akirac73
Well-Known Member
1. Gordon Hayward: I am of the belief that you aren't a true star in the NBA until you "make your bones" in the playoffs. Hayward stepped up his game in the playoffs and proved me wrong. I thought he would shrivel up and disappear once the best players in the league would throw everything they had at him and shut him down...but instead he only got better. Hayward has grown up in front of our eyes in the playoffs and is ready to be a perennial NBA-All-Star and All-NBA player going forward in his career. Two things really stood out to me that proved Hayward took another step towards greatness:
a) In the Clippers series, Hayward refused to give in to CP3 for a meaningless loose ball. The "old/timid" Gordon Hayward would've walked away to avoid any confrontation. But on this night, Hayward would not back down and in essense told CP3, "I'm taking this ball away from you, as well as this series, and there's not a single ****ing thing you can do to stop me!" That moment made me so proud.
b) Gordon took Draymond Green (who many consider the DPOY) head on and scored over and through him. This tells me that Hayward isn't afraid of going up against the best and he now truly believes he is on the same level/or better than the elite players in the NBA.
2. Rudy Gobert: He is what he is...the best center in the NBA. He has achieved this status at such a young age, while only barely scraping the surface of his true potential. We are lucky to have him. The sky is the limit for Rudy.
3. Derrick Favors: I think he should no longer be in the long term plans for the Jazz. He just isn't healthy enough and can't be relied upon on a nightly basis. He still can have incredible games (like Game 7 vs. the Clippers) but I think they are few and far between. I've always been a Favors homer, so it really pains me to say this.
4. George Hill: I think his early season performance was a mirage. He was just "OK" in the playoffs...certainly didn't show me anything that says $25-$30M/year. Definitely too fragile of a player to go into debt for.
5. Joe Ingles: I want slo-mo Joe to be a Jazzman for the rest of his career.
6. Joe Johnson: Ditto
7. Rodney Hood: where do I start...I've pretty much watched every single Jazz playoff game in franchise history and Hood's postseason has to be the worst I have ever seen. I think David Benoit should forever be excused as the biggest Jazz playoff choker in team history...that title now belongs to Rodney Hood. Hood needs to improve other facets of his game because when he gets into these incredibly long shooting slumps, the Jazz are basically playing 4 against 5 with him on the court. I heard Locke mention something ridiculous like the Jazz being a -49 when Hood was on the floor during the playoffs. I hope Hood works on his shot over the summer...A LOT.
8. Dante Exum: I still expect good thing from Dante. He needs to also work hard this offseason to get stronger so he can finish at the rim. I always thought he had a nice shooting stroke and he probably could benefit by developing a pull-up or step back jumper. With his speed, that would be deadly.
9. Shelvin Mack: He's a really good dribbler, probably the best on the team. He would be a perfect fit on the Harlem Globetrotters.
10. Raul Neto: I like his game, but his ceiling is probably 3rd string backup.
11. Everyone else: not enough data to make any type of analysis.
a) In the Clippers series, Hayward refused to give in to CP3 for a meaningless loose ball. The "old/timid" Gordon Hayward would've walked away to avoid any confrontation. But on this night, Hayward would not back down and in essense told CP3, "I'm taking this ball away from you, as well as this series, and there's not a single ****ing thing you can do to stop me!" That moment made me so proud.
b) Gordon took Draymond Green (who many consider the DPOY) head on and scored over and through him. This tells me that Hayward isn't afraid of going up against the best and he now truly believes he is on the same level/or better than the elite players in the NBA.
2. Rudy Gobert: He is what he is...the best center in the NBA. He has achieved this status at such a young age, while only barely scraping the surface of his true potential. We are lucky to have him. The sky is the limit for Rudy.
3. Derrick Favors: I think he should no longer be in the long term plans for the Jazz. He just isn't healthy enough and can't be relied upon on a nightly basis. He still can have incredible games (like Game 7 vs. the Clippers) but I think they are few and far between. I've always been a Favors homer, so it really pains me to say this.
4. George Hill: I think his early season performance was a mirage. He was just "OK" in the playoffs...certainly didn't show me anything that says $25-$30M/year. Definitely too fragile of a player to go into debt for.
5. Joe Ingles: I want slo-mo Joe to be a Jazzman for the rest of his career.
6. Joe Johnson: Ditto
7. Rodney Hood: where do I start...I've pretty much watched every single Jazz playoff game in franchise history and Hood's postseason has to be the worst I have ever seen. I think David Benoit should forever be excused as the biggest Jazz playoff choker in team history...that title now belongs to Rodney Hood. Hood needs to improve other facets of his game because when he gets into these incredibly long shooting slumps, the Jazz are basically playing 4 against 5 with him on the court. I heard Locke mention something ridiculous like the Jazz being a -49 when Hood was on the floor during the playoffs. I hope Hood works on his shot over the summer...A LOT.
8. Dante Exum: I still expect good thing from Dante. He needs to also work hard this offseason to get stronger so he can finish at the rim. I always thought he had a nice shooting stroke and he probably could benefit by developing a pull-up or step back jumper. With his speed, that would be deadly.
9. Shelvin Mack: He's a really good dribbler, probably the best on the team. He would be a perfect fit on the Harlem Globetrotters.
10. Raul Neto: I like his game, but his ceiling is probably 3rd string backup.
11. Everyone else: not enough data to make any type of analysis.
