2020-21 Regular season- The tax team

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/...-season-opener

3-point shooting had been an emphasis throughout the preseason and we were all anticipating the Jazz to let them fly early and often but I’m not quite sure that the Blazers were ready for the onslaught from beyond the arc. The Jazz shot 50 3s and made 19 of them. It’s not the greatest percentage but the threat was enough.

38 % as a team is great

The Jazz looked a little off for the first few minutes and it was the second unit that broke the game open which leads me to double down on something I thought during training camp and the preseason. The Jazz’s bench is going to not only be able to maintain leads and stave off damage caused by the opposition, but they’ll be able to win games for the Jazz this season. That’s a huge difference from where they’ve been before.

but they are always so deep!

Jazz looked good but we didn't see Favors at the 4. If Collins had played we would have and it's not a good look

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.slcdunk.com/2020/12/23/2...damian-lillard

Donovan Mitchell was fantastic on the offensive end with his scoring and playmaking but Rudy Gobert was probably the most dominant player. Gobert had 20 points and 17 rebounds on 80% shooting. Those are big numbers for the former defensive player of the year, but was also impressive was his ability to move the ball within the offense. Multiple times in the pick and roll Gobert would move the ball to open shooters and the ball would rotate to an open three.

Probably? A lot of guys ahead of Mitchell too

[Xiao Yao You]

https://kslsports.com/449516/hot-sho...owout-blazers/

First of all, they lack size in the backcourt. Damian Lillard is only 6’2, McCollum is only 6’3 and neither player moves their feet particularly well on the perimeter.

why is the even smaller Jazz backcourt not having the same problem

[Xiao Yao You]

https://kslsports.com/449517/jazz-ro...st-nba-bucket/

When the final buzzer sounded, Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell appeared to grab the game ball for Azubuike.

He gave it to him and grabbed another I assume for Hughes

[Xiao Yao You]

https://kslsports.com/449507/gobert-...from-mitchell/

The Jazz paid the two All-Stars a combined $396 million during the offseason, and right now it looks like they’re worth every penny.

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.sltrib.com/sports/jazz/2...am-jazz-limit/

You don’t normally think of big men like Gobert having versatility. The big, lanky guy without many ball skills doesn’t usually see the word “versatile” next to his name; instead, that’s the switching, shooting, playmaking bigs.

One of the best if not the best at rebounding, rim running, defense and screening. If that's not versatile not sure what it

• John Stockton didn’t take his 50th three until the end of his third season, he didn’t make his 50th three until the end of his fifth season.

wasn't starting either

• Jazz broadcaster Ron Boone didn’t ever make more than fifty threes in a season; broadcaster Thurl Bailey took only 35 in his whole career. Matt Harpring came later as the 3-point shot was becoming more and more important — he didn’t make a combined 50 threes in his last six seasons of his career (46), while he made 1,557 2-point shots.

Was only good from 3 his first year here

• The following famous Jazzmen never made 50 threes in their Jazz careers: Shandon Anderson, Carlos Arroyo, Raul Lopez, Ronnie Brewer, Paul Millsap, Rickey Green, DeShaun Stevenson.

Millsap should have

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Adam Johnson: Per league sources, these teams are expected to participate in the G League bubble: Agua Caliente Austin Canton Delaware Erie/Capital City Fort Wayne Greensboro Ignite Iowa Lakeland Long Island Memphis Raptors 905 Salt Lake Santa Cruz Westchester
– via Twitter realcommonname



Fred Katz: Things are trending toward the Wizards using the Pelicans’ G League team, the Erie Bayhawks, as their G League affiliate in the bubble, according to sources. The two organizations would each chip in some of the cost of going to the bubble.
– via Twitter FredKatz



Fred Katz: Look for up to five players to potentially be in the G League bubble for the Wizards: The three exhibit 10 guys they had in training camp (Yoeli Childs, Caleb Homesley & Marlon Taylor), Jordan Bell and maybe two-wayer Cassius Winston, depending on what they choose to do w/ him
– via Twitter FredKatz

Stars for the title they didn't get to play for last year!

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The NBA is putting the finishing touches on plans for an NBA G League Bubble this upcoming February, and according to a report from Jonathan Givony of ESPN, the Bubble will include 17 affiliate teams from across the NBA as well as the G League Ignite squad, led by top NBA Draft prospects Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, and Daishen Nix.
– via Brendon Kleen @ Uproxx



In order to give NBA teams that option once again in 2021, the league will allow G League franchises to designate one “NBA Vet Selection” who has five or more years of NBA experience to play in the Bubble with their team, Givony reported.
– via Brendon Kleen @ Uproxx

Yogi or someone else?

[Xiao Yao You]

https://kslsports.com/449248/jazz-christmas-wish-list/

Utah Jazz Christmas Wish List

starting PF

Health

but they are so deep!

As a result, the Jazz enter the season in the bottom half of most preseason Western Conference playoff projections.

more of a result in the holes in the roster

When healthy, the Jazz clearly have one of the deepest, most dangerous rosters in the NBA. With the addition of Derrick Favors and Shaquille Harrison in the offseason, they should be better prepared for injuries in both the frontcourt and the backcourt.

clearly? If it was clear they'd be picked higher

Though health may be atop the Jazz wish list, the small gift that might be the most consequential would be the surprise development of one of their young players.

a bigger gift would be Snyder actually playing them

The obvious choice is Elijah Hughes who had a strong showing during the preseason as a multifaceted scorer. But don’t count out either two-way guard Trent Forrest or second second-year guard Miye Oni as darkhorse high-level rotation players in the team’s future.

Why would Hughes be the obvious choices over Morgan, Brantley and Oni who have actually proven something already?

The Jazz were the best three-point shooting team during the 2019-20 season, knocking down an impressive 38 percent of their attempts last season. The team would love to again find themselves atop the league, with perhaps even more improvement as health and chemistry could create even more good looks for the Jazz shooters.

except when Favors is at the 4 and the spacing disappears

If the Jazz can continue to hoist that many deep balls and convert around 40 percent, they’ll once again find themselves as one of the best offenses in the NBA, with a puncher’s chance to advance against any team in the playoffs.

but who cares if they don't play D

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/...ordan-clarkson

This season is sure to present different obstacles.

You mean like a team going big? The fact that Collins was out and Portland plays as small or smaller than the Jazz didn;t hurt

There are many more empty arenas and weird situations awaiting the Jazz over the next few months. There are more than likely going to be players in and out of the lineup for myriad reasons and sometimes the Jazz are going to have games where they’re just a little off. But, if nothing else the Jazz know what they are capable of.

They know what they are capable of against a shorthanded Portland team sure

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.slcdunk.com/2020/12/24/2...e-slc-dunk-nba

All the way back in May, Bojan Bogdanović went through a season ending wrist surgery to repair a ruptured scapholunate ligament in his right wrist. This was the result of an injury he suffered in 2019 that he chose to play through until he began to experience too much discomfort. Between the pause of the 2019-20 season and the crazy NBA bubble in Florida, it is easy to forget the kind of effect that Bogdanović has had on this team. As a reminder, Bojan had a stellar first season with the Jazz, posting a stat line of 20.2 points, 4.1 boards, and 2.1 assists on 44.7/41.1/90.3 percent shooting splits. To put it simply, that’s flat out awesome. As the 31 year old sharpshooter from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, recovers from his wrist injury and enters his 7th season in the NBA, what should we look for? It’s no secret that he’s is going to be key in the Jazz’s success this season, so here are three things we should expect Bojan Bogdanovic to bring back to the Jazz this year:

4 boards and 2 assists isn't awesome sorry

Something that doesn’t show up in the stat sheet for Bojan Bogdanović is the spacing he creates on offense. Opposing defenses have to stick to Bojan when he is behind the 3 point line or they give someone who shot 50% from downtown on wide-open looks an easy bucket. What this means is that every time Bogdanović is on the court, he takes away a help defender from the defense. This makes the lives of players such as Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, and Joe Ingles infinitely easier. Every time Don drives down the lane, he doesn’t have to worry about a weak side defender dropping in and contesting his layup. Every time Rudy dives to the basket after a pick and roll, he doesn’t have to worry about a wing defender sliding in and taking a charge. Every time Joe comes off of a screen, he doesn’t have to worry about a help defender clogging up his spacing and stopping him from making a play. Simply having Bogdanović’s elite three point shooting on the court makes defenses sweat and opens the doors for other players on the Jazz to get easy buckets.

yet he wasn't really missed in the bubble

But out of all of those, the player that will benefit from his return the most is Rudy Gobert. Last season, Bojan and Rudy averaged 31.3 minutes per game together. That means that they spent almost every single minute on the court at the same time. This is important because when the two of them are playing together, help defenses have to decide to either give up a Rudy dunk or Bojan three every time they get beat. Neither is a great option for them. During the bubble, we saw Rudy sometimes struggle to get an open shot under the basket and that is in part due to the fact that defenses no longer had to make that difficult choice with Bojan out. Expect to see Rudy’s life get lot easier again this season.

scored a career high in the playoffs

Last year Quin made sure Bogey almost never saw the floor without Rudy next to him.

I expect we’ll see the same this year.

Posted by Calvin Chappell on Dec 24, 2020 | 11:19 AM

Won't as much this year. Bojan played with Favors. Tried to hit Favs in the pick and roll poorly of course

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.slcdunk.com/2020/12/24/2...derrick-favors

I know one game is never an indicator of how a full season will go, but last night showed how solid the Jazz might be this year. Watching them, they just really don’t have any weaknesses. They move the ball, they hit threes, they defend, and they have multiple guys that can score 20+ points on any given night. I don’t mean to get to excited here but JAZZ NBA CHAMPS 2021, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST.

It's one game! Way too early to say they defend and have no weaknesses. Portland not a great defensive team and without Collins couldn't go big on the Jazz. Jazz could have went big on them but than you have Favors at the 4! Versatility will still be a problem for sure.

As one who has been critical of Rudy’s rebounding, He looked much better.
He fought for rebounds when others were around which was great to see.
Can’t remember if it was Rudy or Derrick, loved the one that was contested on the offensive side and pinned to the backboard, gathered it and stuck it back in. Good to see the fight for the boards!

Posted by AdMan59 on Dec 24, 2020 | 1:03 PM

One of the best rebounders in the league. Get on Bojan and his 4 a game if you want though!

[Xiao Yao You]

Ryan McDonald: Someone may have mentioned this already, but the Jazz’s 50 3-point attempts last night were indeed the most by any team in the NBA in their first game (Houston and OKC are the last two teams that haven’t played). Rudy’s 17 boards were also tops in the league
– via Twitter ryanwmcdonald

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https://kslsports.com/449252/jazz-fa...n-home-opener/

Rubio started for the Timberwolves, bringing guard DeAngelo Rusell off the bench for the Minnesota squad. The Spanish guard had just three points and three assists in his return, but led the team in plus-minus at +17.

The key matchup will be between All-Star centers Gobert and Towns. The two max contract players have competed for spots on the league’s All-NBA team over the past several seasons with Gobert earning the third-team nod last year.

Which is a joke! Win first Towns. Until then it's all Gobert

Minnesota starts small but has some size off the bench so we may see Favors at the 4. Shouldn't matter at home against this team

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/...ole-in-offense

“Whether it’s Rudy running, rolling in pick-and-roll or guys driving the ball, pressure on the rim is what opens up opens up the 3-point line and opens up jump shots,” head coach Quin Snyder said.

and vice versa. Put Favors at the 4 or Ricky on the perimeter and we know what happens

The Jazz are rich with weapons that put pressure on the rim. Not only is Gobert one of most effective lob threats in the league and an adept pick-and-roll player, but so is Derrick Favors. Additionally the Jazz can post up Bojan Bogdanovic or have any one of the many ball-handlers work in the paint.

Lillard thwarted his great post up game