2020-21 Regular season- The tax team

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https://kslsports.com/449304/jazz-fa...trail-blazers/

Both small market franchises pack considerable star power entering the season. The Jazz are led by stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, while the Portland welcomes superstar guard and former Weber State product Damian Lillard back to the roster.

highly questionable if Mitchell is as good as non all star McCollum. Mitchell is a better free throw shooter and gets there more. Mitchell turns it over more. The same or McCollum is better everywhere else

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Jazz should have their full roster available to them on opening night. Guard Joe Ingles was given a false positive test for COVID-19 over the weekend but was back with the team after clearing protocol on Tuesday.

good new I guess

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https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat...utah-jazz-2020

What!? A rotation player!? That’s it! This guy has improved his scoring every single year in the league and averaged over 20 points per game last season. And made it seem ridiculously easy at times. A 5 year market value of 17.2 million. LOL. We are paying him more than that this next season alone. And it feels like very fair value. I’m just baffled by this and really struggling here. I expect big things from our favorite Croation, 538’s model be danged!

He does little besides shoot and score. As I've said he's the guy I'd look to move for a starting 4

His list of 10 most comparable players is just laughable. Like, I don’t even know some of the names here and I’d consider myself a fairly informed NBA fan and history buff. O. Woolridge, Fred Roberts? Get outta here. Bojan is going to crush this rating...

Fred was good and 3rd string in Utah. Says a lot

Royce’s 2nd closest player comparison? None other than Bryon Russell from 1999. Let’s hope that projects a similar ending to Utah’s season back then (minus the push off of course!).

He's better than Russell too bad he's out of position

Some big time names come up on his comparison list. Gilbert Arenas (personal favorite of mine), Kobe Bryant, Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, among others. Will Donovan be able to make the jump from star with a little s to Superstar in this league? That might be the biggest hurdle for the Jazz to join the true contenders.

a bunch of overrated gunners

Similar question to Mitchell: Are we getting bubble Mike for good now? Let’s hope so. Bubble Mike looked more like Memphis Mike. And that’s a big deal. I mean just look at his model:

I'd expect the Conley they got most of the year besides a few bad games. He's not going to get the touches he got in the bubble with Bojan back unfortunately

And now the Jazz have bolstered their bench by bringing Derrick Favors back. Plus having Jordan Clarkson all season long. Not to mention the development of Miye Oni and Juwan Morgan. And the late free agency addition of Shaquille Harrison.

Favors in the corner and Clarkson from everywhere all the time aren't exactly good things

I’m genuinely surprised it has Rudy so high and Donovan (relatively) so low. Someone who knows this stuff better than me: What are the main things this model is pulling from?
Like, PER overrates stat-compilers and under-rates D. I know that over-simplifies PER… But it’s also not wrong. Is there an over-simplified one-sentence on RAPTOR’s strengths/weaknesses?

Posted by l3uddyh011y on Dec 22, 2020 | 8:03 AM

Mitchell only ranks high in one thing. Usage. Rudy is one of the best players in the league at both ends. Pretty simple

To say Bogey should only be paid 3 million a year is funny. He is one of the most complete offensive players in the game.
He can shoot, drive, create, post, and is a decent passer. He also doesn’t need much space to get his shot off. He isn’t a great rebounder or defender which is probably why his stats are so low.
If the starting unit can maintain its status as a top 5 unit, then I think the Jazz have a contender level team during the regular season.
Harrison and Favors are potential fixes for both weaknesses last year: depth and defense on the bench.

Posted by brianH85 on Dec 22, 2020 | 8:41 AM

but he's not. He can shoot and score. That's pretty much it! The potential fixes hurt the O though

538’s model has never liked Bojan, probably because the only thing he’s above average at is shooting and he’s well below average on many defensive stats. But I think his elite shooting is especially valuable in UTA’s system. I’m also curious if UTA’s defense being designed around Gobert deflates the defensive metrics of other players and inflates Gobert’s (e.g., when perimeter players funnel ball handlers to Gobert, it looks like they’re getting beat while giving Gobert more opportunities to stymie an opponent).

Posted by Palmetto Bug on Dec 22, 2020 | 8:59 AM

yet for some reason the offense didn't miss a beat without him in the bubble

I am interested in what Snyder does with the starting 5. If we get 5-10 games into the season and Ingles still hasn’t found his groove, I would love to see Snyder try a starting 5 of
Conley, Mitchell, Ingles, Bogey, and Gobert.
Ingles did so much better with the starting unit and he has really had issues through 3 games with fouling and shooting.
Hard to say what the sub rotation would be, but I think Ingles is the biggest question mark on the team right now.

Posted by brianH85 on Dec 22, 2020 | 9:08 AM

O'Neale has to start. Only one that plays both ends besides Rudy and the only one that plays big, Bojan and Ingles don't. Ingles needs to figure it out or he needs to be traded

I do think Ingles is probably the most redundant player on the team and thus potentially the player most likely to be traded (especially considering his salary and the team’s salary situation). It will be sad if he is traded which is why I’m mentally preparing now.

Posted by Palmetto Bug on Dec 22, 2020 | 12:29 PM

he'll probably get another extension before they trade him. That's the way the Jazz do things. They don't like change even when it's necessary

ingles is at an age where he could drop off quickly

the jazz need him to shoot the ball, and to shoot it every night when he is open.

Posted by utahcoyote on Dec 22, 2020 | 9:35 AM

dropped off the last two years. Doubt that changes

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Ben Anderson: Mike Conley on what he told Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert after they signed max contract extensions with the @UtahJazz. “Prepare for a lot of criticism. Prepare for all that because it comes with the big payday but same time it’s the best responsibility you could ever have.”
– via Twitter BensHoops



[IMG]https://*********.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/92/2019/11/i_8b_26_99_joe-ingles.png?w=190[/IMG]Ben Anderson: Joe Ingles said he got a false positive COVID-19 test. That’s why he missed time with the @UtahJazz.
– via Twitter BensHoops

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Rudy Gobert: I want to win with Donovan Mitchell

[IMG]https://*********.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/92/2019/11/i_15_0d_bb_rudy-gobert.png?w=190[/IMG]Rudy Gobert: I’m excited to continue this journey, I want to say climb the ladder, and to do it with Donovan [Mitchell]. All the things that happened between me and Donovan, within our team and also in the world, I think it really helped us to understand each other better. And now I’m really sure that – and I’m speaking with my heart – we know we can win together, and I want to win with Donovan.
– via Marc J. Spears @ The Undefeated



Rudy Gobert: I could have never imagined this. My mom, my sister, my brother and my niece were all in town, as was my agent, Bouna Ndiaye. We had dinner as a family at my home to celebrate. We opened a very good bottle of wine. We just really enjoyed this moment and took time to just reflect, and also at the same time, project about the future. There was a lot of emotions, especially to be able to share this moment with my family.
– via Marc J. Spears @ The Undefeated




Rudy Gobert: I wanted to be selected in the young professional basketball academy in France, and I got rejected when I was 16. I wasn’t even part of the (under-16) French national team. Then when I got drafted 27th, and my first year I wasn’t playing, I went to the G League. Just all the struggles. Looking back, I think that’s what made me, and that’s what defines me. And this is just the story of my life. I always had to work harder than everyone and keep my head down.
– via Marc J. Spears @ The Undefeated




Rudy Gobert: There’s never been pressure regarding the money. I always put pressure on myself to be the best I can be every single time I step on the court. And that’s really what drives me is to be able to look back at the end of my career, and not look at how much money I made, but look at the journey and what I was able to accomplish, and the lives I was able to impact in a good way. That’s all that matters to me, and that’s what drives me to be the best I can be every single day. Obviously, it’s a great achievement. But it just motivates me to take it to the next level even more, work even harder, and also to prove to all the people that always have something to say that it’s only the beginning.
– via Marc J. Spears @ The Undefeated



Rudy Gobert: I think at the end of the day, when something looks impossible, you’re always going to have people that remind you of that. The day you accomplish it, everyone can only respect you for that. That is the way I see it, and that was one of the main reasons I wanted to stay here. It’s because I think that winning with Utah will carry more weight than joining someone else, and it would make the story even more unique. I want to have an impact not just on the court, but have a huge impact on people’s lives. I started doing Rudy’s Kids Foundation three years ago in order to be able to impact and change a lot of kids’ lives, and I believe that we’ve been able to impact thousands and thousands of lives. But now I really want to keep increasing all the projects, all the help that we do. And hopefully when that day comes when I’m not there anymore, I will have put a big positive change into the world.
– via Marc J. Spears @ The Undefeated

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Chris Fedor: #Cavs have officially ruled out Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Kevin Love and Kevin Porter Jr. for tomorrow’s opener. Look for J.B. Bickerstaff to start and then stagger Darius Garland and Collin Sexton, with Sexton serving as the de facto backup point guard.
– via Twitter ChrisFedor

Exum hurt. surprising!

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https://www.ksl.com/article/50072066...g-playoff-push

SALT LAKE CITY — Tired of consistently finishing in the middle of the Western Conference, accompanied by an early playoff exit, the Utah Jazz begin the truncated 72-game season this week seeking dramatic improvement.

So tired of it they bring back the same team and even bring back an old problem!

This is where the Jazz come in, with a legitimate chance to finish second in the Western Conference and go into the playoffs with homecourt advantage for the first time the 2007-08 season. Competition will be stiff, with several teams also vying for the No. 2 seed.

legitimate? No PF other than Favors in the corner?

And Mitchell picks up where he left off in the playoff loss to the Nuggets. With Bogdanovic out injured, Mitchell averaged 36 points and shot a blistering 53% from the field and 51% on 3-pointers over the seven-game series.

good luck and btw they lost

Favors gives the Jazz a legitimate backup center, which they were sorely lacking last season. If head coach Quin Snyder chooses to have either Gobert or Favors on the court for the entire 48 minutes, the Jazz will have strong rim protection that few teams can match.

hard to say the guy leading the league in offensive rebound % wasn't legitimate. They had other issues and Favors didn't solve them just added to them

All the continuity should allow the Jazz to find early success, which usually hasn't happened in the Snyder regime. Advancing to at least the second round is an achievable goal.

They've been there before. That could just come down to matchups which they tanked for last year and still lost

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https://kslsports.com/449355/nba-wes...sheet-preview/

The Jazz checked off their top offseason goals by extending the contracts of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell while bringing Jordan Clarkson back on a four-year contract.

the fact that a legitimate starting 4 wasn't on the check list tells you all you need to know about this franchise

The return of Derrick Favors should stabilize last year’s shaky second unit, and the Jazz should once again have one of the most talented rosters in the Wes if they can stay healthy.

and take down the first unit in the corner

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https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/...ell-ryan-smith

Despite being eligible for the full supermax amount and being an amazing player, it would have been hard to justify $228 million for Gobert. But a regular four-year, $195 million max, the amount the Jazz could have paid him had they waited until after Dec. 21, wouldn’t have reflected the accolades Gobert has earned or the impact he has on winning for the Jazz.

it wouldn't have been hard to justify especially after what Mitchell got. Gobert actually earned every bit of it

The Jazz wouldn’t have had the cap space to add someone of Gobert’s caliber if they were to have let him go in free agency, and it would have been unlikely that Gobert could have found a situation so tailored to his style of play. So the compromise was made.

Rudy is one of the best at defense, rebounding, rim running and picks. What team couldn't use that?

After the 2021-22 season the Jazz will have even more room to work as Ingles’ contract expires and the salary cap likely increases but Gobert and Mitchell will continue to count for roughly $70 million of the cap every year.

Ingles is due an extension anyday!

The good news is that new owner Ryan Smith does not seem fazed by being a luxury tax-paying team and gave the Jazz front office the green light on deals for Gobert and Mitchell as well as all their other moves.

not necessarily good. Paying tax this year for the team they have sucks

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https://www.nba.com/jazz/news/utah-j...pener-portland

“We need to come out ready to go,” Mitchell said recently, “because losing in the first round ain’t it no more.”

We should mean you since you're the one that decides to start playing a few months in

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“I agree that Anthony Davis had a better season than me,” Embiid says. “[Nikola] Jokic? That’s debatable. But Rudy Gobert? No offense, but he [averaged] 15 [points] and 13 [rebounds] and I had my 23 and 12, and that’s kind of a big difference. I think my numbers were better. But people didn’t want to vote for me because our team didn’t do well. “That’s OK, because I will use it to motivate me so there is no chance that anyone can make that mistake again.”
– via Jackie MacMullan @ ESPN

Davis doesn't want to play center so he shouldn't even be considered. More to the game than points and boards Joel

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Sean Highkin: Rodney Hood will be on a minutes limit tonight. I asked Stotts if he was willing to tell us the number for said minutes limit, he said no.
– via Twitter highkin




Sean Highkin: Terry Stotts on the news of OKC-Houston game being postponed: “I think everyone kind of knew this would happen at some point. It makes everybody aware of how real this is. We had a sense of security in the bubble.” The Rockets are supposed to play here on Saturday, as of now.
– via Twitter highkin



Jamie Hudson: Coach Stotts says Anfernee Simons (hamstring) will not play tonight vs. Jazz
– via Twitter JamieHudsonNBCS

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https://kslsports.com/449476/jazz-at...rs-game-night/

Both Elijah Hughes and Udoka Azubuike have extended college experience compared most rookies, while Miye Oni looked significantly improved entering his second season.

let's not assume they are depth please. Morgan?

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https://saltcityhoops.com/threading-...jersey-lineup/

yellow and green is awful. At least the gradient is gone

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https://www.slcdunk.com/2020/12/23/2...novan-mitchell

Let me attempt to evoke some memories from 2010. The Jazz went 8-0 in the preseason after moving on from Carlos Boozer, trading for Al Jefferson, signing Raja Bell, and drafting everyone’s favorite young stud, Gordon Hayward. There was a lot of optimism surrounding this team, especially with the Deron Williams-Al Jefferson pairing. The season began with a blowout loss to Melo and the Nuggets. Things didn’t get any better from there. Jerry Sloan quit after beefing with star point guard, Deron Williams. DWill was traded shortly after, and the Jazz finished the season 39-43 missing the postseason entirely.

Optimism over one of their worst trades ever?

If the Jazz can force Lillard into long 2’s, contested 3’s, and make the Blazers rely on someone else to pick up the scoring tab, they should be in good shape. On the other hand, the Blazers are definitely not short on players who can score in bunches: CJ, Melo, Hood, and even Nurkic. However, if the Jazz play with integrity and intensity on D, they should be able to slow them down enough to pick up the W.

What about last year makes you think they can defend enough to beat a good team?

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https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat...ors-joe-ingles

Utah’s bench got a lot of attention last year from local media and fans. Understandable given that many of the team’s biggest problems could be traced to the second unit.

the 2nd unit certainly would have been better if they'd had a legit starting 4

Favors brought the most excitement among the offseason moves. Understandable as his signing is something of a return of the prodigal son so to speak. Feel-good stories aside, Favors is poised to give Utah some of the best bench center minutes in the league. It will be a great breath of fresh air after the failed Ed Davis and Tony Bradley experiments.

Leading the league in offensive rebounding % is a failure!

The pure bench unit looks good on paper, but obviously NBA teams don’t do full line changes to transition to the bench. Even still, each of these bench guys can seamlessly slide in among the starters without altering the function of the lineup. Clarkson can sub in for Mitchell as a scoring punch, Harrison can come in for O’Neale and play the role of primary wing defender, Niang can replace Bogdanovic’s shooting (though not his overall scoring to be fair), Favors can replace Gobert’s rebounding/rim protecting and Ingles can replace the point play from Conley.

who's the primary 4 defender if Royce is on a wing? Niang's game is more like Ingles. If Favors could replace Rudy they wouldn't have paid Rudy! Ingles is no Conley. Keep dreaming though!

The one hole noteworthy hole in the bench unit is at power forward. Niang became quite the controversial name among Jazz fans last year and that talk hasn’t truly stopped. We’ve seen how Niang does in key, volume minutes during the playoffs and it wasn’t pretty. If he stays in a lower role as he did for much of last season.

starting pf is a bigger problem though the horrendous spacing with Favors at the 4 is of great concern

A more competent rebounder and defender might be a more apt option, even though it would mean sacrificing the 40 percent shooting Niang brings to the table. Morganand two-way forward Jarrell Brantley are Utah’s only other options on the roster at power forward, but neither appear to be good enough right now to supplant Niang’s spot in the rotation.

Morgan should start

As it stands, the bench shouldn’t be a problem. But it is 2020 so this could wind up being a cold take in two days.

it wasn't going to be a problem last year either. They were so deep!

The Lakers and Bucks are the tops now, and they’re big.

Posted by Calvin Chappell on Dec 23, 2020 | 10:49 AM

yep and Favors is their only answer