2014-2015 regular season!

[url]http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pgl_finder.cgi?request=1&player_id=&match=game&year_min=&year_max=&age_min=0&age_max=99&team_id=&opp_id=&is_playoffs=N&round_id=&game_num_type=&game_num_min=&game_num_max=&game_month=&game_location=&game_result=&is_starter=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&c1stat=mp&c1comp=lt&c1val=29&c2stat=pts&c2comp=gt&c2val=13&c3stat=trb&c3comp=gt&c3val=18&c4stat=blk&c4comp=gt&c4val=4&order_by=pts[/url]

Rudy joins Ewing at the end of his career as the only players with at least 29 minutes 18 boards 4 blocks and 13 points since '85

[QUOTE] It seems so long ago when there were questions about how others would play offensively with Gobert in the game. Now it appears, they need him as David Locke points out.

As many have pointed out, Rudy was the only one who didn't look overmatched against the Spurs. He looked ready and prepared. And the national media is noticing.[/QUOTE]

When will Jazz nation notice?

[QUOTE]Gordon Hayward's improvement is amazing to see. The unfortunate thing is he most likely won't be in the All-Star game. Sad but true. The Utah Jazz are a lottery team that gets little to no national attention and they don't have a single spotlight shining bright on the team. Players like Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors won't get a national audience unless you beat the Knicks or Cavaliers as they did early in the season (when beating the Knicks or Cavaliers meant something). Amar brought up Gordon Hayward's All-Star-ish play here:[/QUOTE]

Theyll get noticed if they win.

[QUOTE]I think Gordon is playing well, but after looking at how well the other players are doing this season, I don't think I can argue for Gordon's inclusion unless I'm wearing my Jazz homer hat. He has improved quite a bit from last year (and I have the Synergy Stats to support that idea, and that post is dropping tomorrow).

Wally Price, long-time usher of the Utah Jazz, passed away last night at the age of 98 years old. If you have gone to a Jazz game in the last 34 years there's a good chance you've had your ticket inspected by Wally Price. Doug Robinson of the Deseret News wrote this of Wally Price 8 years ago:

David Robinson and Pat Ewing used to visit him every time they were in the building. Charles Barkley hugged him. Thurl Bailey gives him a kiss on his bald head at every home game. Coaches, players, team execs, season-ticket holders all go out of their way to chat him up and pump the little man's hand. He calls them all his friends. And the ladies? Let's just say that this guy has collected more hugs than Bert Parks and Richard Dawson combined.
...
Sometimes he dispenses advice. He told one couple that he wanted to see them holding hands whenever they entered the arena, and sure enough, as they entered the building one night last week, they were complying with his request. He asked one unnamed Jazz player if he told his wife he loved her every day. When the wife shook her head, Wally told the player he would ask him the same question every time he showed up for a game. When the player retired, his wife thanked Wally and said the advice had helped their marriage. Old Wally's eyes welled with tears.

Wally would say about his ushering, "If I didn't do this, I'd be dead."

Wally will be missed. He was an icon around the arena. My father would point him out when we would go to Jazz games. He was part of the visit to the Delta Center. He was uniquely special.

On game nights, he [Wally] arrives at the arena two hours before tip-off and reports immediately to the Jazz locker room to visit the troops (years ago Jazz players would seek him out if they missed his visit, as if he were a good-luck charm). Then he grabs a Coke and walks slowly to his station, which is known as Wally's Wall.

The Utah Jazz are in Cleveland currently. If you are one of the special few who get to go to the Jazz's next home game, please, go visit Wally's wall. Go pay tribute to a man who spent his golden years around us whom he called his friends. Take his advice. Be good to your significant others. Be good to everyone. Be good to yourself. Be happy.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]The team gives up 98.9 ppg, which is greatly influenced by playing at the 28th slowest pace in the league. [/QUOTE]

What happened to playing with pace.

[QUOTE]According to the harder data the Jazz surrender 10.9.4 points per 100 possessions, which is "good" enough for 27th out of 30 teams in the NBA this year. While Utah does not foul a lot [/QUOTE]

The Jerry era is certainly over.

[QUOTE]and send teams to the line endlessly it's almost as if they do not need to. Players are out of position in their defensive sets in the half court, and poorer basketball IQ leaves opponents open for good looks.

The Jazz allow other teams to shoot .510 eFG% against them, which is 24th in the league. A significant portion of that is poor three point defense. This year the other team is making .378% of their shots from downtown against Utah. Only two teams get lit up from outside more. However, the poor shot discipline isn't the largest sin. It would appear as those there is a general level of non-hustle out there on the court. Utah doesn't pressure the ball or force turn overs that frequently. Utah only forces 12.3 turn overs a game (29th), and cause one 12.0% of the time (27th). It's not all about taking risks to get steals, but an active defense that harries the other team into bad shots and pressured ball movement is preferable to one that allows open shots and doesn't appear to be physical enough to make it hard on the other team.[/QUOTE]

Yep outside Rudy, Booker and now Millsap I don't think anyone lays it all out there.

[QUOTE]Of course, the Jazz have not been great on defense before, this isn't the only year where we've had to worry about that side of the court.

Season Opp PPG RK Pace RK DRTG RK Opp eFG% RK TOV% RK DRB% RK Opp FT/FGA RK
1 1995 1996 95.9 6 90.0 25 106.1 8 48.9% 9 15.1% 9 71.7% 4 29.5% 27
2 1996 1997 94.3 8 90.0 17 104.0 9 48.0% 8 15.5% 5 71.6% 4 29.0% 29
3 1997 1998 94.4 13 89.2 21 105.4 17 47.1% 11 13.5% 22 71.0% 5 27.1% 25
4 1998 1999 86.8 5 87.0 23 98.4 7 44.1% 5 14.4% 17 70.4% 9 24.2% 15
5 1999 2000 92.0 5 89.6 27 102.3 11 47.7% 12 15.0% 9 73.2% 2 25.6% 25
6 2000 2001 92.4 8 89.8 21 102.4 12 47.3% 17 15.3% 3 73.2% 6 30.1% 29
7 2001 2002 95.1 13 90.3 16 104.6 14 48.4% 17 15.9% 1 71.7% 12 28.6% 29
8 2002 2003 92.3 7 89.3 24 102.8 15 46.8% 8 15.2% 4 70.2% 24 25.6% 25
9 2003 2004 89.9 9 86.6 28 103.3 14 46.8% 12 15.4% 7 72.4% 10 31.9% 29
10 2004 2005 97.3 16 88.4 26 109.5 26 49.9% 26 14.2% 10 72.3% 8 34.0% 30
11 2005 2006 95.0 9 87.8 26 107.0 21 49.0% 14 14.0% 10 73.2% 12 30.3% 30
12 2006 2007 98.6 17 91.6 15 107.0 18 49.6% 13 14.4% 14 75.1% 4 31.4% 30
13 2007 2008 99.3 13 93.2 10 106.5 12 50.1% 16 15.0% 3 74.1% 9 29.4% 30
14 2008 2009 100.9 19 93.1 9 107.3 10 50.5% 18 15.0% 2 72.7% 20 26.2% 26
15 2009 2010 98.9 12 93.8 9 105.0 10 49.2% 13 14.2% 5 75.6% 5 26.9% 30
16 2010 2011 101.3 19 91.0 19 110.1 23 50.5% 20 13.8% 8 71.7% 27 27.5% 30
17 2011 2012 99.0 23 91.4 12 106.1 19 49.3% 22 13.8% 16 73.8% 11 24.5% 28
18 2012 2013 98.1 16 90.9 21 106.8 21 50.1% 18 14.0% 12 73.2% 21 22.6% 26
19 2013 2014 102.2 18 81.4 26 111.3 29 51.8% 26 12.1% 29 74.5% 14 22.7% 20
20 2014 2015 98.9 14 90.4 28 109.4 27 51.0% 24 12.0% 27 75.8% 10 19.6% 8
Average 96.1 12.5 89.7 20.2 105.8 16.2 48.8% 15.5 14.4% 10.7 72.9% 10.9 27.3% 26.1
Data from Basketball-Reference.com

I cannot stress enough how cool it is to NOT having a foul prone team for once on defense (which allows our best defenders to actually stay out on the court, I see ya Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert!). [/QUOTE]

Why don't we let Derrick actually play good D before we put him in there with Rudy? :confusedshrug:

[QUOTE]But that may or may not have influenced how "up in your grill" our defense is. But the general picture hear over the last two decades is that the Utah Jazz defense hasn't been all that, especially not over the Tyrone Corbin era.[/QUOTE]

Hasn't been good in close to 20 years vbut why not another shot at Ty anyway!

[QUOTE]But people keep telling me to "Let it go." So let's break down what the Utah Jazz have done this season in Synergy Sports Tech's massive database.

Ummmm.

Anyway, according to SST (not to be confused with this) the Utah Jazz are not a good defensive club. On a per possession basis they rank 27th. (N.B. The data I pulled and processed was for the Jazz after 40 games. So there is no influence upon these numbers from the San Antonio Spurs game; though I am sure you would agree that the defense was lacking there too.) At the time of data collection (harvesting?) the Jazz were on defense 4,079 times in 40 games. Teams shot 46.5 fg% against the Jazz, had an aFG% (a SST metric) of 51.2%, punched in 1.22 PPS, and had a PPP of 0.97. Put it all together and the Jazz ranked "poor" against the rest of the NBA.

The other team didn't turn the ball over that much, and while they didn't get to the free throw line much, overall they still managed to put some points on the board 45.3% of the time they had the ball.

That's not so great.

So where are the Jazz getting toasted from?

Time spent on defense:

2014 2015 40 Games Synergy Utah Jazz Defense - Time Pie

So the gameplan (or the other team exerts their control) calls for the team playing a lot of defense against Spot ups, the pick and roll (ball handler), transition plays, post ups, and isolation. So that's 8 or more possessions of each type per game, from 7.9 isolations all the way up to 19.1 spot up attempts against Utah on any given night.

2014 2015 40 Games Synergy Utah Jazz Defense - Time Table

Miscellaneous plays are broken plays, like someone saves the ball and it goes to his team, or there is a deflection somewhere and no one knows what's happening. I'm not worried about the team there, so I will mostly disregard it (despite the fact that the Jazz are actually the 11th best team at defending these plays).

Personally, I think with the bigs the Jazz have teams have been de-incentivized from trying to score in the paint on drives or pick and rolls. Letting teams do their thing from outside of the mollestive influence of our rim protectors, probably not so good.[/QUOTE]

No one is afraid of Favors. Sorry man!

[QUOTE]Are they good at defending what they see the most?

Well, let's go over it step by step:

Type Time Rating PPG PPS PPP NBA RK
1 Spot Up 18.7% Poor 20.2 1.13 1.05 27
2 P&R Ball 16.2% Average 13.3 1.02 0.81 21
3 Transition 12.2% Poor 14.6 1.53 1.17 26
4 Post Up 9.4% Poor 9.2 1.19 0.96 29
5 Isolation 7.7% Poor 7.5 1.20 0.95 29
6 Cut 7.4% Below Average 9.4 1.50 1.25 24
7 P&R Screener 7.1% Very Good 6.6 1.05 0.90 8
8 Off Screen 5.8% Poor 5.7 1.13 0.97 27
9 Put Backs 5.0% Average 5.6 1.24 1.10 17
10 Hand Off 4.2% Average 3.9 1.11 0.91 20
Okay, so the things the Jazz face the most on defense this season are all pretty much the things they are really poor at. So do you re-train the defense to a) get better at the things you are bad at, b) install a defense that forces the other team into doing the things you are good at defending, c) both, or d) recognize that there is a push and pull on defense, and being extra careful about one thing can leave gaps in other parts of the floor?[/QUOTE]

Rudy alone should improve everything. After that yiu have to get better players that fit with Rudy. Simple fix.

[QUOTE]One thing people may be upset about -- that can be fixed -- is the post up defense. It's poor. Even with Rudy Gobert on the floor I've seen players bump him with their greater upper body strength, get him out of position, and then benefit from making this space by taking a short fall away.[/QUOTE]
They have but ouside Hibbert not many had success and even than Rudy was working hard unlike his teammates.

[QUOTE]No one challenges him like how a Shaquille O'Neal would challenge a Dikembe Mutombo. They go at him by getting him off balance, and then finessing their way around him. The isolation defense isn't going to get better until our players are allowed to foul guys on defense -- and that comes with refs respecting you. (Like how Chris Paul is allowed to be super hands-y on defense and foul a lot before the player tries a shot.)[/QUOTE]

more excuses

[QUOTE]System issues will always persist. A player scores on a cut when there is a defensive breakdown. We do it. They do it. Most of the time it's a good shot, or at least the guy gets to the line. The Jazz give up at least one point on 62.5% of these plays.The alternative is to commit to the guy cutting sooner, leaving someone ELSE open. If you are at a situation where you can be defeated by a cut on a play the chances are that someone else on the offensive side of the ball can ALSO cut to somewhere else and get open too.

But the main problem appears to be spot ups:

Yes, the Jazz defense right now tries to protect the paint -- and right now the main problem is dribble penetration. Dribble penetration means that other defenders have to help and commit to the ball handler. (Either from an Iso, pick, or something else). When the defense collapses this leaves guys open on the outside. This is how Dion Waiters got so open on that Kevin Durant pass a few games ago. And this is how the Jazz get wrecked by the Spurs almost every time they play.[/QUOTE]

That all starts with Trey. Neto and Exum should improve things there.

[QUOTE]They give up the open jumper because they HAVE to protect the paint. Today you can't leave guys open (the skill set is much different than it was in the 70s and 80s), and the best defensive teams are the ones that can keep playing five on five, man on man, as much as possible.[/QUOTE]

When Rudy is in the game he can protect his man and than some. No reason for them to be leaving guys wide open anymore.

[QUOTE]The Jazz offense is built around the same thing, moving the defense around and getting guys open shots. Which is why it is upsetting that this is something they know so well on offense, but don't know how to counter it on defense.

At the end of the day you need strong perimeter defense if you are going to allow players to stay 'home' on outside shooters. In the vacuum of the Spot Up defense vs. Pick and Roll ball handler defense we see that the Jazz are average on the ball handler because they commit to him. Letting that guy go one on one more (our iso defense is horrible) could result in more scores, or worse, fouls on our bigmen in the paint off of drives.

The % play then is to let guys shoot from outside, and hope for a miss, vs. giving up the sure thing.

It is going to be interesting to see how Quin Snyder and crew combat this over the second half of the season. Elijah Millsap and Dante Exum project to be better defenders with their length, ability, and hustle. But can you run an offense with those guys out there right now?

Perhaps the Jazz need to be a little more strategic in how they play defense? If they can influence the ball handler to pass the ball to the screen setter instead of finding an open man spotting up the team would be in perfect position to defend the play. But that is specifically what teams today avoid doing. The Spurs are a perfect example of this, instead of going to Tim Duncan or Boris Diaw at the top of the key they penetrate and find a guy like Danny Green open outside. It's how they beat us in the playoffs last time we were there. And it's pretty much how they beat us every time we play them.

For the Jazz to move from being a poor defensive team to an average defensive team will require an adjustment to the strategy and performance of our players and coaches both. But at the end of the day, better defense comes from within. Needing to help less will mean less players are open. And in year one of the Snyder House Rules, we see that most of our players need to play better defense. Or knock some people on their butts. That's what Jerry Sloan would advise.[/QUOTE]

Need better talent first. More minutes from Gobert will certainly help and has.

[QUOTE]under the direction of Frank Layden and Jerry Sloan the team used to have one of the best offenses in the land. [/QUOTE]

Stockton to Malone not Frank and Jerry.

[QUOTE]Quin Snyder seems to be making strikes with the team, and the team game may not be as immediately impressive as an isolation based game that Tyrone Corbin ran, the dividends are paying off. What are the Jazz doing today that is different from the previous decade? How has the Jazz offense changed? We can take a close look at this because of Synergy Sports Tech data. And we should.

Overall:

I have data from the 2004-2005 season (somehow only 73 of 82 games), but all the data from every season since then. I did strip mine all of this info from their database before the Spurs game, so this is for 40 games. The one thing you see is that while the team has changed over time, the constant is that the team has been effective on offense.

2014 2015 40 Games Synergy Utah Jazz Offense - OVERALL

The last few seasons under Tyrone Corbin were not that great, but anything is a far cry from Jerry Sloan running a team on offense that boasts Deron Williams, Kyle Korver, Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer, and Mehmet Okur. Snyder has the team running with a higher PPS (points per shot) and PPP (points per possession) value this season (2014-15) than the previous three seasons. So there is immediate improvement in the overall performance. But the team is still an average offensive team. What has changed with the plays run?

1. Following NBA Trends:

Quin's playbook runs in the same direction as the rest of the NBA. Players (all players, from point guards to bigmen) are better shooters today. His playbook allows for more players to get open via spot up attempts. Also, more different types of players are spotting up. This also goes with the shift in offense from a point guard dominated club to one run from the wings.[/QUOTE]

Too bad the Jazz can't shoot!

[QUOTE] 2014 2015 40 Games Synergy Utah Jazz Offense - SPOT UP

Spot Up performance is very important. Sadly, the Jazz of today are below average in completing this necessary part of the game plan. Spot ups are almost 1/4th of what the Jazz do on offense. So the sooner this gets fixed the better.

Furthermore, transition attempts seem to be swinging back towards higher pace across the league. We're out of the dirty 90s of Ugly Ball where the Cavs would try to win games 86-83, and teams like the Pistons and Knicks would foul you three times every play.

2014 2015 40 Games Synergy Utah Jazz Offense - TRANSITION

Sadly, transition play is not happening with Utah as much as it should. By performance no team is better than the Jazz at scoring in transition. There are great athletes on the team now, a number of solid finishers at the rim, and a handful of players who can trail for an open three. The team just isn't getting in transition enough because their defense does not yet cause turn overs or, well, stop the other team. One foot before the other, though, Jazz. Once the D gets better the transition game will explode. (And for the record, every single player on the Jazz who qualifies is average or better in transition aside from Trey Burke. Three of our players are excellent, and four are very good.)[/QUOTE]

Another check against Trey.

[QUOTE]I feel like these two parts of the offense are organic. The playbook tries to get guys open for spot up shots, which is what most teams run by former Spurs assistants run. Running the break makes a lot of sense too. It's how the game is played again. The Miami Heat used to destroy teams with great defense leading to easy buckets.

2. Reduction of Flex Elements:

The offense the Jazz ran for years was a strange remix of an offense Dick Motta popularized years ago, that was heavily put into rotation by Frank Layden and Phil Johnson -- and then remixed again by Jerry Sloan. [/QUOTE]

I thought Jerry brought in Phil? Jerry brought the offense to Frank I guess but in the '88 playoffs they were at their best running instead of settling into the flex.

[QUOTE]A team without super stars could compete with it by passing the ball, setting screens, moving, and getting layups. That was the point of the game, get close shots. Quin's playbook is about getting open shots. The movement is by passing, yes, but more on progressive dribble penetration. In the Flex you moved your players around and got a shot. Snyder is trying to move the defense around, and get an open shot.[/QUOTE]

Flex was about open shots too just not 3's. Quin is the modern version of the same thing. Spurs adapted what the Jazz were doing.

[QUOTE]To parts of the flex offense are cuts and off-screen motion.

2014 2015 40 Games Synergy Utah Jazz Offense - CUT

The Cut has made a small come-back, and the Jazz are very good at it this season. However, it has been De-emphasized for a while now in Utah.

2014 2015 40 Games Synergy Utah Jazz Offense - OFF SCREEN

There are almost no plays on offense that finish off-screen. In fact, the progressive ball movement offense uses players getting the ball off-screens on almost every play, but then they become parts of other offensive elements.

No more Matt Harpring - curl. No more Ronnie Brewer cut. And as a result, this is a brand new offense -- though, please, bring back the cut. The team is really good at scoring off of them. (9th best in the NBA) The Off-screen as a terminal part of an offense play can keep moving, the Jazz are 29th at it.[/QUOTE]

I've seen the curl.

[QUOTE]3. One on one Play is reduced:

Do you remember the Alfense? Do you remember #MOLO ? Of course you do. Those were never efficient offenses. You need star ability to get it done, and while Gordon Hayward is becoming one, he does not rely on it. It's not a one trick pony.[/QUOTE]

But he's not very good at it so they do it way too much.

[QUOTE]The Jazz never moved Al Jefferson around without the ball (he would have been great in the P&R or off of cuts if he could move). While the Jazz had a recognizable offense with the one on one play or post ups, it was predictable, and easy to stop when the games matter -- and they mattered in the playoffs. I am glad Snyder has thrown these out, like the money-lenders, from the Jazz playbook.

2014 2015 40 Games Synergy Utah Jazz Offense - POST UP

It was okay with a Karl Malone. It's much less effective when you're using anyone else. The team isn't good at it right now, the players can't do it by themselves with their back to the basket -- and it's simpler and easier to score moving to the basket. Which is what Corbin never did with Jefferson. (Oh, by the way -- the one year in Minny when BIg Al was amazing . . . he did.)[/QUOTE]
pre knee surgery Al sure

[QUOTE]The one on one play through face up isolations are something I wasn't crazy for; but Synergy tells me that Gordon Hayward is excellent at it, and Alec Burks is average. And the Jazz, as a team, are average at it.

2014 2015 40 Games Synergy Utah Jazz Offense - ISOLATION

It's happening more, but mostly by Hayward; and this is a natural progression of his own offense suit of abilities. But overall, less one on one play means the defense can't easily focus on one player. And thus, an engaged team is a harder team to stop.

4. A return of the Pick and Roll

Remember that we have the All-Time leader in assists, and the #2 All-Time leader in points? And John Stockton and Karl Malone used to use this thing called the pick and roll. Deron Williams used it well with Carlos Boozer, but today with so many ball handlers and a variety of men to set screens there are so many variations of what the team can do with this most simple of fundamental plays.

And you know what? The Jazz are doing it again.[/QUOTE]

Not enough or not well enough anyway.

[QUOTE] 2014 2015 40 Games Synergy Utah Jazz Offense - PNR BALL

2014 2015 40 Games Synergy Utah Jazz Offense - PNR SCREEN

The P&R Ball handler + P&R Screen, as a cumulative proportion of the plays the Jazz run this season is at an 11 season (well, 10.5 season) high this year at 24.1%. Thank you. This is how you get good off-ball action for spot up shooters and a great way to use the fact that this team actually DOES have very good athletes now.

Early this season Alec Burks was getting Enes Kanter lots of open baseline jumpers. Trey Burke continues to find Derrick Favors where he can score from. Gordon Hayward knows when to call his own number or squeeze a good pass in. And, well, Rudy Gobert is such a great roll target that you just need to throw it up in his vicinity sometimes. Making Dante Exum play pick and roll from day one will help him in so many ways. And I'd rather this than iso / #MOLO / Alefense any day.

5. Woah, what is this thing?

Dribble what now? Dribble hand off.

2014 2015 40 Games Synergy Utah Jazz Offense - HAND OFF

This looks specifically like the type of play that would get Jerry Sloan to fire Gordan Giricek out of a cannon into the Atlantic Ocean. But Snyder understands the game in a little different way than Jer did. No Jazz team in the history of this decade plus data set shows the Jazz using this at all. This team is running these at a 3x rate than the 11 season average. It's not paying off yet, but used as a 'set up' move that you have to run enough to make the defense commit to the receiver on the dribble hand off frees EVERY ELSE up. If you never punt a fake punt play isn't going to work. If you don't try to score off of a dribble hand off, setting up a complex play that is a double dribble hand off weave to a guy coming off of an off-ball screen, who then gets into a pick and roll with a big, only to pass to a cutter, who then passes it to a guy who is spotting up will never work.

And really, that's where this offense is heading. The Dick Motta offense worked for centuries because it made sense and got the job done. Like the catapult. Snyder's offense is like an orbital weapons platform that can destroy things from space. And while the offense doesn't look great every day, it's getting there.[/QUOTE]

Need better players before you can say. Better have the players next year is all I can say.

[QUOTE]Handy Table that illustrates the change:

2014 2015 40 Games Synergy Utah Jazz Offense - Change in Play

Other junk:

I didn't talk about the Jazz dominance on offensive rebound plays / put backs. There's no need. The team is great, and always has been great at it since getting a Paul Millsap / Enes Kanter on the team. I also didn't talk about Misc plays, broken plays, where the Jazz score anyway.

They don't matter. What matters are the big pieces of the puzzle. The large building blocks for this offense either run with the rest of the league, remove parts that were bad from our previous offenses, or bring back the bread and butter that countless playoff games have been won with.[/QUOTE]

You need to build a team and system around Rudy. Anything else is just stupid.

[QUOTE]David Locke: Derrick Favors will not play tonight for the Utah Jazz. He will not be with the team for personal reasons #UTAatMIL Twitter @Lockedonsports [/QUOTE]

Explains his shitty game last nite?

[QUOTE]the Jazz were outscored 54-40 in the paint with Cleveland forward Kevin Love registering 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Favors scored only 12 points, which is well below his season average of 16 points a game, but it was his lone rebound that was the largest outlier. On the season, Favors is grabbing 8.8 rebounds a game.[/QUOTE]

But Enes needs to be benched?

[QUOTE]Trey Burke struggles

Burke scored only two points on the night, making just 1 of 10 shots from the field. Compare that to his Cleveland counterpart Kyrie Irving, who scored 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting. This is the second consecutive game scoring in single digits for Burke, who scored only eight points against the Spurs in a Jazz loss Sunday. Burke and Jazz small forward Joe Ingles combined for five points.[/QUOTE]
nothing new here

[QUOTE]10-day contractors shine

Elijah Millsap scored 12 points, while Elliot Williams finished with 10 points. Williams was 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point arc, and Millsap played more minutes (21) than starter Burke (19). Millsap

[QUOTE]The combination of Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert and Enes Kanter gets rolling, and Booker's minutes get squeezed. He's the odd man out.[/QUOTE]

Needs to be traded unless they know what they're doing with Enes/Favors going forward. Probably get a 1st for him with his extended range.

[QUOTE]This is where Booker's maturity comes to play, his professionalism. He knows that he's the guy in the frontcourt rotation with the role most likely to fluctuate. But Booker came to the Utah Jazz with his eyes open.

And even when he doesn't see as much time as he likes, he's better equipped to handle it emotionally.

"It's definitely important to be a team guy," Booker said. "You can't come in with a bad attitude. People take notice of that, and that's a good way to get kicked out of the league really quick. I just know I have to keep working, keep working on my perimeter jumper and keep bringing leadership."

Booker has played in three of the four games since Kanter returned from an ankle injury. Just once

[QUOTE]it's tough to think the Jazz have not taken at least a small step backwards in the past four days. [/QUOTE]

What's changed is Rudy not playing much again. Tonight expect a much better performance with Rudy getting big minutes.

[QUOTE]This was the second consecutive night the game was basically over after three quarters. This was the second consecutive night in which Snyder has played the end of his bench significant time in the last five minutes.

That speaks to a team that has not been competitive over the past two games, and even against great competition, that's a concern.

"We know that we have to stay confident in ourselves," Jazz forward Gordon Hayward said. "We have to find easier looks offensively, and we have to play better defensively as well."

On Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena, James had his way, scoring 26 points, handing out nine assists and grabbing seven rebounds. He ran Cleveland's offense with aplomb, consistently finding open men, or getting to the basket for scores or trips to the free-throw line.

The Cavaliers shot 51 percent from the field and generated 25 foul shots. As a result, they took the game over by the end of the first quarter. There were four lead changes, but the Jazz' biggest advantage was only a bucket. Utah trailed by as many as 28 points as the deficit ballooned after halftime. By the fourth quarter, the outcome was never in doubt.

"We have to get back to doing what we're doing," Jazz forward Derrick Favors said. "We have to get back to sharing the ball and playing good defense."[/QUOTE]
That might mean you not playing like tonight! :cheers:

[QUOTE]So what went wrong for Utah? There's plenty to talk about. Point guard Trey Burke shot 1-10 and scored two points in 19 minutes. Favors and Hayward combined for 26 points, when the team needs them to combine for over 40 points on a given night to be successful.

The Jazz' second unit didn't score for the first five minutes of the second period, and Rudy Gobert looked mortal, scoring six points and grabbing seven rebounds in 20 minutes. With one blocked shot, it's the first time this month he has not swatted at least three in a game.[/QUOTE]

His numbers look typical to me. Just not enough minutes.

[QUOTE]Mainly, the Jazz didn't play with energy, and didn't defend nearly as well as they did against the Spurs on Sunday. At least defense kept Utah within contact for the first half of that contest.

"We aren't a great offensive team," Snyder said. "But tonight we didn't play with enough toughness and focus on the defensive end. We have to generate offense from defense and we have to make a couple of shots."

It is good news that Enes Kanter played very well Wednesday, scoring a team-high 24 points and grabbing a game-high 17 rebounds. From the beginning he was aggressive offensively, scoring on jumpers, or strong drives towards the basket. He went 9-20 from the field and looked like the player he was in spurts before his sprained ankle.

But that wasn't nearly enough for the Jazz on Wednesday night. Utah falls to 14-28 with the defeat, and will face Milwaukee on Thursday evening.

[email]tjones@sltrib.com[/email][/QUOTE]

It cost Larry H. Miller about $22 million to buy the Utah Jazz in the mid-1980s

Coach Quin Snyder said having two players on 10-day contracts is a challenge in and of itself. But he

[QUOTE]we

Kanter said his ankle is much better, although he

[QUOTE]It certainly did not help that Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Burke had quiet evenings. [/QUOTE]

Their big 3? :facepalm

[QUOTE]The Jazz need to circle the wagons and work really hard to run when they can, hopefully getting some early offensive opportunities in doing so.

Grading the performance: The Jazz came out flat and looked a bit overwhelmed in the first half. The injuries are starting to take their toll on Utah

[QUOTE]Millsap is averaging 5.0 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.0 SPG and 0.7 BPG in 21.1 MPG. He has been crashing the boards, has showed some deft passing and is active defensively. His shooting has been rough, though. Millsap has hit just 12 of 40 shots (30.0 percent). While he

[QUOTE]In last week

[QUOTE]3. Elliot Williams solidifies his spot with the Jazz?

With only five days remaining until the end of his final 10-day contract, Elliot Williams only has a limited number of chances to showcase himself before Utah decides whether or not to keep him for the rest of the season. And in Wednesday

[QUOTE]Tonight Cleveland didn

[QUOTE] the Jazz are a team mixing and matching seemingly by the game. They are one of the more injured teams in the league, one dealing with different maladies with frequency.[/QUOTE]

Hard to feel sorry for them at all when they went into the season with the roster they had. The roster overall is better with Ingles, Millsap and Williams though Burks can't be replaced obviously.

[QUOTE]"It does become a bit more difficult as the season wears on because you don't have continuity," Utah forward Gordon Hayward said. "When that stuff happens, it's challenging, but the one thing that it does is give everyone the chance to step up."

The injuries have been both chronic and well-chronicled. Alec Burks is gone for the season with a shoulder injury. Rookie swingman Rodney Hood is out for a month with a bum foot. Reserve guard Patrick Christopher, dreshly signed out of the D-League, dislocated his knee and tore a ligament in his first career start. Enes Kanter was out a week with an ankle injury. And, on Thursday night, Derrick Favors missed the 101-99 win over the Milwaukee Bucks with a family emergency. On varying evenings, the Jazz have played as few as eight guys in the rotation.

In their place are two NBA developmental 10-day contract signings, Elijah Millsap and Elliot Williams. Joe Ingles has started the last few weeks at shooting guard, and he was without a team coming out of the preseason.

It's made for a challenging first year for Snyder. The Jazz entered the schedule wanting to play their core five together, develop chemistry, see what works and what doesn't, and get ready to make a run at the playoffs next season.[/QUOTE]
Should have been going for the playoff spot this year. The core 5 had already played together last year.

[QUOTE]And while that still can happen, Utah will enter next year with its franchise group having to catch up on lost time, even if only slightly so.

"It gives us the chance to put guys into spots they normally wouldn't be in," Snyder said. "I think we have to see the injuries for what they are. We have to take stock and then make adjustments. We have guys who are filling roles, and you can get growth like that."

Specifically, Snyder is speaking of Rudy Gobert, who has emerged out of nowhere as one of the best defensive big men in the league. Also, on Thursday night, Snyder made a major lineup change, promoting Dante Exum to starting point guard and bringing Trey Burke off the bench.[/QUOTE]

It's not out of nowhere. He defended and rebounded last year. His offensive game keep him on the floor now.

[QUOTE]Because of the injuries, Snyder said he made the move out of necessity. His second unit was anemic in losses against the San Antonio Spurs and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Having Burke with the reserves against the Bucks proved to be a stabilizer. Burke

[QUOTE]the world team will play against the U.S. team, putting Burke and Gobert potentially on opposing teams.[/QUOTE]

Hard to imagine Burke being one of the best sophs. :wtf:

[QUOTE]"It's a good idea," Gobert said. "Especially this year. The international team has a lot of talent, a lot of guys who can play. So it will be interesting."[/QUOTE]
It's a good idea if the international players have enough guards to play. Lots of bigs internationally. othe rpositions are a lot thinnner.

[QUOTE]Between the rookies and sophomores, the Jazz have four guys who can potentially make the game: Gobert, Burke, Dante Exum and Joe Ingles. All have played significant roles this season.[/QUOTE]

Gobert I'd think is the only one. Trey shouldn't make it just because he gets minutes.

[QUOTE]Gobert and Burke seem to be good bets to make it, as both have put up good numbers. Exum is one of the glamour draft picks of a ballyhooed rookie class, and his ascent into a starting role on Thursday could propel him into the mix over the next few weeks. Ingles seems like the one who could have the most difficult time making the team.[/QUOTE]

good numbers? :rolleyes:

[QUOTE]"I think this is definitely a good idea," Exum said. "It's exciting. The international scene is way bigger than it used to be, and it's a good idea by the NBA to get all of the talent in one game."

Playing well

The past two games have showed a side of Enes Kanter that the Jazz want to see consistently. The fourth-year forward out of Turkey scored 24 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in Wednesday's loss to Cleveland. In Thursday's first half against Milwaukee, Kanter scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Kanter finished with 23 points. He scored in the paint at will, was a factor on the backboard on both ends and was a positive force throughout.

"I don't like losing, so whatever I score, it doesn't matter if we don't win," Kanter said on Wednesday night.

Dropping dimes

Ingles was the only starter on either team to not score in the first half on Wednesday, but he did have six assists, two rebounds and two steals, further cementing his growing reputation as a glue guy.

[email]tjones@sltrib.com[/email]

twitter: @tjonessltrib[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]Dante Exum is not physically ready to be a starter in the NBA. But on this team, he's the best defender at point guard by a significant margin. And if this move does last, you've just seen a changing of the guard much earlier than expected.

When the Jazz drafted Exum with the No. 5 pick in June, fans wondered when the day would come. But it was likely that day wouldn't come for at least a year, maybe two and possibly even three.

But one thing with injuries: It makes coaches do a lot of tinkering, a lot of adjusting. And with Alec Burks down for the season and Rodney Hood down for at least a month, this Jazz team desperately needs scoring off the bench. Simply put, Trey Burke is the best candidate at this time to fill that role.

"It's something we've been looking at, generally speaking," Snyder said. "We've had trouble scoring with our second unit, and I think Trey can give us a little more pop in that respect."

So how will it all work out? For Thursday night at least, that will be answered soon enough.

Tony Jones[/QUOTE]

They could both start eventually with Dante's size. Both have to prove they're roation players first though.

[QUOTE]On a normal night, we'd be talking about Gordon Hayward scoring 13 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter. [/QUOTE]

You mean Maxi G finally waking up before it was too late.

[QUOTE]Or Enes Kanter scoring 23 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, and becoming the first Jazz player since Al Jefferson to score 20 and grab at least 15 rebounds in consecutive games. Or Utah's resiliency in the second half, things like that.[/QUOTE]

Favors has not done that? :confusedshrug:

[QUOTE]But on Thursday night, everyone's talking about the teenage lottery pick starting at point guard.

Dante Exum received the nod at point guard from coach Quin Snyder, significant because the man he replaced

[QUOTE]Rudy Gobert, who had still another solid game with 14 points and 10 rebounds.[/QUOTE]

He led the way yet again from what I saw. Did you even watch the game?

[QUOTE]It didn

[QUOTE]Jazz swingman Gordon Hayward was simply the best player on the court.[/QUOTE]

Besides Rudy anyway.

[QUOTE]He was aggressive getting to the basket, either for his own score or to set up his teammates. His energy was contagious, as his teammates seemed to pick up their games on both ends. While it got a bit tense in the end, Hayward

[QUOTE]Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder has been questioned about his starting lineup, whether Enes Kanter or Rudy Gobert should start at one of the inside positions.

At least for tonight, Snyder won

Various media reports this week reiterated a report from November that the Jazz will bring back the Rocky Mountain Revue this July with a half dozen or so teams. The Jazz hosted the Revue from 1984-2008.

[QUOTE]The Jazz have beat the Milwaukee Bucks, the Detroit Pistons and the Charlotte Hornets all on their floors. Those teams are going to be the 6, 7 and 8 seeds in the East this year. The Jazz would be an Eastern Conference playoff team. I have no doubt. Think about how different everything would feel if we could play in the East and have the confidence of winning half your games and making the playoffs.[/QUOTE]

They'd be fighting for the last spot in the west if the front office wasn't tanking I have no doubt.

[QUOTE]Good win tonight by the Jazz. Solid fourth quarter performance taking care of the ball. Turnovers were the story of the night. The Bucks are long, active and physical. They are committed on the defensive end. They are long and able to switch all over the floor. This caused the Jazz major issues. The Jazz, who are having an issue taking care of the ball right now, turned it over 22 times leading to 32 Bucks points. But in the fourth quarter, the Jazz only turned it over three times and when the Bucks don

[QUOTE]Burke contributed from the bench about what he was as a starter: 10 points on 11 shots, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 turnovers. Nothing to write home about, but also a much more respectable line for a bench player getting 24 minutes rather than a starter getting 30+. Frankly, the 11 shots were possibly the key stat for a player with a painful .459 TS% on the season.[/QUOTE]

Yep nice game off the bench. They need a starter. Maybe Neto.

[QUOTE]As for Exum, as has become the norm, it

The Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls are among four NBA teams that have shown an interest in swingman D.J. Kennedy, a leading candidate for the Most Valuable Player in the top German league, sources told RealGM. RealGM

The Utah Jazz and Detroit Pistons have also reached out to Kennedy, a source said. With a deal for the remainder of the German season, Kennedy is a potential option for the summer and next season. RealGM

[QUOTE]Elijah Millsap has reached an agreement to sign a three-year contract with the Utah Jazz, his agent Daniel Hazan told RealGM. RealGM

Millsap

[QUOTE=Xiao Yao You]no surprise. Bring back Paul! :cheers:[/QUOTE]
Nice to see Elijah finally get a shot. Hopefully he turns out to be a useful player. Wouldn't mind them giving the same sort of deal to Ingles either, i'm sure the Clippers could probably use him more than a few guys they've got on their team, especially if he can start hitting his shots.

I'm fully aboard the Gobert train right now. If him and Exum pan out + having Hayward as well, that could be a very nice trio in a few years. That's not including what you do with Burkes, Burks, Favors and Kanter as well.

Hopefully they keep Exum as the starter for the foreseeable future. If Burkes can continue to hit a decent amount of shots than he's a nice option to keep the offense ticking over when Hayward is out since they generally have troubles putting the ball in the hoop when he's on. Not the worst thing for him to be the "microwave" guy off the bench, but would still like to see them bring in another legit PG to ease the load on Exum.

[QUOTE=El Kabong]Nice to see Elijah finally get a shot. Hopefully he turns out to be a useful player. Wouldn't mind them giving the same sort of deal to Ingles either, i'm sure the Clippers could probably use him more than a few guys they've got on their team, especially if he can start hitting his shots.[/quote]

Ingles has to show he can hit some shots to remain a rotation guy. The scouting report says to leave him open right now.

[QUOTE]I'm fully aboard the Gobert train right now.[/QUOTE]

What took so long? :D

[QUOTE]If him and Exum pan out + having Hayward as well, that could be a very nice trio in a few years. That's not including what you do with Burkes, Burks, Favors and Kanter as well.[/QUOTE]

You forgot Hood, Neto and their upcoming lottery pick. :cheers:

[quote]Hopefully they keep Exum as the starter for the foreseeable future. If Burkes can continue to hit a decent amount of shots than he's a nice option to keep the offense ticking over when Hayward is out since they generally have troubles putting the ball in the hoop when he's on. Not the worst thing for him to be the "microwave" guy off the bench, but would still like to see them bring in another legit PG to ease the load on Exum.[/QUOTE]

The line-up makes sense at the moment. Exum is obviously a role player right now and fits better around good players. Jazz bench sucked too much for him to be on it. Burke can lead the bench. A veteran pg or combo guard would still be nice even with Neto's arrival next year(hopefully).

[QUOTE]Turnovers have been a major issue for the Jazz recently. They are 30th in the NBA at taking care of the ball over the last 10 games. Tonight they turned it over 6 times in the 1stquarter, then reduced it down and ran away from the Nets. They ended with 17 which is still high.

Ingles had a career high 16 points the night after he had a career high 7 assists. Not sure why having Dante playing as the starting point guard is helping Joe but it seems to have ignited something in his game and his opportunities to make plays.

Jazz defensive game plan was built to deal with the Johnson/Lopez pick and roll low on the left block and they completely eliminated that. In addition, the Nets never got the Johnson/Jack pick and roll going. Joe Johnson only had 6 points on 3 of 7 shooting and Lopez was 2 of 9. Those are the Nets two threats.

I thought Enes Kanter moved the ball better tonight than I ever seen from him. They were creative passes makingplays but they were passes in the offense that kept the tempo and the flow. This has not always been a strength.

When the Jazz used both sides of the floor they got good looks and the offense was very effective.

Posted in Emptying the Noggin[/QUOTE]

Yes some nice passes from Enes. Only 22! :bowdown:

[QUOTE]with Derrick Favors out for personal reasons, the starting lineup was down one of their leading scorers. Moving a scorer in Trey to the bench limited the offense to just Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter. For as dominant as Rudy Gobert has been, the team has still struggled on offense when he's been on the court.[/QUOTE]

I don't see that. Gobert is a nice offensive player. He does a lot of good things and is starting to get his hook shot going. Watch out! Ingles and Exum also do a lot of good things other than shoot. Burke shoots a lot doesn't make him a better offensive player.

[QUOTE]So what does this mean for Trey Burke? Is this a permanent move? On one side, I don't think Quin Snyder makes this change if Burke had been playing better. He has been playing much better lately and is almost back up to his rookie numbers after a terrible start. If Exum continues to play well in the starter's role, I think he keeps the spot. We'll still see a lot of Burke and Exum in the back court going forward. It's a bit of a risk to the team and Trey's psyche to make a switch like this.[/QUOTE]

Trey should have never been starting the past two years. That's a big part of the problem. He should have earned it not been given it. If his psyche can't handle it than he probably belongs in China throwing up shots.

[QUOTE]Of course I'm likely completely wrong and Snyder goes back to Burke in a couple of games after testing and teaching. Tell me that you can predict what the coach is going to do. You can't.[/QUOTE]

He's going to continue to underutilize Gobert that much is obvious.

[QUOTE]An interesting comparison for Burke is Brandon Knight coincidentally. He had similar numbers to Burke in his first two years before turning it on last season and being even better this season. I don't think there's any reason to give up on Burke. There's still a decision to be made going forward, but I could see the Utah Jazz keeping both and having an good point guard coming off the bench.[/QUOTE]

Obviously there is not reason to give up on him at his age. With Exum's size there's no reason they can't play Burke, Neto and Exum all plenty of minutes going forward. Right now the Jazz have one definite keeper on the team as far as I'm concerned. The rest all have plenty to prove to earn a role on Rudy's team.

[QUOTE] 2 small

A big call late last against the Jazz could have cost them the game and should be something that gets added to the calls that get reviewed late in games.

I'm talking about the ball going out of bounds off Rudy Gobert of course. It was clearly off him when watching the replay. The problem of course is that the only reason they reviewed the play is that Gobert lost the ball due to getting fouled by two Bucks. One hit his left, rebounding arm once he had the ball and the other grabbed his right arm, preventing him from going after the ball.

While reviewing out-of-bounds calls, refs can already review "any unsportsmanlike acts or [if] unnecessary contact occurred."

In some cases fouls can be reviewed, but the foul has to be called first. The current rules don't allow for a foul to be called after the fact. And perhaps that opens a Pandora's box it fouls are allowed to be called on reviews. But in this case, a foul affected an out-of-bounds call, perhaps that should be looked at.

8 small

The All-star voting results are in and the top vote getter for the Jazz was *scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, scrolling*...

Well, we don't know because nobody placed high enough in the total vote count to register. These are your starters:

2015 all stars

I've come to take the All-star game for what it is: A voting popularity contest which the fans get mostly right. Only a couple of things bug me about the All-star selection process. One, I think there should be a minimum set of requirements for being selected like games played/available and/or stat thresholds. The NBA won't make any changes though because it doesn't matter to them who gets in, so long as the fans follow up the voting by watching and following the league.

Of course the biggest name that shouldn't be on the All-star roster, let alone starting, is Kobe Bryant. Not only has he had a terrible season, the Lakers are terrible. He's injured now, so he won't play, and someone will take his place.

The second thing I don't like about the AS selection process is that why the game itself means jack, the selection does. When contract negotiations are held and HOF decisions are made, or when talking about who's a better player, All-star appearances are a part of that. So either we should treat it like the exhibition that it is, or tweak the selection process.[/QUOTE]

Fans should pick the starters after the coaches/players/front office picks the players. Today they could do that with twitter and what not. Rudy will get voting love in the future I'm sure.

[QUOTE]The coaches will pick the reserves and while guys like Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors have a case[/QUOTE]

No they won't! :rolleyes:

[QUOTE], it's so loaded in the West, they won't get in this season. It will take several All-star type seasons, more wins, and some retirements to make the squad in the West.

We should see Rudy Gobert though in New York this season for the Rising Stars Challenge. We could also see Exum and Burke. So the Jazz won't be entirely shut out.

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Why ya gotta be so Rudy Gobert? Don't you the Bucks are human too?

If Rudy has a bigger name, this lands him in the NBA's top five of last night or on SportsCenter. He also gets the and-1 when Giannis Antetokounmpo fouls him.

My favorite part of the whole thing though might be Enes Kanter 's reaction.

Kanter huh

5 small

Friday open poll...

Who makes the All-star team first for the Jazz? Hayward? Favors? Kanter? Some future draft pick? Never?[/QUOTE]

Rudy will be an all-star and maybe DPOTY next season. Lead the lead in blocks and possibly rebounds as well. If he doesn't it's time to get a new front office and coach. Maxi G's got a chance. Not sure he's going to put up big numbers on a good team though. Be tough to get two front court guys.

[QUOTE]Joe Ingles, the team

[QUOTE]Jingles posted 16 points for a new career high, but it was his continued aggression that really raised eyebrows. After developing an early impression as a teammate who was perhaps unselfish to the point of detriment to his team, refusing to take all but the most open shots and actively slowing the offense, Ingles has come out of his shell in a recent stretch of strong play. He

[QUOTE]Millsap has been a big part of the Jazz

[QUOTE]

[QUOTE] they also have some up-and-comers, which is better than once-upon-a-timers like Richard Jefferson and Marvin Williams, both of whom were on last year