Hassan. (https://*********.com/social/) We feel it’s a symbiotic relationship where we were able to help him . . . and we needed talent.”
– via Twitter IraHeatBeat (https://twitter.com/IraHeatBeat)

Xiao Yao You

11-06-2021, 06:38 PM

Dan Savage: Cole Anthony and Ignas Brazdeikis have both been added to the @OrlandoMagic’s injury report with left ankle sprains for Sunday’s game (https://*********.com/social/) against the Utah Jazz.
– via Twitter Dan_Savage (https://twitter.com/Dan_Savage)

Xiao Yao You

11-07-2021, 10:30 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50278078/jazz-rally-comes-up-just-short-as-mitchells-late-3-goes-wide

Mitchell knows he'll watch film and see the things that potentially could have altered the game. Like the time he chose to take a shot over Butler in the corner instead of trying to navigate into the paint, or when he was beat down the court for a layup. He can think of the major coaches challenge in the final minutes by Eric Spoelstra that changed a Butler offensive foul into a block from Whiteside, or the push-off foul called on Mitchell after he made a shot.

or the times he didn't play D as they gave up 118

Xiao Yao You

11-07-2021, 10:39 AM

https://kslsports.com/471984/jazz-outhustled-by-heat-in-second-loss-of-season/

Finally, the third unit enters the game in the final three minutes of the first quarter and features Conley, Jordan Clarkson, Joe Ingles, Eric Paschall, and Gobert. That group finishes the first quarter and is responsible for opening the second quarter before Mitchell returns to the court.

and this is why Gobert's +/- isn't as good. Please get rid of Clarkson already!

The Jazz will need more from the existing rotation or will need Gay to return and add an offensive spark to see the Gobert and Conley minutes rebound to last year’s production. If they don’t, the Jazz will have to learn to win without one of last season’s best lineups.

trade Clarkson

Xiao Yao You

11-07-2021, 10:44 AM

https://kslsports.com/471982/jazz-guard-donovan-mitchell-spins-hits-fadeaway-against-heat/

Through his first seven appearances this season, Mitchell is averaging 24.9 points on 41.6 percent shooting, including 32.9 percent from downtown. He is also recording 4.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 32.0 minutes per game.

he'll show up in a month or two :facepalm

Xiao Yao You

11-07-2021, 10:50 AM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/6/22766542/analysis-jazz-late-comeback-falls-short-against-heat

Mitchell missed Jimmy Butler on a slip to the basket, a defensive mistake that led to Hassan Whiteside being out of position to contest the shot and Whiteside fouled Butler.

Mitchell giving up points? There's news

Xiao Yao You

11-07-2021, 10:57 AM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/11/6/22767773/utah-jazz-come-up-short-in-late-push-to-beat-the-miami-heat

Mainly, Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell was masterful tonight scoring 37 points with 7 assists. At the end of the game, he was dicing up the Heat and willed the Jazz back into the game. In an interesting move, Quin Snyder kept Rudy Gobert off the floor and ended the game with Whiteside, and it worked. Whiteside for the game was +17 which absolutely coincided with Donovan Mitchell’s +12. In a 3-point loss, that’s an interesting swing. Speaking of Gobert, this may have been Rudy Gobert’s worst game of the season. In 28 minutes Gobert had 8 points and 8 rebounds. It looked like the physicality of Adebayo and PJ Tucker really knocked Gobert out of his game. Adebayo would switch off of Gobert and Tucker made it a point to not give Gobert any sort of inside position and Gobert didn’t seem interested in too much of a fight tonight.

Mitchell's a big reason Herro had a big night but let's forget that

Now, it wasn’t just Gobert, the Jazz have a little bit of a Joe Ingles problem. For 21 minutes Ingles was scoreless until he finally hit a 3 midway through the 4th quarter. He did have 5 assists but he felt mostly invisible while he was on the floor. It might be time to start giving Ingles some rest because he’s already looking tired. And after a fun night against a Hawks team that is, frankly, not playing well, Jordan Clarkson put up another rough shooting night from three going 1/6. For the season Clarkson is shooting 22%. At some point that will turn around but on nights when he’s shooting like this against good teams, it’s hard to overcome.

why do people think he'll turn it around? He was awful most of last year

I mentioned this in the game thread for this one but the Jazz have to figure out how to evolve from these games. What do the Jazz take from this? Do they feel like they were good enough? Are there strategies they should try? Maybe a trap on Herro at some point? Maybe a substitution? Quin Snyder did leave Whiteside in and that worked well, but there has to be something they take from these so that as they go through this season they’re improving and not just sitting on their hands waiting for the playoffs. Rudy Gay will be coming back soon, and that may be the answer, but it feels like the Jazz are one piece away from being able to win it all. That’s probably the biggest takeaway from this game for me. This Heat team had a phenomenal night and beat the Jazz by 3 at home. The Jazz are really, really good. What can they do to get that extra edge? We’ll find out as the season rolls on.

They're a few pieces away. Clarkson has to go. Bojan to the bench. O'Neale to the wing. A starting 4. A new COTY

We do potentially have a huge Jordan Clarkson "problem". Like 20% from 3 type of problem. Like 0 assists and 0 rebounds problem. Like being outscored 29-7 by Heat 6th man of the year candidate Herro. Like the Jazz being -27 when he was on the court in a 3 point loss. Like 1 good half in his last 8 games. Like shoving Lowry in the back and lucky they got double technicals.

We got 8 guys in our 9 man rotation playing ok to above expectations. Only 1 whose shooting numbers are way below his career averages.

We are 7-2 with 2 "ok" losses. But JC has to get his game together soon because he is our weakest link by a long stretch at this point.

someone gets it

Xiao Yao You

11-07-2021, 11:02 AM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/06/important-player-utah-jazz/

If you’re reading this, you probably already have an educated enough opinion to know that there are only two members of the Utah Jazz who have a chance to be named here. With all due respect to high-level NBA players like Mike Conley (https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/08/utah-jazz-media-underrates-mike-conley/), Joe Ingles, Bojan Bogdanovic (https://thejnotes.com/2021/10/10/utah-jazz-3-goals-bogdanovic-2021-22/) and Royce O’Neale, the Jazzmen live and die with the star duo of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. It’s readily apparent that these are the two most important players on the Utah Jazz. However, the question of which of the two is more important to the Jazzmen is much riper for discussion.

it's not really apparent. Conley and Gobert were last year

Frankly, the case for Gobert is pretty simple: virtually every advanced metric pegs him as the most important player on the Jazz.

and the fact that they've never won without him on the court but keep winning without Mitchell

Xiao Yao You

11-08-2021, 08:15 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50278461/3-reasons-why-the-jazz-fell-to-the-lowly-magic

"It's a tough position to be in, but it's like trying to balance being aggressive and helping with their pick and roll," Mitchell said. "I put my teammates in a tough situation."

yeah like you play any different with no fouls than 5 :roll:

Xiao Yao You

11-08-2021, 08:41 AM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/7/22767976/analysis-orlando-magic-comes-out-on-top-as-utah-jazz-drop-second-straight-game

Trent Forrest got quite a bit of run in this game with Mike Conley sitting the second game of the back-to-back set and when Donovan Mitchell got into foul trouble, and he did some really good stuff as far as play-making and creating goes.

He's certainly the best option but ideally he'd be with the Stars. They aren't deep. Sorry!

Forrest does have some really nice play-making skills, but the defense still doesn’t respect him as a scorer and the Jazz’s space is hurt when he is on the floor.

especially when Paschall and Clarkson are out there as well

Xiao Yao You

11-08-2021, 08:46 AM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/11/7/22769391/utah-jazz-run-out-of-gas-late-and-lose-to-the-orlando-magic

Finally, the Jazz need to start being honest with themselves about a few things. Jordan Clarkson is still not shooting the ball effectively. Tonight he was 2/13 from the field and 2/11 from three. It’s hurting the team and, in these close games, it’s been the difference. There are games like the one against the Atlanta Hawks (https://www.peachtreehoops.com) where Clarkson will explode but there have been far too many games like tonight where the shot isn’t falling. After the Atlanta game, Snyder mentioned he would never pull him for missing shots because he believes in him.

sucked most of last year too

There’s also the issue with Joe Ingles. Ingles has looked really slow the last 4 games but especially tonight. Whether it’s the Olympics or, and let’s just be honest here, coming into this season out of shape, something is off. Multiple times tonight Joe was beat off the dribble, multiple times he couldn’t guard off the ball and his man would back door him, multiple times he dished off a too-quick quick pocket pass to Rudy Gobert rather than driving to the rim. It’s an issue, and tonight his line shows it. Ingles was 2/9 from the field and 1/7 from three. Maybe this is the effect of having the third game in four nights? If that’s the case then why is he on the floor? Would a gassed Joe Ingles be that much more effective than Jared Butler who got his second straight DNP? Resting Ingles so he’s not spent for the playoffs should be something to consider. Or is he trying to play his way into shape? Either way, it’s not been good lately.

Butler isn't the answer. Trade Clarkson. Ideally for a starting 4. Oni next in line

Xiao Yao You

11-08-2021, 02:05 PM

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/264654/Joel-Embiid-On-Georges-Niang-I-Used-To-Think-He-Sucked

Niang is playing a career-high 22.7 minutes per game. He's been the first forward off the bench for the Sixers all season long. In 10 games, Niang is averaging career-best nearly across the board. He's put up 11.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

Niang has also maintained a high three-point percentage as he's upped his volume. Niang is shooting 41% from behind the arc on 6.1 attempts per game.

certainly missed here

Xiao Yao You

11-09-2021, 04:08 PM

Tony Jones: Jared Butler has been assigned to the SLC stars (https://*********.com/social/)

– via Twitter Tjonesonthenba (https://twitter.com/Tjonesonthenba)

about time

Xiao Yao You

11-09-2021, 10:51 PM

Andy Larsen: Rudy Gay update from the Jazz: Rudy Gay continues to make progress towards a return and is currently participating in controlled court work. He will be re-evaluated November 15th (https://*********.com/social/).
– via Twitter andyblarsen (https://twitter.com/andyblarsen)

Xiao Yao You

11-09-2021, 10:54 PM

Boomers star Dante Exum remains an outside chance to join the NBL, with the South East Melbourne Phoenix still interested in the veteran guard to fill the club’s final roster spot. (https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/basketball/logue-down-nba-invest-in-more-australian-based-scouts-as-aussie-hoops-booms/news-story/f4e969f7d5f8b8d3a83e107af620736b) Exum’s career is in limbo after he was waived by the Houston Rockets, just a month after signing a three-year non-guaranteed contract with the club.

– via Daily Telegraph (https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/basketball/logue-down-nba-invest-in-more-australian-based-scouts-as-aussie-hoops-booms/news-story/f4e969f7d5f8b8d3a83e107af620736b)

The Phoenix have spoken to Exum’s manager about his movements and would accommodate him should he decide to return home. The Melbourne-born guard is also a part-owner of the Phoenix (https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/basketball/logue-down-nba-invest-in-more-australian-based-scouts-as-aussie-hoops-booms/news-story/f4e969f7d5f8b8d3a83e107af620736b) and the franchise want to help him relaunch his NBA career with a short-term stint in the NBL.

– via Daily Telegraph (https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/basketball/logue-down-nba-invest-in-more-australian-based-scouts-as-aussie-hoops-booms/news-story/f4e969f7d5f8b8d3a83e107af620736b)

NBA :roll:

Xiao Yao You

11-09-2021, 10:54 PM

Ben Anderson: Jared Butler and Udoka Azubuike are both back with the @Utah Jazz and are available ahead of tonight’s game (https://*********.com/social/) against the @Atlanta Hawks.
– via Twitter BensHoops (https://twitter.com/BensHoops)

Xiao Yao You

11-09-2021, 11:28 PM

https://saltcityhoops.com/sc7-110821-secondary-home-at-last/

And that’s the thing people need to realize when they call for Snyder to rein Clarkson in. The Jazz’s offense if elite precisely because it’s so free-flowing, and guys don’t have to stop on the catch to ask themselves, OK, what is it I’m allowed/not allowed to do here? They trust Clarkson and his ball handling peers, and the result of that trust is a certain fluidity that is extremely hard to defend. That fluidity wouldn’t exist if players had different subsets of rules about when they can or can’t shoot.

and it's killing them

Jazz 119, Kings 113: Donovan Mitchell. All three All-Stars have legitimate cases. The Twitter vote leaned Conley, but this is one of those nights I’m going to step in with a rhetorical question: how can you look past 36-8-6 (Don’s line) and give the game ball to 30-3-2 (Mike’s)? You could make the efficiency argument, but Mike’s assist-to-turnover was upside down and Don’s wasn’t, so that’s kind of a wash. You could say Conley put his stamp on it with a 13-point fourth, but Mitchell had a 17-point third. Both guys had their best games of the season by far, but I can’t find a justification to ignore what Donovan did, especially after (scarily) sprinting to the locker room with a right ankle tweak. Gobert (12 & 20, plus several key late plays and the game-sealing stop) was as worthy as his All-Star peers, and Hassan Whiteside’s personality and rebounding were both memorable. And we haven’t even talked about Bogey, who had 20 points on 11 shots.

you could say those guys play D and Mitchell doesn't

Xiao Yao You

11-09-2021, 11:49 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/11/9/22771422/an-early-look-at-potential-utah-jazz-trade-targets-marcus-smart-harrison-barnes-and-more

Smart is under contract for this year and four more after that. He’s currently making only $14.3M this season, so there are a few ways Utah could trade for him. The easiest would be a straight-up swap of Jordan Clarkson for Marcus Smart. Both are sixth men who could probably be starters. Both are fan-favorites for their respective teams. Both may have skillsets that would fit the other team better. Boston is looking for someone to fill the scoring and creating hole left by Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier in the offseason. Dennis Schroder isn’t fully cutting it. Jordan Clarkson could jump in and fill that same sixth-man scorer role he’s so good at, and the Celtics young stars would have some relief.

please!

Harrison Barnes is making $20.2M this season and $18.3M next season before his contract expires. Money-wise, Bogdanovic for Barnes works out, but that likely doesn’t work value-wise. Barnes is having a career year, and Bogdanovic has struggled with consistency. Utah would have to spice up the deal by including either a pick or a young player like Jared Butler or Udoka Azubuike.

Clarkson and assets

Brandon Clarke is only getting 13 minutes per game for the Grizzlies. He’s 25 years old, and he can do a whole lot on the basketball court. Seeing him lose minutes has been a surprise, but it does make sense, as Memphis has a lot of contributing players. One has to wonder if they feel like he’s no longer in their long-term plans, and would like to cash in on him now.

Assets

Trading Clarkson for Smart would likely create scoring problems reminiscent of pre-Clarkson, which was not a happy time for UTA fans. So if UTA made this trade, I think you'd have to see another trade to bring in a bench scorer.

Clarkson isn't scoring now. The offense will be fine

Nearly the whole team has shot terribly this season. Going from the best to this can't be sustainable. It should get much better. Including JC. He's a guy that was a model of consistency last season. It's just a matter of time before he settles in. Donavan always struggles to start the year. The only thing I'm worried about and our biggest weakness is when Conley isn't handling the ball. Or when he is out. The offense drops dramatically when he is out. I hope they can fix this.

Clarkson consistently sucked as he does now

Xiao Yao You

11-09-2021, 11:56 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/09/utah-jazz-regret-letting-free-agent-walk/

Are the Utah Jazz missing Georges Niang?

probably just me

Xiao Yao You

11-10-2021, 12:00 AM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/08/utah-jazz-3-lessons-losing-streak/3/

The terrifying reality for Utah Jazz fans is that Clarkson has not been a consistent enough three-point shooter throughout his career to justify such a large volume of three-point attempts. He’s a 33.9% career three-point shooter. That’s solid, but it’s not necessarily a figure that would inspire most coaches to have him launch the 9.2 attempts per contest he’s averaging in 2021-22.

someone gets it

Xiao Yao You

11-10-2021, 12:01 AM

https://sircharlesincharge.com/2021/11/07/nba-power-rankings-jazz-dominant-lakers/21/

:facepalm

Xiao Yao You

11-10-2021, 08:14 AM

https://sircharlesincharge.com/2021/11/07/nba-power-rankings-jazz-dominant-lakers/21/

The Jazz, who were marred in a season-long struggle from behind the arc, finally broke out a bit Tuesday night. Utah was 15 of 38 from 3-point range, or 39.5%. That's not usually a notable number, but after hitting under 20% of its 3-point attempts Sunday, the Jazz will take the slight improvement.

slight? :facepalm

Xiao Yao You

11-10-2021, 01:35 PM

https://kslsports.com/472140/jazz-to-thank-military-during-hoops-for-troops-week/

Xiao Yao You

11-11-2021, 01:16 PM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50280776/jazzs-rudy-gay-is-inching-closer-to-a-return-to-the-court

So there's still some steps to go, but the good news is Gay has made progress. Utah, no doubt, is eager to see what Gay can do in their system. He's a long, athletic forward, the like of which Quin Snyder hasn't really had in his system. Throw in the fact that he can play some small-ball center and he's someone the Jazz will surely need come postseason.

he's had them. Playing them is another thing

Xiao Yao You

11-11-2021, 04:07 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/10/22769481/utah-jazz-hassan-whiteside-fresh-start-with-utah-jazz-team-that-accepts-him-quin-snyder-rudy-gobert

“When he’s engaged and into it and wants to do what Hassan does, he’s one of the most dominant centers in our game,” Wade said. “But there’s some nights as players where you just go through the motions. And that’s all of us as players. When he puts his mind to the game and he wants to go out and dominate, it’s hard for people to go to the levels that a big guy like that can go to.”

seems to go through the motions still to me

What seems most likely is that Whiteside playing at a high level would raise his value and earn him a larger contract, a contract that would be difficult for the Jazz to justify paying to their backup center, especially considering that they are in line to be a repeating luxury tax team.

which is why it was stupid to go just a little over the tax last year especially with Hughes and Clarkson

Xiao Yao You

11-12-2021, 11:40 AM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/11/utah-jazz-another-trade-title-odds/

The Utah Jazz entered the 2021-22 season with their eyes on the Larry O’Brien trophy (https://thejnotes.com/2021/09/11/utah-jazz-ranking-team-division-rivals/), and at 8-3, they’ve been given no reason to avert their glance. While this team is mostly composed of veteran NBA players, there is a youth movement in Salt Lake City as well. Could it be time to consider consolidating some of those prospects into more win-now pieces?

as long as Clarkson is part of it sure

As for Gay, he has to be viewed as an injury risk, and Clarke has to be viewed as better injury insurance than Paschall. Furthermore, Clarke has flashed enough potential over his 3-year career to suggest that he’d have the potential to usurp the aging veteran this year. We’d be content to let the two determine the pecking order in practice.

Clarke not bff though

Xiao Yao You

11-12-2021, 12:08 PM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50281985/mitchell-ingles-and-gobert-all-ejected-as-jazz-lose-to-pacers

The altercation stole the headlines from a game the Jazz didn't play well. They couldn't defend all night and allowed Malcolm Brogdan, who had 30 points and nine rebounds, and TJ McConnell, who had 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists, to do just about anything they wanted.

Come on Rudy you need to guard Mitchell's guys too!

Xiao Yao You

11-12-2021, 12:19 PM

https://kslsports.com/472304/gobert-mitchell-ejected-as-jazz-fall-to-pacers/

Mitchell opened the game showing why he deserves to be discussed as one of the 15 best players in the NBA. The guard knocked down his first four shots from the field, including 3-3 from the three-point line while dishing out two assists in the opening minute.

:facepalm

It turned out to be a smart move as Gobert returned to the floor playing more motivated than he had earlier in the game. The two-time All-Star scored the final 11 points of the quarter for the Jazz keep the Pacers lead at just eight entering the final period.

where was the best player in franchise history during this time?

Xiao Yao You

11-12-2021, 12:57 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/11/22774514/utah-jazz-jared-butler-will-bounce-between-jazz-stars-this-season-which-only-makes-sense-quin-snyder

So don’t be surprised if you end up watching Butler in some SLC Stars games and hear that he’s on assignment with the Jazz’s G League affiliate team. That’s going to happen, and it’ll probably happen often this season.

surprising he's only been with them for two practices. None for Hughes or Fitts

Xiao Yao You

11-12-2021, 01:08 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/12/utah-jazz-1-stud-2-duds-loss-pacers/3/

Having said that, it’s worth noting that 14 of those 20 shots came from Clarkson. He shot the Jazzmen out of this contest, and if he can’t stop doing that soon, Coach Snyder may need to consider some sort of strategic shift.

what's new. COTY already told you he won't make a change. They keep losing maybe the owner will!

Xiao Yao You

11-13-2021, 12:19 AM

Ira Winderman: Jimmy Butler (ankle) is upgraded to questionable by Miami for Saturday’s game (https://*********.com/social/) against Utah. Markieff Morris (whiplash) remains out.
– via Twitter IraHeatBeat (https://twitter.com/IraHeatBeat)

Xiao Yao You

11-13-2021, 12:46 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50282591/jazz-turn-to-the-g-league-to-help-with-jared-butlers-development

The thing is, sitting and waiting doesn't usually lead to development. With the Jazz practice schedule hit or miss, at best, Butler's time with the Stars has given him a chance to get some time in.

lots of ways to develop

Xiao Yao You

11-13-2021, 03:48 PM

The greatest player in Miami Heat history will be in South Florida next week and is planning to attend the Heat’s game against the Washington Wizards at FTX Arena on Thursday. It will mark the first Heat game Wade, 39, has attended in Miami since he purchased an ownership stake in the Utah Jazz in April. “I’m super excited to be able to be at the arena and see the fans and feel the energy,” Wade said to the Miami Herald ahead of the Heat’s matchup against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Arena on Saturday. “That’s forever home. That’s my office. (https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article255772976.html) I just got to ask for a key now, but that’s my office. I’m going to enjoy being back like I always do.”
– via Miami Herald (https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article255772976.html)

‘I’m just in the next stage of my life,” Wade said. “Some players, they retire and they go into the front office or they stay in the community or they stay in Miami because they’ve had success or it’s just where they want to live. I’ve always been a little different, man. I’m antsy. I can’t sit down. So for me, I had to get to the next phase of my life right away. So I’m not [in Miami].” (https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article255772976.html)
– via Miami Herald (https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article255772976.html)

Wade’s relationship with the Heat has endured despite ups and downs along the way. Chris Bosh’s enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September helped bring Wade and Heat brass together again. “In due time, things heal,” Wade said. “We’ve been through a lot. To spend that much time together, I think I posted a picture talking about that we’re like a family. We argue, we may not speak for two years. (https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article255772976.html) We do all the things. But when we’re together, we love each other. I can’t wait to be around those guys again. It’s always that way. But life goes on, too, and I’m in that life moves on phase with business.”
– via Miami Herald (https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article255772976.html)

Xiao Yao You

11-13-2021, 04:01 PM

https://kslsports.com/472347/most-memorable-fights-in-jazz-history/

Jazz Owner Larry H. Miller Fights Nuggets Fan

embarrassing

The Jazz were heavily favored to sweep the Nuggets after opening the series with a 3-0 lead but underperformed in game four before the series moved back to Utah. The Jazz followed up the game four loss with rough first half against Denver which led Miller to tell coach Jerry Sloan to pull star Karl Malone from the game in the team’s locker room.

:facepalm

Few Jazz players made a bigger impact on the fan base in a shorter stint than Ricky Rubio in his two seasons in Utah.

what a shit show!

Suns forward Jared Dudley, still upset about the perceived no-call on Chriss’s dunk attempt, committed a hard foul on Rubio to stop the play, which Chriss followed up by throwing Rubio to the floor.

flop!

Xiao Yao You

11-13-2021, 04:27 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/11/13/22778400/how-much-is-the-nbas-change-in-officiating-affecting-donovan-mitchell

wait until December or January before you get too alarmed

Xiao Yao You

11-13-2021, 04:31 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/11/13/22779871/jazz-will-look-to-even-up-season-series-against-the-heat

This will be a good opportunity for the Jazz to show how they can adjust to one of the elite teams in the league. How will the Jazz’s defensive schemes adjust to the Heat to slow them down? Will Quin Snyder try some things in this one to get more stops? We’ll see if there’s any sort of adjustment or if the Jazz just need to play better on the defensive end. Likely, a combination of the two needs to happen for the Jazz to win.

COTY making adjustments? :roll:

Though this would obviously make the matchup easier, it’s a shame if the Jazz might not get a chance to match up against the Heat’s best. Utah is scuffling and they need chances to show that they’re able to stay with the elite in the league. If they beat a Heat team that’s not at 100% it’s nice for the overall record, but you don’t come away with a solid understanding of how the team needs to improve.

until Gay is back you don't either

And that should be the major question for Justin Zanik and the front office. Is this team good enough as constituted? There is a window for this Jazz team to make it to the western conference finals and beyond. They have to make the team better this trade deadline and games like tonight will help them know what pieces work best, and what pieces might be better used in a trade.

No. Clarkson and COTY are hurting them

Rudy Gay will be making his debut soon and will add another rotation player to the Jazz. The question will be, who loses minutes for him to play? Eric Paschall has been a pleasant surprise while Joe Ingles and Jordan Clarkson have struggled. Will Quin Snyder replace the minutes of struggling players with Rudy Gay, or will we see the same rotations from last season kept mostly in stone? We’ll find out soon.

He already said he won't bench Clarkson. Ingles won't be either

Xiao Yao You

11-13-2021, 04:51 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/11/12/22779177/sbn-nba-reacts-a-possible-trade-target-for-the-utah-jazz-christian-wood

That’s a slim majority, but it’s still a majority of Rockets fans willing to trade Wood. For the season Christian Wood is averaging 17.7 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Wood would be a fantastic fit in the Jazz starting lineup providing size and shooting. Wood is shooting 47.1% on pullup threes this year on just 1.5 attempts. Imagine him coming into the Jazz offense getting the volume of threes the Jazz offense manufactures!

what would the Jazz do with a starting 4? :roll:

For the Rockets, they get an expiring contract with Joe Ingles but they likely demand Jared Butler and a pick to make this happen. Would the Jazz be willing to do that? It’s a steep price, but that is likely the type of demand that could make this trade work. What do you think, Jazz fans. Is this something you would do?

Rather give up Clarkson. Maybe a 3 team deal

Ingles, Butler, and a pick for Christian Wood? In a New York second. In fact, I would offer Ingles and any two of Butler, Hughes, Oni, Azubuike, and a pick.

I don't believe in making trades just to make trades but, when a deal can significantly improve the team, I am all for it. This move would really improve the team in my opinion.

Standard rotation:

- Starters: Conley, Mitchell, Bogey, Wood (stretch-4), Gobert

- Rotation: Clarkson, O'Neale, Paschall, Gay, Whiteside

- Deep Bench: Forrest (two-way), Oni, Hughes, Fitts (two-way), Azubuike

Two open roster spots that can be used if needed.

yeah but you still have Clarkson and COTY. O'Neale would need to start not Bojan

As I've voiced before, udoka has absolutely zero value on this team as constructed..

I would trade him and bolerjack in exchange for unpaid back taxes

always need to develop young guys so he has value

Xiao Yao You

11-13-2021, 05:57 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/11/12/22777464/its-time-to-talk-about-joe-ingles-utah-jazz-nba-donovan-mitchell-rudy-gobert-quin-snyder-2021-2022

The biggest adjustment (and one I’ve been advocating for since the beginning of the season) is lowering Ingles’ minutes. Currently, he’s playing 25.2 minutes per game and I firmly believe that there is no reason why he should play more than 20 minutes per night. There are too many players (Eric Paschall, Jared Butler, Miye Oni) who could fill in those minutes moving forward. At this point, the production Ingles is providing in his extra minutes aren’t helping the Jazz. Those minutes would be better served if they went towards developing younger players and would give Ingles the opportunity to rest more.

Butler needs to develop with the Stars

To put it into perspective, giving Ingles 5 less minutes of play time every night for the rest of the season would provide him with an extra 364 minutes of rest. That is essentially 8 less games worth of minutes for Ingles, something that I’m sure he and his body would appreciate. At this point, I just don’t understand why this change hasn’t been made. If the Jazz keep playing Ingles they way they have, they'll reach the playoffs with a version of him that won't contribute to winning. After all, isn’t this supposed to be the year the Jazz make a real run at the title? Why not then take the initiative now to ensure the team looks its best in May? I’ve got a lot of faith in Ingles returning to a better version of himself, but if no changes are made, that faith will begin to waver.

not hard to understand. COTY

But I certainly don't see how the Olympics could have any major negative impact on his fitness. I mean Patty Mills is the same age and seems unaffected by the Olympics

Mills is in better shape. Ingles has never looked in shape. Last year he spent the off season in Utah for the first time. It's why he had such a great year. This year he didn't. I expected it

Don't be surprised if we soon here about Joe Ingles signing a contract extension with The Jazz.

yep. That's what I'd expect

When he has started for Conley he has been at 31 and 34 minutes. Which is probably too much. Especially the 34. Would like to see Butler starting and him keeping the same role.

Butler starting! :lol

Ingles has been bad but Clarkson has definitely been worse. And Clarkson doesn't have the excuse of playing in the olympics, being old, or not being athletic. I'm beginning to wonder if Clarkson has an injury that hasn't been disclosed. At least he's shooting reasonably well from within 15".

Clarkson just sucks. He sucked most of last year

Xiao Yao You

11-14-2021, 09:20 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50283122/score-might-not-show-it-but-jazz-blasted-by-heat

Tyler Herro, who finished with 27 points to lead the Heat, got an easy-backdoor layup after Royce O'Neale completely dies on a screen. Either O'Neale has to fight through that or there has to be some communication with Jordan Clarkson to switch.

Jazz don't switch and Clarkson sucks

Clarkson completely lost Robinson on a cut to the basket as he tries to jump a passing lane. In most games, Clarkson would likely have been able to count on Gobert for some help, but he's occupied with Bam Adebayo. Clarkson has to know he can't stunt like that.

come on Rudy is supposed to cover everyone

There isn't any panic yet in the Jazz locker room; they haven't shot well (they were 41% from the field and 31% from 3 on Saturday) and that, as much as they hate to admit it, has had an impact on their defense. But that habit is something that'll need to change to reach their ambitious heights.

as long as Clarkson and COTY are doing their thing there's reason to panic

Xiao Yao You

11-14-2021, 09:31 AM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/13/22772968/instant-analysis-jazz-late-rally-not-enough-to-make-up-for-bad-performance-against-the-heat

At one point, Rudy Gobert left the game limping off the floor. He eventually came back in, but that’s going to be something to keep an eye on. Never good when the defensive anchor is not feeling great.

hello lottery if he's hurt

Xiao Yao You

11-14-2021, 09:44 AM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/11/13/22780622/utah-jazz-struggles-continue-in-home-loss-to-the-miami-heat-nba-2021

The one bright note from tonight’s game was the play of Jordan Clarkson, who finished with 25 points on 8-17 shooting from the field. As one of a few different players on Utah’s roster that has struggled to play up to expectations this year, it was nice to see Clarkson have a really good game. There’s always going to be ups and downs with JC, but if he can start playing like this more often it would at least solve one of Utah’s problems.

he sucks. He's played just like I'd expect

Overall the Jazz have a lot of things they need to fix, and all of those issues culminated in tonight’s loss. Their forwards lack defensive versatility and rebounding, their shooters aren’t hitting their shots, and the perimeter defense is still questionable. The eventual return of Rudy Gay should help alleviate SOME of Utah’s issues (particularly the lack of interior defense and rebounding from the forward spot), but it would be foolish to bet too much on a 35 year old coming off of offseason foot surgery. Regardless of how they do it, if the Jazz can’t internally figure out solutions to their current problems they might be forced to make some roster changes in the coming months.

Gay isn't a great rebounder. Having a starting 4 might help though :facepalm

-Jordan Clarkson gave up five uncontested layups from off-ball action, three in the first quarter. I kept rewinding so I could figure out who fing up. Jordan. Every single time. He had three live-ball turnovers in the third and another pass that he threw off the back of the backboard. You don't win games in this league if one of your most important players gives up 10 points on bunnies and then coughs the ball up four times in one quarter. Simple.

you don't win if he's one of your most important players

-QS continues to not utilize 1-5 switching and continues to get killed defensively for long stretches of games. Moving Gobert away from the rim is not ideal, but switching disrupts offenses and forces 1:1 matches, and we can always switch off-ball to get him closer to the paint area. It's just ridiculous that a guy as smart as Q refuses to do anything other than drop. In so many ways, he's made this league better by dudes stealing his schemes (everybody was dropping two years ago and following his model) and now teams are switching 1-5 to stop his offense. He's made the league smarter and more dynamic and forced it to evolve. It's his turn.

it was his turn a couple years ago. Now it is Zanik/Smith's turn to get rid of him

-Conley was noticeably not on the court at the end of this one.

which makes 0 sense

Drafting a redundant player like udoka really hurts the jazz too...

Instead of a second year player that could contribute meaningful minutes.....we have.... a g league project.

they've drafted guys that could help. COTY refused to play them

Obviously not the only one. But even on a good shooting night was only 4/13 from 3, 31%. One awesome flame thrower 4 minutes, then 28 of not so good. We really need him to get his game together on both ends.

good luck with that

Can't believe I'm saying this, but I think Joe, if he wants to continue his stellar career in the NBA, needs to get flipped to a stacked contender who have the luxury of only rolling him out for 10-15 mpg of "good Joe".

that could be here but COTY

I am very concerned about the Jazz effort on rebounding. I know that Royce O'Neal has been playing defense lately but he seems under sized for his position. Little Royce only had 2 boards in 35 minutes of play today. That's horrible for your so called power forward.

seems undersized?

Our forwards need to start playing like forwards and crash the boards like these teams do that are kicking our ass. If they don't very soon "wake up" then I am all in for changes to be made.

guys that don't rebound aren't suddenly going to start rebounding

Ingles does need to be traded for a better defensive and swifter forward. Jazz need to start

Paschell at power forward and bring O'neale of the bench!

yeah start an end of the bench energy guy over one of your best players! :lol

Xiao Yao You

11-15-2021, 10:54 PM

Noah Levick: Danny Green (left hamstring tightness) is listed as out for Sixers-Jazz tomorrow night (https://*********.com/social/). Joel Embiid and Matisse Thybulle (health and safety protocols) also remain out, along with Ben Simmons (personal reasons) and Grant Riller (left knee injury recovery).
– via Twitter NoahLevick (https://twitter.com/NoahLevick)

Xiao Yao You

11-15-2021, 11:10 PM

Eric Walden: Rudy Gay is still OUT for Tuesday’s game against the Sixers (https://*********.com/social/).
– via Twitter tribjazz (https://twitter.com/tribjazz)

Xiao Yao You

11-15-2021, 11:17 PM

Eric Walden: Rudy Gay, on going through practice today: “It’s a process. I feel good. My body feels good.” (https://*********.com/social/)
– via Twitter tribjazz (https://twitter.com/tribjazz)

Eric Walden: Rudy Gay said he’s not working on a specific timeline, that he and the team want to make sure there are no setbacks (https://*********.com/social/)
– via Twitter tribjazz (https://twitter.com/tribjazz)

Eric Walden: Rudy on his shooting sessions with Joe Ingles: “He’s one of the best shooters of all time. It’s steel sharpening steel. I like going up against the best.” (https://*********.com/social/) As for Joe’s claim that he wins 9 out of every 10: “C’mon. He’s good, but … Who am I, Shaq?”
– via Twitter tribjazz (https://twitter.com/tribjazz)

Xiao Yao You

11-15-2021, 11:18 PM

Sarah Todd: Rudy Gay is fully participating in Jazz practice today (https://*********.com/social/)

– via Twitter NBASarah (https://twitter.com/NBASarah)

Eric Walden: Quin Snyder said it was good to have Rudy Gay back in practice today, but that it’ll be up to the training staff to decide when he’s cleared for game action (https://*********.com/social/).

– via Twitter tribjazz (https://twitter.com/tribjazz)

looks like he is close. They need something

Xiao Yao You

11-15-2021, 11:19 PM

Joe Vardon: Team USA announced its roster for the first round of the 2023 World Cup qualifier, which is later this month. The highlight is 2018 NBA champion Jordan Bell. Beyond him, Luke Kornet, Shaq Harrison, Chasson Randle, Frank Mason III are names you know. Jim Boylen is coach (https://*********.com/social/).
– via Twitter joevardon (https://twitter.com/joevardon)

Xiao Yao You

11-15-2021, 11:26 PM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50284356/jazzs-rudy-ocho-gay-practices-fully-for-first-time-nears-return-to-court

Add in the fact that he's a serviceable shooter, can handle the ball, and can play some small-ball center if Quin Snyder wants to go that route, and he's someone that can plug a lot of holes.

let's stop with tCOTY and small ball center already :lol

Gay practiced with the Salt Lake City Stars Sunday to help get his wind back. He said his body recovered well between the two training sessions — a good sign for sure — though he did grumble about Utah's famed altitude.

hopefully the Stars learned something from the vet

Xiao Yao You

11-15-2021, 11:30 PM

https://kslsports.com/472582/rudy-gay-returns-to-full-practice-for-jazz/

While he averaged just 4.8 rebounds per game last season, the second-lowest of his career, Gay’s history as a strong rebounder for his position would be an upgrade for the smaller Jazz roster.

he may have been a strong rebounder for his position but his position has changed and he's not that good as a 4

Xiao Yao You

11-15-2021, 11:46 PM

https://saltcityhoops.com/sc7111521-def-before-after-concentration/

Every season, the Jazz have a stretch somewhere along the way where they underperform, and we use this space to loudly remind eveybody loudly: it’s (https://saltcityhoops.com/sc7-def-urgency-slow-starts/) the (https://saltcityhoops.com/salt-city-seven-its-the-defense-did-utah-overcorrect-their-identity-playoff-race-more/) defense (https://saltcityhoops.com/salt-city-seven-defensive-issues-catch-up-to-the-jazz/). After a 1-4 stretch, it’s time to play the familiar tune again.

for a couple seasons it was the offense

Clarkson needs 88 more threes to reach 1,000 career triples, something he will likely accomplish this season.

hopefully with another team

Xiao Yao You

11-15-2021, 11:52 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/11/15/22783368/realistic-expectations-on-gays-integration-with-utah-jazz

The latter question is especially concerning given the Jazz’s inability to score with Eric Paschall on the floor (104 ORTG in 377 possessions, a mark that’d rank 25th in the league (https://www.pbpstats.com/totals/nba/team?Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&StartType=All)).

Paschall looks like an end of the bench energy guy. Gay makes them better. Too bad Clarkson and COTY still suck

The reality is that Gay isn’t likely to be the catalyst to turning the Jazz into the contender their believed to be. While he could be the spark to such a turnaround, the heavy lifting needs to be done by the team leaders: Donovan, Rudy, Mike, Clarkson, etc.

and there's the problem

Make Bogdanovic Royce's backup.

Exactly. Dump Clarkson! :cheers:

Xiao Yao You

11-15-2021, 11:58 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/15/utah-jazz-3-areas-improve/2/

The Jazz’s lack of ball movement may have a direct correlation with their three-point inefficiency. Currently, the Jazz’s 20.4 assists per game rank 28th in the NBA, while their 266.2 passes per game rank 26th. It’s largely a function of design: Quin Snyder prefers to generate efficient offense by maximizing spacing in a pick-and-spread system. More passes lead to more turnovers, and the Jazz prefer to protect the rock while relying on unassisted threes.

Clarkson and Mitchell :(

Joe Ingles’ performance on that end is a little more troubling. His -0.7 DBPM falls considerably short of his career 1.2 mark. At 34, it feels possible that his slow feet have finally gotten slow enough to make it impossible for him to compensate for them with his high IQ.

Out of the rest of the regular rotation members, only Royce O’Neale joins Gobert in posting an even reasonably impressive DBPM at 2.3. Otherwise, Eric Paschall is -1.4, Bojan Bogdanovic is -2.0, and Jordan Clarkson is -2.1.

nothing surprising there. Hopefully Joe gets it together

Xiao Yao You

11-15-2021, 11:58 PM

https://sircharlesincharge.com/2021/11/14/nba-power-rankings-nets-suns-hot/18/

If it weren’t for what the Warriors are doing, the Jazz would still be the story in the West. I still don’t think Donovan Mitchell is in mid-season form yet and he’s still been exceptionally good for the team.

give Mitchell another month or two to show up :facepalm

Xiao Yao You

11-16-2021, 08:34 AM

For a few years, Joe Johnson had been hounding Conley to try yoga. Johnson, who played for the Jazz, among other teams, would hit Conley on FaceTime. Conley would answer his phone to Johnson dripping sweat from his latest session. “You better get in on this,” Johnson would say. “You gotta do it. You gotta do it.” Conley would always reply, “Maybe next time.” Yoga was never his thing. He stretched a ton. He had an active recovery routine he would always do. But yoga was never something Conley got into (https://theathletic.com/2956313/2021/11/15/mike-conley-is-preparing-for-the-long-run-with-the-jazz-thanks-to-extra-rest-and-bikram-yoga/).

– via Tony Jones @ The Athletic (https://theathletic.com/2956313/2021/11/15/mike-conley-is-preparing-for-the-long-run-with-the-jazz-thanks-to-extra-rest-and-bikram-yoga/)

“That’s one of the reasons I decided to give yoga a try,” Conley said. “I thought to myself, what do I have to lose? I thought that if I were healthy, then we would have been a different team. (https://theathletic.com/2956313/2021/11/15/mike-conley-is-preparing-for-the-long-run-with-the-jazz-thanks-to-extra-rest-and-bikram-yoga/) So I feel a lot of responsibility for that. And that was one of my main motivations for wanting to try yoga.”
– via Tony Jones @ The Athletic (https://theathletic.com/2956313/2021/11/15/mike-conley-is-preparing-for-the-long-run-with-the-jazz-thanks-to-extra-rest-and-bikram-yoga/)

thanx Joe!

Xiao Yao You

11-16-2021, 08:36 AM

Smith, the 43-year-old doyen of Silicon Slopes and new owner of the Utah Jazz, has a lot on his plate on this particular August afternoon — an NBA franchise to rebuild, a high-profile tech summit to plan, a $27 billion company to run. But he puts all that on hold and zeroes in when our conversation turns to an unexpected object of ire: Utah’s Office of Tourism. “I think the state’s done a horrible job of branding themselves,” he tells me, his laid-back lilt suddenly taking on a harder edge. “Horrible.” (https://www.deseret.com/utah/2021/11/15/22772490/ryan-smith-has-a-pitch-utah-jazz-dwyane-wade-qualtrics)
– via McKay Coppins @ deseret.com (https://www.deseret.com/utah/2021/11/15/22772490/ryan-smith-has-a-pitch-utah-jazz-dwyane-wade-qualtrics)

To hear Smith tell it, Utah is on the verge of becoming a global hub of business, technology, sports and culture. The future he envisions for his state is audacious. (https://www.deseret.com/utah/2021/11/15/22772490/ryan-smith-has-a-pitch-utah-jazz-dwyane-wade-qualtrics) More unicorn startups. Way more development. Fortune 500 companies relocating in droves, followed by millions of transplants. He sees Hollywood studios filming big-budget movies in Salt Lake City. He sees the Jazz attracting tens of millions of basketball fans across Asia and Europe.
– via McKay Coppins @ deseret.com (https://www.deseret.com/utah/2021/11/15/22772490/ryan-smith-has-a-pitch-utah-jazz-dwyane-wade-qualtrics)

But not everyone is on board with their vision. For all of its recent aesthetic transformation, many in Utah are still governed by a small-c conservatism. (https://www.deseret.com/utah/2021/11/15/22772490/ryan-smith-has-a-pitch-utah-jazz-dwyane-wade-qualtrics) Detractors fear that if Smith and his peers get their way, the state will be overrun with fleece-vested finance bros and Silicon Valley expats. They warn of a Utah diluted of its focus on family, faith and frontier frugality, and defined increasingly by workaholism and decadent consumption.
– via McKay Coppins @ deseret.com (https://www.deseret.com/utah/2021/11/15/22772490/ryan-smith-has-a-pitch-utah-jazz-dwyane-wade-qualtrics)

Xiao Yao You

11-16-2021, 03:12 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/11/16/22784853/can-the-utah-jazz-rebound-against-short-handed-philadelphia-76ers-sixers

Fans keep asking how we could replace Clarkson's bench scoring. Turns out, the answer could have been Georges Niang.

Niang is averaging 12.0 ppg compared to Clarkson's 15.1, but Clarkson takes 3x as many shots.

(This is the part where somebody claims that Clarkson has to take all of those shots because there are only two seconds left on the shot clock, or some such nonsense.)

Bojan is the correct answer

Clarkson is clearly a better shooting than he has been shooting.

That said, would I love for him to take less shots, absolutely. Would I love to see 2-3 more paint shots instead of 3's sure. And increasing his assists by 1 per game would be great too.

Maybe but he sucked shooting most of last year too

This is another team where I wish we had Gay in the lineup to see how it goes. Gay is the exact player I want guarding Harris. He has better height and size than O'neale and Paschall.

who needs a starting 4!

Xiao Yao You

11-16-2021, 03:15 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/16/utah-jazz-one-player-growth/

If advanced metrics are more your speed, he’s also posting career best figures in Defensive Box Plus Minus (DBPM) at 2.3, and Defensive Rating at 105. Beyond numbers, the eye test finds O’Neale defending with more rigor than ever before. He is the best perimeter defender on the Utah Jazz.

he already was except maybe Gobert

It’s puzzling that with O’Neale having a career season in terms of point prevention, and Rudy Gobert continuing to be Rudy Gobert, the Jazz have regressed on defense. (https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/15/utah-jazz-3-areas-improve/)

It's not puzzling. Look at the rest of the cast

Xiao Yao You

11-16-2021, 03:26 PM

Eric Walden: Donovan Mitchell, asked to comment on the return tonight of former teammate Georges Niang, sarcastically sighs and replies, “THAT guy.” (https://*********.com/social/) Then, after extolling the virtues of Georges’ attitude and work ethic, he concludes, “And now we have to go out and kick his ass.”
– via Twitter tribjazz (https://twitter.com/tribjazz)

Xiao Yao You

11-16-2021, 08:51 PM

Sarah Todd: Rudy Gay will not play tonight for the Jazz (https://*********.com/social/)
– via Twitter NBASarah (https://twitter.com/NBASarah)

Xiao Yao You

11-17-2021, 08:05 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50285343/its-all-smiles-as-jazz-welcome-back-georges-niang-in-rout-of-76ers

not one mention of Gobert! :roll:

Xiao Yao You

11-17-2021, 09:01 PM

Sarah Todd: Rudy Gay is listed as probable for Thursday night’s Jazz game (https://*********.com/social/) vs. the Raptors.

– via Twitter NBASarah (https://twitter.com/NBASarah)

no more excuses

Xiao Yao You

11-17-2021, 09:06 PM

Doug Smith: OG Anunoby banged a hip at Raptors practice and is questionable for tomorrow in Salt Lake City (https://*********.com/social/). Boucher (back) and Achiuwa (shoulder) also questionable and Watanabe’s closer but still out vs. Jazz
– via Twitter SmithRaps (https://twitter.com/SmithRaps)

Xiao Yao You

11-17-2021, 09:31 PM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50285907/utahs-newest-license-plate-design-allows-you-to-take-note

Xiao Yao You

11-17-2021, 10:12 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/17/22785986/the-keys-to-the-utah-jazz-improving-their-transition-defense-quin-snyder

I found all of this information really interesting, because you’ve got two of the most respected coaches in the NBA giving a pretty simple blueprint on how to effectively slow things down and create a half-court situation.

two of the most overrated

Xiao Yao You

11-17-2021, 10:17 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/17/utah-jazz-2-studs-1-dud-demolition-76ers/

Utah Jazz dud: Donovan Mitchell

ClARKSON LIKE ALMOST EVERY GAME

Xiao Yao You

11-18-2021, 10:30 PM

Eric Walden: Utah Jazz assistant Irv Roland recounts finding out the news that his friend, Julius Jones, would be spared the death penalty, and reacts to the ruling: “I’m happy that my friend isn’t going to executed today at 4 pm, but I’m also frustrated. … He should be free.” (https://*********.com/social/) pic.twitter.com/HJVuXgymQx
– via Twitter tribjazz (https://twitter.com/tribjazz)

Eric Walden: Irv Roland hasn’t been able to speak to Julius Jones in the past week and a half, but is hoping to tonight, even if the call comes during the Jazz game. He’s also remaining hopeful that Jones will go free: “He’s optimistic, so I have to be optimistic. That’s where I am.” (https://*********.com/social/) pic.twitter.com/oUwc9l9XOd
– via Twitter tribjazz (https://twitter.com/tribjazz)

Xiao Yao You

11-19-2021, 11:23 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50287102/he-stole-my-shooting-powers-rudy-gay-shines-in-debut-as-jazz-top-raptors

"That's a big thing with this team," Gay said. "I think when we do that, we're hard to beat."

unfortunately with Mitchell and Clarkson they don't usually do that

"Mike, in my mind, the way that he played, to be that unselfish and facilitate, I don't pay a lot of attention to plus-minus because sometimes it's deceiving, but 33 jumps out,'' Snyder said.

stupid stat

Xiao Yao You

11-19-2021, 11:26 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50286665/officials-are-letting-contact-go-how-are-the-jazz-adjusting

it's good to see. The league has gotten too soft

Xiao Yao You

11-19-2021, 11:40 AM

https://kslsports.com/472867/jazz-look-complete-as-gay-adds-needed-element/

But while Gay might not be the second coming of Mehmet Okur with his ability to knock down shots at a blistering rate, the other things that should be more consistent from the veteran bring a lot of value to the Jazz as well.

Okur? :facepalm

Though Bojan Bogdanovic plays a similar position to Gay, he’s a full one inch shorter and 25-pounds lighter than the 16-year vet.

big difference in wingspan I'd guess too

While Gay may not knock down threes at an 83 percent rate all season, his career 35 percent rate is more than good enough to demand that a defender stays with him at all times.

If Clarkson, Forrest or Paschall are also on the floor. Otherwise he's the guy left open

Additionally, because of the number of places where Gay can be lined up on the perimeter, he’s a more valuable passer than Eric Paschall whose minutes he absorbed tonight.

sorry bff. Maybe something will happen with Clarkson and you'll get to play

Xiao Yao You

11-19-2021, 11:52 AM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/18/22783433/instant-analysis-rudy-gay-leads-utah-jazz-past-toronto-raptors-in-his-debut-joe-ingles

The Jazz have a few guys who are getting caught in situations in which they do not perform well. So first we have Bojan Bogdanovic, who was having trouble scoring through the first half. He missed four 3-pointers and a couple of looks at the rim before getting one to go. With that in mind it’s understandable that he would want to work in the post and get a couple easy buckets to just see the ball go in, but he is historically not great at slow-dribbling while in traffic. He gets stripped, loses the ball, falls on the floor and is slow to get back and it’s just not great.

but COTY loves putting him in those situations!

Then we have Jordan Clarkson, who I maintain is a great dribble in traffic guy, because even when he looks like he’s lost his dribble he usually is able to keep it and make a play. But what we’ve been seeing a bit of is Clarkson not being aware of who is around and how close they are. Particularly he’s getting picked off from behind. Although he’s paying attention to who is in front of him, if someone creeps into the play on the backside he gets trapped and has been dribbling for too long.

He's almost always dribbling too long and if he's not he's probably throwing up a crappy shot. The guy sucks!

Finally, Donovan Mitchell. The guy who is handling the ball more than anyone else is going to be at greater risk for turnovers, but there are some situations where Mitchell is guilty of the same thing that Clarkson is, in that he waits too long to make a decision and by the time he does the defense is set, closing in, and then he has almost nowhere to go. This all really comes down to making quicker decisions, and that’s something the Jazz need to clean up.

It's a matter of a couple selfish gunners and a coach that allows it

no mention of Gobert again :facepalm

Xiao Yao You

11-19-2021, 12:02 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/11/18/22790787/rudy-gay-dazzles-in-debut-for-the-uta-jazz-against-toronto-raptors

It is worth noting that without Rudy Gay this one might have gone sideways. It was a close game through three quarters and Donovan Mitchell, who has been having a career year, really struggled. Mitchell had 1 assist to 6 turnovers which is probably his worst night of the year. Toronto deserves some credit here. They’re a stingy defense and get a ton of deflections and time after time Mitchell tried to split their switches. But the length of the Raptors created a bunch of turnovers. With this being the first time they’ve played, it’s likely Mitchell will adjust for the next matchup like he always does. But it’s something to watch.

career year? It's not even December :roll:

Finally, credit needs to be given to the Jazz’s third leading scorer, Royce O’Neale, who went 6/8 from the field and 4/6 from three. O’Neale has been fantastic this year playing at an all-defense level. Combine that with his confidence on the offensive end as well as in transition and the Jazz have a guy who’s made a serious jump. If the Jazz can get another perimeter defender at the trade deadline to play alongside O’Neale, they’re going to be really good defensively, maybe even title contenders. With Rudy Gay in this lineup, it definitely makes that seem more possible.

a starting 4 small ball 5 for Clarkson and Whiteside!

-Bogie had a really, really, really rough first quarter. He gave up an open three to take a contested three. He missed an open corner three. He dropped a pass that would have been a dunk. He threw a live-ball t/o for a dunk. He couldn't rebound. Toronto attacked him nearly every possession down the court. And...he had three assists. He ended the game with six dimes.

besides the assists and missed shots typical. When has he ever rebounded?

Xiao Yao You

11-19-2021, 12:10 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/19/utah-jazz-2-studs-1-dud-raptors/3/

He was 2/14 from the field, finishing with 4 points that he effectively nullified by committing 4 turnovers. He looked compromised. He wasn’t able to drive, and he’s not a strong enough shooter to be a featured offensive weapon if he isn’t getting to the rim.

sounds like a typical night for Clarkson

Xiao Yao You

11-19-2021, 08:52 PM

https://saltcityhoops.com/rudy-gay-is-here-for-the-moments/

The Jazz have two volume scoring guards in Donovan Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson, who take a combined 41% of Jazz’s shots — 35 combined attempts per game of Utah’s 85 nightly shots.

:cry:

Xiao Yao You

11-19-2021, 08:56 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/11/19/22791337/rudy-gay-is-a-game-changer-for-the-utah-jazz-quin-snyder-toronto-raptors-nba-regular-season

For one, his size is going to be a huge asset for the Jazz moving forward. At around 6-8, 250lb, Gay fills in the role of the over-sized, versatile wing that the Jazz have been looking for these past few years. To make things even better, Gay boasts a 7-3 wingspan, making his ability to disrupt passing lanes and wreak havoc on defense even easier. The effects of that were clear last night, as when Gay was on the court, the Toronto Raptors (https://www.raptorshq.com) were held to an offensive rating of 86.8. While this comes from a minuscule sample size, both the eye test and the numbers from last night showed that Gay can have a significant impact on defense for Utah. As he gets more comfortable with the system, I expect Quin Snyder take advantage of Gay’s versatility with some new defensive schemes.

don't expect anything new from COTY :roll:

If, for the rest of this season, Gay can prove he’s a knock down shooter, Utah’s bench will be dangerous. The roster now has a one of the best bench trios in the league with him, Jordan Clarkson, and Joe ingles. Gay’s versatility will open up a whole new set of lineups and schemes the Jazz have yet to have the luxury of playing with. When the playoff’s roll in, Gay’s ability to defend in space, stretch the floor, and play some small ball minutes should help counteract some of the matchup issues Utah’s faced in the past few years.

Clarkson sucks and they aren't playing small ball

Xiao Yao You

11-19-2021, 08:58 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/19/utah-jazz-target-john-wall/

Surely, the former #1 overall pick would prefer to get on a basketball court, and do it with a contender. The Utah Jazz could offer him exactly that opportunity in the event of a buyout. Here is the case for, and against, the Jazz pursuing John Wall this season.

he's not getting bought out and he isn't a starting 4 :facepalm

Xiao Yao You

11-19-2021, 09:00 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/19/utah-jazz-donovan-mitchell-improved/

If the 25-year-old continues his upward swing on the defensive end, then three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert may eventually see some new competition for that award in the form of a fellow Utah Jazz centerpiece.

:roll:

Xiao Yao You

11-19-2021, 09:47 PM

Jim Owczarski: Rodney Hood is out tonight for the #Bucks with a right hamstring strain. He was not on the injury report previously (https://*********.com/social/).

– via Twitter JimOwczarski (https://twitter.com/JimOwczarski)

he's a permanent fixture on the injury report

Xiao Yao You

11-20-2021, 08:16 PM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50287778/yoga-and-an-extra-mile-how-the-jazz-are-trying-to-stay-healthy-this-season

For a team that believes its season ended early last summer due to injuries to Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley, and whose major offseason acquisition had undergone offseason surgery, that felt significant. There's a lot of luck when it comes to injuries (Jazz fans, feel free to start knocking on wood now), but it's not all luck.

ended early because Mitchell wouldn't listen to doctors, play D or pass and COTY refusing to make any adjustments

Xiao Yao You

11-20-2021, 08:26 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/20/utah-jazz-secret-weapon-rudy-gay/

The Utah Jazz may have already had the best bench in the NBA. (https://thejnotes.com/2021/09/07/ranking-utah-jazz-bench-among-best/) With the addition of Rudy Gay, they’ve made it even better.

Clarkson sucks :facepalm

Xiao Yao You

11-21-2021, 11:15 AM

https://kslsports.com/473099/hot-shooting-jazz-cruise-past-kings/

Without the three-point shooting that carried them throughout most of last season, the Jazz were having to out-defend, outrebound, and outhustle their opponents just to stay competitive.

quit saying it carried them. They had a top D and offense. 3 all stars one that doesn't shoot 3's. The top two 6 men one who sucks at 3's and sucks period actually

Xiao Yao You

11-21-2021, 11:34 AM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/20/22792348/utah-jazz-transition-game-helps-jazz-beat-sacramento-kings-for-3rd-time-this-season-mike-conley

I’m not sure what inspires Bojan Bogdanovic or what motivates him, but whatever it is that gets him playing good defense, he should seek it out every single day, because when Bogdanovic is playing good defense and boxing out and just generally aware, it does wonders for the Jazz.

make him a 6th man. Maybe he could play more D if his minutes were reduced? Either way he wouldn't be counted on as much

Xiao Yao You

11-21-2021, 01:58 PM

Free agent and recent pro Dante Exum was among the players in this past week’s Thompson scrimmages, and sources said Thompson had strong showings in the five-on-five play. It was his first time running five-on-fives, albeit with players who are not currently playing on a pro team. Mychel Thompson, Klay Thompson’s older brother, has also been a featured presence as part of the return-to-play plan (https://theathletic.com/news/warriors-klay-thompson-cleared-to-practice-fully-could-return-within-week-of-christmas-sources/iEKeYCOtl4px/). It’s been 892 days since Klay Thompson has appeared in a game. His right Achilles tear came during the final stage of his left ACL rehab, so the Warriors — given the extended layoff and recent experience — have been extremely careful easing him back. Steve Kerr has mentioned multiple times his belief that Kevin Durant’s brilliant return from an Achilles injury is partially due to the 18-month gap between tear and return.

– via Shams Charania and Anthony Slater @ The Athletic (https://theathletic.com/news/warriors-klay-thompson-cleared-to-practice-fully-could-return-within-week-of-christmas-sources/iEKeYCOtl4px/)

Dante sucks!

Xiao Yao You

11-22-2021, 01:37 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/22/utah-jazz-grizzlies-odds-lineup-nov-22/

All told, the Utah Jazz (11-5) (http://www.thejnotes.com) sit third in the Western Conference, with the Memphis Grizzlies (8-8) (https://bealestreetbears.com/) just outside the playoff picture at ninth.

9th is play in

Xiao Yao You

11-23-2021, 12:27 AM

https://saltcityhoops.com/sc7-112221-what-jazz-need-from-gay-whiteside/

Rim finishing. If there’s anything that the Jazz learned with the Ed Davis and Tony Bradley experiments — and even to a degree on the nights when Derrick Favors looked less springy — it’s that their prolific offense functions much better when all those shooters are orbiting around a rolling big who actually demands the opposing defense’s attention.

Bradley is a good offensive player

Gay and Whiteside represent Utah’s best opportunities to improve upon last year’s rotation, and they don’t even need to play out of their minds to do that. So far, both guys are giving the Jazz the specific things that help the club unlock some positive things on both ends.

New coach and new 6th man

Gay’s return gives Utah more ways to construct winning lineups. Any time they have had any five of their main 10 guys on the court, they have outscored opponents by 13.6 points per 100 possessions. The flipside of that is that as soon as even one member of their deep bench brigade steps into the lineup, those lineups drop to a combined -3.6 outside of garbage time. At some point, the hope is that someone from Utah’s 11th through 16th roster spots will make Snyder feel a bit more comfortable about playing them in meaningful situations.

Yeah right

Xiao Yao You

11-23-2021, 12:42 AM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/22/utah-jazz-trade-paschall/

Granted, Paschall can be viewed as an insurance policy against a potential Gay injury, but is it worth the price of that insurance when this roster wants for a fourth rotation guard? Why double down on a position of strength with a roster that is lacking in another area?

Trade Clarkson for a starting 4 or nobody. Royce to the wing

Paschall an energy guy at the end of the bench. You aren't getting Milton or Campuzzo for him :facepalm

Xiao Yao You

11-23-2021, 12:00 PM

https://kslsports.com/473250/late-mistakes-bad-whistle-cost-jazz-against-grizzlies/

“Even if we miss a shot, we’ve got be able to close defensively,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got to be able to get hits, when they continue to get second looks, when we play good defense then we give them another look it’s hard to guard three times in one possession.”

just love when he talks about playing D :facepalm

Xiao Yao You

11-23-2021, 12:33 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/22/22795923/instant-analysis-jaren-jackson-jr-3-pointer-seals-memphis-grizzlies-win-over-utah-jazz

There’s a pretty big difference between when Mitchell falls into playing ‘my turn, your turn’ basketball and when he decides to just take over. The first is a very stagnant and slowed down, usually ineffective way of playing that has a bad trickle down effect on the rest of the team. The latter is when he just makes quick reads and big-time shots and you can tell that he’s feeling it. Honestly, even when he’s not making the shots but they are quick, wide open and well-timed shots, it’s the right play to make. It’s just about the way that he plays. It’s aggressive without being rushed. He sometimes waffles between the two, and that’s where some of his inconsistencies come from, but he had a couple of take over stretches that were key against the Grizzlies.

should be Conley's turn when he's in the game and never Clarkson's

The final look from Mitchell was a bad one. The Jazz didn’t do themselves any favors in that final possession.

he liked it! :roll:

Desmond Bane is so very good at basketball and he gave the Jazz and all Jazz fans fits on Monday night. He went off for 28 points in myriad ways and was the best player on the floor for much of the game. But it all comes to the great chagrin of Jazz fans who will always remember that the Jazz could have had him in the 2020 NBA draft. That seems like it’s going to be one that hurts for a while.

why? He wouldn't be playing for the Jazz. They needed a center. Rather Udoka was the right one remains to be seen

Xiao Yao You

11-23-2021, 12:46 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/11/22/22798133/utah-jazz-out-hustled-by-memphis-grizzlies-in-119-118-loss

Ja Morant’s star is ascending. He outplayed Donovan, despite missing 21 field goal attempts. Jaren Jackson Jr. Is tenacious, and while his wildness likely costs his team opportunities on some nights, tonight, it kept it earned his team a win.

Morant has shown he can carry a team since he was a rookie.

If you were a mad scientist, who could develop the perfect role-playing wing in a laboratory, you might create Desmond Bane. He’s 6’6” and 215 lbs. He has a sweet shooting stroke, good basketball instincts, and defends like a bull shark. He might be the reason Dennis Lindsay no longer has a job.

He has a job. Advisor. COTY is the reason he doesn't have a job

I wish the Jazz had traded Mitchell for Ja two seasons ago when people still thought Mitchell was better.

yep. Imagine him and Gobert

It’s weird you never see the same thing after Rudy struggles in a game.

when does that happen?

The third one is insane. Quin is one of the top-3 coaches in the league. He should have won COTY last season.

COTY! :roll:

-QS still can't draw up an ATO worth a shit. Surprise, surprise.

adjustments! :lol

-JC with four assists and only nine shots. Great reads in this one. Missed some open threes in the corner that usually drop for him.

not much usually drops for him :oldlol:

This is a bad take. Gobert was defending the paint because that's his job. The other four players failed to defend the 3P line because they are terrible defenders who don't even try, even when it's a one-possession game with six seconds on the clock.

yep

2-The pass is made to the perimeter, only a few feet from where Donovan Mitchell is standing. Rather than defend the shot, Mitchell looks at Gobert, who is 20-ft away, as if to say, "Hey, you gonna guard this guy too, or what?"

yeah come on Rudy! :facepalm

Don't get me wrong I am not saying like some others that Quin should be fired, but he might have to try figure this out so we don't get teared apart like this. Same thing was with Miami...

adjustments! :D

Xiao Yao You

11-24-2021, 08:34 AM

Eric Walden: L2MR identifies two incorrect calls from last night’s Jazz-Grizz game — both favoring Memphis: Ja Morant should have been called for traveling with 1:20 left; JJJ should have gotten a loose-ball foul with 0.6 seconds for wrapping up Gobert. Call with 14.1 to go deemed correct. (https://*********.com/social/) pic.twitter.com/f3iQ8JrMRT
– via Twitter tribjazz (https://twitter.com/tribjazz)

Xiao Yao You

11-24-2021, 07:34 PM

https://kslsports.com/473295/nba-admits-blown-calls-as-jazz-prepare-for-thunder/

Xiao Yao You

11-24-2021, 09:11 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/24/22794605/utah-jazz-rookie-jared-butler-knows-life-in-nba-will-be-learning-process-baylor-bears-ncaa-champs

The Jazz won’t be playing Butler in place of Mitchell or Mike Conley (https://www.deseret.com/2021/6/11/22451214/mike-conley-left-mark-with-memphis-grizzies-revitalized-career-with-utah-jazz) or Joe Ingles (https://www.deseret.com/2021/10/19/22728962/utah-jazz-joe-ingles-still-talkin-trash-just-dont-ask-him-about-it-donovan-mitchell) or Jordan Clarkson (https://www.deseret.com/2021/5/25/22452925/utah-jazz-jordan-clarkson-accepted-role-becoming-the-sixth-man-of-the-year-nba-playoffs-memphis). The Jazz are hunting for an NBA title and while they would like for Butler to develop, they have bigger fish to fry.

too bad Clarkson sucks

Ultimately, the decision to give Butler time with the Stars was practical and is in Butler’s best interest. The Jazz believe in Butler and in his future as an NBA player, but he needs time to develop and it’s very hard to develop when you are only going to get a minute here or there at very best and can’t get into any sort of flow.

every player should be considered a Gleaguer until they prove otherwise

“No rhythm at all and you’re still judged on those minutes and you want to just say ‘That’s not me, that’s not me!’ But you can’t,” Butler said. “Then you get into this mode where you think everything is your fault and I have to remind myself, Jared, you played three minutes. It’s not my fault.”

no it was COTY fault for playing you

“I think that’s the reason why it can be so hard,” Butler said. “The perception of the G League is not a glorified thing. Instead it’s like, ‘Oh, you’re not ready for the NBA.’ And I think I’m for sure ready for the NBA. But from the outside it doesn’t seem like a step.”

you're not ready. It's why Forrest is playing

See, the Jazz aren’t in the market for a rookie guard right now. But, Conley and Ingles are both on the tail end of their careers, players get moved and traded and leave or get injured everyday in the NBA. Butler is a huge and valuable insurance policy for the Jazz, and he knows it.

we can only hope Clarkson gets traded

Xiao Yao You

11-24-2021, 09:41 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/24/utah-jazz-ranking-donovan-mitchell/4/

He is the engine of a Utah Jazz team that ranks second in the NBA in Offensive Rating at115.03. The fact that Mitchell is able to score 24.4 points per game on a team that features Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson (https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/24/utah-jazz-jordan-clarkson-problem/), and Bojan Bogdanovic is all the more impressive. This offense runs deep, but there’s no question about who sits atop of it.

Gobert

All it would take for Mitchell to climb to the top of these rankings would be to bump his three-point efficiency back up to last year’s standard. His decline from an above-average three-point shooter to a below-average one is significant.

playing and passing the ball would impress me more. Of course no mention of any of that in the ratings

Xiao Yao You

11-24-2021, 09:43 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/24/utah-jazz-jordan-clarkson-problem/

Do the Utah Jazz have a Jordan Clarkson problem?

yeah and an even bigger COTY problem

Xiao Yao You

11-24-2021, 10:00 PM

Ben Anderson: Quin Snyder remembered one of his first big conversations with Rudy Gobert came on the team plane. He told him: “You’re a good player right now and you’ve got a chance to be a great player. And if you want to go beyond that, you can be an elite player, (https://*********.com/social/) which he has become.”

– via Twitter BensHoops (https://twitter.com/BensHoops)

Xiao Yao You

11-25-2021, 08:21 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50291274/could-have-got-really-ugly-jazz-dont-think-close-win-over-thunder-was-reflection-of-play

It showed the trust the team has in him. It didn't matter what happened last game, Mitchell is the guy Utah wants to have the ball in those late-game situations. Even with Dort harassing the team for most of the night — Dort forced Mitchell into some of his worst nights (the Jazz star isn't alone in being able to say that) — his teammates deferred to him at the end.

it's too bad. They have other guys

"Rudy was a monster late defensively and Donovan closed the game, and that's a pretty good formula," Snyder said.

Hassan going out and Gobert playing 39 minutes was the difference

Xiao Yao You

11-25-2021, 08:28 AM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/24/22797301/instant-analysis-utah-jazz-hold-on-late-to-get-win-over-oklahoma-city-thunder-donovan-mitchell

Really lackluster stuff from a lot of the Jazz’s main guys. Donovan Mitchell couldn’t get his shot to go and he wasn’t adding anything on the defensive end. We know that Dort is a tough defender but the Jazz should be able to find ways to get their main guy some easy looks. Mike Conley seemed particularly frustrated by the end of the game and Joe Ingles was pretty absent.

Mitchell and D :roll:

The Jazz seemed pretty pleased with the way they played against the Thunder and thought that the offense looked really good and the score was just close because of missed shots on good looks. Still, the defense allowed more than 100 points from a team that is legitimately designed to lose games.

not many games they don't give up a 100. The D wasn't the issue in this one

Xiao Yao You

11-25-2021, 11:32 AM

Giddey, playing in his 18th career game, recorded 19 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in nearly 34 minutes of work. He converted on 8-of-15 shot attempts from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, during the 110-104 loss. With the performance, Giddey joined LeBron James and LaMelo Ball as the only teenagers in NBA history to reach 100 rebounds and 100 assists within their first 20 games at 19 years, 45 days. (https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/2021/11/24/thunder-josh-giddey-lebron-james-lamelo-ball/) He now has 131 rebounds and 105 assists on the season.
– via Cody Taylor @ The Rookie Wire (https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/2021/11/24/thunder-josh-giddey-lebron-james-lamelo-ball/)

Eric Walden: Donovan Mitchell, on the Jazz having had six ejections already this season: “I guess we’ve been waking up on the wrong side of the pillow. Is that the expression?” (https://*********.com/social/)
– via Twitter tribjazz (https://twitter.com/tribjazz)

Xiao Yao You

11-25-2021, 11:40 AM

https://kslsports.com/473405/mitchell-gobert-save-jazz-late-vs-thunder/

One of the stranger storylines that seems to be bugging Jazz fans this season in Jazz coach Quin Snyder’s decision to play second-year guard Trent Forrest over rookie Jared Butler, even in extremely remote first half minutes this season.

I'm no COTY fan and if they wanted to cry about Paschall or even Oni instead of Forrest I could maybe see it. Butler has sucked. He needs to dominate with the Stars. Clarkson is the problem not Forrest

“Solid defense, he usually either makes a play that is visible that shows up in the box score like a block or steal or something like that, or he just makes a play by being solid.”

yep the guy can play. If he can develop even a decent shot he's a keeper

“Those minutes that he’s given us, rarely does he come in and come out when the lead has changed hands or anything of that nature. Look at what he was tonight in plus-minus.”

plus minus! :oldlol:

Xiao Yao You

11-25-2021, 11:51 AM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/11/24/22801874/utah-jazz-pull-out-dicey-win-over-the-oklahoma-city-thunder

But tonight I want to sit at the collective Jazz Thanksgiving table and tell you who I was thankful for tonight, and this season: Donovan Mitchell.

naturally. He sucked for 47 minutes and showed up for 1! :D

I also want to mention that this has been a weird season and this game was one of the weirdest. It looks like the Jazz are trying to give Mitchell more reps as a playmaker. His assists numbers are right around his average. We’ll see as the season goes how that adjusts but it would be nice to see more and more of Mitchell getting opportunities as a playmaker because that is the thing that always makes the Jazz better. When Mitchell is penetrating the defense and finding the open man, the Jazz are lethal offensively.

they are the problem is he usually takes a tough shot rather than pass to an open man

-Some interesting defensive wrinkles in this one. Rudy and Rudy switches on the perimeter, some soft traps/recover w/ Bogie a-la the old Niang/Korver d. There was times where the defense didn't communicate well bc it was doing something new. Gay/Gobert and a Royce/Gobert miscommunication led to open shots but I think the wrinkle is ultimately good in trying to approach new strategies.

yeah but will it be used when they really need it? Doubt it

Xiao Yao You

11-25-2021, 11:58 AM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/25/four-studs-1-dud-utah-jazz-thunder/

All told, the star scoring guard finished this contest with 13 points on 6/16 shooting from the field, including 1/7 from three-point range. There’s nothing to worry about here: Mitchell is generally too talented (https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/24/utah-jazz-ranking-donovan-mitchell/) for Utah Jazz fans to worry about. However, we’re forced to acknowledge that this performance did not meet the expectations we have of him.

pretty typical actually

If we see this version of Clarkson on a more consistent basis, we’ll dedicate an entire article to issuing a formal apology to the reigning Sixth Man of the Year.

3 good games. Good luck with that :facepalm

Nothing to see here, really. 15 points on 5/7 shooting from the field, 17 rebounds and 5 block. Ho-hum. It was just another night for Rudy Gobert. The 2 steals were at least somewhat notable.

exactly. Just another night at the office

Xiao Yao You

11-26-2021, 11:44 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50291340/jazz-players-have-been-ejected-a-lot-this-season-but-it-may-have-a-silver-lining

There's no real reason at this point to think the ejections will continue to be a common theme, but it's merely a strange footnote on the season so far. A footnote, though, that could strangely lead to a positive down the road. Most of the ejections came late in the game; Whiteside's didn't. Utah had to play three quarters without a true backup center.

which meant more Gobert. Probably don't win without the ejection

For all the fans that wanted to see the Jazz play small-ball last season in the playoffs, you got it on Wednesday. The results? Um, not good; heck, it looked like a layup line at times for the Thunder.

most of it was without Gay. Put the right guys out there and see what happens.

It ultimately revealed what we already knew: Utah's perimeter defense is less than ideal. For a small-ball lineup featuring either Eric Paschall or Rudy Gay at center to work, the Jazz have to be able to contain on the perimeter; if they can't, any thought of rolling out the lineup in the playoffs seems ill-advised, at best.

and therein lies the problem

And they figured it out enough to at least get the win.

thanks again Rudy

Xiao Yao You

11-26-2021, 11:51 AM

https://kslsports.com/473235/hassan-whiteside-has-been-best-surprise-of-jazz-season/

Towards the end of Favors first stint in Utah, he was widely considered the best backup center in basketball (despite starting at power forward) and gave the Jazz a big boost going up against opposing teams’ second units.

widely considered in Utah maybe

In 2019, the Jazz traded Favors to New Orleans to clear room to acquire Bojan Bogdanovic and Mike Conley but struggled to find an adequate backup center in his absence. The team tried out both Ed Davis, Tony Bradley, and rookie Juwan Morgan throughout the season, but none of the three proved they could hold down the job full time.

Bradley did and Morgan may have been able to as well. Bradley became their scapegoat for other problems that have yet to be fixed. Favors certainly didn't solve them with his huge contract. The D still sucks this year as do Clarkson and COTY

Unfortunately, during Favors second stint with the Jazz last season, it was clear he’d lost a step athletically and was no longer as dominant against second units.

He just was never that great and Bradley wasn't the problem

However, through 18 games, it’s hard to argue Whiteside has been anything but the Jazz best addition from the summer.

Gay. Butler could be by the end of the year

Xiao Yao You

11-26-2021, 12:09 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/25/22800688/be-thankful-that-donovan-mitchells-best-this-season-hasnt-happened-yet-utah-jazz-nba

There has been reason to be concerned with Mitchell’s play thus far, but he isn’t worried.

why? He does this every year https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mitchdo01/splits/ Wait for January though it looks like his D might get even worse then

Mitchell was critical in the Jazz getting that win, finishing with five assists (he would have had more if his teammates hit their shots). He also scored six huge points at the end of the fourth quarter.

he was critical in the Jazz not running away to an easy victory

“I would love to be able to continuously shoot well and sometimes that’s going to happen,” Mitchell said, noting that he’s not worried about his scoring inconsistencies. “But at the end of the day just being able to find guys and make the right reads, that’s all I can ask for, go out there and make the right play. Sometimes that’s putting the ball in the basket, sometimes it’s passing, sometimes it’s guarding.”

rarely is it guarding or passing! :lol

Xiao Yao You

11-26-2021, 12:24 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/26/utah-jazz-pelicans-odds-lineups-nov-26/

With Royce O’Neale listed as questionable tonight with an ankle sprain, Quin Snyder may be forced to insert Joe Ingles or Rudy Gay into his usual starting lineup of Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, O’Neale, Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gobert. Otherwise, it’s business as usual for the Jazzmen.

Should start Gay or Paschall not Ingles. Maybe Fitts can play? Royce's ankle is a bit concerning if it's the same injury that has had him on these reports all year

Xiao Yao You

11-26-2021, 09:22 PM

https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/26/grading-utah-jazz-trade-idea/

Jazz have Butler and Forrest. Don't have another young center developing. Stick with Udoka

El Kabong

11-27-2021, 01:48 AM

Mitchell giving his usual "this is not who we are" presser after another game they shouldn't have lost

Xiao Yao You

11-27-2021, 11:40 AM

Mitchell giving his usual "this is not who we are" presser after another game they shouldn't have lost

it looks like that is who they are at least he is. Can't expect much from him until January though. Clarkson you can't expect much from period

Xiao Yao You

11-27-2021, 12:06 PM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50292505/hopefully-it-hurts-enough-jazz-looking-in-mirror-after-losing-on-another-game-winner

He remembered being in the midst of a nine-game losing streak as he looked at the schedule in an effort to figure out when the next win would come.

and lucky for the him and the rest of the franchise Rudy emerged shortly after that and saved their sorry asses from their tanking ways

As it was, the Jazz had nothing to fall back on. Graham's game-winner made the team take a deep look in the mirror. Utah was bad Friday — more than bad. Everything that made Utah's regular season special last season — the extra passes and constant ball movement — disappeared for long portions of the game.

offensively anyway. They should win most games if the other team doesn't score 100

Mitchell was 6-of-21 shooting for 16 points; Jordan Clarkson was 3 of 12 for 12 points; and Mike Conley was 4 of 10 for 12 points. Rudy Gobert, meanwhile, had just three shot attempts — a product of the seemingly endless ball stopping.

sorry 4-10 doesn't belong with those other two :facepalm

It has been who he is this season, though.

it's who he's always been. It's not January yet is the good news! :roll:

Mitchell is 17 of 57 from the field in the last three games — a loss to Memphis, a squeaker in Oklahoma City, and Friday's stunner against the Pelicans. Utah has a losing record (3-4) this season when Mitchell attempts at least 21 shots. He's been indecisive on his reads, he's missed open teammates and has taken poor shots; but he's not alone.

it starts with him because of his high usage. Put the ball in Conley's hands and good things will happen no matter what his box score ends up looking like

"That's a great question, I wish I knew the answer," Gobert said. "I don't know how many times I have to lose in the playoffs before we start learning. We are doing the same stuff over and over and over. Hopefully we grow. Hopefully it hurts enough that we put our egos aside, we grow and we play as a team."

hopefully the owner is really different than the Miller's and isn't afraid to make a coaching change. Starts there. Than it goes to the best player in franchise history. Clarkson should be the easiest fix though who wants that shit show 6th man or not?

Occasionally, the ball will swing all over the court, reflecting the near-basketball nirvana the Jazz touched last season. More often, though, it's been Mitchell, Conley or Clarkson dribbling out the clock and hoping to find a late look. It's not the team's plan, but it is what's happened.

Conley hardly touches the ball. Hardly anyone but those other two do

Xiao Yao You

11-27-2021, 12:12 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/26/22796814/analysis-jazz-do-nothing-well-in-loss-to-pelicans

If the Jazz had somehow pulled out a win on Friday night, maybe I could talk about the fact that Bojan Bogdanovic was shooting really well and finished with 23 points. But, even in the second quarter when Bogdanovic was 4-of-4 from deep and 6-of-7 from the field overall and clearly the only Jazz player who was really in any sort of offensive rhythm, the Jazz couldn’t seem to get him an open look. Maybe that would be explainable against a different team with a better defense, but the Jazz weren’t getting him open against the Pelicans, and that’s because of a lack of movement and effort and awareness from the rest of the team.

yep it's ridiculous you don't get him the ball when he's making everything

The Jazz talk a lot about their defense leading to offense and needing to rely on the defense, but they didn’t look good on either end. They were letting the ball stick and getting into iso situation after iso situation, and then on the other end they were missing defensive rotations and just plain not doing well with their assignments to the point that it started just looking like a layup line for the Pelicans.

take a lay up line nightly if the other team is held under 100

Becoming the No. 1 overall seed last season was achieved by the Jazz coming into nearly every game with a huge amount of intensity and jumping out to leads, maintaining them with focused defense and then executing an offensive system that rarely waited until it was too late to start an action. The Jazz were one of the best teams at moving the ball last season, and not enough has changed on this team to explain why the ball is sticking so much.

Clarkson and Mitchell have the ball too much and COTY doesn't do anything about it

Xiao Yao You

11-27-2021, 12:26 PM

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/11/26/22804399/utah-jazz-lose-a-heartbreaker-to-the-lowly-new-orleans-pelicans

Donovan Mitchell struggled again with this shooting. His shooting slump continues to hurt the Jazz and they need him to find his stroke soon if they want to get back to winning games. Mitchell did have 6 assists but it’s hard for the Jazz to overcome a 6/21 shooting performance no matter how you look at it.

need him to pass the ball and play D/ Good luck with that

If Donovan is great at facilitating he isn't taking 21 shots and ending up with a 1.5 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. If everyone made the shot that you passed to, you would be the highest assist leader of all time, so that is just a lazy argument when we had average shooting. I more than just about anyone wants Donovan to play within the offense and become a great passer, but are you really going to excuse another night of 16 points on 21 shots when Bojan had 23 on 14 shots and Gay had 9 points on 5 shots and Royce had 6 points on 4 shots? If Donovan is being guarded tight then he shouldn't have SEVEN times the number of shots as Rudy, 4x Gay, and 5x Royce. I don't care if it is Donovan's fault or Quin's fault, it is damn idiotic to have the guy who is most heavily guarded and the least efficient to take the most shots, usually be a large number. And we do it almost every single game.

someone gets it. Throw Clarkson in to that and you have a real shit show

Seems like he is always tired. Doesn't matter if it is the first game of the season or the playoffs, since his rookie season he always looks winded and tired. One burst of energy, a drive or a dunk and he is gassed. He tries to make it look cool but it is obvious he is exhausted.

while Rudy can go hard at both ends all night :facepalm

Need to trade. If your two power forwards just have below 5 rebounds in a game, then it's that easy to tell why you lost the game. If only Gobert will develop a nice shooting, then he will have no problem contesting a much heavier center.

PF! :roll:

Q has to go, the sooner the better. A new coach will tell DM and Clarlson to look to pass 1st (hopefully), would conserve Joe's energy, would let Conley rest some games, and develop Butler and Hughes.

yep it should have happened after the loss to Denver in the playoffs if not sooner

.

Xiao Yao You

11-27-2021, 05:14 PM

Tony Jones: Mike Conley is on track to play in the back end of a back to back for the first time this season. (https://*********.com/social/) Pretty strong message to how much this team is trying to shake it’s slump
– via Twitter Tjonesonthenba (https://twitter.com/Tjonesonthenba)

Xiao Yao You

11-27-2021, 09:01 PM

Andy Larsen: Royce O’Neale is out tonight due to an right ankle sprain (https://*********.com/social/).
– via Twitter andyblarsen (https://twitter.com/andyblarsen)

Xiao Yao You

11-27-2021, 09:02 PM

Ben Anderson: Per the @Utah Jazz. Udoka Azubuike was examined by Utah Jazz and University of Utah medical personnel last night in Salt Lake City. Initial imaging determined that Azubuike suffered a subluxation in his right ankle. (https://*********.com/social/) X-rays revealed no fractures.

– via Twitter BensHoops (https://twitter.com/BensHoops)

sounds bad

Xiao Yao You

11-28-2021, 11:48 AM

https://www.ksl.com/article/50292894/jazz-look-like-themselves-again-in-rout-of-pelicans

Jordan Clarkson described it with a pass he received in the corner. When he caught it, he initially thought to himself, "Yeah, I'm gonna put this up." But in the corner of his eye he saw that Rudy Gay had a an even better look, so he swung the ball, which led to one of Gay's four 3-pointers on the night.

so rare it might not be seen again

The Jazz were 20 of 35 from 3-point range. New Orleans? The Pelicans missed its first 20 3-point attempts and finished 8 of 35; that's a 36-point advantage on 3-point looks. You're gonna win a lot of games with those types of numbers.

they're almost as bad as Clarkson from 3

Xiao Yao You

11-28-2021, 12:08 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/27/22796820/instant-analysis-jazz-blow-out-pelicans-in-revenge-game

Donovan Mitchell had been going through a bit of an offensive slump recently, but he broke out of it on Saturday. He had eight points, three rebounds, five assists in the first quarter alone, quickly putting himself in possible triple-double territory (which would be the first regular season one for the Jazz since Carlos Boozer’s 2008 triple-double). Mitchell probably would have been able to get to the triple-double if not for the fact that the Jazz were leading by 40 points with about eight minutes left in the game. The starters had no reason to be on the court and got some well-deserved rest while the end-of-bench players got some run. Mitchell finished with a game-high 21 points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists.

3 rebounds for a guard and 3 assists are a lot. Quit talking triple doubles. Another overrated stat

That player the Jazz were without was Royce O’Neale, who is nursing a minor ankle sprain. You might be thinking, “Sarah, why is this in the ‘high notes’ section?” Well, O’Neale’s injury is not serious and there’s not really any fear about him being out for a prolonged amount of time and the Jazz being forced to play without their best perimeter defender was a nice challenge considering how poor the defense was on Friday. The Jazz rose to that challenge. Playing well without someone as important as O’Neale can be a real confidence booster for a team like the Jazz, who needed reminding that they are a lethal team and have the talent across their roster to shut teams out.

the ankle has been lingering most of the year so it is worrisome

Xiao Yao You

11-28-2021, 07:30 PM

Casey Holdahl: Norman Powell (right quad contusion) is out for Monday’s game (https://*********.com/social/) at Utah.
– via Twitter CHold (https://twitter.com/CHold)

Xiao Yao You

11-28-2021, 09:32 PM

Andy Larsen: Royce O’Neale is questionable for tomorrow’s game (https://*********.com/social/) vs. Portland.
– via Twitter andyblarsen (https://twitter.com/andyblarsen)

Xiao Yao You

11-29-2021, 07:34 PM

https://kslsports.com/473729/jazz-host-road-weary-trail-blazers/

The Trail Blazers have the fourth-best offensive rating (https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced/?sort=NET_RATING&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&Location=Road) in the NBA this season, but that ranking drops to 17th while on the road, and their 117.5 defensive rating away from home is the worst in the NBA.

need to take care of business tonite

Xiao Yao You

11-29-2021, 07:38 PM

https://www.deseret.com/2021/11/28/22801544/could-donovan-mitchell-be-the-player-to-break-the-jazzs-triple-double-drought

Could Donovan Mitchell be the player to break the Jazz’s triple-double drought?

probably. Empty stats

Last season he said if he had to guess who would be the one to break the triple-double drought for the Jazz, he would put his money on Joe Ingles or Mike Conley.

they don't rebound especially Ingles

Clarkson said it wouldn’t surprise him if Rudy Gobert ends up being the one to break the spell with a 10-plus block game. The Jazz have a lot of guys who could get a triple-double in different ways, but Mitchell proved that they can play the right way, play the way they want to, and it could be Mitchell who gets the elusive triple-double.

10 blocks likely won't happen. He doesn't get enough chances. Players avoid him

Xiao Yao You

11-29-2021, 07:46 PM

https://saltcityhoops.com/sc7112921-expected-ws-alarming-ls/

Saturday also serves as a reminder that THAT version of the Jazz is still available. They didn’t swing any trades, reconstruct their rotation or overhaul their coaching staff before leading the Pels by as many as 40 points. They just… figured their stuff out. Last year’s Bucks had similar questions asked about them after a 16-13 start, and then they accessed the version of themselves that made them elite in order to rip a 30-13 close and win a title. There’s nothing disqualifying about a shaky early stretch. As they have done in each of Snyder’s seasons as coach, it’s likely the Jazz will peel off their own sustained stretch of excellence at some point: 20-1 last season, 19-2 the year before, 17-4 before that. But for a team that has Saturday’s level of dominance available to them on a given night, the Jazz need to figure out how nights like Monday and Friday happen.

the schedule started easy this year unlike most years though. They've sucked

For his part, Snyder seemed more concerned about a specific aspect of their execution: trusting in the offense and sharing the ball. “We’ve established an identity on this team, and then we don’t look that team,” the veteran coach said. Later, he’s clarify: “Once (the ball) sticks, the defense loads up and everything’s harder.”

Clarkson and Mitchell. Same old story

There’s some solid evidence that Mitchell wasn’t the player in Snyder’s sights with all of that talk about playing with a pass, starting with the fact that the star guard was in the middle of a stretch of five straight games with 5+ assists. Over that span, he has averaged 6.2 per game, and has assisted 29.8% of his teammates’ buckets while he’s been on the floor. That’s even higher than Conley’s assist percentage over the same stretch, and his assists-to-used-possessions ratio (21.1%) is also right in Conley’s same territory (23.1%). Assists aren’t a perfect way to exonerate someone’s decision-making entirely, and sure, you could find individual possessions (https://twitter.com/danclayt0n/status/1463028313589370881?s=20) where he could have made a pass instead of taking a difficult shot, but overall he has been distributing quite well. So who else could the coach have been thinking about during his missive on trusting teammates?

Conley usually doesn't have the ball unfortunately