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Tim MacMahon: More bad news for the Rockets: Coach Stephen Silas said [URL="https://*********.com/social/"]Eric Gordon would get an MRI to determine the severity of his groin injury, but the guard has already been ruled out of Friday’s game in Utah.[/URL] Houston expects to have only the minimum eight players available vs. Jazz.
– via [URL="https://twitter.com/espn_macmahon"]Twitter espn_macmahon[/URL]
One year ago, Andy Larsen had writer’s block in the weirdest place. He was sitting on the floor of an NBA arena, his back against the scorer’s table, his Cole Haans pointed toward center court. Being present for the shutdown of the NBA season is a once-in-a-lifetime story. Larsen wanted to write something good. He just couldn’t get his vital organs on the same page. [URL="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/3/11/22324651/utah-jazz-beat-writers-covid-19-positive-rudy-gobert?fbclid=IwAR0m5rWF0Hxx666T5sXwxkGLStjRaU8aHl01s4hHGoMtBU6GillW1k3RKGU"]Glancing at his Fitbit, Larsen saw his heart rate climb to 100 beats per minute. But his brain was moving like Greg Ostertag. “I couldn’t get out more than a sentence at a time that made any kind of narrative sense,” he said[/URL].
– via [URL="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/3/11/22324651/utah-jazz-beat-writers-covid-19-positive-rudy-gobert?fbclid=IwAR0m5rWF0Hxx666T5sXwxkGLStjRaU8aHl01s4hHGoMtBU6GillW1k3RKGU"]Bryan Curtis @ The Ringer[/URL]
Larsen, who is 29, is one of two Utah Jazz beat writers at the Salt Lake Tribune. Thanks partly to his formative years as a TrueHoop Network blogger, Larsen asks tough questions without letting delicacy get in the way. Joe Ingles has blocked Larsen on Twitter. [URL="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/3/11/22324651/utah-jazz-beat-writers-covid-19-positive-rudy-gobert?fbclid=IwAR0m5rWF0Hxx666T5sXwxkGLStjRaU8aHl01s4hHGoMtBU6GillW1k3RKGU"]After a Jazz loss to the Pelicans this month, Larsen asked Donovan Mitchell why he missed so many dunks. “His charm is that he lacks all social tact,” said Ben Anderson, who covers the Jazz for KSLsports.com[/URL].
– via [URL="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/3/11/22324651/utah-jazz-beat-writers-covid-19-positive-rudy-gobert?fbclid=IwAR0m5rWF0Hxx666T5sXwxkGLStjRaU8aHl01s4hHGoMtBU6GillW1k3RKGU"]Bryan Curtis @ The Ringer[/URL]
March 11, 2020, was one of the great record scratches in sportswriting history. To find a decent comp, you’d have to go back to a spasm of terror at the Olympics or maybe a soccer riot. Three Jazz beat writers went to Oklahoma City to see whether the team could get a leg up on the 4-seed in the Western Conference. They wound up covering a league shutdown that signaled just how severe the pandemic would become in the United States. Personal fear became part of an NBA beat job in a way the writers had never experienced. [URL="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/3/11/22324651/utah-jazz-beat-writers-covid-19-positive-rudy-gobert?fbclid=IwAR0m5rWF0Hxx666T5sXwxkGLStjRaU8aHl01s4hHGoMtBU6GillW1k3RKGU"]“I like this [job] because I don’t have to see dead bodies,” said Anderson. “I like this because I don’t have to deal with the heavy part of it. The worst thing that is going to happen to me this year is that a bunch of 76ers fans are mad at me.”[/URL]
– via [URL="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/3/11/22324651/utah-jazz-beat-writers-covid-19-positive-rudy-gobert?fbclid=IwAR0m5rWF0Hxx666T5sXwxkGLStjRaU8aHl01s4hHGoMtBU6GillW1k3RKGU"]Bryan Curtis @ The Ringer
[/URL]
The first thing to understand about March 9 is that the Jazz weren’t trying to protect the beat writers from Gobert. They were trying to protect Gobert from the beat writers. “The idea was that any of us unwashed media masses could infect Rudy Gobert,” said Larsen. Don’t put our $25 million-a-year shot blocker on the DL! When Gobert touched their recorders, the beat writers saw him offering an olive branch. As Anderson told me, “I thought that was Rudy trying to say, ‘Hey, I get we’re all being cautious. We’re all being careful. I’m going to show you I’m still willing to bridge this gap.’” [URL="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/3/11/22324651/utah-jazz-beat-writers-covid-19-positive-rudy-gobert?fbclid=IwAR0m5rWF0Hxx666T5sXwxkGLStjRaU8aHl01s4hHGoMtBU6GillW1k3RKGU"]“He’s telling us, ‘I’m not afraid of you. Don’t worry, guys, we’re cool,’” said Todd. “It was more like a sign of solidarity than anything.”[/URL]
– via [URL="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/3/11/22324651/utah-jazz-beat-writers-covid-19-positive-rudy-gobert?fbclid=IwAR0m5rWF0Hxx666T5sXwxkGLStjRaU8aHl01s4hHGoMtBU6GillW1k3RKGU"]Bryan Curtis @ The Ringer[/URL]
A year ago, the Jazz beat writers were like a lot of Americans when it came to COVID-19. “Nobody was really overly alarmed,” said Jones. On the March East Coast road trip, Todd wondered whether she and Jones should buy masks. When Larsen is on the road, Walden normally watches games on TV at home. But on March 11, he asked his boss whether he could have the night off to take his son to an All Elite Wrestling event, where they were surrounded by thousands of other fans. [URL="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/3/11/22324651/utah-jazz-beat-writers-covid-19-positive-rudy-gobert?fbclid=IwAR0m5rWF0Hxx666T5sXwxkGLStjRaU8aHl01s4hHGoMtBU6GillW1k3RKGU"]“I knew that there were only a handful of cases in Utah,” said Larsen. “I knew that there were limited deaths in America. I was honestly frustrated by kind of the piecemeal establishment of some of these restrictions.” After Larsen landed in Oklahoma City, he and members of the Jazz’s in-house media team went to a bar to play trivia[/URL].
– via [URL="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/3/11/22324651/utah-jazz-beat-writers-covid-19-positive-rudy-gobert?fbclid=IwAR0m5rWF0Hxx666T5sXwxkGLStjRaU8aHl01s4hHGoMtBU6GillW1k3RKGU"]Bryan Curtis @ The Ringer[/URL]
In the media dining room, a source told Larsen that Gobert had been tested for COVID-19, which made the possibility that he had it slightly less remote. A few minutes later, the Jazz announced that Gobert wasn’t playing against the Thunder, after all. As tipoff approached, the writers sat in their press seats at the top of the lower bowl, watching the events that are now the subject of documentaries and oral histories. They saw the Thunder team doctor corner the refs. The PA announcer said the teams were awaiting “league confirmation” to start the game. [URL="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/3/11/22324651/utah-jazz-beat-writers-covid-19-positive-rudy-gobert?fbclid=IwAR0m5rWF0Hxx666T5sXwxkGLStjRaU8aHl01s4hHGoMtBU6GillW1k3RKGU"]“I’ve been covering the NBA for eight years,” said Todd. “There has never been an instance where you had to wait on league confirmation to start. That’s not a thing.”[/URL]
– via [URL="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/3/11/22324651/utah-jazz-beat-writers-covid-19-positive-rudy-gobert?fbclid=IwAR0m5rWF0Hxx666T5sXwxkGLStjRaU8aHl01s4hHGoMtBU6GillW1k3RKGU"]Bryan Curtis @ The Ringer[/URL]
Sarah Todd: [URL="https://*********.com/social/"]Quin Snyder said that without practice time available that Ersan Ilyasova is going to be “thrown into the fire.”[/URL] Kind of sounded like we might see him tonight
– via [URL="https://twitter.com/NBASarah"]Twitter NBASarah[/URL]
Eric Walden: Jazz coach [URL="https://*********.com/social/"]Quin Snyder said the team will hold a moment of silence before tonight’s game against the Rockets for late health/performance staff member Doug Birrell:[/URL] “He was as special a person as I’ve ever known.”
– via [URL="https://twitter.com/tribjazz"]Twitter tribjazz[/URL]
[url]https://kslsports.com/455184/jazz-looking-to-improve-rockets-looking-for-bodies/[/url]
[QUOTE]“If teams are trying to take away our shooters or play our pick and roll game two-on-two,” Snyder said, “I think we can continue to be patient in the lane and not settle necessarily for early shots.”
[/QUOTE]
defense?
[url]https://saltcityhoops.com/staff-post-second-half-ilyasova-impact-bold-predictions/[/url]
[QUOTE][B]David[/B]: First some not as bold ones. Derrick Favors will regain some of his bounce, Bojan Bogdanovic will regain the consistency that made him so important last year. Joe Ingles’ minutes will decrease a bit to keep him fresh for the playoffs.
[/QUOTE]
don't count on Ingles minutes going down. COTM doesn't work like that
[QUOTE][B]Jake[/B]: Ilyasova provides the Jazz with everything they are missing. The typical starting lineup for the Jazz has Royce O’Neale playing the power forward position. When the second rotation comes in, typically Niang takes his position. O’Neale and Niang are 6’4” and 6’7” respectively. Gobert and Favors rarely play together which has forced the Jazz to play relatively small ball all season, with one big protecting the paint. Other than Gobert and Favors, the next tallest players (playing significant minutes) are Ingles and Bogdanovic, both around 6’8”. With Ersan in the lineup, the Jazz roster is much more fluid and flexible. Quin Snyder can play Ilyasova alongside one of Gobert/Favors without sacrificing the ability to stretch the floor. This allows for better defensive lineups when teams play big. Additionally, Ilyasova is better suited to guard some of the agile centers that have been difficult for Gobert (ex. Jokic, Vucevic, Embiid). Great pick-up by the front office.
[/QUOTE]
someone gets it
[QUOTE][B]Isaac[/B]: I don’t think the Jazz will make a move, not because they don’t want to but because the Jazz are just asset poor. Due to limitations on trading first rounders because of the protections on the pick sent in the Mike Conley trade, Utah can’t trade a first until 2026 (without some specific protection language). Also, every player who makes enough money to help match salaries in a trade is a key part of the team. So as much as I’d love it if the Jazz could find a way to get a Larry Nance Jr., John Collins, Aaron Gordon or even Harrison Barnes, the Jazz can offer as much in trade as many other teams. That leaves the buyout market, a place where the Jazz have never really been players. As the best team in the NBA so far, the Jazz might be able to be players on the buyout market this year but I don’t see any game-changing players that fit with the team actually getting bought out. I don’t know why the Bulls would buy out Otto Porter Jr.’s contract but if they do and he is at all healthy the Jazz know his agent Mark Bartelstein quite well and there seems to have been mutual interest with the Jazz and Porter in the past.
[/QUOTE]
Porter is the guy if they aren't smart enough to trade Bojan
[QUOTE][B]Mark[/B]: For better or worse, Utah’s contracts are so difficult to trade that there is just no way they are meaningful participants at the trade deadline. In a pure vacuum, Bogdanovic, O’Neale, and Ingles are all the type of player and contract that could be shifted around for better options, but for obvious reasons there is just no way Utah actually sends those guys away. Ryan Smith seems to really not care about the luxury tax for the tiniest of improvements, which is a… luxury… for Jazz fans. So I could definitely see Utah sniffing around for young wing talent, as they did with Rayjon Tucker last year. Gosh, I was so high on Tucker last year. I wish he worked out better
[/QUOTE]
Tucker worked fine. Jazz decided they needed a 10 million dollar center and no PF though
[QUOTE][B]David[/B]: In 1998, the Jazz were off the heels of their first-ever Finals appearance. And they had the league’s top record. That did not stop them from swinging the ill-fated Rony Seikaly deal that could/should have put them over the top. They knew they were close and saw a move that made a very formidable team even stronger. This 2021 version could be similar. Utah knows its rotation is one of the best in the Association. But it would not surprise me to see the front office swing a deal to become even stronger for the postseason. Chemistry is a major consideration, and you could jeopardize that with roster moves. But I also think the team’s leadership knows they are one of a handful of teams that could win it all, and chances like this do not happen every year.
[/QUOTE]
might be their only chance. If they learned nothing from Stockton and Malone they should know that there isn't always a next year
[QUOTE]At a minimum, the Jazz could be more of a buyout player than usually, as these teams tend to gravitate toward the contenders. Porter would make incredible short-term and long-term sense should the Bulls and he sever ties.
[/QUOTE]
doubt he'd be with them long term. Couldn't pay him enough
[url]https://kslsports.com/455198/jazz-get-wakeup-call-against-feisty-rockets/[/url]
[QUOTE]“Very poor on a lot of levels,” Snyder said about the Jazz performance. “We gave up the paint, gave up everything. We gave up the paint, gave up threes. We were lucky didn’t make more shots.”
[/QUOTE]
the D wasn't the problem in this one
[QUOTE]As opposing, offenses spread the Jazz defense out, they pull Gobert further away from the rim, meaning he isn’t there to grab the defensive rebound. The same thing happens when Jazz perimeter defenders are beat off the dribble and Gobert is asked to help at the rim. When that happens, the rest of the roster has to rebound, and too often against Houston they simply waited for the ball to fall in their lap, or even let it hit the ground.
[/QUOTE]
good thing they have two PF's at the end of the bench now!
[url]https://kslsports.com/455219/jazz-debut-new-earned-jersey-defeat-depleted-rockets-to-start-second-half-of-season/[/url]
[QUOTE]Donovan “Spida” Mitchell led the Jazz with a game-high 28 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and a block.
[/QUOTE]
and along with his usual cohorts Bojan and Favors was the main reason they almost blew it
[QUOTE]“The Stifle Tower”, Rudy Gobert, also tried his best to get a triple-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds, and six blocks.
[/QUOTE]
triple double? :lol
[QUOTE]Not only did Utah’s two superstars put up quality numbers but so did the supporting cast.
[/QUOTE]
Mitchell is quality only if you don't want to look very deep
[url]https://www.ksl.com/article/50125084/very-poor-on-a-lot-of-levels-jazz-won-by-15-but-they-arent-too-happy-about-it[/url]
[QUOTE]Mitchell watched rebounds fly by him, Derrick Favors displayed minimal effort in closing out on shooters, and, well, that about summed up the effort from the whole team for large portions of the game Friday.
[/QUOTE]
pretty sure Bradley would give the effort for a lot less money
[url]https://www.sltrib.com/sports/jazz/2021/03/13/triple-team-signs-low/[/url]
[QUOTE]• I think an obvious one is rebounding. Rebounds are hard work: you have to box out, you have to be physical, and you have to go jump to the ball. If you’re trying really hard, you’re probably getting a lot of contested rebounds.
[/QUOTE]
having size to get physical doesn't hurt
[QUOTE]I think you can argue that the Jazz showed all of those signs tonight. The Rockets had a 19-6 advantage in offensive rebounds, and it was pretty flagrant the offensive rebounds the Jazz let go by them at times. This is just straight up lack of effort from Joe Ingles to go get the ball, and you could argue that Donovan Mitchell could have done more to protect the situation, too.
[/QUOTE]
Mitchell is exerting too much energy at the other end to expect him to box out!
[QUOTE]There were certainly missed shot contests. Jae’Sean Tate isn’t a non-entity as a shooter, he takes two a game for even the normal Rockets. So I was surprised when Derrick Favors didn’t even think about getting his hand up on this one:
[/QUOTE]
he already got his 30 mill!
[QUOTE]Take this early play, for example: the Rockets put Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic in a pick and roll, while Patton spaces Gobert out up top. Conley goes over the screen, and of course Bogdanovic is just not very good at defending two-on-one situations, so it’s an easy drop-off pass.
[/QUOTE]
attacking Bojan. Wonder why they'd do that?
[url]https://www.deseret.com/sports/2021/3/12/22321543/instant-analysis-utah-jazz-win-despite-houston-rockets-fourth-quarter-surge-nba-donovan-mitchell[/url]
[QUOTE]There’s this thing that Mike Conley is really good at. When he’s in the pick and roll with Rudy Gobert, he is very deliberate and slows down in the paint with a few dribbles and has a pretty easy short shot by the time he’s like 5 feet from the basket. Since Gobert is right there as a lob or pocket pass threat, the defense stays just far away enough from the ball-handler for a release. Mitchell is getting better at this and I have to think that being around Conley and seeing him have so much success with it has helped.
[/QUOTE]
should have been learning from Joe already
[QUOTE]I noticed quite a bit of negative reaction on social media to the way the Jazz played in the second half and I totally get it. I get being disappointed with the easily avoidable mistakes and the bad shot selection and being outrebounded by a team with barely any size at all. I get all that. But let’s look at this game in some wider context. The Jazz have had a rough week, mourning a member of the organization in Doug Birrell, who was the massage therapist for the team for more than 20 years and died over the All-Star break. And it was the first game after the break and they were going up against one of the worst teams in the league. All that combined, it’s pretty hard to expect them to play their absolute best. I know it’s not a great look but they got the win, so it’s not all horrible. With that being said, Snyder was not as forgiving as I was.
[/QUOTE]
sure let's make excuses for them!
[url]https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/3/12/22328691/houston-rockets-rudy-goberts-dominance-lead-the-utah-jazz-to-victory-donovan-mitchell[/url]
[QUOTE]Season where we have been destroyed by offensive rebounds….
Maybe the team was in sleep walk mode….. but it has happened against real nba teams too…
Posted by [URL="https://www.sbnation.com/users/ThomasSmithjaz1"]ThomasSmithjaz1[/URL] on [URL="https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/3/12/22328691/houston-rockets-rudy-goberts-dominance-lead-the-utah-jazz-to-victory-donovan-mitchell#537494240"]Mar 13, 2021 | 4:11 AM[/URL]
[/QUOTE]
tiny backcourt and no PF
If you don’t know the name Josh Giddey now, the chances are you will eventually. [URL="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-14/josh-giddey-could-be-australian-basketballs-next-big-thing/13243664"]Giddey has been earmarked as one of Australia’s next basketball superstars. In his debut season in the NBL the 18-year-old has already shown why NBA teams are watching him so closely ahead of this year’s draft,[/URL] and the impressive Melbourne-born teenager could well be heading to the Tokyo Olympics to represent his country in July.
– via [URL="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-14/josh-giddey-could-be-australian-basketballs-next-big-thing/13243664"]Tom Maddocks @ ABC.net.au[/URL]
[URL="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-14/josh-giddey-could-be-australian-basketballs-next-big-thing/13243664"]Giddey said Australian NBA veteran Joe Ingles had been a mentor. “Joe first reached out to me when I signed with Adelaide and kind of just welcomed me,” he said.[/URL] “But then when we started playing he’s been in constant touch with me, just giving me advice, helping me out with little things because he came through the same pathway as me with the NBL system.”
– via [URL="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-14/josh-giddey-could-be-australian-basketballs-next-big-thing/13243664"]Tom Maddocks @ ABC.net.au[/URL]
[URL="https://www.eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/1181499/quin-snyder-i-havent-been-around-a-player-that-wants-to-win-as-bad-as-rudy-gobert-does/"]“He’s unique in so many ways,” Snyder said on two-time DPOY Gobert in an interview with the beIn Sports France’s NBA Extra. “I think first is his competitiveness. I haven’t been around a player that wants to win as bad Rudy does,[/URL] even in ping-pong. So that carries over on the court.”
– via [URL="https://www.eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/1181499/quin-snyder-i-havent-been-around-a-player-that-wants-to-win-as-bad-as-rudy-gobert-does/"]EuroHoops.net[/URL]
“He’s incredibly generous,” Snyder said. “Rudy knows that the things that he’s done and earned in life have put him in a position to give back. And he does that. Both in Salt Lake and in France. He’s supportive of a lot of different people and organizations. [URL="https://www.eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/1181499/quin-snyder-i-havent-been-around-a-player-that-wants-to-win-as-bad-as-rudy-gobert-does/"]On a personal level, he’s a wonderful friend. A friend you cherish whether you’re a teammate or a coach. Someone I really enjoy being around every day.”[/URL]
– via [URL="https://www.eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/1181499/quin-snyder-i-havent-been-around-a-player-that-wants-to-win-as-bad-as-rudy-gobert-does/"]EuroHoops.net[/URL]
For many, the pandemic brought changes and challenges including for veteran NBA player and Juno homeowner Ersan Ilyasova. [URL="https://www.wpbf.com/article/veteran-nba-player-uses-local-schools-gym-during-free-agency/35826749"]Several days a week for the last 4 months, Ilyasova and his coach Mike Souza used the gym at Lake Worth Christian School in hopes of getting the free-agent signed with an NBA team.[/URL] “It wasn’t easy with all these viruses and stuff like that but they just opened the door for us and it was unbelievable,” Ilyasova said.
– via [URL="https://www.wpbf.com/article/veteran-nba-player-uses-local-schools-gym-during-free-agency/35826749"]Ana Espinosa @ WBPF[/URL]
[URL="https://www.wpbf.com/article/video-of-102-year-old-joining-great-grandsons-virtual-gym-class-goes-viral/35827609"]Ilyasova and Souza say the Lake Worth Christian School gym gave them a safe space to practice but they faced other challenges because of COVID-19. “Really the difficult part was keeping him in shape because he wasn’t able to play with other people,” Souza said.[/URL] “He wasn’t able to work out with other people. Not because he didn’t want to but because I didn’t let him and I didn’t want him to get sick.”
– via [URL="https://www.wpbf.com/article/video-of-102-year-old-joining-great-grandsons-virtual-gym-class-goes-viral/35827609"]Associated Press @ WBPF[/URL]
Connor Letourneau: [URL="https://*********.com/social/"]Steve Kerr on the Jazz: “They’re just a well-oiled machine.[/URL] … The puzzle really fits well for Utah.”
– via [URL="https://twitter.com/Con_Chron"]Twitter Con_Chron[/URL]
Ben Anderson: [URL="https://*********.com/social/"]Mike Conley on the @Utah Jazz approach to the second half of the season: “We’re trying to come into the second half with a 0-0 record mindset.[/URL] Not that we don’t want to keep the momentum going from what we’ve done the first half but to kind of reset our minds.”
– via [URL="https://twitter.com/BensHoops"]Twitter BensHoops[/URL]