Game Thread Feb 14, 2024 07:00PM MT: Jazz vs. Lakers

[Agent#00]

Good job jazz. All eyes on #1 pick next year

 

[Hearsky]

Holly just keeps yapping about the overturned call momentum change, when in fact, it's more about we just don't have anyone in the bench squad to calm down offense like KO, and we sold our best glue guy in Tech for peanuts. This is how it's going to be.

That said, Lakers shot 57/46 off the field, Jazz shot 48/33. Mix up with some friendlier whistle to Lakers, beating us in fta's by 14 attempts more, there you go

We had eight fga's more than them. If we made closer to average shooting splits, the game still was very winnable. But no one got really hot

You could have stopped at "Holly just keeps yapping".

 

[UpArrow]

I remember the first game that LeBron played in SLC. At the end of the game, the whole crowd stood on their feet and gave him a standing ovation. It was the first we ever did that for a visiting player who had no history with the organization. It was amazing to see and the whole crowd knew he was going to be special.

I was at that game row 2. Boozer was also electric that game - which evidently inspired LHM to engage in a bit of chicanery a year later.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

It's more than that though..

Olynyk was their only passing big man and best passer off the bench.

Simone and to a lesser extent Agbaji were their only wings/SF's.

Their lineups just don't work anymore.

Bingo

 

[HermanG]

Yeah... the sad fact is that after trading away Simone and KO we dont really have enough elite shooters left. We were one of the worst 3 point shooting teams even before we gave away 2 of our best 3. That and removing Simone from the starting lineup which hurts our defense against opposing team starters.

The BPMs for this game are weird. Keyonte played pretty well but how on EARTH did he, Collins and Hendricks have the best +- of all the rotation guys? I mean Keyonte somewhat deserves a nice number, but how did Hendricks and Collins land at #1 and #3 on the team? Someone saw something I missed? I mean sure, Hendricks was pretty good on defense and on the boards, but surely his offensive impact was the lowest of anyone who played.. He didnt even get guarded properly and was laying bricks from his early open shots.

 

[HermanG]

I guess Simone and Olynyk were more important than I thought. On the flip side if those two were that important we’re not nearly as good as we thought.

We traded away talent from 3 skillsets where we were already thin. Thats playmaking (passing), defense and 3 point shooting.

Especially the last two hurts. We are 22nd in the NBA with 35.6% team 3 point percentage, but we traded away 2 of our top 5, and now we have just 3 guys left who are over 34% for the season.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

Hendricks was pretty good on defense and on the boards,

I'm sorry, what?

He was literally hunted every time he stepped on the floor and Hachimura abused him 1-on-1 so badly I felt like calling 911.

Hardy noticed it too and kept yanking him

 

[UpArrow]

We traded away talent from 3 skillsets where we were already thin. Thats playmaking (passing), defense and 3 point shooting.

Especially the last two hurts. We are 22nd in the NBA with 35.6% team 3 point percentage, but we traded away 2 of our top 5, and now we have just 3 guys left who are over 34% for the season.

DA/RS' big picture strategy is now clear:
Allow your new young coach to work with his best tools before trade deadline. Let the team excel to their best potential to allow said coach to build a good reputation in the league and get the fans good and lathered up in support. Sell fanwear, popcorn, content subscriptions etc etc out the wazoo.
Then come trade deadline sell off what you wish to (or can - talking to you JC & THT) and tank the last 1/3 of the season while coasting on dwindling fan support which edges toward draft position excitement.

It's a businesslike strategy and maybe a sensible one as well.

But it's a sh!tshow to put the players through. Don't know if I'd have the heart to do it myself when odds of us ever winning the chit are so extremely low regardless of FO skill in executing it.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

We traded away talent from 3 skillsets where we were already thin. Thats playmaking (passing), defense and 3 point shooting.

Especially the last two hurts. We are 22nd in the NBA with 35.6% team 3 point percentage, but we traded away 2 of our top 5, and now we have just 3 guys left who are over 34% for the season.

This.

I hate the "If we were this dependent on guys like Simone and Kelly, we're worse than I thought" argument.

Sometimes an NBA roster is like a house of cards and there's nothing wrong with that per se. I mean the ideal situation is obviously that a team is 100% resilient against every injury or trade, but that's rare. In reality, guys like Simone and Kelly are often the ones who are holding it all together. They both had their warts but they provided shooting, size, BBIQ and an unselfish mentality. The rest of the roster is lacking many of those things.

Not at all surprising that we look like crap now and Lauri has a convict's thousand-yard stare going on. I think the guys we sold off were some of his closest friends on the team.

 

[HermanG]

I'm sorry, what?

He was literally hunted every time he stepped on the floor and Hachimura abused him 1-on-1 so badly I felt like calling 911.

Hardy noticed it too and kept yanking him

I didnt see Rui doing that to him any more than he did it to Collins. In fact I'm pretty sure Collins got pushed around more. They also got him switched on Keyonte and Clarkson a few times and it wasnt pretty.

Went to check the tape and Rui scored exactly 3 field goals on Hendricks. One was a corner 3 where Hendricks overextended on help a bit and was too late to close out, one was a 20ft jumper off a screen where Hendricks didnt do a bad job and one was as you described where Rui got the ball in low post and Hendricks didnt provide much resistance.

 

[FrenchJazzFa]

Just watch the replay. We are not good which is not surprising after the moves. But the moves can allow young players to play and playing is the best way to improve. We have to be patient and accept another season similar to what we got last year.
Hopefully , we start to become buyer next off season and getting better. It can be frustrating but this is the road they choose so enjoy the ride and hope for the best.

 

[HermanG]

DA/RS' big picture strategy is now clear:
Allow your new young coach to work with his best tools before trade deadline. Let the team excel to their best potential to allow said coach to build a good reputation in the league and get the fans good and lathered up in support. Sell fanwear, popcorn, content subscriptions etc etc out the wazoo.
Then come trade deadline sell off what you wish to (or can - talking to you JC & THT) and tank the last 1/3 of the season while coasting on dwindling fan support which edges toward draft position excitement.

It's a businesslike strategy and maybe a sensible one as well.

But it's a sh!tshow to put the players through. Don't know if I'd have the heart to do it myself when odds of us ever winning the chit are so extremely low regardless of FO skill in executing it.

I dont know if the players buy in to what Hardy is selling next year, as the FO has undermined them twice in a row. Playing hard and putting in effort to exceed expecations for two years only so FO can cash in on the added value isnt really a strategy that you can pull off too many times.

 

[UpArrow]

I dont know if the players buy in to what Hardy is selling next year, as the FO has undermined them twice in a row. Playing hard and putting in effort to exceed expecations for two years only so FO can cash in on the added value isnt really a strategy that you can pull off too many times.

Agreed. I predict Markkenen will hit end of season having talked his Wife into the charms of OKC living.

 

[HermanG]

Agreed. I predict Markkenen will hit end of season having talked his Wife into the charms of OKC living.

I hope not, but it feels like if Keyonte, Kessler, Hendricks or others dont take major leaps rest of the way it feels inevitable.

 

[UpArrow]

I hope not, but it feels like if Keyonte, Kessler, Hendricks or others dont take major leaps rest of the way it feels inevitable.

I think the clunky play of Hendricks is going to allow defenders to focus even more on Laurie and he's going to get frustrated as hell on offense.

 

[fishonjazz]

The most interesting storyline the rest of the season is whether or not the NBA comes down hard on the jazz for blatantly tanking.

Sent from my OPD2203 using Tapatalk

 

[Elizah Huge]

This.

I hate the "If we were this dependent on guys like Simone and Kelly, we're worse than I thought" argument.

Sometimes an NBA roster is like a house of cards and there's nothing wrong with that per se. I mean the ideal situation is obviously that a team is 100% resilient against every injury or trade, but that's rare. In reality, guys like Simone and Kelly are often the ones who are holding it all together. They both had their warts but they provided shooting, size, BBIQ and an unselfish mentality. The rest of the roster is lacking many of those things.

Not at all surprising that we look like crap now and Lauri has a convict's thousand-yard stare going on. I think the guys we sold off were some of his closest friends on the team.

You literally just proved my point thank you. If Simone and Olynyk held the team together we’re not as good as we thought. Great teams can lose rotation pieces and still be fine.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I can’t decide if the team has let go of the rope a little or if the Collins/Kessler/Lauri frontcourt is enough to tank the starting lineup and Taylor is enough to mess up the bench. Either way it’s over. We need the other teams below us to play ball though if we are going to get to #9.

 

[HermanG]

You literally just proved my point thank you. If Simone and Olynyk held the team together we’re not as good as we thought. Great teams can lose rotation pieces and still be fine.

But this is a team building error, not a en error on overall talent.

FO has traded out 3 rotation players in each of the last 2 years DL. And they havent traded single one of our turnover prone hero ball combo guards, leaving the roster at a massive imbalance where we overflow with the most useless player archtype in the modern NBA while lacking the best ones (like off ball shooters). I mean we have 5 combo guards in rotation right now, with only 1 frontcourt player who can shoot the 3 at a high level and create space for those guys.

 

[fishonjazz]

I can’t decide if the team has let go of the rope a little or if the Collins/Kessler/Lauri frontcourt is enough to tank the starting lineup and Taylor is enough to mess up the bench. Either way it’s over. We need the other teams below us to play ball though if we are going to get to #9.

We will probably keep getting blown out and the teams below us will keep losing as well. Give up our pick, have no shot at the playoffs, and have unwatchable basketball.
Ainge is ruining the franchise.

Sent from my CPH2451 using Tapatalk