I agree and was going to post something similar. I think that spot is our weakest at the moment.
Game Thread Dec 26, 2022 06:00PM MT: Jazz at Spurs
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Added to Calendar: 12-26-22
I agree and was going to post something similar. I think that spot is our weakest at the moment.
Kessler didn’t play very well last night. In foul trouble and didn’t catch a couple of passes that would have been easy layups or dunks. I only saw the angle from the TV so maybe one or two weren’t his fault but it seemed like he should have caught all of them. Probably wasn’t expecting Clarkson to pass it to him multiple times though lol.
It is definitely our weak link but when you have a season with no expectations like we have it makes more sense to force feed Simone minutes than give any minutes to Gay. Gay has no future here and he is not going to build any trade value by playing. The guy that actually made the most sense for us all along was Stanley Johnson but of course we waived him instead of Gay or Bolmaro. Johnson has looked pretty good for the spurs since being picked up.
No expectations! Not even a troll like you can act like Gay contributes to winning in any way so it makes sense to play Simone over him 100 times out of 100.
underdog
Well-Known Member
Why is it that Hardy plays Rudy Gay? I can’t understand it. Is it that he respects him as a veteran player (Hardy being a couple of years younger too)? Age catches up every player at some point. And it doesn’t look like Rudy is enjoying the game anymore, at least not like he used to. We have young guys who we need to evaluate and develop. Like last night, when Kessler had foul trouble and we had difficulty defending the rim, I would’ve liked to see Dok get Rudy’s minutes (and maybe give some of his minutes to Simone and THT as well in some lineups). Rudy played over 15 minutes and had 0 points. In tight games these things matter, can make a difference between winning and losing.
The biggest problem is we don’t really have anyone who is a better option off the bench. Simone has been terrible and THT ****ing sucks. Who else could fill in that role? Dok is a backup center.
HeatCheck
Well-Known Member
Outside of Simone we are severely lacking in bigger 6'-8" wings on the roster. Gay has lost his athleticism but he's still a better defender than Fontecchio. Simone ranks bottom 3 in the entire league in defense. Sure I'd prefer to give those minutes to Agbaji but he wasn't exactly killing it in the G league not to mention he's another smaller 6'-5 wing (the same size as NAW, Beasley, JC).
Maybe Gay's minutes disappear once Olynyk is back but it still doesn't solve the problem with our lack of a 2 way athletic wing with size that can defend and score a little bit. Maybe THT with his wingspan could've solved some issues but he has been mostly horrific when given minutes.
Maybe Gay's minutes disappear once Olynyk is back but it still doesn't solve the problem with our lack of a 2 way athletic wing with size that can defend and score a little bit. Maybe THT with his wingspan could've solved some issues but he has been mostly horrific when given minutes.
The thing is that Simone cannot get into rythm with just few minutes per game. He was very productive in eurobasket and if given a chance to shake off the rust I do think he would be an ok player for the Jazz. But as it is, he isn't bringing much to the table.
He just seems super lost on both sides of the ball.
Tremendous Upside
Well-Known Member
I tend to agree. Simone is obviously trying to "make the most" of his minutes when he gets them - meaning that he's launching hair trigger shots, gambling for steals and generally playing a nervous, spazzed-out brand of basketball. I'm afraid it's just making him look worse than he really is.
I don't think his ceiling as an NBA player is very high at all, but right now we're kind of wasting him.