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Game Thread Utah Jazz vs New Zealand Breakers - Oct 4th 7:00 PM (MT) (Preseason)

Added to Calendar: 10-04-24

If we are capturing the flag this season then I want Kessler to be Kessler and not drastically improve. Sounds awful but him and Sexton could get us unexpected wins and I want them to flounder for the first half of the season.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
Also, Cody hasnt played an actual NBA game yet and I think he is clearly our best perimeter defender. He looked like the only guy who could kind of stay in front of Cartwright last night.
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I was surprised by his effort and ability to fight through screens. Figured since he is so skinny that he would get blown up on screens but he did great navigating them.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
He's skinny, but he gets low and is long AF. He also doesnt gamble or bite hard on fakes like Keyonte/Sexton do.
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Being skinny could also help in a small way. Would make it easier to slide between the screener and ball handler if the ball handler doesn't go right up against the screener enough.
 
I’m certain that this “weight” talk with Kessler and Hendricks is something that’s talked about ad nauseam during the pre season and a few months from now we will never hear about it again.
 
KqWIN said:
I’m certain that this “weight” talk with Kessler and Hendricks is something that’s talked about ad nauseam during the pre season and a few months from now we will never hear about it again.
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Agreed. Happens every year

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fishonjazz said:
Being skinny could also help in a small way. Would make it easier to slide between the screener and ball handler if the ball handler doesn't go right up against the screener enough.
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Also could mean that when you throw your weight into the defender they either have to flop something fierce or just stand there, so you might not get called for a foul for running through the screen.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
Also, Cody hasnt played an actual NBA game yet and I think he is clearly our best perimeter defender. He looked like the only guy who could kind of stay in front of Cartwright last night.
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I was going to scoff and then I looked at our perimeter defenders… thought Taylor did pretty well out there but yeah Cody firmly in the running but let’s say the competition isn’t stiff.
 
Handlogten's Heros said:
I was going to scoff and then I looked at our perimeter defenders… thought Taylor did pretty well out there but yeah Cody firmly in the running but let’s say the competition isn’t stiff.
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Taylor might be better against the bigger wings, but in terms of staying in front, Cody is the best.
 
KqWIN said:
I’m certain that this “weight” talk with Kessler and Hendricks is something that’s talked about ad nauseam during the pre season and a few months from now we will never hear about it again.
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Sir you are underestimating Bolers ability to grind a narrative into the ground. We gonna be on muscle watch all season.
 
KqWIN said:
I’m certain that this “weight” talk with Kessler and Hendricks is something that’s talked about ad nauseam during the pre season and a few months from now we will never hear about it again.
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It's always a topic, especially around bigs. It hasnt been discussed "ad nauseam". It's a usual conversation. Again, a nonsensical comment.
 
I think Keyonte was the body change I was most impressed with. Last year he dropped a lot of bad weight. While he may only be up 5-10 lbs you can see it in his shoulders and he is still incredibly lean.

Walker looked to be a little slow and Taylor looks good but either got gassed or shifted the motor down a bit too much at times. Everyone likely needs a game or three to get in game shape.
 
Handlogten's Heros said:
I think Keyonte was the body change I was most impressed with. Last year he dropped a lot of bad weight. While he may only be up 5-10 lbs you can see it in his shoulders and he is still incredibly lean.

Walker looked to be a little slow and Taylor looks good but either got gassed or shifted the motor down a bit too much at times. Everyone likely needs a game or three to get in game shape.
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Brice was the most obvious/impressive, but I guess we already saw a lot of that change at summer league. I would agree that Keyonte looked great though.
 
SoberasHotRod said:
Brice was the most obvious/impressive, but I guess we already saw a lot of that change at summer league. I would agree that Keyonte looked great though.
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Yeah dropping weight is impressive. I think Key getting lean and then adding only good weight (just on visual inspection) is more impressive imo. But all the guys have put in work in a real way so muscle watch is pretty real this year.
 
Cody being on the ball is great because he’s a total zero off the ball defensively.
 
I never thought much of Kessler’s athleticism, I always thought he was ground bound and slow, so maybe that informs my opinion….but I didn’t notice any difference in the way he was moving or his athleticism.

For me, the path for Kessler to return to his rookie year levels and go beyond that is through establishing himself as a big man who does the big man things. He was never a high potential prospect in my eyes, but even his rookie level play is a very nice player to have. Last night was a little hit and miss in those areas imo. I think there were some plays where he was intentionally physical and that was good. On the other hand, it’s still very evident that it’s not his instinct to seek out contact. This is especially the case on offense. Regardless of his weight, he needs to use his body more. His tendency is to fade away from the contact which causes problems. Rudy was goofy as hell, but he tried to go to the basket every time and that led to lots of FT’s at least. I don’t know if Kessler is afraid of contact or afraid of going to the line, but that needs to be fixed.

On the bright side, loved seeing good decision making out of the short roll and high post. If he can expand his game here it will do wonders for his offensive game and help his teammates out a ton. While I think an attempt to be Brook Lopez is counterproductive…striving to be like Hartenstein offensively is a worthwhile way endeavor that he can add to his game.
 
KqWIN said:
We could watch a guy dribble once and get a comment about how his new body affected the play lol.
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“Now Thurl I know it’s just a free throw but you can really tell Brice’s weight loss is helping him get that baby to bed… talk about how many calories you used to eat when you were playing.”
 
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