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[QUOTE]Quin Snyder has insisted the goal is something larger than any one game or maybe even one season.[/QUOTE]
The goal isn't to compete. One look at their off-season made that quite evident.
[QUOTE]"The picture for us is a big picture," the Jazz head coach said before Monday
[QUOTE]"I thought he did a hell of a job his four years as a Jazz head coach" Malone said. "He
[QUOTE]How much harder is it to get a shot off in the NBA?
Stauskas: "It
[QUOTE]New coach Quin Snyder isn
The Brooklyn Nets are working to finalize a deal to unload Andrei Kirilenko onto the Philadelphia 76ers, sparing the franchise nearly $12 million in salary and luxury tax, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Yahoo! Sports
Kirilenko, 33, is in the final year of a $3.3 million contract and would be waived in Philadelphia should the deal be completed, sources said. Kirilenko would become a free agent, but it could still be several weeks
[QUOTE]Nets Daily: Woj says Jazz interest in AK-47 never real, teams never talked Twitter @NetsDaily [/QUOTE]
of course not. why would they want to compete?
:facepalm
[QUOTE]Jazz held the Spurs to just 96 points in 94 possessions. Given the state of the defense during the losing streak, I was beginning to believe that the Jazz would never be able to defend well.2But over the last 2 games, progress has been made with a 104 DRtg against the Kings, and a 102 DRtg against the Spurs. These were teams that were missing their best offensive players, but at least they showed that they were capable of a good performance on the defensive end.
In particular, I thought holding Ginobili to 3-17 shooting was a massive success, and a team effort to boot. To show this, I watched all of Manu
[QUOTE]Sacramento winning sans Cousins has been another disheartening trend during this nine-game losing streak. Many of the Jazz
Jazz To Sign Patrick Christopher
Dec 10, 2014 1:16 AM EST
The Utah Jazz are lining up the call up of Patrick Christopher from the NBA D-League.
Christopher went to training camp with the Memphis Grizzlies this season and has since played for the Iowa Energy.
Doesn't look like much of a pick-up on paper. Be 27 in June so he'll be another rookie/vet presence. Shoots the 3 at 6'5" from the small forward position. Hasn't done that much since the first 3 games in the D-league. Maybe he is a D and 3 guy? Had 5 assists in one game too.
[QUOTE]his was a complete effort. Everyone had a part and the guys stayed engaged for the complete 48 minutes. The Spurs were run less for almost the entire. At no point did the Jazz let the game get away.[/QUOTE]
Everyone but Trey anyway. Could say he played good D but without Parker did he?
[QUOTE]Key portion of the game was early 2ndquarter when Gordon Hayward went out of the game and the Jazz were able to score. The Jazz have not been able to score for most of the season with Hayward on the bench and this prevented the Jazz from having the second quarter collapse.
The Spurs only hit 4 three pointers the whole night and only 1 in the 2ndhalf. Tony Parker being out of the game restricted the ability of the Spurs to collapse the defense and get it out to shooters. At the same time there were numerous plays where the Jazz cut off the penetration with good help defense and still got out to bother the shooter.[/QUOTE]
And plenty of open misses.
[QUOTE]Derrick Favors really impressed me tonight. He struggled against Tim Duncan early and only increased his effort and desire to impact the game. This is a hard night for a big like Favors. They play solid defense. They slip lanes are not there. They protect the rim. They don
[QUOTE]the Jazz and their fans will be hoping it might signal a turning point, perhaps a good omen of, hopefully, better days ahead for this struggling ballclub.[/QUOTE]
Like Snyder taking over the team?
[QUOTE]After all, Tuesday night's 100-96 victory over the defending NBA champion Spurs not only snapped Utah's woeful nine-game losing streak
[QUOTE]They did this sometimes last year, too, dangling a carrot and then pulling back.
[/QUOTE]
teams are going to have good and bad nights. Jazz had a good one and the Spurs had a bad one. The Jazz aren't suddenly a deep, talented, and veteran team though.
[QUOTE]“It’s just growth,” said forward Derrick Favors.
But so far, this has been the mode for the still-learning Jazz: Show up for grand opening but take a break during the digging.
As happy as the win made coach Quin Snyder, he must at times be grinding his teeth. His team can soar with the eagles but also wallow with the pigs.
Snyder’s response: Stick with them. They’re getting there. He just wishes Jazz fans would please put away their stopwatches.
Last year’s 57-loss result was excruciating for fans, the worst in Utah since Jeff Wilkins and Ben Poquette inhabited the paint. The last two weeks gave way to a curious numbness.[/QUOTE]
The same fans calling for the tank so they could get their big potential superstar? It's funny. People want them to win and lose at the same time.
[QUOTE]“The picture for us is a big picture,” Snyder told Salt Lake beat reporters on Monday.
Good thing for them they finally got a snapshot from a different angle.
What the kind of a future the Jazz have is still the question. When they broke up the Al Jefferson-Paul Millsap group after the 2012-13 season, it was clear they were taking a chance. But management knew their ceiling with the old group: an annual one-and-done playoff appearance.[/QUOTE]
They didn't know the ceiling with one of the best PF's in basketball and another guy in Demarre that every team should want. Obviously a team built around Al ball isn't going anywhere. But this team with Millsap and Demarre could be looking pretty good. Still have a big ole at pg but maybe they'd have a vet and/or Neto? Gobert, Millsap, Neto and Tomic for 2015!
[QUOTE]So they started over with kids, and lots of them. Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter gave way to Dante Exum, Rudy Gobert, Rodney Hood and Trey Burke. Last year’s horrendous 1-14 start developed into to this year’s 5-16 launch. Going into Tuesday’s game, the Jazz were only one game better than a last year’s pace.[/QUOTE]
But they're definitely better this year! :rolleyes:
[QUOTE]They lost to a changing Dallas, a weak modest Sacramento and an Oklahoma City with its liver and kidneys removed.
Yet Tuesday they arrived looking conspicuously feisty. They blocked five Spurs shots and traded baskets throughout the first half. But the Spurs were crafty as ever. With the Jazz up by one, Tim Duncan took an entry pass with his back to the basket. He didn’t turn around, didn’t fake either. He just flipped a no-look shot over his head. Derrick Favors recovered in time to take a swat at the ball but was whistled for goal tending.
It was a move Duncan wouldn’t have considered back when he was young and locomotives were new.
But the other really old Spur, Manu Ginobili (37), didn’t fare as well. He missed 14 of 17 shots and had four turnovers. Even so, he got eight assists and two steals.
That’s the Spurs: Even when they’re bad, they’re good.
The Jazz led by 10 with a 1
[QUOTE]Dan McCarney: Most impressive part of Enes Kanter's performance last night - he left the arena in Utah in December without a coat. Twitter @danmccarneySAEN - See more at: [url]http://*********.com/rumors.htm#sthash.5KbDVUcD.dpuf[/url][/QUOTE]
Getting sick would be real smart
:confusedshrug:
[QUOTE]just over 20 games into the Dante Exum era, just over a season into the Trey Burke era[/QUOTE]
My guess is the Burke era won't last more than a couple more years unless he eventually accepts a reserve role which he probably won't initially until he figures out no one else in the league sees him as a starter.
[QUOTE] just getting into the maturing stages of the Enes Kanter and Alec Burks era, just past the rookie contracts of the Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward era.[/QUOTE]
The Kanter era is probably coming to a close sadly. I hope they they at least take a good look at him and Gobert together before they decide.
[QUOTE]Or are they just past the Tyrone Corbin era? Stop me, now, please.[/QUOTE]
The Ty era ended the year before they just didn't want to pay two coaches last year.
[QUOTE]Jazz fans have been waiting on draft picks to build this roster since Kevin O
[QUOTE]San Antonio worked the offense that stands as an example for the Jazz and for half the teams in the league, all of whom are trying to replicate it.[/QUOTE]
That's a big part of the problem. They don't have the players. You got to have guys that can shoot and defend.
[QUOTE]The key word, the problematic word, there: trying.
The great point guard/philosopher Yoda said: "Do or do not. There is no try."
In the literal sense, in the case here, wrong the veteran small man is.
At this particular point of development, try is most of what the Jazz can offer. There isn
[QUOTE]The Jazz remain the third-worst defensive team in the league, allowing just under 110 points per 100 possessions. But over the past two games, a loss in Sacramento and a much-needed win over the defending champion Spurs, that number has been a more respectable 102.1.[/QUOTE]
Moving on up! 102 I believe is still horrible.
[QUOTE]Utah held the Spurs to under 100 points in part by blocking seven shots and forcing five steals. And while Snyder said Derrick Favors remains an "obvious" leader and the "anchor of our defense," [/QUOTE]
:roll:
[QUOTE] the Jazz will need what Hayward can provide if it
[QUOTE]playing without star point guard Tony Parker, Duncan had little help. [/QUOTE]
Whatever. They had some guys doing some things. Jazz had everyone play well though except for their leader Trey.
[QUOTE]Leonard scored 16 points, but was held in check by Hayward for much of the evening. Manu Ginobili scored 10 points, but went 3-17 from the field. [/QUOTE]
He did some other stuff too.
[QUOTE]The Spurs shot 4 of 20 from 3-point range, and they missed nine free throws.
Those factors were enough for the Jazz to pull off the win, improbable because Utah was playing on consecutive nights and the team hadn
[QUOTE]Joseph Goodman: Kenneth Faried appears to be a go tonight for Jazz-Heat. Utah w/out Gallinari, Nate Robinson and JaVale McGee. McBob questioned for Heat. Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr [/QUOTE]
:roll:
[QUOTE]Enes Kanter had 12 points and 15 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Turkish big man, who has often been criticized for his defensive deficiencies, had a team-best defensive rating of 82.2 in 30 minutes on the floor.[/QUOTE]
:eek: He's been looking better and better. Start playing him and Favors with Gobert and see which is the best fit moving forward.
[QUOTE]Coincidentally, it would be the third time in franchise history the Jazz snapped a nine-game losing streak with a win over the San Antonio Spurs. It happened before in the 1983 and 2005 seasons.
The win helped Utah avoid the team
[QUOTE]
[QUOTE]Christopher is a 26-year-old wing who played collegiately at California before embarking on an international hoops career.
He's played in Turkey (2012-13) and in France (2011-12), where he was Jazz center Rudy Gobert's teammate with Cholet Basket.[/QUOTE]
He knows Rudy! Wonder how much French or Turkish he speaks?
[QUOTE]In 2013-14, he averaged 13.6 points for Iowa and was named to the D-League's All-Defensive second team. He also participated in the league's 3-point contest.
The Jazz announced that Christopher will wear No. 19. He is the 12th D-League call-up in team history and the 10th player in the NBA to be brought up this season.
EMAIL: [email]jody@desnews.com[/email]
TWITTER: DJJazzyJody[/QUOTE]
3 and D! Sounds like he might just be a non guaranteed contract that they can use for a trade.
[QUOTE]Alec Burks
[QUOTE]Utah has a young, talented team with a young, talented coach. But young takes a beating in the west. The 6-16 Jazz are already almost hopelessly out of the playff chase, but would be just four games out of the eigth playoff spot in the east.[/QUOTE]
4 games is still a lot this early in the year. They'd have an easier schedule though too.
[QUOTE]The Jazz’s mirror image in the east might be the Milwaukee Bucks, with rookie sensation Jabari Parker and Jason Kidd in his first year on the Milwaukee bench. The Bucks are 11-12 and are in sixth place in the east. If the regular season ended today, they would be postseason-bound.[/QUOTE]
Don't see them as a mirror image.
[QUOTE]This is the Jazz’s sobering reality. They face really tough, Western Conference competition in the vast majority of their games. Just another reason why Utah’s rebuild is going to take time and patience. It has as much to do with where they play as anything else.
"It’s an eye-opener to see the great teams and the great players that you come across on a regular basis," Snyder said. "As we go through the process, we certainly know that we have our work cut out for us."
Things are so tough in the west that just 31/2 games separate the Mavericks from the conference-leading Warriors. Golden State is off to a terrific 18-2 start, but it’s just one prolonged losing streak away from fighting for its postseason life in the west. There are no nights off, just a bunch of talented teams jockeying for position over the course of 82 games.
"This is how it’s been for 10 years," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "But this year, it’s as good as I’ve ever seen it."[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]Defense is important.
It wins championships, they say.
But if you want a shot at making the Utah Jazz
[QUOTE]Christopher is known for being a wing who can defend and score on the perimeter. He averaged 15.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists for Iowa this season. Although capable offensively, Jazz management told him his main priority is defense.[/QUOTE]
He should have a real shot. They need shooting, D and help on the wing. He's a bit older than most of their players too.
[QUOTE]
[QUOTE]the Utah Jazz are rebuilding. [/QUOTE]
tanking actually
[QUOTE]The main point of a rebuild is to get better players than the ones your already have. Some teams can do this with trades. Others do it through free agency. The Utah Jazz, though, have to start with the draft. Getting good young players means, most of the time, that you have to be really bad, lose a lot of games, and get good draft picks. The other thing you need to do is have a great scouting department so you don't blow it when it's your turn to select someone. Of course, the next step is playing those guys, teaching them, and giving them experience so that they can fulfill their destiny and be better than the players you had at the beginning of this process.
That's how you rebuild. The Jazz are years into their rebuild. Two players are in their first year after their rookie contract, and that's year five of their NBA careers: Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward. Two players are in the last year of their rookie contracts, year four of their careers, one has gotten an extension from the Jazz in Alec Burks, the other has not and will be a restricted free agent this summer, Enes Kanter. To be fair, I do not believe that those four players are a) as good as they are eventually going to be, and b) probably not as experienced as they should be going into their 5th and 4th seasons in the NBA. This is a failure of the last step mentioned above.
As a result, the Jazz are still rebuilding, with a Phase 2 rebuild YEARS after the point where they should have started. (Very few teams with high potential lotto picks decide to keep them on the bench for years in this current era of NBA basketball) [/QUOTE]
And that's a big problem. Guys that earn the time should play. That's the biggest problem with Trey right now. He hasn't shown he's an NBA caliber starter but he's starting just because. The other guys had to earn it somewhat anyway. The fact they have their own DLeague team playing the same style of basketball gives them no excuse now either.
[QUOTE]Phase 2 started with two 1st rounders in the 2013 Draft, Trey Burke and Rudy Gobert, and continued with another two 1st rounders in the 2014 Draft, Dante Exum and Rodney Hood.
If you add it up, though, this is a young team that is inexperienced. (No doy why we only have 6 wins!) But it's a super young team where 9 of the 15 players on it are under 25.[/QUOTE]
They are young but why also don't have the shooters or defenders to play the type of ball they are playing.
[QUOTE]Utah Jazz 2014 2015 Roster by Age
So...... ESPN's three headed monster of Kevin Pelton, David Thorpe, and Amin Elhassan decided that only three of them are among the NBA's Top 25 players under the age 25. (In$ider). Because I'm a nice guy, I'll fill you in on what they had to say:
11. Derrick Favors / Age: 23 / Jazz
Projected 3-year WARP: 16.8
Pelton: Improved floor spacing in Quin Snyder's offense has helped Favors set career highs in both usage (22.2 percent of the Jazz's possessions) and true shooting percentage (.593).[/QUOTE]
Yes they are using him a lot better. Until he shows he can defend the 4 or 5 than who cares really though? Gobert should be higher than anyone on the Jazz .
[QUOTE]Thorpe: Favors has made a jump as a scorer, which moves him up on this list with another year to go. Right now he is a good defender and can be a good team's second-best scorer, with room to grow.[/QUOTE]
He's a crappy teams 2nd option now. Don't really see him as that on a good team.
[QUOTE]Elhassan: His progression has not happened as quickly as I anticipated, but he's still a high-level rebounder and shot-blocker who is making strides on the offensive end.
12. Gordon Hayward / Age: 24 / Jazz
Projected 3-year WARP: 17.3
Pelton: Hayward will be 25 in March, and similar players were about at their peak by that age. It's OK if Hayward continues performing like he has this season, as he ranks in the league's top 30 in both RPM and WARP.
Thorpe: He's enjoying a career year, as players entering their prime years should be. Can help an offense as both a scorer and passer while bringing great energy to the game, which is not a small thing.
Elhassan: Nice all-round talent who can dribble, pass and shoot, but I wonder whether Hayward can take the next step toward greatness. If he can't, the Jazz will need to add someone who can lead them there.[/QUOTE]
Not sure he can get a lot better. They are using him better to. He'll have to become more consistent to step up anymore and he's always been streaky.
[QUOTE]23. Dante Exum / Age: 19 / Jazz
Projected 3-year WARP: 1.5
Pelton: After a strong start, Exum has shot just 24.2 percent since Nov. 21, including 2-of-14 from 3-point range. SCHOENE includes Tony Parker among his comparables, but the closest match is Indiana Pacers wing C.J. Miles.[/QUOTE]
Ouch! He's already better than CJ. Got the BB IQ that CJ lacks.
[QUOTE]Thorpe: Maybe the best example of upside versus downside on this list, but his abilities as an athlete and passer suggest a big future. We don't know if he will be a great scorer, which would lower his ceiling significantly if he doesn't turn out to be. As a plus, he's young enough to be on this list for five more seasons.[/QUOTE]
He looks like a guy that will be able to score but rather he has that mentality I'm not sure. Assists and D and solid, smart play at the very least.
[QUOTE]Elhassan: Of all the players on the Jazz roster, Exum has the highest upside. He is in the first few steps of a thousand-mile journey of development, but as Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee showed last season, the light can turn on sooner than expected.
So there you have it, the Jazz are rebuilding and have three players with potential who are young, and they are getting recognized right now. But is three enough? What if one doesn't become a star? Does that make the rebuild a failure? The Jazz have a lot of youth right now . . . will any of the overlooked players make a jump?[/QUOTE]
None are stars yet. That's why the tank continues but next year cap wise it says it's time to start competing.
[QUOTE]Maybe this is just Jazz-fan DNA, and my anti-ESPN bias against their Jazz / small market bias is flaring up, but I think that more than just three of our guys have the ability to make a list of people under 25. Maybe a Top 30 list, as the actual ESPN Top 25 list is pretty solid.
We'll see.
I think the Jazz front office is doing their part during this rebuild. And they finally got a coach who is on board with it too. Results will follow. But seriously, in a year or two Alec Burks or Enes Kanter better be better than Draymond Green![/QUOTE]
Kanter likely won't be a Jazz man and Green as a stretch 4 is highly valuable in today's game.
[QUOTE]In 23 games, the Jazz have had a 1st quarter deficit 14 times.
In 23 games, the Jazz have been outscored in the 2nd quarter 17 times.
In 23 games, the Jazz have been losing at halftime 17 times.
In 23 games, the Jazz have scored more points than their opponent in the 3rd quarter 16 times.
In 23 games, the Jazz have eventually been outscored in the 4th quarter 16 times.
In 23 games, the Jazz have been losing at the end of the 4th quarter 17 times.
So sure, these are individual instances, so maybe you
[QUOTE]Poor 1st half followed by awesome comeback with a furious finish. It sure is entertaining and it is a great learning experience for this team.[/QUOTE]
It's entertaining if they compete and make a ball game of it. That's all I ask. I know their roster has lots of holes. But mostly they've been getting blown out unlike the middle of last year.
[QUOTE]On the final in bound play the Heat front block each player on their route and down 3 you can
[QUOTE]At 3 p.m., the training staff told Miami coach Erik Spoelstra that Dwyane Wade was sick and probably would not be able to play.[/QUOTE]
:cry:
[QUOTE]A few hours later Wade was in the Heats starting lineup ready to go.
Wade had only eaten half a bowl of chicken noodle soup in the past 24 hours but summoned the energy to score a season-high 29 points, including three free throws in the final 9 seconds, to help Miami beat the Utah Jazz 100-95 on Friday night.
"He dug deep tonight. We all just appreciated that he was just out there with his spirit but then to have a game like that was tremendous," Spoelstra said.
Wade made 10 of 16 shots and recorded seven assists, despite his illness.
"You don't ever want to be sick at all, but I do know when you have an injury or if you're sick, it makes you focus a bit better," Wade said.
Chris Bosh had 22 points and Luol Deng added 14 for the Heat, who closed a five-game road swing on a winning note after losing five of their previous six.
Enes Kanter scored 25 points, Gordon Hayward had 18 and Alec Burks 16 for Utah, which has lost 10 of its last 11 games.
Wade's final free throw attempt with 5.2 seconds remaining rimmed out, leaving the score 98-95 and giving the Jazz a chance to tie. However, Joe Ingles failed to get the ball inbounds within 5 seconds after a time out, turning the ball back over to the Heat.
"I knew they were trying to go to Hayward at the top of the key. I just wanted to be on top of him and change his route so he'd be in the 2 area, instead of the 3. As soon I saw them line up, we knew the play and put ourselves in position to stop it," Deng said.
Norris Cole was then fouled and made both free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining for the final margin.
Bosh broke a nearly 4-minute drought with a jumper at the 58-second mark to put Miami in front, 95-89.
"We felt like we could salvage the road trip with a solid win tonight but we knew it wasn't going to be easy. Defensively, we answered the bell," Bosh said.
The Heat had to overcome a rare out-of-bounds travel by Deng and four quick points by Hayward along with a layup by Rodney Hood before the last-gasp inbounding gaffe.
After the Jazz trimmed the edge to one point in the fourth quarter, Wade and Mario Chalmers made back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Heat back in command until the final minute.
Down by 16 points in the third quarter, the Jazz stormed back behind the slim, shot-blocking combo of Jeremy Evans and Rudy Gobert. Dante Exum's 3-pointer at the end of the period completed a 15-3 run and closed the gap to 78-74.
Wade had scored 20 or more points in nine consecutive games but then had two subpar outings, before the outburst against the Jazz.
"Why shots started falling now, when I felt bad, no one knows," Wade said.
Early on, the Heat encountered little resistance to their drive-and-dish offense, which produced open shots in the first half. Miami shot 63 percent and led 62-47 at the break.
"We are getting a slow start and playing catch up. We have enough talent to beat every team in every quarter. But it's tough," Kanter said.
The Heat finished 50 percent from the field.
___
TIP-INS
Heat: Miami's 62 first-half points were the most the Heat have scored in an away game this season and the 63 percent shooting was the best of any half. [/QUOTE]
A other team with highs against the vaunted Jazz D! :rolleyes:
[QUOTE]... Starting PF Josh McRoberts missed the game with a bruised right knee and Chris Andersen was out with a sprained right ankle. ... Justin Hamilton, who played high school in Utah, filled in for McRoberts and had nine points, including two key baskets in the fourth quarter.
Jazz: Favors limped off the court for the locker room after twisting his right ankle in the first quarter and did not return. The Jazz have gone 0-10 without Favors in the lineup over the past two years. ... The Jazz outrebounded the Heat 44-35. ... Without Favors for much of the game, Gobert posted a season highs in rebounds (11) and career highs in blocks (5) and assists (4).
UP NEXT
Heat: Host Chicago on Sunday.
Jazz: At Washington on Sunday.
Copyright
[QUOTE]"I was doing jumping jacks," said Heat guard Dwyane Wade. "Jumping as high as I can just so he couldn
[QUOTE]Derrick Favors sprained his ankle in the first quarter against the Heat. He left EnergySolutions Arena in a walking boot, and his status is unclear for Sunday
[QUOTE]Rudy Gobert started and played significant minutes in the second half. [/QUOTE]
The difference was probably Quin not playing him at the end of the first half with 2 fouls.
[QUOTE]With him on the floor, the lanes to the basket closed. He was an elite rim protector, blocking five shots. His presence in the paint allowed the Jazz to more effectively guard the perimeter.
This wasn
[QUOTE]Patrick Christopher, the 6-foot-5 Utah Jazz guard just signed out of the D-League, was inactive for Friday
[QUOTE]To make matters worse, the Jazz had lost center Derrick Favors.
With two minutes left in the first quarter Friday night at EnergySolutions Arena, Favors limped off the floor, wincing in pain. The fifth-year big man and the team
[QUOTE]Derrick Favors slowly limped out of EnergySolutions Arena with a walking boot on his right foot and his shoe in his left hand.
It was one of those nights for the Utah Jazz.[/QUOTE]
Yeah the 2nd most exciting night of the year since Favors missed his other game. The future needs to begin now. The Rudy era has a lot of potential. The Favors/Hayward/Burks era not so much.
[QUOTE]Without Favors in the lineup for the final three quarters, the Jazz fell behind and rallied to make things interesting before fading in the final stretch.
Same Jazz tune.
Different verse.
On this night, it was the Miami Heat who used a tried-and-true formula against Utah to leave the building with a 100-95 win.
[QUOTE]Second-year center Rudy Gobert has been a pleasant surprise for the Jazz this season as he has averaged 5.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.[/QUOTE]
Shouldn't be that surprising. I wasn't sure he was ready to play at the offensive end but otherwise you could see the potential in his first Summer League.
[QUOTE]His improved performance has earned him more time on the court, and while some folks may have doubted whether he belonged in the NBA last year
[QUOTE]“I don’t really like to talk about myself,” Kanter said. “I like to talk about my team.”
Kanter helped give his team a chance to turn a one-sided game into a competitive one down the stretch Friday night.
He had a double-double in Tuesday’s win over the Spurs, and he’s having the best stretch of his fourth season, averaging 17.0 points and 9.7 rebounds in December.[/QUOTE]
Amazing what minutes will do for someone. I guess he is considered an all-star now? The press and announcers been calling Derek and G all-stars with their numbers.
[QUOTE]Kanter might not want to talk about himself, but others will.
Snyder even made an admission that some tough love seems to be panning out.
“I have been really pleased. I’ve coached Enes hard. I think he’s needed it,” Snyder said. “Sometimes that can knock you back a little bit.”
Snyder credited the 22-year-old, who’s got a lot to play for this season with free agency looming next offseason, for accepting the challenge to become a better defender.
The 6-11 Kanter isn’t going to land on the NBA’s All-Defense team this season, but the man who draws comparisons to Al Jefferson because of his offensive gifts and defensive struggles is making strides, according to his coach.
“I’m pleased with the toughness, the mental toughness, he’s shown, the resolve to do things he’s been challenged to do,” Snyder said. “Offensively, he’s tried to be really unselfish, too. Defensively is where I see his focus. (When) he keeps his focus defensively, the offense comes easily.”
“Most important thing right now is defense,” Kanter said. “That’s our main focus right now.[/QUOTE]
Hard to believe it's a focus! :eek:
[QUOTE]We just have to do a better job.”
Eventually Kanter did answer a couple of questions about Snyder’s coaching.
“He’s a really good coach because he understands players. He has that communication. He has that relationship with the team,” Kanter said. “He has that relationship with the team, that we want to play for, just go out there and play for.
"He’s teaching us something really unique. We have to just get back (to what he) asks for — play with more energy.”
Kanter admitted that it’s sometimes hard to be the recipient of hard coaching.
“But that’s the way he’s coaching. I think he’s doing a really good job,” Kanter said. He then veered back to the team, adding, “It’s a long process, so we just have to be patient and play through it.”
Long is also the word rookie Joe Ingles used to describe the Jazz’s six-game road trip, which begins Sunday in Washington, D.C., and continues with stops in New Orleans, Miami, Orlando, Charlotte and Memphis before a Christmas break.[/QUOTE]
Charlotte? a win?
[QUOTE]“It will be good for us,” said the 27-year-old Ingles, who smiled and said a long road trip during his European playing days was 48 hours and included one game “and then you go home again.”
This trip might seem even longer depending on the health of Favors. His foot landed awkwardly when he got tangled up playing Miami late in the first quarter Friday, forcing him to miss the rest of the game.
Kanter and backup center Rudy Gobert both had one of their best performances of the season, but the Jazz certainly don’t want to go an extended amount of time without the 6-10 Favors in the lineup.[/QUOTE]
Why not? Actually having a chance to compete is bad?
[QUOTE]One huge reason: The team is 0-10 the past two seasons when Favors misses.
“He’s really an important part of, I’ll say, (our) family,” Kanter said. “With Derrick out, Book (Trevor Booker), Jeremy (Evans) played tonight and Rudy Gobert (got) more (time). I think they’re doing a really good job.”
The Jazz aren’t certain whether Favors will be available for Sunday’s game (4 p.m. MST tipoff) against the Wizards. The fifth-year center left the arena Friday with a boot on his sprained right ankle, but X-rays came back negative. He traveled with the team Saturday and is listed as questionable for the road-trip opener.
Snyder also gave a vote of confidence to Gobert, who logged a season-high 26 minutes Friday while registering career-highs in rebounds (11), blocks (five) and assists (four).
“I think he played well. When Favors went out, to have that opportunity, I don’t think anyone was surprised by some of the things he did. He’s been doing that. He has just had more of an opportunity to play, “ Snyder said.
“Obviously, Derrick has been terrific over the course of the year. Rudy has been playing well, but (Friday) he played really well.”
The Jazz have only won twice in 10 road games this season — and not since Burke’s buzzer-beater in Madison Square Garden on Nov. 14 — but Kanter believes in his team. He shares the popular opinion that the Jazz need to stop falling down by so many points. Continuing a bad habit, Utah trailed by 16 points to the Heat before making a game of it in the second half.
“This team I think we have something special,” Kanter said. “We have enough talent to beat every team on every court. We just have to play with more pace and get a better start.”
EMAIL: [email]jody@desnews.com[/email]
TWITTER: DJJazzyJody[/QUOTE]
Need to play D. Rudy makes that possible.
[QUOTE]If he were to a miss time, it would be a major blow for the Jazz. Favors is averaging 15.6 points and 8 rebounds a game. [/QUOTE]
Almost as good as Enes this month. :confusedshrug:
[QUOTE]Utah will be trudging into Charlotte, N.C., on the second night of a back-to-back.[/QUOTE]
and that looks like the best chance for a win
[QUOTE]And the Memphis Grizzlies, one of the NBA