What's new

Start Keyonte George

The two considerations are how that will effect the team this year and how this will effect Keyonte or the team long term.

I'm down on this year and don't really care if him starting effects the team this year. I don't think we have enough data to know either way.

I'm a believer in not giving young players more than they can handle, so I would be a proponent of starting Keyonte as soon as he seems ready for it. He is definitely our most promising prospect as a long term solution to our point guard position.
 
The two considerations are how that will effect the team this year and how this will effect Keyonte or the team long term.

I'm down on this year and don't really care if him starting effects the team this year. I don't think we have enough data to know either way.

I'm a believer in not giving young players more than they can handle, so I would be a proponent of starting Keyonte as soon as he seems ready for it. He is definitely our most promising prospect as a long term solution to our point guard position.

Honestly, it might be easier for Keyonte if he's playing with the starters, especially on offense. I'm not sure playing in the 4 guard lineup with Dunn + Sexton/THT is the easiest task. I think it's unfair to compare Keyonte to Don, but if you remember Don's rookie year he kinda stunk it up when coming off the bench. He only started being good once he was with the starters, and I think playing alongside better players is what helped enable that.
 
Honestly, it might be easier for Keyonte if he's playing with the starters, especially on offense. I'm not sure playing in the 4 guard lineup with Dunn + Sexton/THT is the easiest task. I think it's unfair to compare Keyonte to Don, but if you remember Don's rookie year he kinda stunk it up when coming off the bench. He only started being good once he was with the starters, and I think playing alongside better players is what helped enable that.

I definitely think that's a consideration. If he is playing in the starting lineup he is the 3rd or 4th option on offense. If he's coached right he will be looking to get the ball to Lauri and JC as his first option when he touches the ball, which could really expand his game moving forward.

On the other hand he could get obliterated by starting caliber offensive players and defenders and wreck his confidence.
 
I definitely think that's a consideration. If he is playing in the starting lineup he is the 3rd or 4th option on offense. If he's coached right he will be looking to get the ball to Lauri and JC as his first option when he touches the ball, which could really expand his game moving forward.

On the other hand he could get obliterated by starting caliber offensive players and defenders and wreck his confidence.
I also think there is something to what Hardy was saying with the pairings stuff. THT/Dunn/Sexton is likely going to be rough from a shooting perspective.

We probably need to consolidate... but injuries could happen so... I give this janky *** setup like 10 games before I consider bigger changes but its off to a rough start.
 
Even if he doesn't start, when he's in the game I think he needs to let loose a little bit more. Needs to be a plus usage guy. Hopefully he's just settling in.
 
Keyonte seems to have bball maturity beyond his years. With people like that, you gotta let them jump over some steps that others need to take.

And even more importantly, we cannot give a combined 88 minutes to Clarkson, Sexton, THT and Dunn ever again until one or more of them starts to play different brand of ball from the others. The amount of dribbling and constantly cramming themselves into the paint with no advantages was just horrible to watch.

Keyonte either took the shot immediately, passed the rock fast or chose smartly when to drive and always went in with a purpose.

If he doesnt start by game 20 (Hardys imaginary deadline), I will be shocked.
 
If Keyonte shows he can play passable defense I'm all for it. But if he gets burned a lot then no, thanks. Our team identity is going to be defense and popping threes. We couldn't shoot for **** last night and I wasn't happy with our defense, especially against the bigs.
 
I think it’s kind of the opposite. As a starter he can take a backseat to JC, Lauri and attack when he has advantages or space the floor. Defensively more is required but offensively he should be able to let stuff come to him working off our best players.
Yup, putting him out there with our best players would be better for his development.

Sent from my SM-G986U using JazzFanz mobile app
 
If Keyonte shows he can play passable defense I'm all for it. But if he gets burned a lot then no, thanks. Our team identity is going to be defense and popping threes. We couldn't shoot for **** last night and I wasn't happy with our defense, especially against the bigs.
Our team identity wasnt taking threes. It was dribbling to the paint. I dont know if it was supposed to be that though.

But in a game you trail almost all the way youd expect not to shoot 23 less 3s than the other team...
 
If Keyonte shows he can play passable defense I'm all for it. But if he gets burned a lot then no, thanks. Our team identity is going to be defense and popping threes. We couldn't shoot for **** last night and I wasn't happy with our defense, especially against the bigs.
Do we really have the personnel for three point shooting to be our identity?

Hell, do we have the defensive personnel to be a defensive team?
 
Do we really have the personnel for three point shooting to be our identity?

Hell, do we have the defensive personnel to be a defensive team?
Yes and Yes... well we have some foundations for that in Lauri and Kessler. Problem is the guards right now.... on both ends.
 
Yes and Yes... well we have some foundations for that in Lauri and Kessler. Problem is the guards right now.... on both ends.
Funny thing is I think they can shoot decently, but they just arent shooters. They dont look ready to shoot when they get the ball like most modern perimeter players do.

Their instinct is to put the ball on the ground if they have space.
 
Do we really have the personnel for three point shooting to be our identity?

Hell, do we have the defensive personnel to be a defensive team?
We're definitely attempting it, shooting-wise. We were 7th in the league in shooting threes last season and all our 2023 picks have shown they can shoot so I think it's something they're attempting.

To be a defensive team... I think it's something every small market team has to accomplish in order to be successful. Are the Jazz there? Not even close. We have a few solid defenders but last season it felt like we didn't gel on team defense. I think it's essential management figures it out as although our offense isn't bad we can't simply pull a Golden State and shoot lights out on a consistent basis, letting the offense cover for the meh defense.
 
I’m so confused that Coach Hardy actually thinks JC and THT are the best bet to win games.

to be fair, our entire backcourt top-to-bottom is just below-average NBA players. there is no combo of these guys that will be an average NBA guard line. I couldn't figure out why some here think our team is so deep, then I realized they must mean we have more below-average players than just about every other team. deep!
 
Last edited:
Their instinct is to put the ball on the ground if they have space.
That's precisely it. The comfort zone of all our vet ballhandler guards is in the paint. Actually, it's pretty incredible when you think about it. And rare in 2023.

But our frontcourt should be our best weapon, so the equation just doesn't work. All the overdribbling in the interior just forces the bigs to float to the perimeter to uphold the floor balance and space. We already saw how useless Kessler is out there - he was passing out of wide open looks in the corner.

And you could say that even though Lauri and Collins are decent outside shooters, they can both do more damage on the move, nearer the basket. The farther away from the rim they stay, the happier the other team is.
 
I remain committed to the prospect of trading for Malcolm Brogdon and have him start at the Point Guard position. This trade must include either Sexton and or THT as I feel that the "By Committee" logjam is part of the problem. Brogdon has the temperament and the experience to get the job done. Dunn and THT are two that I'd prefer to keep as they are versatile and big enough to play multiple positions.
 
Top