2015 training camp!

[url]http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865638058/Utah-Jazz-Burke-determined-to-display-consistency-confidence-in-return-to-starting-lineup.html[/url]

[QUOTE] Burke was suddenly thrust back into the projected Jazz starting lineup for the upcoming season.[/QUOTE]

projected by those not paying attention. Hard for me to see him in the rotation.
[QUOTE]While Exum's devastating injury certainly presents Burke with a second chance to prove himself as a starter, Burke wasn't exactly doing cartwheels when he learned of his teammate's terrible misfortune.


Instead, his feelings were just the opposite.


"I was disappointed, obviously," Burke said as the Jazz began practice this week for the 2015-16 NBA campaign. "As an athlete, you never want to hear about anybody getting hurt. I mean, this is what we do for a living.
"It was obviously disappointing to all of us, seeing one of our teammates go down like that. We're with each other each and every day for about five months, so it's always bad to hear something like that."


Still, as agonizing as it seems, Exum's torn ACL and subsequent surgery ends his 2015-16 season before it's started.


And Burke fully realizes he must step his game up and try to provide vital leadership for a young but improving Utah team that appears on the precipice of making major strides forward in the months ahead.


"With Dante being out, I'm obviously going to have to play more minutes,"
[/QUOTE]
He won't be playing if Snyder is as smart as he's supposed to be

[QUOTE]he said of his evolving point guard role, in which he'll now be sharing playing time with second-year guard Bryce Cotton and rookie Raul Neto

[url]http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865638071/Jazz-notes-Quin-Snyder-refutes-Elijah-Millsap-report-Hayward-defends-gamers.html[/url]
[QUOTE]That said, Snyder vehemently denied an ESPN report that claimed the coaching staff has lost trust in Millsap and that the second-year NBA player is now considered a longshot to make the Jazz

[url]http://www.deseretnews.com/top/3417/0/Ranking-the-best-NBA-players-heading-into-the-2015-16-season-How-many-Jazz-players-make-the-list.html[/url]

To anyone watching Maxi G can't be ahead of Rudy.

[url]http://www.sltrib.com/sports/3015470-155/utah-jazz-quin-snyder-trying-to[/url]


[QUOTE]In a way, this is why veteran teams thrive in the NBA, while younger teams struggle.[/QUOTE]


One part of it. Having guys that don't belong on the floor like Exum and Burke is a huge part of it though.


[QUOTE]It's a huge advantage to have a team familiar with the system and ready to hit training camp running. Last year, Snyder had to implement a new concept to one of the youngest teams in the league, and the Jazz started 6-19.


But as Snyder's team began to get used to the new offense and defense and everything between, Utah finished by winning 19 of its final 29.
Even with most of its core group returning, Utah's coaching staff has to introduce several new guys

[url]http://www.sltrib.com/sports/3015880-155/utah-jazz-all-grown-up-gordon[/url]

[QUOTE]Utah's best player has looked like exactly that.[/QUOTE]

The national writers are one thing but the beat writers rally think he is their best player? They sucked before Rudy made them someone.
[QUOTE]"Gordon's been playing really well," Snyder said when asked to single out his top performer. "He's just been assertive. They may laugh at this, but I look at guys standing out in drills and he's just been focused."


Since he was drafted in the first round out of Butler in 2010, the Jazz have watched him grow from a scrawny rookie coming off the bench, to starter, to borderline All-Star.


Last season, he wrote on his website that he was better than LeBron James

[url]http://basketball.realgm.com/analysis/239387/NBA-Season-Preview-Utah-Jazz[/url]

[quote]the Jazz could be ready to battle it for a postseason spot in the uber-competitive Western Conference.[/quote]

should be talking about one of the best teams in the league not battling for a spot. Thanks front office! :confusedshrug:

[quote]With numbers like that, it

[url]http://weareutahjazz.com/lockedonjazz/2015/10/01/emptying-the-noggin-day-3-of-training-camp/[/url]

[QUOTE]This was the 5th practice of camp and the first without a two a day. At some point in every camp there has to be a lull but from the mood of Quin Snyder when he met with the media he showed no signs that this was the case today/

[URL="http://www.slcdunk.com/2015/10/1/9426871/jumus-jazzmen-previews-5-rodney-hood"]http://www.slcdunk.com/2015/10/1/9426871/jumus-jazzmen-previews-5-rodney-hood[/URL]

[quote]The team's best shooter and possible steal of last year's draft clocks in at #5 today. Will he be able to make a sophomore year jump this season?[/quote]

He probably should be their best shooter. Hardly had been thus far. Made his jump after the break last year.





[quote]We covered Burke extensively in the last installment as well as the comments. Feel free to click his post last year to see what type of mindset we had about how the best rookie of the West was going to perform his 2nd season and you'll quickly see why many felt underwhelmed by his performance.[/quote]

best rookie in the west? Really? :facepalm He was underwhelming as a rookie too as were most rookies and the Jazz especially.



[quote]Here's to hoping that he bounces back and gets a jump in performance and confidence this season and that he can play like the player the [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/teams/utah-jazz"]Jazz[/URL] expected when they traded up to draft him.


Now, on to this year's hopeful sophomore:
[B]#5. [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/246135/rodney-hood"]Rodney Hood[/URL], 2nd year, 23 years old, 6'8", 215 pounds, SG/SF (Last year's rank: 8)[/B]



Source: USA Today
[B]Backstory:[/B]

Last season I had positive yet modest expectations for Hood. For the most part, he performed close to what I projected:



G MP PTS AST TRB FG% 3P% FT% PER WS/48 Hood Projected 77 22.0 9.7 1.8 2.7 0.450 0.390 0.800 17.2 0.134 Hood Actual 50 21.3 8.7 1.7 2.3 0.414 0.365 0.763 12.3 0.098
Yet, even those his stats last season may not have been overly staggering, the eyeball test with the composure and maturity Hood displayed on and off the court have instilled a certain level of confidence into many Jazz fans of his skills going forward.


I mean just look at his leadership skills on full display here:



But seriously, Hood stepped us his game in a big way for a rookie last season. I think I would have projected Hood over Exum for this season after looking at their stats again.


Hood's rookie year really was a tale of 2 seasons. Take a look at his pre- and post-All Star Break numbers:



G MP PTS AST TRB FG% 3P% FT% Ortg DRtg Hood Pre-ASB 24 18.2 5.3 1.2 2.500 0.317 0.286 0.703 91 112 Hood Post-ASB 26 24.1 11.8 2.1 2.200 0.464 0.420 0.814 113 102

Pre-All Star Break Rodney Hood played terrible, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. We were better off playing D-League players over him at that point.
[/quote]
He should have been in the D-league. Could see he was a player in Summer League but he wasn't ready.

[quote]But then, Hood improved no less than our whole team seemed to improve after the All Star Break last season.

For whatever reason, whether it be improved team chemistry, Hood finally getting over those pesky injuries or just Hood finding confidence in his game on the NBA-level Hood stepped up. If Hood played like that all season, Hood would have been in the running for All-Rookie first team.
Even with his lackluster first half of the season, Hood still averaged the 6th most points out of rookies and was one of the best 3 point shooters from his draft ([URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/246300/joe-harris"]Joe Harris[/URL] and [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/246152/shabazz-napier"]Shabazz Napier[/URL] were really the only other rooks on his level from long distance last year).


Now this may be small sample size theatre, but Hood played at least 30 minutes in 7 games last season (Memphis, 2 vs. Sacramento, Houston, Detroit, Golden State, and Portland). His stats in those 7 games: 33.3 MPG, 19.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.7 APG! Holy smokes! We have 2 stellar options for shooting guards this year in Hood and Burks, this is going to be fun, so long they stay healthy.
[/quote] Be even more exciting if they're at the 1 instead of Trey!
[quote]One last interesting graphic I need to show you:


[IMG]http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae253/jumu1/Hood%20Scoring_zpsbovl8yc3.png[/IMG]


This graph is not just offset by out-liars of games either. If anything, the small sample size months were in his worst months and injury-impacted months. Games by month: 2 in October, 5 in November, 15 in December, 2 in January, 5 in February, 14 in March, and 7 in April.


Whether Burks or Hood starts, both are going to have a huge role this year!
[/quote] What if they both start or both come off the bench which I think are possibilities.[quote][B]What to Expect This Season:[/B]




With our point guard position being our weakness this year
[/quote] Remains to be seen. If Hood and Burks are the pg's than it could be a strength.

[quote], we're going to need both of our shooting guards to carry the backcourt to a level that will allow us to march right into the playoffs.

Our shooting guards were plagued with injuries last season, it may still be a factor this season but hopefully that hex is behind us now.


Expect more of the magic that Hood sprinkled our team with post All Star Break. If he manages to keep up those averages he's already going to be getting notice as a sharp sophomore on the rise. It is too early to tell whether Hood or Burks will be starting, or if Quin will choose the route that have been many-a-Jazz-fan's wet dream and start both of them (don't bet on it).


Regardless of who starts, expect Hood to be posting stats at around this level:


G MP FGA FG% 3P% FT% TRB AST PTS PER WS VORP 72 26.0 9.5 0.450 0.390 0.790 3.0 2.0 12.0 16.0 4.5 0.8


Rodney will likely either be playing our sixth man role or be our fourth best starter. I fantasize about a Hood buzzer-beater in a playoff victory someday, please come true soon!


Hood was featured as a shooter in the draft, and he is a solid one at that, but he is also good at penetration and making plays for himself. He also played within the system very well for a rookie last season and has good size for either wing spot.
[/quote] 1-4 ideally
[quote]He often got outsmarted on the defensive end and would get baited into the cheap ticky-tack fouls, but you could tell that Hood was putting in the effort and his defense was not nearly the liability that his scouting reports were saying about his college career.
[/quote] sounded like he was going to be there all along to me. Has the length and smarts and desire needed


[quote]Looking forward to seeing how many times Hood tops this performance this year:


Not bad for a 23rd pick, thanks for the pick Golden State! Did the Jazz get the biggest steal in the draft in consecutive years? The only other steals last year were [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/246165/jordan-clarkson"]Jordan Clarkson[/URL] at 46 and McDaniels at 32, I take Hood over them every time. The only other steals in the draft of Gobert were....I don't know, Greek Freak at 15, I guess.


In Lindsay we trust.
[/quote] Maybe if he actually gets to see his guy before the draft. Burke and Exum don't look like good picks.

[quote][B]Conclusion:[/B]

Hood may be a dark horse most improved player candidate this season if he's firing on all pistons like he finished last season!


A more modest expectation is that he gets us a double-digit scoring average this season as well as remain the best shooter on this team. Hood is the player that we were hoping CJ Miles would be one day.
[/quote] CJ was a 2nd round pick and is a soild NBAer. People expect to much.


[quote]A caveat to this hype: do not be completely surprised if Hood has another injury this year. The biggest risk factor for Hood this year will be his [URL="http://www.slcdunk.com/2015/1/19/7853547/utah-jazz-rodney-hood-injury-foot-plantar-fasciitis"]feet's injury history[/URL]. Hopefully most of those past injuries were flukes rather than a worrying trend for our Prince of Threes.[/quote]

only question right now

[url]http://saltcityhoops.com/playing-with-the-pass-a-key-for-the-utah-jazz/[/url]

[QUOTE]When Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder was hired in the summer of 2014, one of the points of emphasis that was consistently mentioned was his desire to see his team

[QUOTE][URL="http://grantland.com/the-triangle/tristan-thompson-continues-his-poker-game-with-cleveland/"]Sources around the league say Channing Frye is available now for very little, though Magic officials deny it.[/URL] Other names will hit the market, but while the salary of someone like Kenneth Faried doesn

[url]http://www.sltrib.com/sports/3017057-155/utah-jazz-raul-neto-thrust-into[/url]

[QUOTE]Outside of a spot on the roster, nothing was promised to Raul Neto on the day he officially signed with the Utah Jazz. Not playing time, not a designation on the depth chart. There was even a scenario where Neto could've ended up in the D-League, as small a possibility as that was.
None of that mattered to Utah's Brazilian point guard. This is a guy who wanted to play in the NBA, who wanted to be in in the best basketball league in the world from childhood. So when the Jazz approached him over the summer about coming over from UCAM Murcia of the Spanish league, there was nothing to think about.






Neto jumped at the opportunity. Forget any
language barrier. No worries about living in a strange place. Neto just wanted the chance.
[/QUOTE]
He wanted to come 2 years ago. Jazz kept him away because he was better than Trey. Neto knew and anyone that saw the summer league knew it. I doubt he's been very worried about Trey and the D-league.
[QUOTE]"The adjustment to the Jazz and to a new country as been good," Neto said. "The Jazz have been helping with everything, the house and the car and the family needs. I've been living alone in Spain for four years, so I'm used to living alone. So the adjustment has been good."


This is where the story takes a twist. Neto is no longer competing for spare minutes. He's no longer a question mark when it comes to even getting onto the court. Dante Exum is hurt, the victim of a torn ACL. All of that means

[url]http://www.sltrib.com/sports/3016263-155/utah-jazz-notes-no-faith-in[/url]

[QUOTE]Quin Snyder was quick to shoot down an ESPN report this week that forward Elijah Millsap had "lost the trust" of the Utah Jazz coaching staff and was a "long shot" to make the team's roster.


"That's totally false," the head coach said when asked Thursday. "Elijah's played really well. I talked to Elijah like once a week all summer. [Assistant coach] Brad Jones flew out to see him.

[url]http://www.sltrib.com/blogs/jazznotes/3018397-155/utah-jazz-named-least-hated-nba[/url]

[QUOTE]Calling the Jazzmen, "patently inoffensive," SI writer Ian Levy wrote: "While plenty of people hate jazz, no one hates The Jazz. They look like a legitimately promising young team this season, with no rough edges to irritate, no dominant style about which to turn up your nose, no offensive personalities at whom to seethe."[/QUOTE]


Trey? I think guys like Rudy and Millsap could be guys that end up villians because they make people look bad.







[QUOTE]On the other side of the spectrum, the Los


Angeles teams rank at No. 2 and No. 1, with the 21-61 Lakers reigning supreme on the hate index.



[URL="http://www.si.com/cauldron/2015/09/30/lakers-clippers-knicks-nba-love-hate-teams"]Read the full list here[/URL].

[url]http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865638155/Utah-Jazz-rookie-Trey-Lyles-taking-his-first-season-in-stride.html[/url]

[QUOTE]So far in training camp, the 6-foot-10 big man from Kentucky is holding his own in practice. That

[QUOTE=Xiao Yao You][IMG]http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae253/jumu1/Hood%20Scoring_zpsbovl8yc3.png[/IMG][/QUOTE]
Nice scoring time lapse chart for Hood that you posted.

Yes he should have a big year if he can stay healthy. That's the big question now.

Game day!

Looking forward to seeing what the pg situation looks like. The battle between pleiss and withey since lyles isnt in that mix. And ingles and millsap. Id guess they could both be in the rotation if hood/burks play the one. Ingles job to lose and it sounds like millsap has improved offensively.

With johnson probably out might see the young guys going for his spot

Alec looked good passing. Neto is better than trey still. Pleiss looked bigger. He banged.

Neto might have had a bigger impact on d than exum ever did and hes certainly got more going on offensively. Need to figure out who gets the rest of the pg minutes. Trey looked the same. Alec ran the team well.

Withey looked good at the end. Favors showing the new floater. Post game still sucked. Maxi g showed his new post game. Rudy took over in the 3 rd. Same ol jazz!

[QUOTE]Michael Scotto: [URL="http://*********.com/social/"]NBA executives & scouts from Orlando, Phoenix, Utah, Denver, NY & Philadelphia on hand here at MSG to see projected top 5 pick Dragan Bender[/URL]

[QUOTE]Jody Genessy: [URL="http://*********.com/social/"]Jazz forward Chris Johnson has not passed the NBA

[URL="http://www.slcdunk.com/2015/10/4/9451395/utah-jazz-2015-2016-training-camp-roster-and-team-skills-inventory"]http://www.slcdunk.com/2015/10/4/9451395/utah-jazz-2015-2016-training-camp-roster-and-team-skills-inventory[/URL]

[quote]Dennis Lindsey has all the cap space in the world, so the final roster makeup will have nothing to do with who is and isn't available by price. [/quote] He has some space and flexibilty. After tonight I'd be happy going into the year with Neto and Burks at the one, either Pleiss or Withey at the 5 and Trey at the end of the bench or better out of town.

[quote] A Chris Johnson + Elijah Millsap player would be great. Instead we have two deep bench players instead of one rotation player. Of course, both are going up against one another with non-guaranteed contracts.
[/quote] More like a Millsap/Ingles mix. Johnson hasn't proven he's a great 3 point threat either. They definitely need to hit open shots at a much higher rate this year and with Burks, Hood and Ingles they should.

[quote][B]Point Guard[/B]: none -- Dante Exum is injured, and the team doctrine is to keep three point guards.
[/quote] It was with Sloan but Snyder has already mentioned Hood and Alec being able to play the one so I could see them going with just Neto possibly though I think Cotton makes the team. Trey needs to go. The fact that they don't have another pg in camp tells me they think some other guys besides the 3 listed as pg's can play there.

[quote] This means a free pass for Bryce Cotton (unless someone better gets waived before the regular season tips off), who will battle with Trey Burke and Raul Neto for playing time.[/quote]
Cotton should be battling Trey now. Hardly a free pass though. There will be others available if they don't like what they have. I sure don't like it.

[quote][B]Wing[/B]: Chris Johnson vs. Elijah Millsap; Treveon Graham and J.J. O'Brien vs. the world -- Johnson vs. Millsap will become a thing, as the two fight it out to see who is the 5th wing on this team.[/quote]

Millsap is on the team. He's fighting for a rotation spot. Johnson is fighting the other two and I think he may be in trouble because they are younger. I think Graham makes the team.

[quote] If the team elects to go with six wings (and I don't) then I would be happy to see both Chris and Eli back. I don't know if Treveon or J.J. have the juice to beat them out.[/quote]

But if Alec and Hood are playing the one and Hayward, Ingles and Hood play the 4 they need more wings. I think Millsap, Ingles and Cotton should fill out the rotation

[quote] Jerrett, but he's the only big with three point range. (Unless we see lots of improvement from deep from Trey Lyles and Trevor Booker).[/quote]

Booker doesn't have 3 point range? He proved it last year. Jerrett has proven it in the D-league. Trey will hit it eventually. Pleiss is supposed to be able to.

[quote]This training camp roster isn't perfect. But ultimately what happens in practice and what happens during the preseason will help Quin and Dennis figure out who to keep.[/quote]

It's pretty sad actually but if Trey doesn't play and they stay healthy it might be looking pretty good.

[url]http://saltcityhoops.com/5-on-5-pre-preseason-propaganda/[/url]

[QUOTE][B]1. What was your biggest takeaway from Jazz media day?[/B]

[B]Aaron Hefner: [/B]To me, the biggest takeaway was that while the front office is optimistic about the point guard situation, they are being pragmatic about the possibility of needing to address it mid-season. Fortunately the Jazz have put themselves in a situation where they have the assets to do so, if need be.
[/QUOTE]
But why wait? They should be one of the best teams in the whole league not battling for an 8th slot.
[QUOTE][B]Clint Johnson: [/B]Cohesion. It may have been the defining characteristic of the franchise at the end of last season, and it

[url]http://weareutahjazz.com/lockedonjazz/2015/10/04/emptying-the-noggin-jazz-solid-in-pre-season-night-1/[/url]

[QUOTE]One of the main things we saw tonight was the Jazz focus on increasing early opportunities for the offense. With a multitude of players who can handle the ball the Jazz are no longer looking for the point guard to bring the ball up. Instead whoever rebounds can bring it up. Unless it is a big and then find whomever you can rather than having the point guard run back for the ball. This showed numerous times tonight for the Jazz with quick early baskets.[/QUOTE]

Yeah and more reason to get rid of Trey. He's not comfortable pushing the ball. They're young and have the horses. Run!

[QUOTE]

[url]http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/239406/Stanley-Johnson-Practicing-At-Point-Guard-Due-To-Pistons-Injuries[/url]

Trey Burke?

[URL="http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ptc58dd"]http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ptc58dd[/URL]

[url]http://www.sltrib.com/blogs/jazznotes/3026266-155/analyzing-utahs-preseason-win-over-the[/url]

[QUOTE]The Jazz allowed 33 points in the second half.[/QUOTE]

they didn't do a whole lot better in the first.
[QUOTE] The Lakers shot 28 percent from the field and missed 23 of their 29 3-point attempts. And the defense came from everywhere. Gobert and Favors shut down the interior. Rookie point guard Raul Neto made life miserable for Los Angeles guards on the perimeter. Utah won the rebounding battle, 60-48 and the Jazz allowed two double-figure scorers, Lou Williams with 14 points and Nick Young with 10.


What went wrong: In a word, offense. Specifically, second quarter offense. The Jazz with the ball were rough the entire game. But they were hard to look at in the second quarter. Coach Quin Snyder experimented with different lineups throughout, so an argument can be made that continuity wasn't there. Still, spacing was an issue and shooting throughout was a big issue. The Jazz went 2-15 from 3-point range and missed 14 free-throws. Foul shooting was a big problem last season, and tonight's performance did nothing to ease previous fears.
[/QUOTE]
Same thing. Why didn't they upgrade? :confusedshrug:

[QUOTE]The bright side in all this? The Jazz saw Alec Burks go scoreless, Rodney Hood shoot 1-9 from the field, Gordon Hayward shoot 4-10 and still won the game by almost 20 points. That's nothing short of a positive sign.


The Mamba: Kobe Bryant made his anticipated return on Sunday night. It wasn't much of a return, as Bryant scored five points on 1-5 shooting and didn't play beyond the first quarter. His one make was a corner three that was well contested by Hayward. He didn't attempt to do much off the dribble and in general looked about as rusty for the Lakers after a season-ending injury as Burks looked for the Jazz after his own season-ending injury.




Wolfie: By that, we mean Neto, who in many ways was the star in this one. The rookie making his preseason debut scored two points. He had six assists, four steals and turned the game around with his defense and passing. Neto has an innate ability to pass the ball. He runs the pick and roll well, and he made things happen on both ends. He needs to shoot the ball better, but overall, Sunday was a rousing first game for the native of Brazil.
[/QUOTE]
Like the rest of the team. He doesn't take bad shots though. That's the difference. Start him next game!


[QUOTE]The bigs: Favors and Gobert were dominant on both ends. The offensive end turned into a dunk drill for both and the Lakers couldn't get clean looks with those two lurking. The Jazz really have something here.




What's next: The Jazz and the Lakers go at it again on Tuesday night. Tip time is 10 p.m. MDT, and the game will be shown on ROOT SPORTS.




Tony Jones
[/QUOTE]

[url]http://www.sltrib.com/blogs/jazznotes/3026248-155/raul-netos-defense-steals-the-show[/url]

[QUOTE][B]Raul Neto[/B]

[url]http://www.sltrib.com/sports/3026212-155/utah-jazz-alec-burks-makes-his[/url]

[QUOTE]Burks was a little rusty, a little unlucky and completely pleased with his performance in the Jazz's 90-71 preseason win over the Los Angeles Lakers in front of a sellout crowd of 10,000-plus on the University of Hawaii campus.





"I ain't worried about offense. I can score on


accident," he said. "I feel like I played great defense. I got my teammates involved, had some great rebounds. I felt like I had good game."
[/QUOTE]
He is certainly a better option at the one than Trey.
[QUOTE]Cleared to return to full-contact practices just last month, Burks was champing at the bit to get back on the court, likening the feeling to the one he had when he was first drafted by the Jazz in 2011.


Did he have any nerves?


"I ain't been nervous since the fifth grade," Burks had said, thinking back to the first basketball game he ever played.


But there may have been some rust after a nine-month absence.


"He was probably the worst player out there," forward Trevor Booker teased with Burks in earshot before relenting. "Nah. He looked pretty good for his first game back in a while. He just needs to keep building on it and he'll be fine."


Jazz coach Quin Snyder was also pleased with Burks' performance, praising the speed and force with which he played his game. Burks should also help the Jazz, who ranked 16th in the NBA with 12.2 fast-break points per game last season, find more buckets in transition.


In the first quarter, Burks helped lead the break, dishing a no-look pass to Derrick Favors for a dunk and two of his game-high 16 points.


"A.B.'s a magician," said Gordon Hayward, who had 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists in the victory. "He makes some wild lay ups and some wild passes.

[url]http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865638310/Jazz-notes-Bad-singing-dancing-by-rookies-at-luau.html[/url]

[QUOTE]That

Aaron Falk: [URL="http://*********.com/social/"]Chris Johnson was able to participate in non-contact drills today. Still in the NBA concussion protocol system & officially listed as

[url]http://saltcityhoops.com/playoffs-pessimism-and-the-plexiglass-principle/[/url]

[quote]Given that the Jazz

[url]http://saltcityhoops.com/the-wild-wild-west/[/url]
[QUOTE] Losing Kevin Durant last year was an enormous blow, but in equal fashion his return sets the Thunder up for tremendous success if he is able to stay healthy. While this OKC team is extremely talented, many questions still arise. Will Kanter

[url]http://www.sltrib.com/sports/3029291-155/utah-jazz-notes-jazz-looking-to[/url]

[QUOTE]the Jazz looked "a little bit chaotic" as they shot 30 percent from the floor and coughed up 10 turnovers in the first half against the Los Angeles Lakers.[/QUOTE]

chaotic? Looks like the same team from last year that can't shoot or take care of the ball.
[QUOTE]"I thought it was a pretty typical first game for us as a team," forward Gordon Hayward said. "We played solid defensively, which I expected us to do going in. And offensively, we were a little sloppy, not as crisp.

[url]http://www.sltrib.com/sports/3028540-155/utah-jazz-nice-guy-raul-neto[/url]

[QUOTE]"We're just going to have to have other guys pick it up for him," forward Gordon Hayward had said last week. "You can't really pick up [Exum's] length or some of his speed on the defensive end, but the system will stay the same. The principles will stay the same."[/QUOTE]


and offensively they will be better.



[QUOTE]Head coach Quin Snyder had added, "All of us, we have to do that with anticipation and intelligence because we're not as long at that position now."


Neto, a second-round draft pick in 2013, and starting point guard Trey Burke are both listed at 6-foot-1. But after one preseason game with Neto and Burke handling the point guard duties, Snyder was pleased with what he saw developing.


"He's taken pride in it," Snyder said of Neto's defense. "It's something that clearly is a point of emphasis. I thought Trey gave us that early in the game as well. Those two guys, if they can come in like that, kind of tag team and just compete on a defense, make you feel them, that helps."


On the other end of the court, Neto looked hesitant to pull the trigger on his own shots and he finished 0-for-3 from the floor. That's something the 23-year-old rookie, who signed with the Jazz this summer after playing the past four seasons in Spain's top league, must work on still.


Nevertheless, Neto, the player the Jazz call "Wolfie" because of the pronunciation of his name ("Hah-ool"), still managed to control the game in other ways: the Jazz were 20 points better than the Lakers over Neto's 20 minutes on the floor.
[/QUOTE]

so that means with Burks on the court they suck. big surprise.

[QUOTE]Neto got his teammates involved, dishing out six assists. He stole the ball and ran a three-on-one fast break to perfection, looking off the lone Laker defender before dropping a look-away pass to forward Trevor Booker for a lay in. [/QUOTE]


instead of another missed lay up by Trey


[QUOTE]Another time, trapped by two defenders and almost falling to a knee, Neto managed to get off a laser pass from beyond the three-point line that only 7-foot-3 Tibor Pleiss could snag under the basket.


"He's a guy who can make the team play the right way," Huertas said. "He's improved so much on how to control a game and being able to guide his team."


Neto said he felt nervous early in his first NBA action, facing off against the Lakers, a team he watched as a child growing up in Brazil. But after a few minutes on the court, those nerves subsided and Neto said he felt comfortable with the speed and spacing of the NBA game.


It was just one exhibition game, but the rookie certainly looked at ease in his debut.


Even if the nicest guy on the team wasn't nice enough to make his opponents feel the same way.


[EMAIL="afalk@sltrib.com"]afalk@sltrib.com[/EMAIL]
[/QUOTE]

[url]http://www.sltrib.com/sports/3025864-155/utah-jazz-notes-trey-burke-and?fullpage=1[/url]

[QUOTE]The coach said he wanted the point guard Burke to focus more than anything else on his defense, picking up players early and being a disruptive force. For his part, Burke has said he hasn't taken the chance to start for granted.


"I'm not going to go into it thinking I'm the starting point guard," Burke said. "I know it's a battle, a competition."
[/QUOTE]
So if defense is they key than there is no reason Burke should be starting right? Neto, Burks or Hood all would be better.


[QUOTE]As for Burks and Hood, Snyder has said he anticipates times the two shooting guards will be on the floor together.


"I think they have trust in me that we're going to use them appropriately," Snyder said. It probably won't be a thing where one of them quote-unquote beats out the other one. It may be a question of lineups and match ups. The good thing about those guys is they're both going to work hard and give you everything they have whether they're coming off the bench or they're starting."
[/QUOTE]
I sure hope they aren't both playing 24 minutes a game. :confusedshrug:



[QUOTE]Island haze


It was hazing Hawaiian style for the Jazz's rookies on Saturday night.
At a team luau, sixth-year forward Gordon Hayward made rookies Trey Lyles, Tibor Pleiss, Raul Neto J.J. O'Brien and Treveon Graham sing happy birthday to forward Joe Ingles and assistant general manager Justin Zanik.


The new guys also did their best hula dancing at the party.


The reviews from Hayward? Not good.


Still, Snyder said he believed the event-and this entire trip to Hawaii-would help his team in the long run.


It was pretty causal, a good way to kind of feel like you've been in Hawaii.

[url]http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865638385/Hayward-looking-like-Captain-America-early-in-Jazzs-preseason.html[/url]

[quote]Gordon Hayward won the first week of camp.

On multiple levels even.
[/quote] Rudy again won the game though.

[quote]Last Monday, Hayward

[url]http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865638381/Jazz-notes-Joe-Ingles-passes-a-test-against-Kobe.html[/url]

Small forward Chris Johnson continues to progress through the NBA

[url]http://saltcityhoops.com/on-alec-burks-injury-recovery-and-return-to-the-utah-jazz/[/url]

[QUOTE] even routine layups seemed to become a dicey proposition last year without his full range of physical motion. Burks barely cracked 50 percent within three feet of the hoop last year, per basketball-reference.com, after a career average in the mid-60s in his first three seasons.

He shot the lowest percentage from the field of his career[URL="http://saltcityhoops.com/on-alec-burks-injury-recovery-and-return-to-the-utah-jazz/#note-2"]2[/URL], this while attempting his fewest per-minute shots. Contact was clearly on his mind

[QUOTE]Jody Genessy: [URL="http://*********.com/social/"]Derrick Favors (sore right groin) will not play tonight for the Jazz vs. the Lakers[/URL].