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Conley Benched

Rudy need to demand the ball more tell dm and Conley to "pass me the ball I'm a mothafaka too!"
To be fair, Rudy has been bad at catching and finishing the last couple of games. The lob haven't been there either as Denver is quickly collapsing the paint after penetration. Perhaps we need to run more pick n roll again to involve him more.
 
To be fair, Rudy has been bad at catching and finishing the last couple of games. The lob haven't been there either as Denver is quickly collapsing the paint after penetration. Perhaps we need to run more pick n roll again to involve him more.
The cure to them clogging the paint is for Royce and Ingles to stop passing up open 3's for whatever ****ing reason. That play last game when Mitchell broke down the D and passed it back out to Royce and he almost shot then just looked around like he didn't know what he was doing. That is why we lost. Not that single play obviously, but the fact that there is that low level of confidence going on. He should have taken the open 3, and so should any number of other people any number of other times.
 
The cure to them clogging the paint is for Royce and Ingles to stop passing up open 3's for whatever ****ing reason. That play last game when Mitchell broke down the D and passed it back out to Royce and he almost shot then just looked around like he didn't know what he was doing. That is why we lost. Not that single play obviously, but the fact that there is that low level of confidence going on. He should have taken the open 3, and so should any number of other people any number of other times.

I saw Ingles pass up a couple of open 3s as well. If we have two people passing up open 3s, the offense is easy to slow down.
 
The cure to them clogging the paint is for Royce and Ingles to stop passing up open 3's for whatever ****ing reason. That play last game when Mitchell broke down the D and passed it back out to Royce and he almost shot then just looked around like he didn't know what he was doing. That is why we lost. Not that single play obviously, but the fact that there is that low level of confidence going on. He should have taken the open 3, and so should any number of other people any number of other times.
No disagreement there, that's why I said I'm more concerned about Royce and Joe. The last few games they haven't contributed on either end of the floor.

JC on the other hand, I'm never concerned about him not shooting the ball :D

Also, give Denver some credit. Despite not being able to stop dribble penetration, they are more active (Craig and Grant especially) in disrupting the pass to the corner. I'm wondering what Q has under his sleeve to get the offense going. It would help if Royce or Ingles hit their (or attempt) their shots.
 
I'm curious: has anyone averaged more than 7 assists per game under Quin egalitarian system?. It's seems impossible so maybe that's not fair to ask. Even Ricky only averaged 6.1 in his second season. For steals, it's the same. We don't gamble on defense and Quin preaches staying in front of his man or directing him towards help (Rudy). Again, has any player averaged more than 2 steals under Q?

Having said that, Conley has not contributed on defense but we kind of expected that due to his size and age (he hasn't been terrible either this season). At least he is contributing on offense: he is shooting the ball well and making good decisions. Before the last game, when he had two terrible TOs, he only had 2 TOs in the first 3 games of the series, and he was instrumental in games 3 and 4, hitting big shoots or making the right plays when needed. The last two games Denver has trapped him and defended him better, collapsing the paint and closing passing lanes when he is able to penetrate (they have done the same to Don and JC).

I'm more concerned about Royce and Ingles.
I think Zanik/DL thought they were getting a much more capable defender. His advanced stats on D were good last year. He either fell off a cliff or has desire problems.

I think Conley has been wretched on D for most of the year. He’s been so bad that he’s forcing the rest of the guards and wings to play out of position.
 
I think Zanik/DL thought they were getting a much more capable defender. His advanced stats on D were good last year. He either fell off a cliff or has desire problems.

I think Conley has been wretched on D for most of the year. He’s been so bad that he’s forcing the rest of the guards and wings to play out of position.

Probably. I don't think he has fallen off the cliff. He is usually in the right place and contests shots. However, against bigger guards he is just to small to bother shots. I would say he is average at this point, or even below average. He is less 'switchy' than say Rubio or Hill, so I see how we lost some flexibility there.

I think Zanik/DL made a calculated risk this offeseason: trade defense for playmaking and shooting after what happened with the Rockets. Heck, Toronto just won a title with a tiny backourt of Lowry/Van Vleet. They overcorrected.

The problem? We lack other defenders that can allow us to hide one or even two players on defense (unlike Toronto). We over rely on Rudy. And the rest of the cast has been underwhelming all year. Ingles has lost a step. Bojan and JC are below average. Bradley is slow. Niang, well, is Niang. Royce is the only good defender but even him is getting cooked now. Davis, Green and Mudiay gave us nothing.

We addressed the shooting but lost our defense (and identity) big way. I'm ready for next season and the FO to find ways to address this: one or two capable wing defenders and a back up big. With Bojan, DM, Conley and JC we have enough firepower to go against any team. No defense though.
 
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Probably. I don't think he has fallen off the cliff. He is usually in the right place and contests shots. However, against bigger guards he is just to small to bother shots. I would say he is average at this point, or even below average. He is less 'switchy' than say Rubio or Hill, so I see how we lost some flexibility there.

I think Zanik/DL made a calculated risk this offeseason: trade defense for playmaking and shooting after what happened with the Rockets. Heck, Toronto just won a title with a tiny backourt of Lowry/Van Vleet. They overcorrected.

The problem? We lack other defenders that can allow us to hide one or even two players on defense (unlike Toronto). We over rely on Rudy. And the rest of the cast has been underwhelming all year. Ingles has lost a step. Bojan and JC are below average. Bradley is slow. Niang, well, is Niang. Royce is the only good defender but even him is getting cooked now. Davis, Green and Mudiay gave us nothing.

We addressed the shooting but lost our defense (and identity) big way. I'm ready for next season and the FO to find ways to address this: one or two capable wing defenders and a back up big. With Bojan, DM, Conley and JC we have enough firepower to go against any team. No defense though.
I hope I’m still around to console you when we basically run it back. Maybe we can dump Ed, maybe we will use part of the MLE to sign a guy like Torrey Craig to help our defense, but I don’t see it in the cards that we have a more sizable change like you’re (rightly) calling for.
 
I hope I’m still around to console you when we basically run it back. Maybe we can dump Ed, maybe we will use part of the MLE to sign a guy like Torrey Craig to help our defense, but I don’t see it in the cards that we have a more sizable change like you’re (rightly) calling for.
Hey, maybe you can send me your album. Unless it's reggeaton, ha.

This year's offseason shows that the FO can be very active. The moves backfired though. Who we get with the MLE and the vet min is key. I'm not familiar with the draft (i'm afraid to ask anything to creepy Lord Bullington :D )
 
Hey, maybe you can send me your album. Unless it's reggeaton, ha.

This year's offseason shows that the FO can be very active. The moves backfired though. Who we get with the MLE and the vet min is key. I'm not familiar with the draft (i'm afraid to ask anything to creepy Lord Bullington :D )

the reggeaton comment made me legit lol.
 
that's the same argument as justifying Niang to be even on the court. how many points does he need to score to make up for the damage he's done to us in other areas of the game? i'd say Duncan Robinson/Davis Bertans sorta numbers at least.

He will always be a net negative. Opposing players get whatever they want against him. It is absurd.
 
He will always be a net negative. Opposing players get whatever they want against him. It is absurd.
The only way for them to be net positive is to drop 30+ while “only” allowing 25 points from the opponent on the other end. That's the only way for him or Conley to be net positive on the court. Them scoring 15ish points a game on just OK efficiency is far from enough.
 
I think Zanik/DL thought they were getting a much more capable defender. His advanced stats on D were good last year. He either fell off a cliff or has desire problems.

I think Conley has been wretched on D for most of the year. He’s been so bad that he’s forcing the rest of the guards and wings to play out of position.

I said this to a friend:

Conley compared to Rubio the Jazz went:
+1 point
+1% on three point %
-4 assists
Wash on PER
-1 defensive win share
-2.4 defensive box plus/minus

Conley hasn't been a significantly better offensive player and a much worse defensive player for Utah than Rubio was.
 
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