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Game Thread Jan 05, 2024 05:00PM MT: Jazz at Celtics

Added to Calendar: 01-05-24

Only positive that jumped out at me was the 5 assists by Lauri. He has now 3 of those 5 assist showings in our past 7 games. Compare that to November where he had 7 assists total in 11 games. Its really the biggest part of his game I hoped he could improve, and right now he is making more headsup passes to teammates that are in more advantageous positions. He is never gonna be a facilitator, but he needs to utilize his gravity to set up wide open shots, or otherwise he will just get double teamed into oblivion.

Lauri doesn't get doubled that much. Hell, for large portions of this game, he was guarded on single coverage by that known stopper of 7 footers, Jrue Holiday. As usual, we didn't even try to take advantage. It's painful to watch. Instead of sealing a small guy under the rim, receiving the ball and dunking all over him, Markkanen functioned as a harmless screening robot at the FT line (I counted 4 consecutive picks inside 10 seconds at one stage) while Holiday stood between him and the basket, watched and rested.

But yeah, I agree with you that Lauri developing his passing awareness is great. The thing is, though, that he's clearly at his best as a passer when he has a step on his defender and he can force the D to make a decision. IMO we could help him get that advantage by using Lauri as a roll man on high pick and rolls a lot more. The slow, predictable and easily halted curl schemes that Hardy loves are not cutting it anymore.
 
I'm sorry, but this wasn't a make/miss thing. It's the same major issue the Jazz have had on the road all season. They come out extremely timid and let the other team dominate them.

Jazz went down by 18 within a couple of minutes. It had nothing to do with makes and misses. They got blocked three times on the first or second possession because they were going up so softly and reluctantly.
 
I hate the classic "we didnt make shots, they did" kind of thing but it certainly applies here. We had plenty of good looks from 3 and got up some layups, but missed both consistently.

However truth is that whether its shotmaking, playmaking or individual 1on1 defense, the quality difference between us and the Celtics is massive. The shooting disparity just made it more apparent. To beat contenders, we need to both outwork them and have a better shooting night than them. I feel like they matched or even topped our energy and intensity, and when you add the fact that we couldnt hit the side of the barn, the result is a 30 point blowout.

Only positive that jumped out at me was the 5 assists by Lauri. He has now 3 of those 5 assist showings in our past 7 games. Compare that to November where he had 7 assists total in 11 games. Its really the biggest part of his game I hoped he could improve, and right now he is making more headsup passes to teammates that are in more advantageous positions. He is never gonna be a facilitator, but he needs to utilize his gravity to set up wide open shots, or otherwise he will just get double teamed into oblivion.

Did you watch the game? That doesn't line up with what happened in game. The Jazz were hardly running any plays, and came out looking like a deer in the headlights. They weren't playing well and just happened to miss shots.
 
When Dunn starts breaking plays and going into his useless bump-pivot-bump-pivot-floater routine in the paint, that's when you know that Hardy has lost the team for that night and they're not listening to him anymore. That happened real early in this game.

The Jazz are fine when they have a nice matchup, shots are going in and the home crowd is behind them, but when they go on the road and immediately get punched in the mouth by a better team, they almost never recover. That tells you a lot about what kind of coach Hardy is. He becomes a spectator with a bemused expression and the players start running the show.
 
When Dunn starts breaking plays and going into his useless bump-pivot-bump-pivot-floater routine in the paint, that's when you know that Hardy has lost the team for that night and they're not listening to him anymore. That happened real early in this game.

The Jazz are fine when they have a nice matchup, shots are going in and the home crowd is behind them, but when they go on the road and immediately get punched in the mouth by a better team, they almost never recover. That tells you a lot about what kind of coach Hardy is. He becomes a spectator with a bemused expression and the players start running the show.

The Jazz came back from a 20+ point deficit a couple of weeks ago.
 
Has anyone considered that Boston is wayyy better than us? Look at the lineups hahaha. We shouldn’t be beaten that bad by anyone, of course, but the main thing here is that way team has significantly more talent and performed better on a given night. This just happens sometimes when there is a lopsided talent mismatch. Y’all are looking too deep into things.

Btw, Jrue Holiday is unironically a renown 7’0 stopper. People really saying the dumbest **** these days haha.
 
Only positive that jumped out at me was the 5 assists by Lauri. He has now 3 of those 5 assist showings in our past 7 games. Compare that to November where he had 7 assists total in 11 games. Its really the biggest part of his game I hoped he could improve, and right now he is making more headsup passes to teammates that are in more advantageous positions. He is never gonna be a facilitator, but he needs to utilize his gravity to set up wide open shots, or otherwise he will just get double teamed into oblivion.
I think I saw more visible signs of leadership from Lauri in this game (once the team was down big) than in any other game this season. He was trying to keep spirits up, encouraging, directing other players - and he was deliberately trying to get guys involved with his passing. I'm sure he sensed that everyone else was down and almost at the point of giving up, and stepped up because of that, possibly. I'd like to obviously see more of that in other situations as well.
 
Jazz went down by 18 within a couple of minutes. It had nothing to do with makes and misses. They got blocked three times on the first or second possession because they were going up so softly and reluctantly.
Fontechio has played well the last month, but he was particularly horrible in the first quarter last night. He was the major reason for that 18 pt deficit imo.
 
I'm sorry, but this wasn't a make/miss thing. It's the same major issue the Jazz have had on the road all season. They come out extremely timid and let the other team dominate them.

They had a lot of good looks but couldn't make a shot. 16% FG and 6% 3PT is quite a bit a make/miss thing. Either way they looked wimpy. Hard to believe a pro team could shoot so poorly.
 
Stop it. The dude is 6'3'' and 33 years old. Of course he's gonna "stop" a 7 footer if he's allowed to defend them 23 feet from the rim.

There’s a certain 7 footer who really respects his defense. Like I said, Jrue Holiday is unironically known for guarding bigger players. If you expected Lauri to simply go into the paint and pummel Jrue Holiday all game (especially with Boston’s defensive structure), you’re sorely mistaken.
 
You dont discuss. You argue, and get blasted on 90% of arguments.

Discussing involves using social skills, something you either lack or refuse to use.
What in my post was like that? A lot of people seemed to agree with me. Maybe try being less hostile?

Also, and this is just a friendly suggestion, maybe try opening your eyes when you watch basketball.
 
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