Game Thread Apr 13, 2025 01:30PM MT: Utah Jazz @ Minnesota Timberwolves

[SoberasHotRod]

Lots of bright spots- Brice, Isaiah was spectacular at times, Flip showed out as the season went on, Collins earned his money and will be worth it if he picks up his option, Kessler got back on track, Sexton was great, Oscar/Harkless/Kmart2/Johnny all showed enough that they are worth keeping around if a rookie doesn't beat them out, meaning our depth is just going to keep getting even better.

Downsides- Markkanen regressed, Cody's flashes didn't sustain into anything as yet, Clarkson was a non-entity.

Neutral- Hendricks hurt, Keyonte showed out at times, but unless he can find a way to improve the quality of his shots, he will continue to be an inefficient scorer (but his assists/passing game showed some good improvement.)

So adding some good/great picks to that mix, and maybe a veteran free agent/trade, the team has a pretty smooth trajectory going forward- though it will be extremely painful if they choose to tank one more year...

Good post except calling the Hendricks injury neutral. He's the guy that needed the most in game reps as anyone and only got 3 games. That was/is absolutely brutal.

 

[JazzFever]

Good post except calling the Hendricks injury neutral. He's the guy that needed the most in game reps as anyone and only got 3 games. That was/is absolutely brutal.

Neutral in being an essential component of getting the worst record. I actually think he was on a very good trajectory and would have won us too many games if he played. Outside of the pick context, yes, we lost an important year of his development, so it is bad otherwise.

 

[fishonjazz]

Lots of bright spots- Brice, Isaiah was spectacular at times, Flip showed out as the season went on, Collins earned his money and will be worth it if he picks up his option, Kessler got back on track, Sexton was great, Oscar/Harkless/Kmart2/Johnny all showed enough that they are worth keeping around if a rookie doesn't beat them out, meaning our depth is just going to keep getting even better.

Downsides- Markkanen regressed, Cody's flashes didn't sustain into anything as yet, Clarkson was a non-entity.

Neutral- Hendricks hurt, Keyonte showed out at times, but unless he can find a way to improve the quality of his shots, he will continue to be an inefficient scorer (but his assists/passing game showed some good improvement.)

So adding some good/great picks to that mix, and maybe a veteran free agent/trade, the team has a pretty smooth trajectory going forward- though it will be extremely painful if they choose to tank one more year...

Good summary.

I think Collins was our best player for the season
I think Kessler was our best young player
I think Cody was our most disappointing player
Hendricks injury was the worst moment of the season
Collier was my biggest pleasant surprise
Key was the most bipolar player for me

 

[SoberasHotRod]

Neutral in being an essential component of getting the worst record. I actually think he was on a very good trajectory and would have won us too many games if he played. Outside of the pick context, yes, we lost an important year of his development, so it is bad otherwise.

I don't think he was going to win us too many games and if he did we could have managed him like we did everyone else that was helping us win games.

Hendricks is still learning the game and having him miss the year really sets us back. I would have much preferred having the 3rd worst record and a full year of Hendricks development than what happened. He was basically the last guy on the team that I would have wanted to have a season ending injury.

 

[underdog]

What an embarrassing season.

We achieved our goal, but this wasn't fun.

Achieving any goal can hardly be called “embarrassing.” Tanking is an opportunity only a few teams can have each season. And we should be glad we didn’t blow it.

 

[JazzFever]

I don't think he was going to win us too many games and if he did we could have managed him like we did everyone else that was helping us win games.

Hendricks is still learning the game and having him miss the year really sets us back. I would have much preferred having the 3rd worst record and a full year of Hendricks development than what happened. He was basically the last guy on the team that I would have wanted to have a season ending injury.

Like I said, a negative in every aspect except the pick. Agree to disagree on whether it made a difference- I don’t think the fans or the league would of let them get away with as egregious a tank as that would of required to get the worst record- still maybe 5th or so, but that could of dropped us much further in the lottery.

 

[NUMBERICA]

Does anyone know off-hand how the tiebreaker would’ve worked if Minnesota lost tonight? There would’ve been a 3-way tie for seeds 6-8.

 

[SoberasHotRod]

Does anyone know off-hand how the tiebreaker would’ve worked if Minnesota lost tonight? There would’ve been a 3-way tie for seeds 6-8.

They would have been 8, I'm pretty sure.