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[QUOTE]With Booker out, that likely means Jeremy Evans will take his spot in the rotation on Monday night. It also could mean more time for Rudy Gobert, if Quin Snyder wants to rotate him with Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors.[/QUOTE]
but we know that won't happen
[QUOTE]Booker has played well on the road trip, in which the Jazz have won two games. He
[QUOTE]the Jazz have one more game in the longest trip of the season. They would like to finish it off with a win.
[email]tjones@sltrib.com[/email][/QUOTE]
:lol
[QUOTE] Center Rudy Gobert has been playing well, having just totaled his first career double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds) in Charlotte, and the Jazz could pair him in the frontcourt at times with Enes Kanter, too.[/QUOTE]
We already know they can play together. Can Favors guard the perimeter and stretch the other teams D enough if paired with Rudy?
[QUOTE]
Encouraging win against the Grizz.
Yes hopefully he'll stick with the 3 big man rotation and Trey's minutes and role will continue to be reduced. Memphis has lost 3 straight and was without two of their key players on a back to back.
[QUOTE]You’ve got to believe Coach Snyder inspired these guys to give it their all before a 5-day break until after Christmas. You could see it in their faces. They didn’t want to lose this one. [/QUOTE]
After their pitiful effort against Charlotte it's nice that they stepped up.
[QUOTE]The Jazz let Memphis go on an early run that could have opened the flood gates, but they tightened up the defense and battled back, even setting the pace for much of the second half. We definitely caught Memphis on the right night, without Zach Randolph or Tony Allen, and on the second night of a back-to-back, but a win is a win. The slower pace of this Grizzlies team might have also played to the Jazz’s favor as well, so that their legs didn’t wear down by the end.[/QUOTE]
Maybe the Jazz need to rethink their style of play? Might be good reason why Corbin didn't have these guys running.
[QUOTE]2. Flashes of the future
There have undoubtedly been some rough patches so far this season, but this victory has to make Jazz fans excited for the future.[/QUOTE]
Rudy has me very excited. If they continue to give him big minutes I will be happy but I certainly wouldn't count on it when Booker returns and Favors is 100%. I assume he's not based on them sitting him the past couple of games. Also Enes has slumped a bit to.
[QUOTE]Several players flashed glimpses of progress and potential tonight, giving us all hope that one day we can compete with the loaded Western Conference night in and night out. Let’s start with Rudy Gobert. The man is a beast on the glass, finishing with a new career-high 16 rebounds, and his defensive presence was undeniable throughout his 29 (!) minutes on the floor. If this road trip has proven anything, it’s that Coach Snyder is having a hard time keeping this guy off the floor. [/QUOTE]
He's a beast period. It's apparent they need to build around Rudy. The sooner that process begins the better.
[QUOTE]Another bright spot was Rodney Hood. His shot wasn’t necessarily falling tonight[/QUOTE]
Hasn't fell all year. He needs to keep attacking the rim. They had him and Maxi G at the forwards at least briefly. I'm guessing we might see that more and more in the future.
[QUOTE], but what I liked most was how he found a way to contribute regardless. Tonight he showcased more dribble penetration than I’ve ever seen from him and seemed to be attacking the rim more. He even dished out four assists, showcasing his PG skills from his high school days. Since returning from injury at the end of November, he has steadily been earning his stripes as a solid role player on this team. [/QUOTE]
He certainly looks like a player. Hopefully he can become the great shooter they now lack though.
[QUOTE]Dante Exum also did a lot of good things tonight on the defensive end, as well as hitting a couple three pointers, before heading back to the locker room with a slight ankle injury. Enes Kanter is showing new life off the dribble. He’s playing aggressive with more confidence on the offensive end than ever before.[/QUOTE]
He was driving in the pre-season and finally started to do it again recently. He's gaining confidence from 3. That's the biggest thing.
[QUOTE]And Gordon Hayward did Gordon Hayward things for this team yet again. He has proven himself as the leader of this team with games like tonight, carrying the team with sheer will from time to time. His body language throughout the game said it all tonight, there was no way he was going to lose this one. The only visible difference was the lack of hair product tonight. I don’t know if he needs another trim or if he simply forgot, but I like the new, stylish Hayward more than the old, floppy hair version.[/QUOTE]
Yes his hair did look a lot better than it has.
[QUOTE]3. Learn from the best
When you play one of the best, you should try and learn something from them. One of the glaring differences tonight was PG play. [/QUOTE]
Same old story. Every pg in the league is watering at the mouth to play against Trey
[QUOTE]Mike Conley is having an all-star caliber season for Memphis this year, and he’s not even the primary or secondary option on the team. He kept Memphis in this game on a shorthanded night by penetrating the lane, facilitating and knocking down outside shots. He finished with 28 points, four rebounds and four assists. Trey and Dante could learn a lot from his style of play, especially the floater. It’s a dangerous move that, when used right a la CP3 or Steph Curry, is nearly unstoppable.[/QUOTE]
difference is Trey isn't the athlete that Conley or most stating pig's are.
[QUOTE]Trey was also the only starter to not finish in double figures tonight, which wouldn’t worry me as much if he had more than four assists to counteract it. All that being said, not a terrible game from either Jazz PG, but always something to learn from.
Scott Stevens[/QUOTE]
Yes it was a terrible game for Trey. but typical other than he didn't take as many shots as usual! :applause:
[QUOTE]Kanter’s situation is a tough one, and one unlikely to reveal any end-all solution before the Jazz have to make a decision or series of decisions regarding his future. So with that in mind, let’s briefly look at Utah’s general options going forward:
Move Him Before the Trade Deadline:
A pretty unlikely scenario, for a variety of reasons. It’s rare to see any team give up real assets for a guy slated to hit RFA in just six months given the lack of full control they then maintain over his situation, and it’s unclear whether the Jazz would be able to bring back anything of real value.[/QUOTE]
Sure there is. If a team sees him as a max player they could trade for him planning on matching any offer. He's going to get paid a lot of money. The only question is how much. Jazz need to decide if him or Favors is the best match with Rudy or if they think a 3 man big rotation will work and they can afford to pay 4 guys big money for one year before the cap goes up. Might be another team in a similar situation with a guy that fits the Jazz moving forward better. I think his potential as a stretch big and continued improvement and age makes Favors the one to go if either though.
[QUOTE] Teams like Memphis, Atlanta, and Washington are all at least pseudo-contenders or better in what’s currently as wide open a title race as we’ve seen in many years, and all might have both a desire for an upgrade at a third big position and a later first round pick plus the sort of mixture of cap fodder and veteran presence the Jazz would likely ask in return. But it’s so tough to evaluate how any of these front offices would view Kanter, and whether they’d even want to part with those sort of assets for what could end up being a six month rental.
Complicating the process to some degree could be Kanter’s agent, Max Ergul, who retains zero other NBA clients and could end up being something of a wild card. Teams can have issues dealing with solo agents they aren’t accustomed to working with, and there have been whispers that Ergul will attempt to squeeze every dime possible out of his most lucrative talent2. Don’t expect to see Kanter moved before the deadline unless the Jazz brass is more down on him than most of us had realized, or unless a godfather offer comes along.[/QUOTE]
again hard to predict
[QUOTE]Sign-and-Trade Him in the Offseason:
Perhaps even more unlikely, if for no other reason than the simple rarity of this happening outside deals for megastars changing teams (a la the S&T Cleveland and Miami struck when LeBron took his talents to South Beach in 2010). The value returning would likely be even less than a midseason trade, and would essentially amount to a last-ditch effort to salvage some value for Kanter that could actually end up making Utah’s front office look a tad silly. It’s a vague possibility for technical reasons, but quite improbable.[/QUOTE]
that's why you might be better off getting what you can this year if you don't see him as part of the future.
[QUOTE]Push Him to Sign the Qualifying Offer:
If interest is light around the league in July, the Jazz could lean on Kanter to sign the one-year, $7.8 million qualifying offer they’ll offer him as standard practice. This is a very unconventional route to restricted free agency, and one that would see Enes become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2016. Pistons big Greg Monroe took this door in September, and he and Kanter share several on-court characteristics.
It’s tough to imagine Ergul (or Kanter, for that matter) accepting such a low figure, though the promise of UFA as the new TV money kicks in could tip the scales a bit. The Jazz would then get one more year to evaluate Kanter in this system and alongside his teammates3, though they would relinquish matching rights and risk losing him for nothing. This route also seems fairly unlikely given a number of factors, and the Jazz should probably plan on making a final decision on Kanter’s future in Utah by this offseason.[/QUOTE]
yeah I don't see this. He's going to get a lot of money. Only reason to do this would be because of the increasing cap. But he's already had a couple of injuries. Better get the money while you can. If anything I'd be looking for a deal with an opt out after the first year to hit the market again when the cap goes up.
[QUOTE]Let Him Enter RFA and Proceed Accordingly:
Far and away the most realistic scenario for the Jazz is simply to let the process that they in part chose to initiate this offseason play out. Utah still has a good bit of flexibility on their cap[/QUOTE]
not really
[QUOTE]and a fully loaded stockpile of picks and cheap, movable contracts, and they can afford to gauge the market for Kanter with Rudy Gobert waiting in the wings. Monroe proved just how thin the market can be for Kanter’s sort of player, a power forward incapable of guarding centers who isn’t a true floor-stretcher in the vein of a Channing Frye, and Dennis Lindsey and the Jazz brass may count on a similar trend placing much of the leverage firmly in their hands.[/QUOTE]
he's going to be a true floor stretcher though. And unlike most of those guys he's got a lot more offensive game than just that along with his rebounding, age and continued improvement. Got tons of upside.
[QUOTE]But it only takes one (expletive), as they say, and Kanter’s offensive skill set has to be desirable to a team with a coach confident he can coax league average defense out of him. A brief canvas of some smart folks I talked to revealed a ridiculously wide array of offers some might be willing to tender him given the right team construct; from three years, $20 million to the same sort of four-year, high-$40 million figure Derrick Favors signed for last offseason. The new TV money set to kick in in 2016 may throw things like RFA into an absolute frenzy as teams race to be the first to exploit potential imbalances, and letting Kanter receive offers that might even top out higher than Favors’ number is a major crapshoot. How Enes compares to guys like Nikola Vucevic (signed for four years, $53 million starting next year), Kenneth Faried (four years, $50-plus million), or Tristan Thompson (also entering RFA this offseason) is also a topic that garners a wide array of viewpoints, with some opining he belongs in that class – or will receive an offer that says as much, at least – and others placing him firmly a tier below.[/QUOTE]
I can see him getting max. Who else has a better game with 3 point range? Love off the top of my head. He's a rare commodity. Put him with your other rare commodities like Gobert and 6'6" pg and you might have something special going forward.
[QUOTE]The Jazz relinquish some control with this approach4, but very little they weren’t already aware of after letting this previous offseason pass with no extension. They get the benefit of making their draft pick(s) beforehand, a process that could play a huge role in Kanter’s future. Names like Towns and Okafor, or Porzingis and Kaminsky a bit further down, have a great deal of potential appeal and would come at a fraction of Kanter’s immediate cost.[/QUOTE]
Yes the draft complicates things even more.
[QUOTE]There are so many moving parts here, regardless of how the Jazz choose to proceed. Where the team feels it falls on the rebuilding timeline is a big factor5, as is how well Kanter continues to adapt to Snyder’s system over the course of the year. The TV money is a massive confounding factor that looms over any and all major salary moves for every team, and how it plays into Utah’s specific salary construct will be of paramount importance. Lindsey and his staff are in the rough stuff now – these sorts of decisions will become more regular and more important over the next few years as the Jazz attempt to claw their way back to relevance. It’s a fascinating game of give-and-take in this ever-changing NBA world, and it should be an intriguing several months ahead.
Ben Dowsett[/QUOTE]
I say 3 man big rotation at least until it's time to pay Rudy if they can afford it depending on how the draft goes. If they draft another big I'd look to move Favors. He could bring them back a lot in a trade I imagine. They need a pg(Neto? Exum?), shooters, stretch bigs, defenders, etc. Maybe they can do a sign and trade with Atlanta for Millsap?
[QUOTE]Ton of progress made on this trip highlighted by the play of Rudy Gobert. Rudy has played 4 games over 29 minutes this year and all 4 of them were on this trip. He has an enormous impact on the game. This is an enormous jump for him over last year and his years in Europe. It is stunning to me that Rudy Gobert went 27th in one of the worst drafts ever.[/QUOTE]
Yes he could be the most valuable player out of that draft.
[QUOTE] I was in the gym the day of his workout and he dominating that day with his length and energy. There was no way you could pass on him if you saw him that day. [/QUOTE]
Sure you could. People saw the flaws. The game has changed. They want bigs that can shoot.
[QUOTE]16 rebounds tonight. His lenght is his greatest attribute but he also plays with great energy and super tenacity. He is fearless. He blocked Marc Gasol in the 2nd quarter and Gasol was never the same the rest of the night. Jazz only used 3 bigs tonight with Trevor Booker out and each of them played a very strong 30 minutes.[/QUOTE]
The length is nice but the guy is a player. He plays hard. He's smart. He wants to win. He wants to improve. He's an athlete.
[QUOTE]Huge amount of big plays in this game. Trey Burke hustling back defensively to alter Mike Conley
[QUOTE]For Alec Burks, his place with the Utah Jazz is all about filling in the blanks.
The shooting guard knows the offense runs through Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors[/QUOTE]
Enes? Trey? :rolleyes:
[QUOTE]- so he scores as needed. Burks knows that the Jazz crave firepower off the bench - so he leads the second unit on many nights.
But most of all, Burks has defended this season. He’s made it a passion. He’s made it a priority for the first time in his career. And as the Jazz wrap up a six game road trip and head to Christmas break, Burks has carved out a niche as arguably Utah’s best perimeter stopper.[/QUOTE]
not saying much really. I think Rudy might be their best perimeter defender actualy.
[QUOTE]"You can talk about team defense all you want," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "But if guys are blowing past our people on the perimeter, you aren’t going to be a great defensive team. Alec’s been staying in front of people and that’s been important."[/QUOTE]
At least not with Rudy on the bench. :confusedshrug:
[QUOTE]Burks realized the nature of the NBA early in his career. To him, he either defends well, or he gets eaten up nightly by some of the best shooting guards in the league. When he wasn’t playing as much, it may not have been as much of a focus. But now, he’s a starter, and one of the main pieces of the future for the Jazz. He knows that he has to produce.
On both ends.
"I really want to be known as a two-way player," Burks said. "Feel like I’ve been working towards being a better defender all summer. There are some good days, there are some bad days. But I want to be consistent, and be a good player."
Coming home
Jazz guard Ian Clark hails from Memphis and played in front of friends and family on Monday night against the Grizzlies.
"It feels good to be home and play in the same city as where I’m from," Clark said.
It will be an extended break for Clark, who is in his second season with the team. He will stay behind and spend Christmas with the family. The Jazz will practice again on Friday.[/QUOTE]
Good for him. I think he deserves a shot or send him to the D-league.
[QUOTE]Missing the matchup
Memphis forward Tony Allen is one of the very best defenders in the NBA, especially on the perimeter. He would’ve matched up with Gordon Hayward, but missed the game on Monday night with a scratched cornea in his eye.
[email]tjones@sltrib.com[/email]
Twitter: @tjonessltrib[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE] the young-but-maturing Jazz were playing their sixth road game in nine nights on a 6,000-mile cross-country trip and didn
[QUOTE]Head coach Quin Snyder offset forward Trevor Booker
Hard to decide who I like paired up better with Gobert. I like Favors better than Kanter, and while a Favors/Gobert combo provides better rim protection, it's not great offensively and kills the floor spacing, which having Kanter paired with Gobert relieves a bit more, but Kanter can be more of a liability on D.
Favors still has to prove he can defend on the perimeter against stretch 4's or against the high pick and roll. Haven't really seen it. Rudy can do it but than that leaves Favors at the rim and he's not as good as advertised there either. Kanter continues to make progress defensively and as a stretch big. He has more upside so he'd be my choice though I think there's enough minutes for all of them. Rather there is enough money or rather they take another big early in the lottery remain to be seen. I'd guess the decision will be made in the off-season after the draft though. What to do with Booker in the meantime? His energy is needed but you got to see what the young guys can do. He's certainly tradable but you might want him around next year.
[QUOTE]While there has always been praise about how well Gobert is able to utilize his frame on both ends of the court, there was also concern about how a team would be able to make use of somebody that isn