What's new
By:

Preseason Finale: Sacramento Kings V. Utah Jazz, 10/22, 7pm

I am pleasantly surprised to see that Fesenko appears to have shed some of his rahtard. I will also be pleasantly surprised if it continutes.
 
I was watching Whiteside with more than just a little interest as this is who I really wanted the Jazz to target in the draft.

14 min, 50%FG, 4 RB (1 O), 2 BK's... pretty decent stat line for 14 minutes of play. Certainly better than the Jazz pick, Haywurd.

That being said, I was impressed with Hayweed's defense. He seems to be able to stay in front of him man on defense much better than I anticipated.

Oh, and A-Jeff's ability to get players to commit to the block was incredibly impressive. I think every time he got the ball he got his defender to fall for a pump fake.
 
Hayward is a really good defender, even playing against Evans. Do I dare say that he could be a lockdown type defender?
 
I still hate the Hayward pick, but how happy are you that the Jazz didn't pick up Cousins? That guy is Terrible with a capital T, that rhymes with P, that stands for Polyp.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
TroutBum said:
I still hate the Gayward pick, but how happy are you that the Jazz didn't pick up Cousins? That guy is Terrible with a capital T, that rhymes with P, that stands for Polyp.
Click to expand...

Cousins has looked good in other games. Obviously he was just overwhelmed by the force of the Jazz.
 
chawx said:
That's where I'm sitting, behind the basket in Section B.
Click to expand...
Opposite side for me, section N(12) row 14 seat 12, great seats.

I will have to watch the replay of CJ getting hurt I was busy boo'ing there not being a foul (not that I had a good angle) and didn't see him get hurt, although I assume he's fine or I would've heard something as well as I saw him shooting, running etc at halftime warm ups. Before he got hurt it seemed that CJ kept driving but couldn't finish other then his and one it didn't seem like he had a very good game, I know Sacto went big and he had to guard Thompson and/or Laundry which they both ate him up in the post.

Cousins didn't look as big as I thought he was, he didn't look much bigger then Big Al IMO also if he was the one with the headband he was goofing off big time during pregame warmups.
 
Bravo to KOC on the 3 VET pickups. Watson's a huge upgrade from the backup points we've had, it was fun watching Raja hang all over Tyreke, and Elson is still the ******* that I remember him being. They're all perfect fits for the roles they need to play with the Jazz.

And Fes can be scary if he keeps working hard. I wished it would have clicked a little earlier so we could have locked him up for a few years, but man, I'm loving some of his post moves, especially the quick catch-and-go moves.
 
Postgame notes following the Jazz's 82-71 preseason victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night at Energy Solutions Arena.

Hilarious scene in the locker room before the game. Kyrylo Fesenko told Raja Bell that NBA commissioner David Stern had sent him a special memo. Bell picked up a very official looking piece of paper that was supposedly written by Stern. The paper stated that, following the recent Board of Governors meeting, Bell would have to wear a Kobe Bryant-proof helmet. (Bryant torched the Jazz for 19 points during one quarter Sunday in Los Angeles — Bell had the primary defensive assignment.) Bell got a kick out of the memo, which drew laughter from several Jazz players.

Utah coach Jerry Sloan before the game to Gordon Hayward and Jeremy Evans, who were watching warmups while casually sitting down: "You guys on vacation?"

Sloan was very critical of his team after the game. He said he saw signs of offensive and defensive slippage, as well as too much one-on-one play and quickly taken shots.

"We've had some things that have gone pretty well and we had some things that didn't look very good tonight," Sloan said. "They got about any shot they wanted. They got on top of the basket when they wanted to. Those are things you've got to be able to defend. If we can't defend — if we just try to outshoot them; we got into a stretch where all we did was take outside shots — that makes for a long season."

Asked about Sloan's comments, Bell acknowledged that the last couple exhibition games have been a little hard to get up four. A four-day, three-game Los Angeles road trip also winded the Jazz, while a practice Thursday was not very productive.

Bell said his left shoulder felt fine. It tightened up a bit during the second half but was OK overall.

"I wish I could blame some of those [jump shots] on the shoulder," Bell said. "But it wasn't bothering me at all."

Sloan again said that Paul Millsap's rebounding has not been as prominent. But Sloan credited Millsap's passing, moving without the ball and running the floor.

Asked what he has liked about his team during the preseason, Sloan said the players that were cut.

"Teams will take a lot of stuff away from us that they gave us in exhibition season," Sloan said. "That's just the nature of this business. That's why you try not to get too high."

Sloan on losing focus: "I don't think we're losing our focus as much as we're losing our ability — we were running harder; running for layups. Now, when the ball goes in the post we're not getting anything out of it. We're not getting any screens or things like that you've got to be able to do if you get in tough ballgames, because you can't always beat somebody one on one."

C.J. Miles (sprained right ankle; day to day) stayed on the court for about a minute before being carried off by two Jazz personnel. Miles returned to the bench, but soon walked toward the locker room, chewing on a towel and showing clear frustration.

Miles:

"It will take a little bit more than this to get me."

"I intentionally tried to step around [the defender] so I wouldn't step on any foot and wouldn't roll my ankle. But when I tried to jump
off ... it rolled and kind of felt like somebody shot me out of the stands.

"It hurt. When I first did it, I thought, 'I've really done something to it.' But as it started to calm down, it was basically just yelling at me, 'Stop. Get off you ankle.'"

"I was moving ... If today was Wednesday, I would have played [in the second half[. But I'm a little sore now."

Miles and Hayward combined to shoot 1 of 13 from the floor.

The Jazz again won every quarter.

Another strong performance from Kyrylo Fesenko, who continued to impress.

"All the spin moves and my low-post game [have improved]," Fesenko said. "Tonight I got a chance to show what I can do. I'm happy. My teammates really did a good job passing me the ball, especially [Ronnie Price's] ridiculous behind-the-back bounce pass. I'm just really happy."

Fesenko's nod to Price was well deserved. The sparkplug reserve has upped his play during the last few games. He had several sharp passes, shook off multiple defenders and brought a strong charge to Utah's offense. Price was especially in snych with Fesenko and Jeremy Evans.

Al Jefferson said before the game that his hand is feeling better and he thinks it will heal over time.

Miles, Price, Hayward, Francisco Elson and Evans were first off the bench for the Jazz.

All of Utah's starters played at least 25 minutes, while Price clocked 24 and Hayward recorded 22.

Price and Watson were on the court at the same time as Elson and Fesenko late in the game.

Jefferson to himself during warmups after missing a few shots: "C'mon AJ!"

Jefferson deliberately counts to five before attempting a free throw.

Hayward and Evans — who are becoming fast friends — ran into the locker room together after signing autographs.
Click to expand...

https://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogs/jazznotes/50526710-62/sloan-bell-fesenko-game.html.csp
 
ncoloradojazz said:
lmao.really lmao. Kid does not look like an nba player. Lockdown defender lets get serious. And if we wasted a number 9 pick on this scrub
Click to expand...

I was really surprised by Hayward. He a good job defensively on Tyreke Evans. His defensive technique has improved a lot even within the preseason.
 
We need Millsap to become a reliable and consistent midrange shooter in order to keep the opponent defenses honest and by doing this; prevent them from clogging the paint and prevent the flow of cuts, inside drives. I think Jerry may start Fes(Memo when healthy)/AJ/AK and bring Millsap/CJ off the bench.
 
I was thinking last night that Millsap should probably come off the bench. His game is too similiar to Jefferson's which puts him in no man's land for stretches on the offensive end.

I think you go with Jefferson/Fes/Ak/Williams/Bell

Second unit Millsap/Elson(Memo)/Hayward/Miles/Watson

Evans and Price replace Hayward and Miles if Hayward struggles and Miles goes back to doing nothing but stand around waiting to hoist a 3.

The problem with the second unit is Hayward might have a hard time finding shots in that squad when Memo returns. You could experiment starting Hayward; but the Bell/AK defensive dynamic is lost as a result. Those two energize each other on the defensive end and should start and finish games (unless Bell gets jumper happy like he did in 04-05)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page
Back
Top