The restart games

[Xiao Yao You]

Couldn't start this before but it's overdue. Hope things are alright down under Kabong

[Xiao Yao You]

https://saltcityhoops.com/can-zone-d...-the-playoffs/

If given enough time to prepare, the Thunder will have better counters to the Jazz zone. However, it’s extremely encouraging for Jazz fans to know that Quin Snyder and the coaching staff are willing to be experimental during the rest of the seeding games, in order to be well prepared for a potential playoff matchup against the Thunder and other potential opponents.

More desperation than anything with how bad their D has become

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Harrison Wind: Nuggets have ruled Gary Harris and Will Barton out of tomorrow against the Jazz. Jamal Murray and Troy Daniels are questionable.
– via Twitter HarrisonWind

take care of business

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.sltrib.com/sports/2020/0...team-did-jazz/

On the other hand, maybe they’re trying to lose. Like, if they weren’t trying to lose, would we have seen a Justin Wright-Foreman, Rayjon Tucker, Miye Oni, Jarrell Brantley, Juwan Morgan lineup down the stretch of this one, with the game still within reach? That’s literally the last five guys on the depth chart. Wouldn’t Quin Snyder have thought “Oh, oops, we might accidentally win this one, let’s play Clarkson, Ingles, Bradley, or Mudiay?”

Tucker and Morgan are the next guys out of the rotation and Brantley and Oni should be in the mix. Would they have had more of a chance with Mudiay and Clarkson gunning? Ingles and Clarkson were obviously going to rest too

Why would they be trying to lose? First of all, I think it does benefit them to be in the six seed rather than the fifth seed, avoiding the Lakers in the second round and getting the Clippers. And I do think that the Nuggets are the best matchup for them, especially with talented guards Gary Harris, Jamal Murray, and Will Barton out. Those guys may or may not be available for the Nuggets in the playoffs, from what I hear.

Not sure the CLippers are better than the Lakers

Emmanuel Mudiay went 4-13 from the floor, making some mid-range shots and missing more. He did have five assists next to only one turnover, so that was nice to see. I’ll be curious to see if he or Tucker is in the rotation when real games start.

Or Brantley, Morgan or Oni

Miye Oni moved into the starting lineup and played reasonably well, scoring 14 points and adding seven rebounds, but no assists. Mark Whalen on Twitter said that he looked like dollar store Rodney Hood. I see it, but think Oni is a better defender but worse shooter than Hood is. Still, that may well be an NBA-level rotation player in the future.

He might end up a better shooter. Hood was streaky and best from mid range. Oni is a better playmaker too. Best part he didn't go to Duke!

[Xiao Yao You]

Ed Davis makes me sad. Last year, he was a tremendous rotation player for the Nets, putting up the second-best Defensive Real Plus Minus in the league after Rudy Gobert. This year, it’s like his powers were sapped by the Monstars: that’s very clearly Ed Davis out there, but he just doesn’t do anything useful. He’s not an effective rim protector, individual defender, screen setter, or rebounder. What other skills left? It’s a tough situation to be sure, but he isn’t taking advantage of the chances he gets either.

He's looked better since they came back. Not saying much

But he also is very capable of defensive mistakes, losing guys, and varying between over and underhelping. He’s still very raw, but as raw players go, there’s a lot there. He finished with eight points (3-8 FG), six rebounds, three assists, two turnovers, three steals, and one block. The Jazz don’t have a lot of players who can fill a stat sheet in that many categories.

He or Morgan need to start at the 4

Justin Wright-Foreman also shot 3-8 from the field, missing all three of his threes and adding a couple of turnovers. For him to be an NBA player, he’s either going to need to make his threes or round out his game in other ways, perhaps by being a better passer.

I can see him a 6th man. Rather have him and Mudiay on the cheap than Clarkson on a big contract

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Adrian Wojnarowski: Denver guard Jamal Murray (hamstring) will return to the lineup today vs. Utah, source tells ESPN.
– via Twitter wojespn

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Tony Jones: Donovan Mitchell is questionable for tomorrow. Juwan Morgan has been upgraded to probable. Good news there after that scary looking injury on Friday.
– via Twitter Tjonesonthenba

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.sltrib.com/sports/jazz/2...eam-jazz-pull/

That might be a little bit of a surprise given the absence of Bojan Boganovic, who led the Jazz in 3-point attempts this season, with 7.3 per game. But I think it makes some sense once you take into account how the Jazz were defended: with Bogdanovic, teams were much more concerned about sticking to him beyond the arc. Without him, teams have been much more concerned about the Jazz’s two-man paint game of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.

They'e been going to Rudy more which opens up the perimeter

[Xiao Yao You]

https://saltcityhoops.com/sc7-playof...utch-mitchell/

And if the ulterior motive were simply to give a struggling bench an opportunity to get back on track, we would have seen players like Jordan Clarkson, Emmanuel Mudiay, Tony Bradley and Georges Niang close that game. Instead, it was Utah’s third string lineup finishing a close contest against the Spurs’ main guys. That’s a pretty tell-tale sign that this wasn’t just about rest and recuperation.

Clarkson is playing starter minutes. Bradley, Niang and Mudiay would make more sense though

[Xiao Yao You]

These two are Utah’s future of defense first. Here’s a potential Jazz lineup for next season:
Donovan Mitchell - 6’1 Height - 6’10 Wingspan
Miye Oni - 6’5 Height - 6’11 Wingspan
Bojan Bogdanovic - 6’6 Height - 6’11 Wingspan
Jarrell Brantley - 6’6 Height - 7’1 Wingspan
Rudy Gobert - 7’1 Height - 7’9 Wingspan

Conley? Morgan or Brantley should be starting at the 4 now. Look for a vet for next season

Injuries, lack of depth, chemistry issues, and Mike Conley not being Mike Conley for much of it is why they’re not going to the NBA Finals.

They aren't big enough and they don't defend well enough. The offense is great.

Brantley and Oni are brand new to the rotation. IDK if there is a good comparison right now. Giving minutes to players with this little regular-season experience is basically unprecedented. (Maybe Raja Bell in the 01 playoffs is a good comp…? And even that was necessitated by injuries.)
Again, not saying I’m against giving them run. but we should be clear how unusual it would be at this point in the season giving such inexperienced players playing time.

Posted by l3uddyh011y on Aug 10, 2020 | 11:34 AM

having 6 rookies on a team that is supposedly contending has probably never happened

I hope Niang spends his entire summer focusing on defense and maybe he could take Ingles 3-D wing spot.

Posted by Palmetto Bug on Aug 10, 2020 | 4:06 PM

He'll never be a 3 and D. He's a good offensive player and great shooter

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat...ff-wins-second

Most NBA teams were looking at the upcoming free agency as a weak class. The big names were not going to be hitting the market until 2021 and there were not a lot of teams with a lot of cap space. That was before coronavirus. Now teams are looking at huge shortfalls in revenue. Teams that may have been aggressive in trading for more salary could be looking to shed salary. Teams that are maxed out on salary are now seeing their options for next season become very limited. The Mid Level Exception for teams under the tax apron is ~$9.3M. But if the salary cap drops, Utah is not eligible for the non-taxpayer MLE and is suddenly only able to work with $6.3M for being a team that’s paying the Luxury Tax. That’s before we even factor in Jordan Clarkson’s potential contract.

I'd let Clarkson go unless you think he can just spot up like today. Rather have Mudiay and Wright Forman on the cheap. I'd look to deal Conley and Bojan. Need a starting 4!

Which brings us to the Utah Jazz. It’s abundantly clear Utah has a bench problem which almost correlates to their youth problem. Mike Conley and Joe Ingles are approaching 33. Bojan Bogdanovic is 31. Rudy Gobert, Jordan Clarkson and Georges Niang are 28, yes they’re all the same age. Royce O’Neale is 27. This Utah Jazz team is low on upside. They need an injection of youth. They need athleticism. They also won’t have a lot of money to out and get help. Especially in a very shallow free agency class.

They've got 6 rookies and Bradley. I think some of those guys can help

Utah also needs size and length. Utah badly needs someone who can guard on the wings. That’s where the San Antonio game comes into play. Miye Oni and Jarrell Brantley saw a lot of time. They played really well. Miye Oni had 14 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, and only 1 turnover. He also played stellar defense on DeJounte Murray. Jarrell Brantley while not putting up big points had a line of 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and 2 turnovers. Even more importantly, he bothered the hell out of DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan did not have a fun time. He was 4 of 10 from the field with only 2 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5(!!!) turnovers. Jarrell Brantley’s defense was remarkable. Even more remarkable is Brantley has the size and athleticism to switch onto bigger wings as does Miye Oni.

This is their biggest need. Have to get bigger while still spacing the floor.

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/...bble-surprises

With that in mind, a guy like Jarrell Brantley, if given some legitimate second-unit minutes, could really give the bench a boost on defense. He’s incredibly versatile, in the same way that Royce O’Neale is and has already impressed the Jazz coaching staff. Actually he has the fifth best defensive rating of any Jazz player in the bubble. It’s probably not as likely that Brantley sees the kind of minutes he would need to really become a part of the rotation between now and the end of the playoffs, but he’s a guy that I would really keep an eye on.

him or Morgan should start

Without Bojan Bogdanovic out and with the Jazz combing through the bench trying to get the most out of the players they have in the bubble, the mother of all unique circumstances, we’ve been able to see some really good things from these guys.

having 6 rookies and not much else to choose from sure helps!

[Xiao Yao You]

“I think I handled it well,” Favors said of transitioning from Utah to New Orleans. “Obviously, a new team and new environment after being in Utah the past eight, nine years, just coming into a new environment, it was challenging and it was fun at the same time. I think I did good. I came in and really just played my role, did my job as a vet, kept guys ready, kept young guys ready, teaching them everything I could help them with and it was fun. “I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the role I was in, I enjoyed being around the young guys, being around this organization. Hopefully, I can come back but we’ll see what happens.”
– via Jacob Rude @ Lonzo Wire

as long as he isn't back in Utah!

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Eric Walden: Donovan Mitchell acknowledged that “guys being out of the lineup is tough,” but said the Jazz’s priority is making sure everyone is healthy and rested. Added that young guys playing is important because “with Bojan out, we need to look at everything.”
– via Twitter tribjazz


Eric Walden: Donovan said that the Jazz need to show improvement with their rebounding and in keeping the ball out of the paint. “We need to be turning the defensive intensity up. … There’s a lot of little things on the defensive end we can clean up.”
– via Twitter tribjazz

need the young guys for D and rebounding

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Noah Levick: Brett Brown again calls Alec Burks “lightning in a bottle” and mentions Lou Williams’ name in discussing Burks’ skill set. He says all good teams have somebody who can provide instant offense like Burks.
– via Twitter NoahLevick

Glad he's found someone to appreciate him finally!