Game Thread Feb 09, 2026 05:30PM MT: Utah Jazz @ Miami Heat

[MTS]

Anything above a 1.2% chance of losing the pick is unacceptably high. Those are the odds the Mavs had of landing #1, so that’s my measuring stick (whether or not the league pulled **** to make that happen).

We need to be targeting 5 and have a no-way-in-hell attitude about sliding back. That’s not something you get to determine by tanking really hard in one game. We have two months of this **** left, so you bet your *** I resent “it’s time to celebrate” type expressions.

See I can appreciate a post like this, because it comes from a place of "I have almost zero risk tolerance on this very important thing".

Not unreasonable.

 

[framer]

Washington is sending their young guys out there to try to win as well. What they aren't doing is sending tre young and anthony davis doe.

Washington's young guys aren't as good as our young guys.

At some point soon we are going to shut people down, but watching JJJ and Lauri is kinda fun for now.

We should just play everyone tomorrow full steam for one game, because we could just put the player's wives and girlfriends on the floor and we are still going to beat the Kings.

 

[framer]

Nope. So then there is the other question. When is that there psycho tank gonna show up?
I personally dont think the psycho tank every shows up.
I could see them sit a healthy lauri, jjj, nurk for some games here and there. But I dont see them shutting them dudes down for the season. I also dont think they will sit a healthy Keyonte for any games.

Only one team in the NBA has lost more games than us out of the last 10. Unfortunately, we play that team next. . .

 

[fishonjazz]

Why do you believe this?

That they wont shut guys down for the season? Just dont think they have it in them.

 

[fishonjazz]

At some point soon we are going to shut people down

I disagree.

 

[framer]

That they wont shut guys down for the season? Just dont think they have it in them.

Meh, we just need to orchestrate a bench clearing brawl. Do we play Houston soon? Maybe have our guys punch a few Houston fans courtside. That's a win/win.

 

[SoberasHotRod]

Meh, we just need to orchestrate a bench clearing brawl. Do we play Houston soon? Maybe have our guys punch a few Houston fans courtside. That's a win/win.

That is kind of interesting/funny/solves a lot of problems, lol.

 

[NUMBERICA]

Washington's young guys aren't as good as our young guys.

At some point soon we are going to shut people down, but watching JJJ and Lauri is kinda fun for now.

We should just play everyone tomorrow full steam for one game, because we could just put the player's wives and girlfriends on the floor and we are still going to beat the Kings.

I do not hate this if this is the currency that buys us correctly/successfully tanking in ALL the games we should be losing. And every game against the Pelicans.

I also wouldn’t hate looking really really good against the Bucks…

 

[MTS]

That they wont shut guys down for the season? Just dont think they have it in them.

They had it in them the past three years post-ASB, why wouldn't they have it in them now?

 

[fishonjazz]

They had it in them the past three years post-ASB, why wouldn't they have it in them now?

Guess it depends on your definition of shutting guys down.
Last season Lauri played in games 66, 67, 68, 69.
Sexton was playing in games in the 70's.

When I say shut guys down I'm talking dunzo for the season

 

[MTS]

Last season Lauri played in games 66, 67, 68, 69.

I really want to believe that you're interested in having a genuine conversation about this, but statements like this make it hard.

Last season, Lauri played in six total games post all-star break, something you would have seen when you went to look up how many games he played. If you went back further, you'd notice that you could count on one finger the number of games he's played in April for the Jazz.

Using "He played in games 66-69" as an argument for why a player who missed 22 of the last 28 games wasn't, for all intents and purposes, shut down, is worse than wrong. It's deliberately misleading. It's arguing in bad faith.

I half expect you to reply with "Well he wasn't shut down for the rest of the season because he played in late games". Which is, obviously, missing the point, because if Lauri misses 22 of the remaining 28 games this season, it's still missing nearly 80% of the end of the season, regardless of when the games he played in occurred.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I really want to believe that you're interested in having a genuine conversation about this, but statements like this make it hard.

Last season, Lauri played in six total games post all-star break, something you would have seen when you went to look up how many games he played. If you went back further, you'd notice that you could count on one finger the number of games he's played in April for the Jazz.

Using "He played in games 66-69" as an argument for why a player who missed 22 of the last 28 games wasn't, for all intents and purposes, shut down, is worse than wrong. It's deliberately misleading. It's arguing in bad faith.

I half expect you to reply with "Well he wasn't shut down for the rest of the season because he played in late games". Which is, obviously, missing the point, because if Lauri misses 22 of the remaining 28 games this season, it's still missing nearly 80% of the end of the season, regardless of when the games he played in occurred.

I think what you are seeing is in part the result of that shut down last year. Maybe they do it (they can't with JJJ) with Lauri again. After we have seen Nurk/JJJ/Lauri now we should like shelve one of them in games against teams we have a 50/50 shot at winning in addition to pulling the starters. I'd give IC a night off as well. Goes without saying that Key should elongate his ankle injury absence.