2021 post season #1 seed in NBA!

[Xiao Yao You]

https://saltcityhoops.com/does-gober...ing-no-1-jazz/

This season, Rudy Gobert finished the season as the league leader in +/- with a total of +728. That is far and away the best +/- in the NBA this season. While fellow Jazzmen Conley (+548), Royce O’Neale (+473) and Ingles (+452) finishing 2nd-4th on this list is evidence of how great the Jazz starting lineup was this season (Bogdanovic finished 7th at +419) Gobert’s place as a +/- leader can be readily distinguished from Prince’s as the difference between Gobert and Conley on the list is greater than the difference between Prince’s league leading +/- and Rip Hamilton’s 5th place +/- in 2006.

Where's Mitchell?

So, if he’s not like Prince then there’s a good case he belongs in one of the other two categories we’ve seen in the last quarter century: Rudy Gobert is either an MVP caliber player or he is teammates with one. Mike Conley has had a long enough career that I think he’s safe enough to eliminate as an MVP-caliber player, especially when considering that he missed 21 games this season. That leaves the Jazz’s third All-Star, Donovan Mitchell as the only other candidate for an MVP-caliber teammate. But much like Conley, Mitchell missed a significant chunk of the season at 19 games and his total +/- was the lowest among the Jazz starting five at +287. I hope that Mitchell reaches his full potential and becomes an MVP-caliber player, I just don’t think there’s a strong argument that he’s there yet.

Their best player?

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https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat...ll-rudy-gobert

Now that we know a little bit more about their upcoming first round matchup, what can we expect from the Jazz in this year’s playoff? Right now, a big question surrounding game one on Sunday is Donovan Mitchell’s status. He’s been out for over a month now with that ankle sprain sustained against the Pacers back on April 16. The Jazz struggled without him, but won enough games to secure the one seed. The vibe going around is that the Jazz are being cautious and want to make sure he’s 100%, as they should. It seems like from some things other players have said, that Donovan Mitchell will be ready for game one. Part of me wonders if the Jazz are waiting to see who their opponent is before they decide if they need to unleash Spida-Man Mitchell or not. Maybe he sits game one, and as long as they don’t need him, he keeps nursing that ankle. Either way, at some point hopefully next week Donovan Mitchell is back on the floor in the NBA Playoffs. The world needs more of these 50+ point playoff games from Mr. Mitchell.

13-6 is struggling?

Bojan hitting his stride going into the playoffs might lowkey be the most important thing for this team’s title hopes. Having another scorer that can give you big buckets when you need them is a critical thing to have in the playoffs. Bojan’s shown that he can be superman in clutch moments, and for the Jazz to make a title run, they will need Bojan’s scoring, especially his three-point shooting.

what they need is a coach that will bench guys when they are hurting the team

Imagine, replace Ingles with Draymond this team would be a killer!

Posted by Ray7 on May 20, 2021 | 12:38 PM

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Rudy Gobert was one of five NBA players named to France’s Olympic men’s basketball roster on Thursday. Gobert, the Utah Jazz center, is joined by fellow NBAers Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Frank Ntilikina.
– via Yahoo! Sports

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After the victory against the USA in 2019, do you think you have a chance of beating them at the Olympics? Rudy Gobert: I’m afraid of nobody and my team is afraid of nobody. I never feared anyone, and it won’t change today. The harder the challenge is, the more motivated I am. And I think it’s the same for my teammates. We hope they have the best team possible, but we know that other teams are strong also. It will be up to us to play our best basketball. As simple as that.
– via Tokyo 2020 @ Olympics.com




Imagine you had to choose between winning an NBA ring and the Olympic gold medal. What would you choose? Rudy Gobert: I honestly can’t answer that question. Both would be unique, and I hope to be able to win both during my career. With everything we have gone through with the Utah Jazz, from winning only 25 matches in the first year through to today, when we [won] the Western Conference… we went through a lot. The same goes for the national team. Look at where we started. Obviously, Tony [Parker], Boris [Diaw], Nico [Batum] and others managed to build a real team and gain a lot of respect in the world of basketball. So, winning an Olympic medal would not only be our accomplishment, but also theirs. It would continue their legacy, what they built before we arrived in the national team. Both titles are priceless, and those are the things that you never forget.
– via Tokyo 2020 @ Olympics.com

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Well, everything except the getting played off the floor during the playoffs part. Anyone who has actually taken the time to watch the Utah Jazz in a playoff series knows that isn’t remotely true. Sorry, critics. Gobert won’t give you that one. “That’s definitely a false narrative,” Gobert told The Athletic in an interview on May 20.
– via Tony Jones @ The Athletic




But the other stuff? Gobert knows that criticism exists. And he knows all of the points, rebounds, blocked shots, DPOY’s or All-Star selections won’t shut down the noise. The remedy? Winning at a high level. And Gobert performing at a high level once the postseason starts for the Jazz on Sunday night. “In a way, they (the critics) are not wrong,” Gobert said. “It’s up to me to prove myself and to help my team be in a position to win a championship. I don’t see that as pressure. I have high expectations of myself. Our team before the season set a goal to win a championship. If you are hard on yourself, it’s hard to see that as pressure. I’m actually pretty excited for the challenge.”
– via Tony Jones @ The Athletic






Gobert knows this and knows that he has to be prepared to adjust to a number of looks. And he knows that there won’t be any excuse for failure. “Teams have been trying to do things to me like this the entire season,” Gobert said. “I’m way more comfortable guarding any kind of lineup compared to say four years ago. Teams have been trying to minimize my impact in all different ways. So, I just have to be ready for anything, and I have to be confident in what I can do.”
– via Tony Jones @ The Athletic

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https://www.deseret.com/sports/2021/...fans-this-week

The Jazz would absolutely have a chance to beat the Warriors in a seven-game series, but life would certainly be easier against the Grizzlies.

COTY should be fired if it goes more than 5

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https://www.deseret.com/2021/5/20/22...e-playoffs-nba

If you were to scroll through social media during a game in which the Jazz guard is having an off night, it wouldn’t take long to find myriad posts complaining about the way that Clarkson plays, posts calling for Jazz coach Quin Snyder to take Clarkson out of the game, posts saying Snyder is a bad coach for the amount of time that Clarkson has the ball in his hands.

they both suck

Clarkson’s fiery and unrelenting approach to scoring demands attention from the defense, and the more he attacks, the more attention the opposition has to pay him. Teams have double-teamed, blitzed, top-locked and chased Clarkson around the court in an effort to show him down, and when they have to put so much energy into neutralizing one of the Jazz’s reserve players, it starts to open up the floor for everyone else.

playoffs are different. If I'm the other team he's left wide open from 3

“Guys like him, they can win you games, they can win you a series,” Mike Conley said. “With his ability to heat up so quickly, it can just change the flow of a game if things seem to not be going the right way or you’re having a tough time scoring a ball or an off night. He tends to find ways to get going and not everybody has a guy like that.”

more likely to lose you a game

“I keep my head down, keep grinding, keep taking the shots that are there, keep trying to make plays,” Clarkson said. “When shots fall, it feels good, but I’m always confident. I’m always going to take those shots and keep it rolling.”

it's the shots that aren't there that's the problem which is most of them with you

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https://www.deseret.com/2021/5/20/22...reen-utah-jazz

the numbers tell me Simmons shouldn't even be in the race

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https://www.ksl.com/article/50171289...hey-legitimate

However, against teams that switch the 1-5 pick-and-roll — or run "black" in NBA terms — Utah's offense can get bogged down. That's led to playoff losses in the past under coach Quin Snyder. Oh, and remember last Monday's defeat to the Golden State Warriors (the same Warriors Utah might just play in the first round)? That's what Draymond Green and Kevon Looney were able to do to stifle Utah's attack.

twice they had Rubio and Favors spotting up in the cornmer. Denver didn't stop Utah until game 7. They lost to one of the best teams ever the other time with Hill out and Gobert and Favors playing hurt

But Utah went just 1-6 when Mitchell attempted more than 25 field goals this season — showing that still isn't the best option to counter it.

it should only be an option when they can't do it by moving the ball. Sadly Clarkson and Mitcehll don't play that way

The doubt: Utah doesn't have a top-tier star

Gobert and Conley has been this year too. All the focus will be on Mitchell though of course!

But while there should be no doubting Mitchell's playoff prowess — as a rookie, he led the Jazz to a first-round series upset win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, and last season, he had two 50-point games in the first round loss to the Denver Nuggets — the fact is, the Jazz have only made it past the first round once with Mitchell leading the way.

he led?

The origin for this comes from one gif-inducing play against Steph Curry from 2017 and the 2018 second-round series against Houston when Chris Paul got Gobert to switch on him and then hit about a million midrange shots.

yet crappy offense is why they lost to Houston

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https://kslsports.com/459825/jazz-to...d-of-playoffs/

The Jazz haven’t won a playoff series in either of the last two seasons, having been eliminated in the first round each of the last two years. The team owned a 3-1 series lead over the Denver Nuggets in last season’s playoff opener but dropped the final three games of the series in a stunning upset.

Denver was favored

Mitchell again carried the Jazz in game two of the series, scoring 35 points for the second consecutive night while Kyle Anderson led the Grizzlies with just 16 points. Memphis shot just 40 percent from the floor and 27 percent from three in the 126-110 loss.

carried!

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https://www.slcdunk.com/nba-playoffs...hell-superstar

That 2017-18 regular season was fun. The Jazz had lost a star player and seemed destined fall down the Western Conference standings. But this team was scrappy. Led by the Defensive Player of the Decade, Rudy Gobert, and the new star on the block, Donovan Mitchell, Utah fought their way into the playoffs. This team was playing with found money. They weren’t supposed to be back into the middle of the playoff race so soon. So when the playoffs started, all eyes were one Donovan Mitchell. How would the star rookie perform?

debatable if he's a star now. Certainly wasn't then

Game one. Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets. Donovan Mitchell put up 57 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Utah wasn’t able to pull out the win in overtime, but it was clear, this was a new Donovan Mitchell. He went on to play one of the most prolific individual series in NBA Playoff history. 36 points, five rebounds, and five assists per game. 52/51/95 shooting splits. Multiple 50+ point games. Highlight reel dunks. Game sealing shots. This was a historic series. This was what superstars looked like.

what about his D?

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https://thejnotes.com/2021/05/21/uta...-breakthrough/

It’s apparent that Snyder has given him the ultimate green light. After all, Clarkson is also averaging a career-high in 3-point attempts with 8.8 per game, marking the sixth-highest 3-point attempts per game across the entire league.

for the worst shooter. Ridiculous

In the games without Mitchell, who is arguably the Utah Jazz’s most important offensive player, Clarkson elevated his play in nearly every major statistical category, averaging 22.7 points, 3.0 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game in the 19 games that Mitchell was unavailable.

no argument. They just tried to survive through his horrible games

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https://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...everal-Centers

you want Favors?

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Eric Walden: Quin Snyder, on Donovan Mitchell’s progress in his recovery: “You don’t go from 0 to 100 right away, there’s an acclimation process. But he’s right where he needs to be in his approach.”
– via Twitter tribjazz




Eric Walden: Quin Snyder, on facing the Grizzlies: “Morant’s as dynamic a player as there is in this league. They compete, they play hard. …They’re a formidable opponent.”
– via Twitter tribjazz







Eric Walden: Quin Snyder, on the regular-season matchups vs. Memphis: “Such a unique situation, playing them 3 times in a short period of time. You can throw those games out, just like the rest of the regular season. … They’re a different team than they were at that point.”
– via Twitter tribjazz

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Eric Walden: Mike Conley, on what he’s seen from the Grizzlies recently: “They’ve shored up their rotation a bit, had some guys step up. And they’ve done a tremendous job of closing out close games, like we saw in the play-in tournament.”
– via Twitter tribjazz

z


Drew Hill: Mike Conley said he was at dinner with his wife and he was watching the game on his phone last night. “Knowing the Grizzlies, that city, and the way they carry themselves, you knew they were going to fight until the end.”
– via Twitter DrewHill_DM