2020-21 Regular season- The tax team

[url]https://www.deseret.com/sports/2021/2/11/22268540/taking-stock-of-all-star-outlooks-for-donovan-mitchell-rudy-gobert-and-mike-conley-could-a-jazz-trio[/url]

[QUOTE]The Jazz have three players that are deserving of being named 2021 All-Stars. But, being deserving of an honor and actually receiving that honor are two totally different things


[/QUOTE]

2 and everyone's favorite isn't one of them

[QUOTE]There are also players that are voted in just because they are fan favorites, not because they have played well in a particular season.


[/QUOTE]

not Mitchell's fault he doesn't deserve it

[QUOTE]Simply put, Mitchell is the best player on the best team in the NBA, a fact that should make Mitchell a shoo-in on the All-Star team.

[/QUOTE]

he's not though no matter how much you write it

[QUOTE]Through the first 24 games of the season, Gobert had the fifth best total plus-minus in the league behind Conley, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Khris Middleton. That puts him in front of two-time reigning MVP and reigning DPOY Giannis Antetokounmpo.


[/QUOTE]

where's their best player?

[QUOTE]“Of course I would love to be a part of it,” he said.


[/QUOTE]

a million reasons to be

[QUOTE]Why should things be different this year for Conley? He’s having arguably his most successful season and doing it on the team with the best record in the league.


[/QUOTE]

and ben their most valuable player

[QUOTE]Conley leads the league in nearly every cumulative advanced metric and of starters who have played at least 15 games he has a league-leading defensive rating of 98.9.


[/QUOTE]

and yet we keep getting article after article about their so called best player

[QUOTE]1. For the first half of last season, the Jazz did not have Jordan Clarkson. The bench was super thin due to the Conley trade. Moving Exum for Clarkson will go down as one of the best trades in franchise history. Not only do they have him from the beginning of the season, but he is significantly better than he was last season. During his time with the Jazz last season, he had .089 WS/48. So far this season, he is at .139 WS/48, and he is doing it on higher minutes per game.
2. We didn’t have Bogey in the bubble. Just as we got Clarkson, we lost our #2 scorer. He’s back now.
3. Conley missed 25 games with injury last season, and when he was playing, he was a stinking pile of dog crap. Last season, he had .089 WS/48. He has more than doubled that to .207 WS/48 so far this season, and he is doing it on slightly more minutes per game. And it’s not just his shooting that has improved; virtually every part of his game is significantly better this season.
4. The addition of Favors is often understated. The national pundits often follow-up their comment about our roster not changing by saying something like, "[I]The only change to their roster is Favors coming off the bench"—as if that is some small thing. But Jazz fans who were paying attention last season know that the Jazz were amazing when Gobert was on the floor and terrible when he was on the bench. Every game thread mentioned that we would kill teams if we could just break even while Gobert sat. Favors gives us that, or pretty close.[/I]
[I]Our starters are better and our bench is better. This is far from the team that we had last season.[/I]

[I]Posted by [URL="https://www.sbnation.com/users/Kira%20Argonova"]Kira Argonova[/URL] on [URL="https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/2/11/22278564/utah-jazz-espn-bpi-model-western-conference-finals-rudy-gobert-donovan-mitchell#536439911"]Feb 11, 2021 | 1:43 PM[/URL][/I]
[/QUOTE]

Clarkson was in the bubble and was horrendous. They were thin because they chose to not have a PF and 6 rookies. Better without Bojan. They weren't beating good teams last year with those guys. Conley improved defensively is te main reason I see. Favors isn't much better than Bradley and much more expensive. Not close to Rudy

[QUOTE]It was just a few months ago that several dunkers were calling for O’Neale to be traded, and saying that his contract was bad. I strongly defended him as being a valuable rotation piece on a team-friendly contract, but now he is looking like one of the better contracts in the league.
I wasn’t so friendly toward Mitchell. I mentioned that he had not really improved over his first three seasons. This season, he has certainly made a jump. He needs to make another jump to become a superstar, but this is shaping up to be his best season, by far.
It’s also nice having an improved Oni as insurance.

Posted by [URL="https://www.sbnation.com/users/Kira%20Argonova"]Kira Argonova[/URL] on [URL="https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/2/11/22278564/utah-jazz-espn-bpi-model-western-conference-finals-rudy-gobert-donovan-mitchell#536461114"]Feb 12, 2021 | 6:24 AM[/URL]
[/QUOTE]

'Neale one of the 3 most valbale on team. Rather have Oni in the bubble and a proven vet like Shaq

[QUOTE][B]ok, it never dawned on me that the Millers were running crack houses in Tooele and Orem.[/B]


And here I thought it was thru car sales and movie theaters, lol Whole new meaning to coke sales at the games and movies.

Posted by [URL="https://www.sbnation.com/users/SKMike"]SKMike[/URL] on [URL="https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/2/11/22278564/utah-jazz-espn-bpi-model-western-conference-finals-rudy-gobert-donovan-mitchell#536448837"]Feb 11, 2021 | 6:22 PM[/URL]
[/QUOTE]

Car dealers and loan companies are shady

[QUOTE][B]It is fun times to be a Jazz fan. But you know it wouldn't be that bizarre if we lose 4 of our next 5; heck all 5 is possible.[/B]


I wonder if the gloom and doom crowd would come out then? I guess it depends on how we might lose them. I’m sure many in the national media would be going "see, I told you so". But even here on slcdunk the skeptics would resurface.
I’m loving this run but realistically it is hard to imagine us winning at a 94% (16/17) pace or even an 80% pace. Although I did just look it up and there have been 18 teams finish with an 80.5% winning percentage or better. So it is not out of the question. GSW was 89% in their historic 2016 season. Was it really 5 years ago? wow

Posted by [URL="https://www.sbnation.com/users/SKMike"]SKMike[/URL] on [URL="https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/2/11/22278564/utah-jazz-espn-bpi-model-western-conference-finals-rudy-gobert-donovan-mitchell#536456817"]Feb 11, 2021 | 9:59 PM[/URL]
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The Conley is a lot more important than Mitchell crowd would

[QUOTE]That’s a rough start for him, but now Rudy and Favs have to stay healthy.

Posted by [URL="https://www.sbnation.com/users/Big_B"]Big_B[/URL] on [URL="https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/2/11/22278564/utah-jazz-espn-bpi-model-western-conference-finals-rudy-gobert-donovan-mitchell#536457539"]Feb 11, 2021 | 10:29 PM[/URL]
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don't think Favors has been healthy all year. Not sure they wouldn't be better with Morgan anyway

[url]https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/2/11/22278564/utah-jazz-espn-bpi-model-western-conference-finals-rudy-gobert-donovan-mitchell[/url]

[QUOTE][B]Are the Utah Jazz WCF favorites?[/B]



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if they show they can play with the Lakers which I don't think they can

[QUOTE]As far as odds go, Vegas still has the [URL="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/"]Lakers[/URL] (+250) and Clippers (+600) as favorites to make the WCF. The Jazz aren’t too far behind at +900, which if you’re looking for an easy way to make some money that might be a pretty dang good bet.


[/QUOTE]


you better have money to lose if you're crazy enough to bet on them

[QUOTE]The video is really well put together, and gives some great insight on how the Jazz have been able to be successful this season. O’Connor praises Rudy Gobert, tabbing him as “the best defender in the NBA, period”. He also said Gobert is his DPOY favorite, as well as Jordan Clarkson for Sixth Man of the Year. O’Connor did a good job making up for his blunder putting the Jazz 6th in the power rankings, and Jazz fans should accept this video as a humble apology. Kevin O’Connor is back on good terms with Jazz fans.


[/QUOTE]

but what about their best player

[QUOTE]As long as LeBron James lives, the Lakers are favorites and should be.
We have several things going for us, though, that I think are worth mentioning:
(i) We resemble the 2014 Spurs with our offensive scheme and ball movement, but we’re doing it with Morey math. That’s a problem for teams.
(ii)The quality of our shooters and the way we explode offensively is 2017-Warriors-esque, only…mathematically better. Steph, Klay, and KD took 23 of GS’s 31 threes per game at 41%, 41%, and 38% respectively. The team shot 35% of their shots as threes and hit 38%. We’re shooting 42 threes per game at 40% as a team. I don’t think we are putting the fear into the casual fan the way that Steph and Klay did during their ascendance and, later, KD’s sycophancy, but I think we’re doing that to opposing coaches.
The big difference is star power offensively, at the end of the day. Individual shot creation is something we need for when teams clamp down. Maybe the combination of Mike, JC, and Donovan can put us over the hill, but then we’re relying on some small dudes to do it, in a league whose stars tower above 6’4" (unless, of course, Steph, who really doesn’t count).
So, the idea of "favorites" is daunting to me or even winning two playoff series. But we remind me of the ’14 Spurs with a Daryl Morey approach to shooting and a 2017 Warriors in terms of exploding offensively and drowning teams with barrages of "wtf just happened" experiences. I love this team.

Posted by [URL="https://www.sbnation.com/users/Karl%20Stalone%2032"]Karl Stalone 32[/URL] on [URL="https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/2/11/22278564/utah-jazz-espn-bpi-model-western-conference-finals-rudy-gobert-donovan-mitchell#536438393"]Feb 11, 2021 | 1:05 PM[/URL]
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as long as they don't have a PF other than Favors or Morgan who won't play the Lakers are the favorite.

[QUOTE][B]if we can get both la teams on same side of draw in the playoffs it would help a lot as i think kawhi might find way to beat lebron[/B]


ultimately you have to say the road goes thru the lakers til it doesn’t.

Posted by [URL="https://www.sbnation.com/users/utahcoyote"]utahcoyote[/URL] on [URL="https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/2/11/22278564/utah-jazz-espn-bpi-model-western-conference-finals-rudy-gobert-donovan-mitchell#536442067"]Feb 11, 2021 | 2:43 PM[/URL]

[/QUOTE]

that's the best hope

[QUOTE][B]actually mack > rubio[/B]



Posted by [URL="https://www.sbnation.com/users/its_computers"]its_computers[/URL] on [URL="https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/2/11/22278564/utah-jazz-espn-bpi-model-western-conference-finals-rudy-gobert-donovan-mitchell#536455791"]Feb 11, 2021 | 9:11 PM[/URL]

[/QUOTE]

and everyone not named Dante or Trey

[QUOTE], it was painfully obvious that, by the very next season, he wasn’t going to be the PG to push us over the hump.

Posted by [URL="https://www.sbnation.com/users/uncle-ingles"]uncle-ingles[/URL] on [URL="https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/2/11/22278564/utah-jazz-espn-bpi-model-western-conference-finals-rudy-gobert-donovan-mitchell#536461081"]Feb 12, 2021 | 6:21 AM[/URL]
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was obvious from the moment they got him that he made no sense

[QUOTE]I have never understood the avalanche of criticism he got (and continues to get two years later).

Posted by [URL="https://www.sbnation.com/users/Kira%20Argonova"]Kira Argonova[/URL] on [URL="https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat-latest-jazz-news/2021/2/11/22278564/utah-jazz-espn-bpi-model-western-conference-finals-rudy-gobert-donovan-mitchell#536461148"]Feb 12, 2021 | 6:26 AM[/URL]
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wasting another 2 years of Gobert's career when the formula was obvious

[URL="https://theathletic.com/2383021/2021/02/12/utah-jazz-band-charles-barkley-opposing-players-hated/?source=rss"]Because for nearly a decade, from 1983 to 1991 — contrary to popular belief — there was jazz in Utah. And the nightly experience was nothing short of rhapsodic.[/URL] It had to be. What was known simply as The Utah Jazz Band, the ensemble not only immediately changed the game-day experience for a franchise that was historically bad up until 1983 but paved the way for Jazz fans to collectively go berserk rather than sit on their hands.
– via [URL="https://theathletic.com/2383021/2021/02/12/utah-jazz-band-charles-barkley-opposing-players-hated/?source=rss"]Christopher Kamrani @ The Athletic[/URL]



For nearly a decade, the Jazz Band was everything. They wore lampshades on their heads bought from a yard sale or tuxedos. Predictably, members were crushed. There was some community backlash, too. Former local sports radio host, the late Chris Tunis, had Evanoff on for a live hit and informed him the band was canned and not being brought back. Evanoff laughs about it still. “It was a 10-year run. Who gets that?” said Evanoff. [URL="https://theathletic.com/2383021/2021/02/12/utah-jazz-band-charles-barkley-opposing-players-hated/?source=rss"]“I still run into people my age and older that see me and go, ‘Hey, Jazz Band guy!’”[/URL]
– via [URL="https://theathletic.com/2383021/2021/02/12/utah-jazz-band-charles-barkley-opposing-players-hated/?source=rss"]Christopher Kamrani @ The Athletic[/URL]

[QUOTE]Eric Walden: Jordan [URL="https://*********.com/social/"]Clarkson, on how many All-Stars the Jazz should get: “Rudy and Donovan are the two locks,[/URL] Mike and Bojan are the sleepers.” And should he get a spot? “If it happens, it happens, but I’m cool, I’m chillin’. I’m just trying to get that Sixth Man and win some games.”
– via [URL="https://twitter.com/tribjazz"]Twitter tribjazz[/URL]



[/QUOTE]

Bojan? :roll:

The Milwaukee [URL="https://www.nba.com/bucks/news/bucks-recall-jordan-nwora-salt-lake-city-stars"]Bucks have recalled Jordan Nwora from the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League.[/URL] Assigned to the Stars on Feb. 3, Nwora appeared in one game with Salt Lake City and scored a game-high 26 points (9-14 FG, 3-5 3FG) with four rebounds, an assist and a steal in 24 minutes against the Erie BayHawks on Wednesday.
– via [URL="https://www.nba.com/bucks/news/bucks-recall-jordan-nwora-salt-lake-city-stars"]NBA.com[/URL]

[url]https://kslsports.com/453133/jordan-clarkson-campaigns-for-all-star-teammates-sixth-man-award/[/url]

[QUOTE]“I think you’ve got Mike Conley, [and] Bojan [Bogdanovic] playing at a high level,” Conley said. “Shoot, Rudy [Gobert] and Donovan, those are really the locks. I feel like our two sleepers are really Mike a Bojan.”


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why the players shouldn't vote :facepalm

[INDENT][url]https://www.deseret.com/sports/2021/2/12/22279536/utah-jazz-national-attention-nba-power-rankings[/url]

[QUOTE]“Donovan Mitchell was downright masterful down the stretch of Utah’s win over Boston on Tuesday. Mitchell finished the night with 36 points and nine assists, and he scored or assisted on each of the Jazz’s final 18 points down the stretch. Mitchell sports the mentality of a true superstar. He’s everything you want as a franchise anchor from a personality and leadership standpoint. Is he talented enough to lead a team to a Finals berth? Time will tell. 2021 marks the best chance of his career to date.” — [I]Michael Shapiro[/I]

[/QUOTE]

:facepalm


[/INDENT]

[url]https://saltcityhoops.com/using-past-teams-to-chart-a-championship-path/[/url]

[QUOTE]In the playoffs Curry went to a different level, averaging 28/6/5. Mitchell made a similar playoff leap last postseason, averaging 36/5/5. Some of that could’ve been matchup or bubble noise, but he proved capable of superstar play when the stakes were high.


[/QUOTE]

bubble :roll:

[url]https://kslsports.com/453185/jazz-cruise-as-bucks-blink-in-second-quarter/[/url]

[QUOTE]But, it would be unfair to mention Clarkson without discussing just how much fun Donovan Mitchell is to watch. The guard started his career as a high-flying dunker, then became a prolific scorer, then became a clutch scorer, then scored 50 points twice in the playoffs, then, this season became one of the most exciting passers in basketball.


[/QUOTE]

I guess I'm the only one but Rudy playing D is as exciting as it gets

[url]https://kslsports.com/453183/four-players-combine-for-105-points-lead-jazz-to-franchise-best-start-with-win-over-bucks/[/url]

[QUOTE]Gobert dominated both ends of the floor. He helped control the Bucks’ offense and limited the impact of the two-time league MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Gobert ended the contest with a double-double. In addition to his scoring, Gobert had 12 rebounds and four blocks.


[/QUOTE]

just glad he has Mitchell to carry him



[CENTER][/CENTER]

[url]https://www.sltrib.com/sports/jazz/2021/02/13/triple-team-jazz-with-jaw/[/url]

[QUOTE]In the NBA’s version of the optimal stopping problem, we’ve learned an important lesson over thousands of games: players tend to overrate the value of waiting to shoot. In general, the better shots come earlier in the shot clock. Again, from Whitehead’s article:



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good thing you coach Utah Quin and have years to figure these things out

[QUOTE]Here are the Jazz’s top 3 players by on-court defensive rating so far this season:

1. Mike Conley: 98.9 defensive rating

2. Georges Niang: 99.6 defensive rating

3. Rudy Gobert: 102.8 defensive rating



[/QUOTE]


:cheers:

[url]https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/2/12/22281347/the-league-leading-utah-jazz-take-down-the-milwaukee-bucks-to-win-their-sixth-straight[/url]

[QUOTE]Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert were owning the paint on both ends of the court. This was the first time this year that we saw the “Wasatch Front” play extended minutes together. Those minutes went as they tend to. The Jazz defense was impenetrable, while it’s offense was somewhat awkward. When Gobert and Favors saw the court individually, they both were dominating. Gobert was shutting down the paint to the Bucks on defense, and getting dunks or free throw attempts on offense.


[/QUOTE]

awkward is being kind. Tell me again why they have Favors instead of a modern starting 4?

[QUOTE]Although there are four legitimate candidates tonight, Rudy Gobert is the easy choice. Anybody watching this game can see why he deserves to win another Defensive Player of the Year. He was scaring Bucks away from the hoop all night. He was blocking [URL="https://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/324784/khris-middleton"]Khris Middleton[/URL] three pointers, he was grabbing rebounds, and, oh yeah he was scoring 27 points as well. Rudy owned the paint on both sides of the court tonight, and that’s really hard to do when you’re going against the Greek Freak.


[/QUOTE]

another night at the office. Glad he has Mitchell leading him!

[QUOTE]I’m curious how we play against Philly, they have length, athleticism, and Embiid in MVP mode.

Posted by [URL="https://www.sbnation.com/users/CJ%20Livinghousen"]CJ Livinghousen[/URL] on [URL="https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/2/12/22281347/the-league-leading-utah-jazz-take-down-the-milwaukee-bucks-to-win-their-sixth-straight#536496051"]Feb 13, 2021 | 3:48 AM[/URL]
[/QUOTE]

yep not a good matchup for the Jazz

[QUOTE]I’m confident that this current version of the Jazz can beat anyone, though.

Posted by [URL="https://www.sbnation.com/users/uncle-ingles"]uncle-ingles[/URL] on [URL="https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/2/12/22281347/the-league-leading-utah-jazz-take-down-the-milwaukee-bucks-to-win-their-sixth-straight#536496221"]Feb 13, 2021 | 4:19 AM[/URL]
[/QUOTE]

on a given night sure like pretty much any season. In a series I'm not convinced

[QUOTE]-I wanted to see the Gobert/Favors pairing in this one. Never want to see it again.
Overall super happy to get this win sans Conley. I feel like this game told me more about Milwaukee than it did about the Jazz. The Bucks, as currently constructed, I don’t believe are a championship contender, but they could definitely get to the Finals, so maybe they actually are. They would be, of the teams who can win it, the most flawed team to do so.

Posted by [URL="https://www.sbnation.com/users/Karl%20Stalone%2032"]Karl Stalone 32[/URL] on [URL="https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/2/12/22281347/the-league-leading-utah-jazz-take-down-the-milwaukee-bucks-to-win-their-sixth-straight#536496466"]Feb 13, 2021 | 5:06 AM[/URL]
[/QUOTE]

someone gets it and the only other option is Morgan or Brantley and COTM isn't going for that

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo certainly didn’t enjoy suffering a 129-115 road loss to the Utah Jazz at Vivint Arena on Friday night, but he couldn’t help but admire how “simple” the game looked to them. More important, the Jazz earned his respect: [URL="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30890948/milwaukee-bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-calls-utah-jazz-best-team-west"]Antetokounmpo said they’re the “best team in the West.”[/URL]
– via [URL="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30890948/milwaukee-bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-calls-utah-jazz-best-team-west"]Eric Woodyard @ ESPN[/URL]




[IMG]https://*********.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/92/2021/01/i_05_d8_4d_donovan-mitchell.png?w=190[/IMG]“I don’t think we’re that satisfied just yet,” said Ingles, who went 4-for-4 from 3-point range. That’s because their goals are much bigger than the regular season, especially after last season, when they blew a 3-1 lead to Denver and were eliminated in the first round. [URL="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30890948/milwaukee-bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-calls-utah-jazz-best-team-west"]“We don’t want to be the best team in February; we want to be the best team in July,” Mitchell said[/URL].
– via [URL="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30890948/milwaukee-bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-calls-utah-jazz-best-team-west"]Eric Woodyard @ ESPN[/URL]

Callie Caplan: [URL="http://twitter.com/CallieCaplan/status/1360641934369427459"]Mavs are transferring Nate Hinton from the Long Island Nets to the Santa Cruz Warriors in G League bubble[/URL]. For those trying to keep track of the Mavs’ other rookie transactions in Disney World: Tyrell Terry is still with Memphis Hustle, Tyler Bey with Salt Lake City Stars.
– via [URL="http://twitter.com/CallieCaplan/status/1360641934369427459"]Twitter[/URL]