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Game Thread Oct 29, 2025 07:00PM MT: Portland Trail Blazers @ Utah Jazz

Added to Calendar: 10-29-25

I know people here don't like when I harp on Clayton going under the basket on defense for that sweet rebound or steal. But there was a play at 1:38 left in the 1st that just made me irrationally mad. WCJ suddenly abandoned his man in the corner, went under the basket and decided to stay there for good, even when there were Nurk, Lauri and Hendricks at the same time. Another Blazer player ran past Clayton to the corner: now there were TWO wide open players. But Clayton did not budge. Instead, he directed Svi to abandon his man and cover his own former defensive assignment, while Hendricks had to run away from under the basket to cover the second wide open player.

Svi, of course, was late, and Clayton's guy shot a wide open three - but all of that did not matter because by then WCJ finally achieved his goal of being the main potential rebounder (instead of Hendricks). It just baffles me why Clayton is repeatedly doing stuff like that: he usually plays really smart.
 
str8line said:
Key with 29 PTS, 8 AST, 2 REB, 1 BLK and strong down the stretch.

6-14 FG, 15-15 FT

6 TO's though.
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Shootings not great but 29 points on 14 shots is outstanding. His ability to get to the line is elite. How’s he looked so far? The Jazz media pushing the “he’s matured” narrative in a united front has me skeptical but his numbers do look better.
 
rippimpc said:
Shootings not great but 29 points on 14 shots is outstanding. His ability to get to the line is elite. How’s he looked so far? The Jazz media pushing the “he’s matured” narrative in a united front has me skeptical but his numbers do look better.
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Don't want to take away from Key and his performance but it's misleading to say 29 points on 14 shots, the free throws also use possessions. 15 FTs is ~7 shots. 29 points on 21 possessions is still great but a bit more informative.
 
What a fun game! And absolutely non-existent defense for the first three quarters..

Really promising game from Ace although those quick transition jumpers were somewhat questionable choices. Otherwise solid decision-making and he seemed to be unfazed with the ball in his hands. I trust he will take Svi's place in the starting five pretty soon.

EJ was a beast. Along with Dunn, that was the best PnR defense I have seen from a Jazz player for years. The circumstances were on his side as Portland tried to slow the game down and he was allowed to play as if his name was Caruso, but he also made the most out of it. Jazz needs more players who are willing to do multiple efforts and not to relax after the first rotation. Unless the goal is to tank.

Referring to Harkless, I just wish Hendricks would show some kind of defensive presence..
 
Zombie said:
I made the mistake of hopping over to r/nba to check out the post game comments- what a nightmare. Those cats do not know ball.

Really makes me appreciate this place.
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Reddit is a cesspool for NBA, especially the Jazz. I tried telling dudes there last season Harkless was legit and everyone laughed and said he was ***.
 
Harkless brought them back.

Hardy putting Harkless and Cody on the floor on both the late inbounds... well, that was weird. It's pretty tough to get the ball to Lauri (or to anyone where the Blazers don't have a chance to foul immediately) if two of the players on the court are non-shooters.
 
Zombie said:
I made the mistake of hopping over to r/nba to check out the post game comments- what a nightmare. Those cats do not know ball.

Really makes me appreciate this place.
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I love reddit and use it for research purposes frequently but I have never been there for anything sports related. Thanks for the heads up

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I thought this was a great example of Keyonte's improved maturity. He had some really bad mistakes early in the game, but was able to not spiral out of control and play winning basketball in the 4th quarter. I was concerned he would have a bad game against the type of defense that Portland plays, but he was able to figure out how to counter their aggression and get to the line by the end of the game.
 
It's interesting that Kyle Anderson is not getting any minutes. I thought he had a chance to be in the starting lineup and it appears he's below Harkless and Cody in the rotation.
 
rippimpc said:
Shootings not great but 29 points on 14 shots is outstanding. His ability to get to the line is elite. How’s he looked so far? The Jazz media pushing the “he’s matured” narrative in a united front has me skeptical but his numbers do look better.
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Mostly he has looked fantastic.
Despite his pretty good stats last night I would say last night was his worst game. Made some of his old defensive lapses and had multiple really bad decisions and horrendous passes last night.

Overall he has been great and even last night he was ok. I have been saying, and still believe, he is going to have a breakout season. Which is good but he is gonna hurt the tank and be expensive on his next contract.

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Basketball Novice said:
Don't want to take away from Key and his performance but it's misleading to say 29 points on 14 shots, the free throws also use possessions. 15 FTs is ~7 shots. 29 points on 21 possessions is still great but a bit more informative.
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Fair

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SoberasHotRod said:
Keyonte's EFG% was only 50%, but his TS% was 70.4%
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Which of those stats do you like better? Which is more impactful/meaningful?
I have no idea which one is more important.

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