Game Thread Mar 05, 2025 05:00PM MT: Utah Jazz @ Washington Wizards

[SoberasHotRod]

Or tanking a play-in game and then admitting it in a press conference.

Lol, right, they care about looking bad.

99.9% of NBA fans/ media/ etc. don't care about the Jazz resting Walker Kessler on a random game against a another team nobody cares about.

The NBA is run by owners and so for the Jazz to get in trouble, the other owners would have to complain, which they wont because they want to be able to tank themselves when it's advantageous.

 

[NUMBERICA]

Lol, right, they care about looking bad.

99.9% of NBA fans/ media/ etc. don't care about the Jazz resting Walker Kessler on a random game against a another team nobody cares about.

The NBA is run by owners and so for the Jazz to get in trouble, the other owners would have to complain, which they wont because they want to be able to tank themselves when it's advantageous.

They are also happy to easily win games against tanking teams when they aren’t tanking.

 

[KqWIN]

I don't think the league really cares about tanking. They care about stars sitting out during nationally broadcast games, and that's about it.

I had a thought about this last night when watching the Raptors game. In theory, playing guys some of the game is less tanky than sitting them out for the entire game….but it might cause more problems with gambling and ruffles feathers in a different way.

When guys sit out entirely, there’s still an illusion there that the players and coaches available are trying to win. You often hear that tanking is done by GM’s, not coaches and players which has been true for the most part. When you get coaches looking at their bench and putting in their worst 5 guys on purpose, that illusion is totally gone.

 

[Thee Idiotic Minivan K]

Hardy being so mad at guys not playing hard in a game the Jazz were intentionally throwing is so funny.

Bro, it's just human nature for 21 year olds to not play as hard in a game you're explicitly trying to lose.

Players aren’t trying to lose though. Org is but no excuse for the players not to give their all. The org also wants the players to play their best because their biggest role is helping the young players progress and learn to win.

So Coach Hardy should be throwing the players under the bus they gave a **** performance. There’s no excuse for it.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Lol, right, they care about looking bad.

99.9% of NBA fans/ media/ etc. don't care about the Jazz resting Walker Kessler on a random game against a another team nobody cares about.

The NBA is run by owners and so for the Jazz to get in trouble, the other owners would have to complain, which they wont because they want to be able to tank themselves when it's advantageous.

If I was Portland I would be putting in complaints every day

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Players aren’t trying to lose though. Org is but no excuse for the players not to give their all. The org also wants the players to play their best because their biggest role is helping the young players progress and learn to win.

So Coach Hardy should be throwing the players under the bus they gave a **** performance. There’s no excuse for it.

I see both sides. I just thought it was funny after the New Orleans game. Like do you expect Kyle Filipowski to be able to guard Zion with zero help? It's just such an overwhelmingly bad spot for him to be in that I find it hard to critique anything about it.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

If I was Portland I would be putting in complaints every day

They have the most indifferent ownership tho.... which is why they have approached the season how they have. Coach/GM can't feel good long term so may not want the stink of a tank on their resume... given that they have been bad-ish for a while.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Keyonte now questionable with illness. The Jazz might pull this off

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Even Springer is out.

 

[Schrödinger's Gerbil]

Hardy being so mad at guys not playing hard in a game the Jazz were intentionally throwing is so funny.

Bro, it's just human nature for 21 year olds to not play as hard in a game you're explicitly trying to lose.

It's so prolific for a coach to blame a lack of urgency or not playing hard when a team loses that it comes across at times as a catch-all cliche. Similar as the common cliche, "the team that wants it more wins." So obviously false, yet it doesn't stop its repetitive use. Some games a team just doesn't have it that day/night, for whatever reason, often un or tangentially-related to effort. Maybe Hardy is correct in this case, but a worst-than Jr Jazz-level of ineptitude where it came to taking care of the ball and making in-game decisions was also a key factor from where I was sitting comfortably on my couch.

 

[jazzVA]

Everybody is confirmed out: Markkanen, Kessler, Collins, Sexton, Clarkson.

If they’re with the team, I might be sitting beside them, 2nd row behind Jazz bench

 

[tksavis]

The Jazz are gonna be so shorthanded for this game, I'm happy to take one for the team and suit up to play some 2 guard.

 

[HermanG]

It's so prolific for a coach to blame a lack of urgency or not playing hard when a team loses that it comes across at times as a catch-all cliche. Similar as the common cliche, "the team that wants it more wins." So obviously false, yet it doesn't stop its repetitive use. Some games a team just doesn't have it that day/night, for whatever reason, often un or tangentially-related to effort. Maybe Hardy is correct in this case, but a worst-than Jr Jazz-level of ineptitude where it came to taking care of the ball and making in-game decisions was also a key factor from where I was sitting comfortably on my couch.

Not disagreeing with anything but adding that measuring effort is very contextual.

If you play a team that runs crazy hard on transition and you dont match their pace, then your effort may appear lackluster when factually you ran back harder than you ever had before.

I think "we didnt match their effort" is fair, but its not necessarily equal to giving a bad effort.

Pistons have a lot of high motor players, so looking bad against them is a lot easier than looking bad against, say, Clippers.

 

[homeytennis]

It sounds like Oscar and Potter are playing.

 

[KqWIN]

Don’t see Middleton or Smart in the injury report. Poole and Brogdon out.

 

[fishonjazz]

It sounds like Oscar and Potter are playing.

The jazz aren't tanking hard enough!!!

 

[Douchebag K]

I’m sorry but even with all our guys out there’s zero chance we don’t win this game. Like zero. That’s how bad the Wizards are. Don’t get your hopes up

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

I’m sorry but even with all our guys out there’s zero chance we don’t win this game. Like zero. That’s how bad the Wizards are. Don’t get your hopes up

IDK, we are going to be playing some of the worst defenders in the NBA heavy minutes and we are sitting all of our main scorers.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I’m sorry but even with all our guys out there’s zero chance we don’t win this game. Like zero. That’s how bad the Wizards are. Don’t get your hopes up

They are 4.5 pt favorites so Vegas disagrees. I think this may be the tankiest game of the year. You are going to see things you can't unsee.

 

[Douchebag K]

IDK, we are going to be playing some of the worst defenders in the NBA heavy minutes and we are sitting all of our main scorers.

Hush. I’m attempting to secure the loss