2022-23 regular season. The Tank begins...

Stars roster?

Udoka?/Potter/Bolden
Cook/Lufile
Bolmaro?/Juang
Agbaji/Fletcher
Jackson/Alkins

I'd guess Udoka might spend some time there for conditioning and I'm not sure where he plays otherwise right now.

Bolden is returning. He's pretty good. Bolmaro put up big numbers in a few games in the Gleague last year so I'm not sure he'll spend much time there either? Agbaji should be getting big minutes and touches though. Got a few NBA guys so I'd think they should be pretty good this year?

[url]https://www.ksl.com/article/50501825/we-werent-going-to-go-82-0-tired-jazz-drop-first-game-of-season-to-rockets[/url]

[QUOTE]Jordan Clarkson lost the ball out of bounds with 26.8 seconds left in regulation, which set the stage for a new result for the 2022-23 Utah Jazz: a loss.

The Utah Jazz are unbeaten no more, falling to the Houston Rockets 114-108 Monday at Toyota Center.

"It's a long season," said Clarkson, who scored 17 points to lead the Jazz, but was 0-of-3 in the final two minutes. "We weren't going to go 82-0. Sooner or later we were going to take a loss. I think we all handled it well."

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I told you he'd lose a lot of games for them.

[QUOTE]"It's hard to win in the NBA with 20 turnovers," Hardy said. "There were times where we played a little bit fast. There were times where our spacing got a little bit clunky, especially in the first half. I thought in the second half our guys responded and came out with a different energy and a different physicality."

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turnovers have been an issue which it probably will continue to be with all their passing plus Clarkson

[QUOTE]During the surprising start to the season, Hardy applauded his team for finding new ways to win. And they almost found another one on Monday: Simone Fontecchio.

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got some depth

[url]https://kslsports.com/494604/markkanen-jazz-fall-to-rockets/[/url]

[QUOTE][h=2]Markkanen Struggles For Jazz Against Rockets[/h][/QUOTE]

earlier in the day he was an all-star. Like I said I'd go more on the rest of his career than 3 games. He might have his best year but I'm not sure he's the star some seem to think

[QUOTE]Markkanen’s struggles left the Jazz without a clear offensive identity and may be the first telltale of the team’s weaknesses this season.

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Clarkson was the 1st sign. I'd be happy with this squad win or lose if they got rid of that shit show

[QUOTE]Hardy has yet to close the game with the same five players on the floor this season, including [URL="https://kslsports.com/494600/utah-jazz-simone-fontecchio-first-nba-points-threes-houston-rockets/"]Simone Fontecchio[/URL] and Nickeil Alexander-Walker each recording crucial minutes down the stretch in Houston.

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he's a breath of fresh air

[QUOTE]Kessler had his first rough rookie outing committing four fouls and turning the ball over twice in just eight minutes.

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his 1st back to back

[url]https://kslsports.com/494600/utah-jazz-simone-fontecchio-first-nba-points-threes-houston-rockets/[/url]

Good to see him hitting from the NBA 3. He put up good numbers overseas and in the Euros. D must be keeping him off the floor.

[url]https://kslsports.com/494587/jazz-lakers-westbrook-trade/[/url]

[QUOTE]Rudy Gay has had a resurgent start to season averaging 7.7 points while shooting a healthy 45 percent from the three-point line.

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paying him next year will be a tough sell regardless

[url]https://www.deseret.com/2022/10/24/23421423/analysis-utah-jazz-vs-houston-rockets[/url]

[QUOTE]This is what this season is all about. There are going to be opportunities for players to improve and grow and show that they deserve a spot in an NBA rotation. It’s the job of the coaching staff to allow for those opportunities and the job of the player to make the most of them.

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too bad COTM didn't get the memo

[url]https://www.deseret.com/2022/10/24/23420647/jazz-cavaliers-and-timberwolves-winning-trades[/url]

[QUOTE]The Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves are all only three games into new chapters in their franchises after the Jazz swung blockbuster trades to send Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland and Rudy Gobert to Minnesota in the summer, but it’s fair to say all three teams are “winning” the deals right now, a sign of a good trade.

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doubt the Jazz ever win the Gobert trade

[url]https://saltcityhoops.com/salt-city-seven-hot-start-big-heart-early-impressers-more/[/url]

[QUOTE]So was everybody wrong about the new-look Jazz? Maybe. Or maybe it’s just really early on in the process. It’s easy to find examples of early-season overperformers. The 2020-21 Magic started 4-0 (and 6-2) before eventually settling into the league’s third-worst record at 21-51, and that same season’s Cavs started 3-0 on their way to a 22-win season. The 2019-20 Timberwolves were 3-0 before a third-worst finish. The 2017-18 Grizzlies finished second worst even after starts of 3-0 and 5-1. The 19-63 Timberwolves of the 2013-14 campaign also started out 3-0.

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Jazz will join this sad list in the end. Ainge will make sure of it

[QUOTE]Case in point: when the Lakers came out of a late timeout down 1 on Sunday, most people assumed LeBron James would take the final shot. Hell, even on the Pels’ final offensive possession against the Jazz, Utah’s broadcasters joked that the play was obviously drawn up for CJ McCollum. (It was.) Conversely, how many people inside Smoothie King Arena figured the decisive play would be Kelly Olynyk rumbling in on an iso from the top of the key? The Jazz are winning right now precisely because they’re completely unpredictable. At some point, opponents will have a better idea who and what the Jazz are, and they’ll be better prepared to deal with some of the chaos Hardy’s team is introducing.

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hopefully Hardy will continue to be flexible and not fall into 3 years of no adjustments like COTM

[QUOTE][B]Good old-fashioned regression[/B]. There’s a solid chance top scorer Lauri Markkanen isn’t going to average 24.0 points per game, or that Olynyk won’t shoot 75% from deep forever, or that Mike Conley Jr. isn’t going to play 35 minutes per game all season. There are always a lot of mirages in early-season sample sizes, and some stuff will catch up to the Jazz.

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didn't really expect Conley to play back to backs. Hopefully they can keep him healthy until he's traded

[QUOTE]Same goes for some team-wide trends, like how Utah is currently holding teams to just 83.5 points per 100 halfcourt possessions despite having very little paint protection. It will be somewhat shocking if that number is anywhere near that level in another week or two.

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Kessler isn't Rudy but he's good

[QUOTE]For that matter, can they even sustain their frenetic style over 82 games — or even over this early 5-games-in-7-nights stretch? Right now the team is succeeding by playing with the pedal to the metal, and that’s a hard thing to do for 48 minutes multiplied by 82 games, especially when you remember that three of their top four minute-getters are 30 or older.

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use their depth

[QUOTE][B]Counterpoint: screw it, this is fun.[/B] However long this continues, this is a blast for the Jazz and their fans. So why not enjoy it? Don’t let over-analytical jerks like me police your fun with talk of regression or trades or opponents cracking the puzzle. Even if this 3-0 start becomes a footnote in the broader story of a rebuilding team with some struggles ahead, it’s still a welcome change of emotional energy and an exhiliarhating introduction to guys who could be laying the foundation for the next great Jazz era. And some of these dudes will still be on the team themselves when the Jazz climb back to relevance. So getting the chance to fall in love early at a time without weighty expectations is a cool blessing, even if the Jazz go 0-79 from here. (Spoiler alert: they won’t.)

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None of these guys might be here in a few years. I doubt more than a few at most

[QUOTE]Markkanen looks like a legit 3-level scorer. He had a .619 true shooting season two years ago as Chicago experimented with his versatility, and he’s back in that ballpark to start the year. Remembering that sample sizes are comically small, only a dozen players in the league have logged 100 minutes so far with at least 23% usage and .600 true shooting: 10 literal All-Star guards, Nikola Jokic… and the Finnisher. He’s looking really solid. If you popped out of a time machine and told me this current Jazz roster included the player who would become Utah’s next All-Star at some point, right now I’m assuming that guy is Markkanen.

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Sexton is more likely. Lauri will be gone by the trade deadline

[QUOTE]…Walker Kessler. His comfort level as a rookie has definitely been among the more surprising storylines so far. So many rookies spend time looking lost early on, but the young center already has a great understanding of where to be, where help is coming from, how to rotate, etc. Hardy has used him as both a paint anchor and also as a free roamer, the same way the Celtics used Robert Williams last year. That they already feel confident enough to give Kessler different assignments is a huge compliment. In 64 minutes, the Jazz have outscored opponents by +13.0 per 100 possessions. Again, take that as descriptive rather than predictive, but it’s still interesting for a rookie big man.

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no rookie under COTM looked as good this early. Not sure if that's a credit to Kessler or Hardy or says something about COTM

[QUOTE]For this week, we’ll give you a date to watch: October 31. Next Monday is the Jazz’s deadline to decide whether or not to exercise the options for Udoka Azuibuike’s fourth year or Leandro Bolmaro’s third. The former has yet to suit up this season, while the latter has played exactly one minute. It will be interesting to see if the Jazz rest Conley at all during this busy week of action, and if that creates any opportunities for Bolmaro to make his case for another year. He might be more likely to be picked up anyway since he’s relatively affordable: the guard’s 2023-24 salary is only a half million or so more than a minimum salary slot, whereas Dok’s ($3.9M) is nearly double if exercised.

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I'd guess neither but at that price it might make sense to pick up Bolmaro. The problem is he might be the next guy on the cutting block if they have to take on extra guys in a trade or whatever. Need flexibility

[QUOTE][B]Friday 10/28, Jazz @ Nuggets:[/B] Reigning 2-time MVP Nikola Jokic will have only needed to wait a week for his chance at avending a season-opening loss to the Jazz, who have now claimed six in a row over the Nuggets. Since that stunner in Salt Lake, Denver is 2-0, and the Joker is 0.3 assists off from [I]averaging[/I] a triple double in his first three outings. Jamal Murray doesn’t quite look like himself yet (14.0 ppg, but just .515 true shooting), but Michael Porter Jr. and new Nugget Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are both shooting 50% from three on a combined 14 attempts per game. If Murray and Aaron Gordon find a rhythm, this team could get really scary.

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I think D will be an issue

[url]https://www.slcdunk.com/2022/10/24/23422297/are-the-utah-jazz-working-on-a-trade-with-the-los-angeles-lakers-for-russell-westbrook-rumor[/url]

[QUOTE]That’s an interesting trade package that makes you wonder what the details of those picks were. We had heard this rumor before, but that there were heavy protections on those picks. Was Danny Ainge looking to find a better fit in Kelly Olynyk, or would he have traded for the picks if they were unprotected? We’ll probably never know for sure, but it’s clear that there will likely be more discussions at some point. From O’Connor’s article:

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he likes Kelly I'm sure but it's all about the picks. Doubt anyone is untouchable now. Maybe Kessler and Vanderbilt?

[QUOTE][INDENT]ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that a trade involving Westbrook isn’t likely until after Thanksgiving. That’s around the same time that Dennis Schröder, who at this point is undoubtedly a better point guard than Westbrook, could return from his thumb surgery.
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Lakers could be so far out of it by than they might not want to give up anything

[url]https://www.slcdunk.com/2022/10/24/23422186/utah-jazz-drop-first-game-of-the-season-with-loss-to-the-houston-rockets-jalen-green-lauri-markkanen[/url]

[QUOTE]Mike Conley had another nice assist night. A down night for Conley now means 7 assists which is pretty good considering 7 assists would have seemed like a lot last season.

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has the ball in his hands like he should have all along

[url]https://hoopshabit.com/2022/10/24/undefeated-utah-jazz-good-tank/[/url]

[QUOTE]A young, productive defender and rebounder, Jared Vanderbilt is someone a playoff team would love to have. Malik Beasley and [URL="https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/2528426/jordan-clarkson"]Jordan Clarkson[/URL] are two off-the-bench spark plugs that could lead the second unit of a contender. [URL="https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3195/mikeconley"]Mike Conley[/URL] is past his prime, but he remains a viable backup option for teams that are short on point guards.

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Conley is a starter for a lot of teams still

[url]https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/269140/Lakers-Jazz-Expected-To-Discuss-Russell-Westbrook-Trade-Again[/url]

[QUOTE]The Jazz also have Mike Conley and Rudy Gay that could be included in a potential trade. Jordan Clarkson could also be a potential piece, though Utah is said to prefer to keep him.

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why would you keep the bum? :facepalm

Former NBA players [URL="https://*********.com/lists/international-transactions-log-where-are-former-nba-players-going/"]Nate Darling, Malik Fitts and Xavier Moon will play for G League team Ontario Clippers[/URL] in the 2022-23 season.
– via [URL="https://*********.com/lists/international-transactions-log-where-are-former-nba-players-going/"]Alberto De Roa @ *********[/URL]

Jonathan Feigen: [URL="https://*********.com/social/"]Alperen Sengun out tomorrow in Utah.[/URL] Won’t fly with the team but plans to join the team in the trip.
– via [URL="https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Feigen"]Twitter Jonathan_Feigen[/URL]

Kelly Iko: Barring a setback, Rockets F [URL="https://*********.com/social/"]Jae’Sean Tate will make his regular season debut tomorrow in Utah,[/URL] sources tell @TheAthletic. Tate has missed Houston’s first four games with a right ankle injury.
– via [URL="https://twitter.com/KellyIko"]Twitter KellyIko[/URL]