Game Thread Oct 29, 2025 07:00PM MT: Portland Trail Blazers @ Utah Jazz

[SoberasHotRod]

? He was definitely a positive and did better than any other non Harkless Jazz player at guarding on ball.

I don't know if Cody will be as good of a tank commander this year, especially if he's playing in a lineup where he just has to focus on playing defense and making a quick decision to shoot/pass/drive on offense.

 

[SoberasHotRod]

Which of those stats do you like better? Which is more impactful/meaningful?
I have no idea which one is more important.

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TS% accounts for FTs where EFG% doesn't. So TS% is probably better/more comprehensive of how efficiently someone is scoring.

Traditionally it's easier for me to think about efg% because I know that above 50% is ok, and that's an easy number to remember. League average TS% is like 55-60% and a more difficult number for me to remember so I have a more difficult time with that stat.

 

[SoberasHotRod]

Harkless brought them back.

Hardy putting Harkless and Cody on the floor on both the late inbounds... well, that was weird. It's pretty tough to get the ball to Lauri (or to anyone where the Blazers don't have a chance to foul immediately) if two of the players on the court are non-shooters.

Yeah, curious to not have Brice or Svi, but I suppose it was supposed to be a reward for bringing us back in to the game.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I don't know if Cody will be as good of a tank commander this year, especially if he's playing in a lineup where he just has to focus on playing defense and making a quick decision to shoot/pass/drive on offense.

I believe in his ability to drive the tank. Put him out there with the starters.

 

[SoberasHotRod]

I believe in his ability to drive the tank. Put him out there with the starters.

For Svi? I'm not sure if it would make that much impact.

 

[fishonjazz]

I believe in his ability to drive the tank. Put him out there with the starters.

I dont know if we can start Cody. That might be too blatant a tank move and make AA look like a liar and get a fine from the league.
I definitely think Ace should be starting though regardless of the tank. I would also like to see Hendricks start over flip. My preferred starting lineup is Key, Ace, Lauri, Taylor, Kessler. Play cody a lot with the backups. No svi ever. Let flip backup kessler and dont play nurk (this is for tanking purposes). Then trade lauri and maybe kessler in a couple weeks and go full tank mode.

That would be my plan.

 

[fishonjazz]

So 4 games in and Kessler is shooting 75% from three on 2 attempts per game.
Also 70% from the line.

17 ppg, 10 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 2.3 blocks. Career highs in points, assists, and steals and best offensive efficiency numbers of his career. His eFG is 84.4% lol. Thats nuts. He is having a career high % from 2 point range even at 75% (same number as his 3 point percentage)

He is getting paid.

 

[SoberasHotRod]

So 4 games in and Kessler is shooting 75% from three on 2 attempts per game.
Also 70% from the line.

17 ppg, 10 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 2.3 blocks. Career highs in points, assists, and steals and best offensive efficiency numbers of his career. His eFG is 84.4% lol. Thats nuts.

He is getting paid.

I think we are approaching the point where Kessler shooting wide open 3's isn't just cute, but maybe legit. The unrushed shot looks pretty good, and if teams start closing, even better.

 

[framer]

Which of those stats do you like better? Which is more impactful/meaningful?
I have no idea which one is more important.

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NBA top 10 players all have the ability to march to the free throw line whenever they want. So I would take the one that measures that.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

I think we are approaching the point where Kessler shooting wide open 3's isn't just cute, but maybe legit. The unrushed shot looks pretty good, and if teams start closing, even better.

He's definitely had a big shooting leap. Still Charmin soft at times. I think one of the best parts of the season will be watching his playmaking progression. He's made some truly head scratching bad passes directly to the other team, but sometimes it's looked good. I think that's another piece of the stealth tank, really trying to expand Walker's game.

It is weird though, if he gets paid off a shooting improvement. I still really doubt he gets anything over 33 at the highest unless he starts dominating games more consistently with physicality. If starts playing with more force, combined with the shooting improvements and hopefully the eventual playmaking improvements, he can be really special, but I still just get the overall feeling Walker isnt that type of guy mentally, but we will see.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

He's definitely had a big shooting leap. Still Charmin soft at times. I think one of the best parts of the season will be watching his playmaking progression. He's made some truly head scratching bad passes directly to the other team, but sometimes it's looked good. I think that's another piece of the stealth tank, really trying to expand Walker's game.

It is weird though, if he gets paid off a shooting improvement. I still really doubt he gets anything over 33 at the highest unless he starts dominating games more consistently with physicality. If starts playing with more force, combined with the shooting improvements and hopefully the eventual playmaking improvements, he can be really special, but I still just get the overall feeling Walker isnt that type of guy mentally, but we will see.

He's a lot more aggressive as a passer but yeah, there is at least one every night where I have zero idea what he saw. There was one last night I am sure you are thinking of that there were two blazers between him and Lauri and he threw it right to one. Like it had zero chance at all. I'll take it if that's what he needs to progress.

 

[LogGrad98]

This was the perfect game for this season. Competitive enough to make it fun to watch, players stepping up and showing what they can do, and a loss in the end. Cannot get any better than this!!