Jazz at Clippers Dec 29--8:30

[mellow]

UTAH JAZZ at
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
DEC 29 7:30

JAZZ

Jazz start Hayward with Kirilenko out, CJ out, and Deron playing with an injured wrist.


CLIPPERS

Jerry sloan announces Ronnie Price will split time with D-Will at the small forward spot.
https://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsjazznotes/50953791-62/forward-sloan-angeles-clippers.html.csp

 

[Gyp Rosetti]

Worst
game
thread
ever

 

[memo is money]

I have Deron and Griffin on my fantasy team. Griffin averages 8pts in first quarters. That's nearly as much as the Jazz scoring averages in first Qs. Ironically, the Jazz won the first Q against Blazers but lost the 4th Q. They have to find a way to play a consistent 48 mins of baskeball. I think the inside-out balance will be the key for this problem. I hope Millsap and BigAl will decide to play. They were both terrible against Blazers. BigAl should figure out that he is not on a loser team whose 5 wins in a month is news to people in basketball world. You cannot get complacent and content with a 21-9 record when you have a definite schedule advantage over Lakers and OKC which could help you secure 3rd spot and you obviously cannot let your undermanned division rival get a victory over you in a must win home game. I hope to see more ball movement, no lazy passing. This is a must win game, and other teams are doing everything to get us 3rd seed (I'm obsessed with that top3 seeding thing). Go get it.

 

[chemdude1232]

Deron: 22 points, 9 assists
Milsap: 17/7
AJ: 19/13
Fes: Gets a 360 windmill from the foul line shoved down his throat by Griffin in the 4th quarter. And fouls Griffin in the process.
Hayward: Actually not a bad game for him...8 points 2 assists.

Jazz win 100-92

 

[Jazz Punk Rocker]

Going to the game tonight...haven't seen the Jazz in person for a couple years now, should be exciting.

 

[Zerol]

I will be at the game as well. Go Jazz!

 

[kwb]

Hayward goes off for 20+

 

[Revolution 9]

The question of the night is will Vinyl be there?

...and if so, will he be in 80 courtside seats? or 5 dollar nosebleeds?

 

[NCJazz]

Going to the game tonight...haven't seen the Jazz in person for a couple years now, should be exciting.

I think you need to wear a Fes jersey then.

 

[InGameStrategy]

Deron: 22 points, 9 assists
Milsap: 17/7
AJ: 19/13
Fes: Gets a 360 windmill from the foul line shoved down his throat by Griffin in the 4th quarter. And fouls Griffin in the process.
Hayward: Actually not a bad game for him...8 points 2 assists.

Jazz win 100-92

If Sloan is smart--especially with the trimmed roster if AK or CJ is gone--he will give Fes an opportunity to prove you wrong.
(Ol' senile Jer has to actually put him on the court, though, to even prove you right.
To Fes's credit, he had a better +/- than any of the Jazz starting frontcourt against Portland /sarcasm.)

And if Sloan actually analyzes things instead of coaching from his "gut" (his words), he might notice that Ryan Gomes has started a majority of the Clippers games and has played most of his 28 MPG at SF. Millsap matches up fairly well against Gomes.

So to mitigate the loss of Kirilenko and maybe CJ for this game, he could start DW-Bell-Millsap-AJ-Okur (or Elson or Fes, if you prefer, but I'm not banking on either of the near-minimum-salary backup bigs starting). It would be a good opportunity to see how Jefferson does at the 4 alongside both Milly and Memo. It also provides more height to counter DeAndre Jordan who is a physical player but still limited skillwise, meaning that Okur's skill, Elson's experience, or Fes's height could counter DJ.

It needs not be a foregone conclusion that Price would have to play at SF (as the newspaper blog insinuated) if the matchups allow Millsap to slide to the 3 as they appear to do. Also, putting PM at SF is more consistent with Sloan's bias toward experience (and/or "his guys"). But he might have to set aside his deep-seeded bias against Fes (and by "bias" I mean not playing at all) because he would need somebody to back up the C spot if he starts Memo, assuming that he uses Elson to back up the power forward position.

The sound strategy lineup (subject to in-game adjustments base on players performance) vs. LAC:
DW-EW
RB-RP
PM-GH
AJ-FE-PM (when Craig Smith or maybe Brian Cook comes in at the 4)
MO-KF-AJ

 

[chemdude1232]

IGS, we actually agree. Sorta.

I would like to see AJ slide over to the 4. The biggie though is if Okur is doing well at the 5. If he's moving too slowly and if Kaman or whoever is blowing by him, then that experiment needs to end.

I'm also apprehensive about Paul at the 3. Does he do well there? I see that Gomes did not play well the last time the Jazz played the LAC (Gomes was awful. 2-13 shooting but had 3 steals) but that was with AK and CJ guarding him.

 

[InGameStrategy]

IGS, we actually agree. Sorta.

I would like to see AJ slide over to the 4. The biggie though is if Okur is doing well at the 5. If he's moving too slowly and if Kaman or whoever is blowing by him, then that experiment needs to end.

I'm also apprehensive about Paul at the 3. Does he do well there? I see that Gomes did not play well the last time the Jazz played the LAC (Gomes was awful. 2-13 shooting but had 3 steals) but that was with AK and CJ guarding him.

Would you prefer Price? Or even Hayward starting? I wouldn't.

Look at the matchups. I'm proposing this lineup only because I believe that Millsap can handle Gomes at the 3. They are both arguably tweeners. And Gomes is averaging ~40% for the year, so he's not an overly dominant scorer even without AK guarding him. Let's play the odds here and say that Millsap on Gomes is an adjustment with a high likelihood of success. If it goes terribly wrong, than make more adjustments. The bigger problem is Griffin anyway, and moving Millsap away from Griffin toward Gomes potentially kills two birds with one stone.

It has the potential to go a long way to resolving Utah's temporarily lean roster against a very beatable team anyway.

If Sloan doesn't make this pre-game adjustment, Utah could easily start out slow, get pwned by Griffin, and/or have weak wing play.

Adding Memo's height and experience to the starting lineup potentially bolsters the scoring (and also implicitly sends AJ a message that his center time isn't guaranteed). BTW, Kaman hasn't played since December 5; I'm not aware that he's returning tonight.

If Okur is restricted minuteswise, use him where he is most needed: first quarter and last quarter. Let Elson and Fes (and a bit o' Paperboy and Weezy) beat up the Paper Clip frontcourt in between.

 

[chemdude1232]

Would you prefer Price? Or even Hayward starting? I wouldn't.

Certainly not at the 3. We agree.

I believe that Millsap can handle Gomes at the 3. They are both arguably tweeners.

I don't know much about Gomes, so I'll take your word for it.

get pwned by Griffin

I doubt Milsap can handle Griffin under normal circumstances (Blake is a hyperathlete), which is why I agree and think AJ should try his hand at it. I think - even at this early juncture - Blake is one of those transcendent players that is nearly impossible to stop, but I think AJ could maybe handle him in spurts.

Adding more height and experience to the starting lineup potentially bolsters the scoring

That's why Paul/AJ/Okur at the 3/4/5, respectively, could be interesting. But again, if Okur is blowing chunks out there then move AJ to the 5, Paul to the 4, and protect the paint that way.

 

[DukeJazz]

Wow no cj or ak? Ok so we will be starting hayward with bell. Wow heres a jazz loss. Who's going to score off the bench? Elson needs 20 tonight.

 

[Inn Dawn]

I do not at all feel good about this clash. Going into it expecting a loss. Surprise me Utahr.

 

[LunaticWolf]

Would you prefer Price? Or even Hayward starting? I wouldn't.

Look at the matchups. I'm proposing this lineup only because I believe that Millsap can handle Gomes at the 3. They are both arguably tweeners. And Gomes is averaging ~40% for the year, so he's not an overly dominant scorer even without AK guarding him. Let's play the odds here and say that Millsap on Gomes is an adjustment with a high likelihood of success. If it goes terribly wrong, than make more adjustments. The bigger problem is Griffin anyway, and moving Millsap away from Griffin toward Gomes potentially kills two birds with one stone.

It has the potential to go a long way to resolving Utah's temporarily lean roster against a very beatable team anyway.

If Sloan doesn't make this pre-game adjustment, Utah could easily start out slow, get pwned by Griffin, and/or have weak wing play.

Adding Memo's height and experience to the starting lineup potentially bolsters the scoring (and also implicitly sends AJ a message that his center time isn't guaranteed). BTW, Kaman hasn't played since December 5; I'm not aware that he's returning tonight.

If Okur is restricted minuteswise, use him where he is most needed: first quarter and last quarter. Let Elson and Fes (and a bit o' Paperboy and Weezy) beat up the Paper Clip frontcourt in between.

Difference between Gomes at Sap at the 3 is that Gomes shoots 3s, Millsap doesn't.

You are just asking for them to zone us.

 

[Sloanfeld]

Jazz will lose. Chaos ensues.

 

[Nate505]

Chance to sweep the whole 3 game season series with the Clips tonight.

 

[Inn Dawn]

Man, these western roadies really stick in my craw. Don't think I can last beyond the first quarter without falling asleep.

 

[TroutBum]

Wow, what a terrible game thread.

My boy Hayward goes off for 14 tonight, including the game winner. Book it.