Game Thread May 26, 2021 08:00PM MT: Jazz vs. Grizzlies - Game 2

[MVP]

I think Mike Conley pick and roll with Rudy was a thing of beauty to watch yesterday and Grizzlies had no answer for that. If I was Snyder I wold run that all game long until Grizzlies find a way to defend it. ( not easy!)

 

[DasJazz]

My niece had the nerve to schedule her wedding reception on Saturday.

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Some things are more important in life. A wedding reception during the Jazz game is not one of them.

 

[Sean]

I think Mike Conley pick and roll with Rudy was a thing of beauty to watch yesterday and Grizzlies had no answer for that. If I was Snyder I wold run that all game long until Grizzlies find a way to defend it. ( not easy!)

Yes. Utah pick and rolled the Grizzlies to death in the fourth quarter. Everyone keeps mentioning Utah has no answer for Ja but really, Memphis has none for Conley+Gobert. That doesn't even get into the other potential major scoring options.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Refs going to struggle to ref these games without taking out key players. Memphis fouls so damn much

Memphis fans bitching about foul trouble... Brooks basically bulldozed into DM and Ingles for all three first half fouls... wasn’t like he got a cheap handcheck call.

Last night kinda illustrates my beef with how the nba is officiated... what is the difference between good physical difference and fouling? There is no difference. I can say that last night I thought the refs were at least consistent... anything that looked like a foul was called a foul... even some BS ones like Jackson traveling and Ja stumbling and getting blocked. Foul calls ended up even at 25 and we are one of the least foul happy teams and they are one of the worst. Not sure how memorable his fans can cry so hard.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Yes. Utah pick and rolled the Grizzlies to death in the fourth quarter. Everyone keeps mentioning Utah has no answer for Ja but really, Memphis has none for Conley+Gobert. That doesn't even get into the other potential major scoring options.

I think my issue is that it is easier for Ja to have a good night with the shots we are conceding... if Mike stops hitting the off the dribble three for a bit then they have an answer... at least until he starts hitting again.

 

[LogGrad98]

Refs going to struggle to ref these games without taking out key players. Memphis fouls so damn much

Well the refs are doing their best to balance out Memphis' fouling by ignoring it and calling phantom fouls on the jazz instead. If they really called fouls as they should by contact rules Brooks would foul out by the middle of the third quarter every game.

 

[LogGrad98]

My niece had the nerve to schedule her wedding reception on Saturday.

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Sounds like you are going to have to disown her.

 

[NAOS]

I think my issue is that it is easier for Ja to have a good night with the shots we are conceding... if Mike stops hitting the off the dribble three for a bit then they have an answer... at least until he starts hitting again.

Yes.... the Utah Jazz... where there’s more than mere permission for an opposing perimeter player to go nuclear. We seem to invite it. This is what our bend-but-don’t-break defense turns into come playoff time. It’s not fun for a guy like me who prizes defense

 

[Max Porter]

I think we should try oni. Cant be worse than current defense lol

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I like this idea he has a long wing span and is pretty quick for his size.

 

[NUMBERICA]

Refs going to struggle to ref these games without taking out key players. Memphis fouls so damn much

Uhh. Good? The point of making the calls is to deter further fouling.

If their strategy is to maul the Jazz and get away with it, then they shouldn’t be in the playoffs.

 

[NUMBERICA]

Well the refs are doing their best to balance out Memphis' fouling by ignoring it and calling phantom fouls on the jazz instead. If they really called fouls as they should by contact rules Brooks would foul out by the middle of the third quarter every game.

*first quarter

 

[NUMBERICA]

I like this idea he has a long wing span and is pretty quick for his size.

And he’s mistake-prone and can’t shoot to save his life in moments that matter.

 

[NUMBERICA]

Royce isn’t the problem scheme wise... the big has to come up higher to take it from a 5 foot floater to a 8 foot floater... tough to do with JV behind you... it’s the same issue we’ve had for multiple seasons... if Rudy steps up too much Jarden throws the lob... if Rudy sags off Jokic he hits threes... if Rudy tries to snuff out Jas drive then JB gets a rim opportunity or offensive rebound. Ja hit his shots tonight but I’d dare his *** to hit long shots again.

This defense is not championship level.

The consistent problem here is the Jazz force Gobert to single-handedly save the defense. He needs ANY help in situations like that, and against a kid that can only hit stand-still, wide-open shots, these errors are inexcusable.

In the plays you just described, there are supposed to be at least two defensive players. As Jazz fans, we have learned to assume there is only one.

 

[NUMBERICA]

Agreed. And that's what they did in game 1 for some unknown reason. If that leads to our ouster someone needs to get fired.

They played Donovan on a minutes-restriction and it worked. I’m not advocating sitting players.

 

[Max Porter]

And he’s mistake-prone and can’t shoot to save his life in moments that matter.

We don’t need his offense though we need his defense. I’m not talking about the whole game I’m saying give Royce a few minutes away from morant and just see how well he can defend him. Because last night was a morant buzz saw. We need to try something otherwise they will win this series.

 

[SoberasHotRod]

Watching Ja torch us for 47 was unnerving, especially after what Murray did to us last year. The key difference, however, is Murray was doing it off of crazy long distance shot making, and Ja basically made all of his shots on lightly contested 5 footers. Fixing for what Ja did to us should be much easier, but I still don't have any confidence given our track record.

 

[SteakNEggs]

I don't think we have an answer for Ja but I also don't think they have an answer for DM, Conley, Bogey, Ingles, and Clarkson combo. The only way they stop us is by us not hitting our shots.

 

[l Abach l]

I don't have a sensical reason for why the Jazz are treating Ja like 2016 Curry. I know this sounds crazy but Ja should be getting the Giannis treatment - the defender should sag and take away the easy drive to the lane / floater. Ja's not going to torch us from 3 ball land, and I'd rather take my chances with that than seeing him shoot >50% with >15 FTs a game.

This all goes back to Snyder's moneyball approach. Take away the 3 and "funnel" players into the midrange game. The problem with the moneyball approach is that regular season stats hardly ever translates into post season play. Just look at Clarkson's 3 pt %. Here's to hoping the Jazz make some adjustments vs. Ja...

 

[SoberasHotRod]

Has anyone mentioned how good Rudy looked catching passes in traffic, and fluidly going to the rim? He was amazing.

 

[Ujfanatic]

We don’t need his offense though we need his defense. I’m not talking about the whole game I’m saying give Royce a few minutes away from morant and just see how well he can defend him. Because last night was a morant buzz saw. We need to try something otherwise they will win this series.

The problem though is our offense is predicated on spacing. Even if we do not need his scoring, we need his defender to stay relatively close to him to accomplish the spacing we need. Oni or Forest would be a nice defensive option to throw out there for a few minutes, but it might come at the expense of our offense as well. Might work better if one of them was out there with Donovan though, as he doesn’t need the same spacing as the rest of the team.