2014-2015 regular season!

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[QUOTE]Tibor Pleiss is not happy in Barcelona due to his role. FC Barcelona is not happy with his performances

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Emiliano Carchia: Bryce Cotton will sign tomorrow a 10-day contract with the @Utah Jazz Twitter @sportando

David 'Dubi' Pick: Utah Jazz picking up Tibor Pleiss hit a roadblock, a source said. I'm still investigating. Twitter @IAmDPick

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Cotton coming from the Spurs D-league team shouldn't have too much of a problem fitting in.

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Adrian Wojnarowski: The Utah Jazz are signing the Idaho Stampede's Jack Cooley to a 10-day contract, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. Twitter @WojYahooNBA

Hard to believe he's the best they can do. This is more of a reward for sticking with the D-league team.

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[QUOTE]The reports about Utah

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2 wins against good sides since Kanter has been moved on. They'll miss his rebounding, especially on the offensive end, but running much better with Gobert as the main man in the middle.

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More Rudy is certainly a great thing. Not sure Favors is better than Kanter though.

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[QUOTE]2. Utah emulated the Bucks

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[QUOTE]He

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[QUOTE] Gobert, asked about the mid-range jumper he took at the end of the game
Yeah, of course. You know, I

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Chris Reichert: Source: Utah Jazz will sign Jerrelle Benimon of the Idaho Stampede to 10-day contract in coming days Twitter

Jody Genessy: The Utah Jazz's next D-League call-up will be Idaho Stampede power forward Jerrelle Benimon, according to @Chris_Reichert. Twitter @DJJazzyJody

I was just checking to see what Clark had done and noticed this guy. Some huge numbers. Points, boards, assists, turnovers. Only 6'8". 24 years old. Looks like maybe he's trying to develop into a stretch 4. With Jerrett around not sure where this guy fits. They obviously need a back-up center.

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Boston leaned more and more on super-tiny units tonight, and the Jazz had no answer. Jae Crowder went for 18 points as Utah was consistently unable to stick with him on pick-and-rolls, not much of a surprise given a notable quickness advantage over guys like Favors and Trevor Booker. The Jazz didn’t play bad defense by any stretch, but seemed to be a bit more confused and yield a few more good looks than they typically have in their recent stifling stretch of defense. There were several notable occasions where Jazz players lost their men coming back down the court and gave up easy baskets on mismatches, and though some of this is just plain brain-fart, some may also be due to a bit of confusion because of a difference from their normal style of matchup.

The larger worry by far, though, was on the other end of the floor. If the Jazz are going to stay big when teams downsize against them, they absolutely must be able to win the battle down low convincingly and get enough easy baskets to make teams think twice about trying to space them out. Utah did win the points in the paint battle tonight, but it was by only four points (36-32), and there wasn’t enough emphasis on getting the bigs, particularly Derrick Favors, involved. Despite having Crowder or a similar mismatch on him nearly the entire game, Favors attempted just 10 shots (he made seven, unsurprisingly), four of which were in the fourth quarter when the Jazz did seem to finally run the offense through him a bit more. Boston did a good job of denying him post entries at times, but this is in many ways the point; Utah needs to have answers for this stuff when the games start to really matter, and there have been several occasions this year versus smaller teams like this where they haven’t.

There’s plenty of time to iron this out, and the current roster certainly may change in the future in ways that could make this less of a concern.2 But Quin appears to have encountered his first major schematic challenge as Jazz coach, and it’ll be interesting to see how he and the team respond going forward.

With Rudy there is no reason you can't go smaller at the 4 with Maxi G, Hood and Ingles though technically they are all taller than Booker.

2. Jazz show more of their patented resilience in the 4th quarter.

We’ve noted several times this year how this Jazz team has exponentially more fight in them than a couple recent years, and it was present tonight as well. On the road coming off a tough win Tuesday night in Memphis3, it would have been easy enough for them to give up down eight or nine points in the fourth. Instead, they fought for every possession as is their custom, and the result was a game they likely should have won on a gorgeous step-back from Gordon Hayward.

Favors was great down the stretch, and Hayward hit another big shot despite continuing to struggle both from the field and overall since the All-Star break. Trey Burke could have shown a bit more selectivity with his shots and also a bit more urgency given the deficit down the stretch, but he did a good job of at least forcing Boston’s defense to account for him and move around as the Jazz made their run. Even in a fairly ugly game with a few notable question marks, the Jazz displayed positive signs.

3. Analyzing a couple big decisions by Quin Snyder down the stretch.

Allow me the honor of second-guessing a coach who, by basically any notable measure, has done an incredible job for the Jazz this season. One area Quin has found himself grappling with has been imperfections on his roster, and some of this just comes with the territory. The small-ball issues discussed above are just this sort of struggle; given his personnel, there’s only so much Snyder can do when teams downsize against his big front line.

He’s an NBA rookie too, though, and the occasional question is certainly warranted. Tonight it’s the way the Jazz defended Isaiah Thomas, particularly in the second half when Boston’s new addition went for 19 points and three assists, willing the Celtics to the win virtually on his own. Again, this is a situation where there’s no perfect answer – Utah’s personnel simply doesn’t offer a sure-thing solution to a speedster like Thomas. But the decision to check Thomas with Rodney Hood and Joe Ingles (only a possession or two in the latter case) down the stretch seems curious, mostly because neither is much of a defender even at their own position. Neither had any chance whatsoever of keeping up with Thomas, and the Jazz even found themselves staring down a dreaded five-on-three on a couple occasions when Thomas split screens so quickly that both he and the roll man were ahead of Utah’s two corresponding defenders. Hiding a guy like Burke is standard, but if his replacements are getting beaten just as badly (they were), it makes more sense to stick to the original matchup and try more in the way of traps or well-placed double-teams.4 Dante Exum may have also been an option (Quin used him on Thomas for the final possession), though he was struggling badly for much of the game offensively. In any case, expect the answers to be more swift and more efficient next time around.

And then, of course, there’s that fateful final play. First things first: switching everything the way the Jazz did is absolutely the correct play in such a scenario, and this was an exemplary play call from Boston coach Brad Stevens with this knowledge in mind. Furthermore, as Quin noted postgame, Utah has consistently put length on the inbound passer in these situations this year, so going with Gobert on Marcus Smart on the sidelines isn’t the least bit out of character. And as our own Dan Clayton noted on Twitter, much of the harm here came when Rodney Hood was slow to recognize a switch, leaving Tyler Zeller just enough space to collect a perfect pass from Smart and lay it in for the win.

My only quibble here5 relates to the specific game context, particularly the clock and the personnel. With about 1.5 seconds left, even a giant like Gobert likely won’t be enough to drastically alter the potential shot – a good coach like Stevens has multiple inbounds drawn up without question, and even if Rudy forces a tough pass, there’s enough time for a dribble or two and a shot. Furthermore, it’s obvious that down one point and with time for just one attempt, a look closer to the hoop has to be a real possibility. Throw in the fact that Hood is a rookie who has missed a lot of time this year and isn’t known for his defensive prowess, plus the fact that a switch to a bigger guy is fully within the realm of possibility, and I think it’s very close indeed.

Basically, my own risk-reward calculus seems to favor allowing what would have only been a slightly easier inbound pass for Smart with Hood on him6 while retaining Gobert’s services down low. Gobert and Favors have far more experience switching with each other, and had been doing so with Boston’s small-ish lineups (like the one they had out to close) all game. Switches elsewhere mean that even if Hood allows an easy inbound pass on the perimeter, any jumper is going to be well-contested and have a very low probability rather than an inexperienced player being forced to switch onto a much bigger guy so close to the basket.

Again, it’s super close and the delay from Hood is likely the largest culprit in the end. If he makes the switch seamlessly, this is very possibly all a moot point. But given the specific context and the personnel on the floor for both teams, it seemed worthy of a second look and may do so again in the future in similar scenarios.

Ben Dowsett

Of course Snyder blamed Rudy. Got to have Rudy at the rim I'd think. He seems to agree. 2nd guessing the coaching has not usually turned out well in Utah where they value their coaches more than star players. And he almost blocked it anyway! https://jazzfanatical.files.wordpres...game.gif?w=400

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Despite finding answers at what looks like four of the five starting positions, the Jazz are in need of a starting shooting guard to complete the line-up.

The Utah Jazz are definitely getting better. They take steps forward, with steps backward. However, at this point, there are more steps forward than backward.
The hole in the roster appears larger due to the absence of fourth-year guard Alec Burks, sidelined with a season-ending shoulder injury. The Jazz hope Burks is able to fill the role, having signed him to a four-year, $40 million contract this past offseason, but questions remain about his fit.

For his career, Burks shoots 35 percent from the 3-point line, a respectable but unspectacular number. With the logjam created in the paint by Gobert and Favors, Burks’ ability to get into the lane and finish at the basket may be seriously impacted. While Hayward, Exum and Burke are willing 3-point shooters, none of the three are deadeye marksmen providing Burks the spacing needed to utilize his attacking style.

John Stockton and Karl Malone combined to create one of the NBA’s best duos, but neither could take the Jazz to the Finals prior to the arrival of Jeff Hornacek. Only when Hornacek added an elite long-distance shooter to the Jazz scoring punch were they able to make a run to the NBA’s championship round.

The Jazz find themselves in a similar situation now.

While the team has filled the shooting guard position piecemeal, starting Joe Ingles, Elijah Millsap and Rodney Hood, none of the three qualify as elite shooters at this point in their careers.

Burks was at 38% on 2.5 3 attempts a game this year. Better than anyone else on the team. Still not convinced he and Maxi G can start together though or if Burks is an NBA starter or great 6th man. They have to try to make it work with him as a starter after the contract they gave him. Hood is starting to look like a shooter too. Ingles and Millsap like most of the roster have to hit open 3's to play next year when they should be competing for the playoffs again finally. No more tanking and excuses.

Unfortunately, two of the NBA’s best shooters have recently played for the Jazz in Wesley Matthews and Kyle Korver, but both have gone on to leave the team in free agency, only to find greener pastures with their new teams.

Of the NBA’s current top 20 3-point shooters, only former Jazzman DeMarre Carroll fits the Jazz needs by position, age and availability as an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Carroll’s willingness to return to Utah could be enhanced based on his relationship with current Jazz coach Quin Snyder who former worked with Carroll as an assistant in Atlanta. Though his relationship with the front office is in question, as they allowed him to walk away empty-handed once before.

Money talks. I'd love to have Demarre back! Would he be willing to come off the bench? Will they have money for him after they address the bigger needs they have at the 1 and back-up 5? If the Hawks do something this year they might keep their team together.

Beyond bringing back old names, the Jazz's best option will be adding a shooter through the draft. With the Jazz's recent success, the team appears bound for a late lottery pick, somewhere between 10 and 14, with the NBA’s lottery system making it unlikely to move up in June’s draft. Duke’s Justise Winslow, Kansas’ Kelly Oubre, Michigan’s Caris LeVert and Kentucky’s Devin Booker all project as shooters in the NBA, though only Booker maintains a 3-point shooting percentage over 40 percent. LeVert is likely the most NBA ready, as the only player on the list who has played more than one season in college, but has battled multiple foot injuries that will certainly draw red flags from teams in the draft.

Not sure anyone in the draft is ready to be in the Jazz's rotation next year. I'd be looking to trade their picks. Maybe draft a young center if anything to develop not to play. A guy they should be looking for right now. Jazz have enough young guys everywhere else. Time to win games!

No NBA team is perfect, and every team has a hole in its roster it could fill to create a more complete product, and this Jazz team is no different. The Jazz have found talented young players in the draft to build the roster that appears on the brink of a major break-out, but they’ll likely have to repeat the process once more this summer to complete a roster that is still in need of one major piece.

About the Author: Ben Anderson

It's in need of a major piece at pg. Exum might be that guy eventually but they can't wait around for him. The time is now. Brandon Knight would be the guy I'd go after in FA unless there is someone else available in a trade. Bring over Neto. Let him, Burke and Exum fight it out for the back-up job with maybe another proven vet in case none of them are ready. Exum still could earn some wing minutes. D-league for the losers. Tomic or Pleiss or Koufos at the 5. If Hood keeps doing what he's been doing since his return I might stay pat on the wing other than bringing in guys to compete with Ingles and Millsap for the end of the rotation/bench.

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[QUOTE]I don

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Emiliano Carchia: The Utah Jazz are expected to sign Bryce Cotton to a 2nd 10-day contract, according to sources Twitter @sportando