SLC Dunk - Quin Snyder is as good of a man as he is a Head Coach

[Tavan Parker]

Hint: Very good

Game 1 didn't go as well as planned, but it also shouldn’t have been too surprising. The OKC Thunder have considerable more playoff experience than the Utah Jazz and that showed. Now this Jazz team has a better feel for the playoffs and I expect a better game tomorrow night. Plus, Paul George can’t make 8 3’s every game right? RIGHT!?

This tweet from StatMuse gives us all a few good reasons for optimism heading into Game 2:

The Jazz might be the 5th seed in the West but they have been playing like the top team in the NBA for the second half of the season. In the last 41 games:

1st in NetRtg
1st in DRtg
1st in scoring margin
1st in eFG% allowed
2nd best record pic.twitter.com/q5ePZWw1Zk

— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 12, 2018​

This 3 guys right there have been fantastic during that that 41 game stretch. But they wouldn’t be here without the direction of Quin Snyder, who helped pick them up after that ugly loss in Atlanta and had a vision for what this team could be. Quin will figure out ways to exploit OKC’s weaknesses and I can’t wait to see his adjustments.

Quin Snyder isn’t just a heck of a basketball coach. A story surfaced on twitter about a resident doctor during Quin’s days as a player for the Duke Blue Devils.

When I first learned about the class of Quin Snyder - have never forgotten this pic.twitter.com/uJeKJoRYUo

— Bill Mallon (@bambam1729) October 18, 2017​

That’s cool to hear about Snyder’s earlier days and shows some of the character the HC of the Jazz has. With Dennis Lindsey and him at the helm, the Jazz are in good hands for a long time.

Tuesday Downbeat. Beat #3. You know the drill.

KelenMore shares some thoughts on why we shouldn’t be afraid of the Thunder:

The Utah Jazz are not the same team we were in 2017. We’ve all read the stats, our net rating is off the charts since Gobert is back, our defense eats people alive, and Quin gameplans points out of a limited roster...

The Oklahoma City Thunder are the same team they were in 2017. They’ve had good runs before, this last 5 game streak to end the season doesn’t mean they’ve figured anything out...
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sdzion gave us all some great realistic NBA Playoff expectations:

As we enter the 2017-18 NBA Playoffs there is a sense of fun and excitement for Utah Jazz fans. Fans all want the Jazz to win the Championship THIS YEAR, and anything can happen - that is why they play the games. But what are realistic expectations for this team in this year’s playoffs?
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Gobert_the_Destroyer wants your prediction for Jazz vs. Thunder

@SpencerJCox was given the reigns for the signs along UDOT’s freeways. For those not from Utah, Spencer Cox is the Lt. Governor of Utah and is a noted and vocal Jazz fan. Along the major freeways, Utah has some signs that can be used for clever sayings to get people to drive safer, use their seatbelts, etc. He elicited some help for Monday when he was given control of the saying.

Ok friends, on Monday I’m taking over UDOT’s freeway signs & I need your ideas (by tomorrow at 8pm):
1) Must be both @utahjazz AND safety themed. #TakeNote
2) You have 3 lines & 17 characters per line (including spaces).
3) Use hashtag #JazzSign.
Best idea wins! pic.twitter.com/5VjQPtnyjg

— Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) April 13, 2018​

He ranked his 10 favorite submissions, and I thought I would share a few of those with you here.

Number 4: Well played @COL_James83. Well played. pic.twitter.com/9eiR28Nfw2

— Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) April 16, 2018

Number 9: Sure it’s been 20 years. And yes Jordan is the . But @itschappy nailed it. And I promise I’m not bitter anymore...(I’m totally still bitter ) pic.twitter.com/Dihp8xaycx

— Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) April 16, 2018

NUMBER 1: I this submission by @AllisonCroghan. Bonus points for being an actual meteorologist! Look for ZERO PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDER on your commute tomorrow. Congrats Allison!

And thanks for having fun with me. Tough loss tonight, but #JazzNation is strong. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/xFgeo3QsDr

— Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) April 16, 2018​

The Washington Post had a great article on Sunday about Quin Snyder’s career path from a broken NCAA career to become an NBA coach of the year candidate:

The coach ended practice and asked the players to gather for a few moments of introspection.

Quin Snyder’s voice was soft that day, a rarity knowing his intensity, and a decade later players would remember the conversation having the feel of an intervention. Fate, Snyder pointed out sometimes, had brought them here: to Central Texas for the 2007-08 season, to the National Basketball Development League’s Austin Toros, to this forgotten outpost on the game’s minor league.

“What is your definition,” Snyder asked players that day, “of making it?”

Success means something different to everyone, and so one player answered, then the next. Some wanted to taste life in the NBA, if only briefly; a few had been sent down and wanted to return. At least one had made it by reaching even the pro game’s bottom rung, and another wanted to someday be a coach.

Snyder nodded, listening as his eyes traveled the semicircle, and this was a glimpse at why he once had been a coaching star and would be again. He could raise or lower himself to each player’s level, connect with him, build a team, make it seem capable of most anything...
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Go read the rest of that. I gave you the first few paragraphs but the rest is even better. Quin Snyder knows the game of basketball, but even more importantly, he knows his players as individuals and treats them like it. This is a big reason why he’s able to get the most out of his guys no matter what level they are at.

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