Game Thread Jan 18, 2024 07:00PM MT: Jazz vs. Thunder

[outerspacefan]

If the Jazz make the playoffs, those 10 minutes Hardy is forced to play Keyonte will be brutal...

IF Jazz make postseason George won't play much

 

[Fosto]

IF Jazz make postseason George won't play much

I said if. And I sure hope so.

 

[Agent#00]

hack a kessler absolutely killed us lol. Kesslers minutes were the reason that we weren't killed and the game was close. You are a silly goose.
Fouling sexton and lauri also absolutely killed us apparently because they both missed free throws in the 4th quarter. You want to put this loss on a single missed free throw from a single player then you do you.
BTW, Gobert shot 48% from the line for an entire season and had hack a gobert employed on him many times with the jazz.

Jazz got off to a horrendous start while Kessler was on the bench, got destroyed in the 3rd quarter while kessler was on the bench, Lauri missed 2 bunnies in the 4th and a free throw, sexton missed a free throw in the 4th, Collins missed 2 wide open threes in the 4th, KO missed a wide open 3 in the 4th..... But one missed free throw by Kessler absolutely killed us lol.

This and some daggers from Wallace and William killed us. And the sga turnaround jump shot. Also clakrson was fishing for contact but didn’t work. Too many easy basket missed.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

WK working on his FT issue will be huge for him and for his team (I've got the impression that coaching staff already knows this thing )

He shot 51% from the stripe last season. He should've been working on it all offseason like a man possessed.

Instead, his feelings were hurt by Kerr not playing him in the World Cup and he apparently spent the summer dwelling on it.

 

[Fosto]

Crazy that people in this thread are fighting over Kessler, who was a huge positive, and Dunn who was largely irrelevant, when it was George who sucked the life out of our comeback attempt in the third and fourth.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

hack a kessler absolutely killed us lol. Kesslers minutes were the reason that we weren't killed and the game was close. You are a silly goose.
Fouling sexton and lauri also absolutely killed us apparently because they both missed free throws in the 4th quarter. You want to put this loss on a single missed free throw from a single player then you do you.
BTW, Gobert shot 48% from the line for an entire season and had hack a gobert employed on him many times with the jazz.

Jazz got off to a horrendous start while Kessler was on the bench, got destroyed in the 3rd quarter while kessler was on the bench, Lauri missed 2 bunnies in the 4th and a free throw, sexton missed a free throw in the 4th, Collins missed 2 wide open threes in the 4th, KO missed a wide open 3 in the 4th..... But one missed free throw by Kessler absolutely killed us lol.

No, not just the one missed free throw. What killed us was the fact that OKC was able to gently wrap up Kessler, resulting in us losing possession of the ball, gaining only one point (Walker got lucky, he's at 49%), messing up our rhythm and demoralizing us (nobody wants to see Walker's terrified *** at the line in crunch time).

You can't have a player like that on the floor at that stage.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

Crazy that people in this thread are fighting over Kessler, who was a huge positive, and Dunn who was largely irrelevant, when it was George who sucked the life out of our comeback attempt in the third and fourth.

Don't get me wrong, George was unimaginably bad, but I just don't have the energy to complain about him right now. This loss was draining. I need load management.

 

[str8line]

- the better, more versatile, quick basketball team won
- WK working on his FT issue will be huge for him and for his team (I've got the impression that coaching staff already knows this thing )
- to Key or not to Key appears to me to be a problem
- my eyes told me our JCs were not good enough for us last nigtht

Keyonte wasn't all that bad. He makes a few of those driving shots or gets fouled and we're singing his praises. He came in with us down 22-13 and by possession touches:

1. Not involved
2. Bullet pass to Lauri for a wide open 3 miss, stops a SGA drive with nice D
3. Good pass to JC who drives into the trees and gets his terrible outlet pass stolen for uncontested OKC layup
4. TO, Gets stripped of ball on drive, we stop them going other way
5. Really bad turnover by Ochai on a pass attempt to Kessler
6.. Not involved
7. Makes a corner 3 to make it 34-20 and OKC call timeout.
8. Drives up court quickly on outlet pass and misses a floater
9. Very nice drive but blocked by Holmgren
10. Awesome pass to KO for 2
11. Gets hit in face in backcourt lays on ground for a while

Goes out with the score at 39-27

At this point Key gave up 0 points on defense, and plays pretty much fine on offense but has one turnover. JC takes up most of these possessions.

 

[HermanG]

SGA is a midrange boss. He will be dynamic in the playoffs. Not just a foul hunter. The hardest thing to deny a player is the midrange because you end up conceding the paint or the three. He’s so slippery out there that he’s hard to gameplan for.

They got some issues but SGA being the number 1 guy isn’t one.

Can you come up with a comp of a guy carrying his team anywhere in playoffs with midrange based game from past 15 years? I just cannot think of anyone.

I mean DeRozan is the best midrange guy I could think of since Kobe, but he hasnt really carried his teams in the postseason. Even that one year when Raptors went to the ECF with him he had pretty bad playoff stats and wasnt their top scorer for most games. Then after they traded him for a modern wing in Kawhi they immediately won the chip.

SGA is both special and elite for sure (and better than DeRozan has ever been), but I'm not 100% sold on him being #1 in a championship team just because he looks too much like a throwback player.

 

[outerspacefan]

Crazy that people in this thread are fighting over Kessler, who was a huge positive, and Dunn who was largely irrelevant, when it was George who sucked the life out of our comeback attempt in the third and fourth.

Yes, it's odd. KG's playing without being ready... not his fault I guess.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

I changed my mind, I DO have energy to complain about George.

Keyonte wasn't all that bad. He makes a few of those driving shots or gets fouled and we're singing his praises. He came in with us down 22-13 and by possession touches:

1. Not involved
2. Bullet pass to Lauri for a wide open 3 miss, stops a SGA drive with nice D
3. Good pass to JC who drives into the trees and gets his terrible outlet pass stolen for uncontested OKC layup
4. TO, Gets stripped of ball on drive, we stop them going other way
5. Really bad turnover by Ochai on a pass attempt to Kessler
6.. Not involved
7. Makes a corner 3 to make it 34-20 and OKC call timeout.

At this point Key gave up 0 points on defense, and plays fine on offense but has one turnover.

LOL. Keyonte's defense in this game was an affront to basketball. I'm not mad at a rookie making inevitable rookie mistakes, but I can't stand low effort in a game like this. Standing around. Not putting a hand up when SGA is taking a shot 3 feet from you. Not running back.

IMO he earned himself a one game DNP-CD.

 

[outerspacefan]

Keyonte wasn't all that bad. He makes a few of those driving shots or gets fouled and we're singing his praises. He came in with us down 22-13 and by possession touches:

1. Not involved
2. Bullet pass to Lauri for a wide open 3 miss, stops a SGA drive with nice D
3. Good pass to JC who drives into the trees and gets his terrible outlet pass stolen for uncontested OKC layup
4. TO, Gets stripped of ball on drive, we stop them going other way
5. Really bad turnover by Ochai on a pass attempt to Kessler
6.. Not involved
7. Makes a corner 3 to make it 34-20 and OKC call timeout.

At this point Key gave up 0 points on defense, and plays fine on offense but has one turnover.

Agreed. Fats are facts. He was not negative during that particular stretch.
Second half George was an issue though.