jimmy eat jazz
Well-Known Member
Those of us who didn't buy all in to the "but the schedule" explanation for poor Jazz showings are, I imagine, feeling some sense of vindication at this point given how the team has been trending recently (not that we're taking any satisfaction in it). The same problems vexing the team during its poor run of form in early season are cropping up again, when the schedule is much more favorable, producing 3 losses in recent games they probably should have won, two against non-playoff teams.
Our point (or at least mine) was not that the schedule doesn't matter, but that, notwithstanding, too many poor showings could not so easily be attributed to scheduling, and that this Jazz team has fundamental weaknesses that need to be addressed.
This last loss to OKC demonstrates in spades what is perhaps the single, most glaring weakness of this team: the lack of a secondary scorer who can take some of the scoring and possession load off of Donovan. A 'secondary scorer' in this context is someone who can be counted on reliably to generate in the range of 15-17 points a game (or higher), soaking up 20 possessions, give or take, in the process, who is capable of creating his own scoring opportunities, and who spaces the floor.
Gobert scores, but he is not a 'scorer' and depends entirely on others setting him up to score. He uses relatively few possessions. Ingles can score, but he's not a scorer, certainly not a secondary scorer. He also uses relatively few possessions. Crowder probably uses too many possessions for how hot and cold he runs. He's not reliable enough to fill this need. Korver is too old, and can't create. Favors doesn't use enough possessions, nor do we probably want him to, he doesn't space the floor, and he's not consistent enough. Rubio is far too inconsistent to want him to use nearly this many possessions on a game-to-game basis. O'Neal, is a nice role player, but nowhere near a secondary scorer. Exum...nuff said. Allen, really?
Conley would have filled this role nicely, but that didn't work out. (I maintain, if Exum was the sticking point, I'm annoyed as hell.) The FO absolutely needs to do something to get this secondary scorer in the off-season, and, frankly, if they don't, it's a huge failure and, I think, reason to strip the halo off of Lindsey and hold him accountable. To do this, moreover, it's likely they'll have to "over pay" and give up some assets, including the golden boy Exum. It won't come cheap. If he's ever the sticking point in the future preventing the FO from pulling the trigger on a deal to materially improve the team, it's inexcusable. Continuity and playing it safe aren't going to work anymore. It's time to take some risks. This team needs serious upgrading.
On another topic, I don't see the Jazz getting out of the first round this year. The ONLY two teams I think they can beat in a 7 game series are Portland and Denver. We won't get a high enough seed to face Portland, so we need to pray that the Jazz drop to 7th seed, so as to avoid Golden State and Houston (presumed #3 seed) in the first round.
Our point (or at least mine) was not that the schedule doesn't matter, but that, notwithstanding, too many poor showings could not so easily be attributed to scheduling, and that this Jazz team has fundamental weaknesses that need to be addressed.
This last loss to OKC demonstrates in spades what is perhaps the single, most glaring weakness of this team: the lack of a secondary scorer who can take some of the scoring and possession load off of Donovan. A 'secondary scorer' in this context is someone who can be counted on reliably to generate in the range of 15-17 points a game (or higher), soaking up 20 possessions, give or take, in the process, who is capable of creating his own scoring opportunities, and who spaces the floor.
Gobert scores, but he is not a 'scorer' and depends entirely on others setting him up to score. He uses relatively few possessions. Ingles can score, but he's not a scorer, certainly not a secondary scorer. He also uses relatively few possessions. Crowder probably uses too many possessions for how hot and cold he runs. He's not reliable enough to fill this need. Korver is too old, and can't create. Favors doesn't use enough possessions, nor do we probably want him to, he doesn't space the floor, and he's not consistent enough. Rubio is far too inconsistent to want him to use nearly this many possessions on a game-to-game basis. O'Neal, is a nice role player, but nowhere near a secondary scorer. Exum...nuff said. Allen, really?
Conley would have filled this role nicely, but that didn't work out. (I maintain, if Exum was the sticking point, I'm annoyed as hell.) The FO absolutely needs to do something to get this secondary scorer in the off-season, and, frankly, if they don't, it's a huge failure and, I think, reason to strip the halo off of Lindsey and hold him accountable. To do this, moreover, it's likely they'll have to "over pay" and give up some assets, including the golden boy Exum. It won't come cheap. If he's ever the sticking point in the future preventing the FO from pulling the trigger on a deal to materially improve the team, it's inexcusable. Continuity and playing it safe aren't going to work anymore. It's time to take some risks. This team needs serious upgrading.
On another topic, I don't see the Jazz getting out of the first round this year. The ONLY two teams I think they can beat in a 7 game series are Portland and Denver. We won't get a high enough seed to face Portland, so we need to pray that the Jazz drop to 7th seed, so as to avoid Golden State and Houston (presumed #3 seed) in the first round.
