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Who is the best/most important player on the Jazz right now?

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    35
J

jazznik

Well-Known Member
Who is the best/most important player on the Jazz right now? Their stats in December-January are about equally impressive.

Is it Lauri with his ever-present gravity, ability to punish smaller defenders and size or Keyonte with his rim pressure, passing and clutch plays?
 
I, personally, think it is very close but every time when Keyonte gets subbed out the Jazz offense immediately falls apart. That does not happen when Lauri is out but Keyonte is still in. Keyonte plays like a dynamic first option, while Lauri as an extremely good second option.

Of course, defensively Lauri is better. But, it is Keyonte for me.

Edit: Added "They are equally good." as an option.

​

 
Key might have the edge on offense now which is crazy, but the answer has gotta be Lauri on the basis of being an averge-ish defender.
 
Best player currently? Lauri no question. If Keyonte keeps up his December splits through the end of the season then we have a real discussion.

"Future value" could be interesting if Keyonte keeps slaying fools.
 
It's fair to say that I am in a bit of minority on this issue. What made me vote for Keyonte is that when the Jazz are behind by several points with 5-6 minutes left in the 4th and Keyonte subs in I always get that feeling that the Jazz may immediately go on a run and tie or get ahead. And that actually happened several times.

I don't get this feeling when Lauri checks in late. In my eyes he is very steady and gives consistent effort throughout the game but Key has that another gear that he can activate and make some wild shots while being heavily guarded. I feel that Lauri's impact is more portable but Keyonte is more important for the Jazz.

I also think that George will expect the max extension this summer.
 
jazznik said:
It's fair to say that I am in a bit of minority on this issue.
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I think that's to be expected if (as you seem to be) you're purely rating them based on offensive output. There a discussion could realistically be had, even if Keyonte's sample size at the highest level is still only about a month+.

But Lauri is an average NBA player on D. Maybe even slightly above average. Keyonte is one of the worst in the league. So even if you ranked them about equally on O, Lauri would still be 50 % "better" as a player.
 
Lauri is a walking 28/8 with ~50/40/88 splits, and he's done it longer and more consistently than Keyonte. I think you'd have to give Lauri the nod here.

Keyonte's ability to create and close games has him closing in though.
 
Tanktastic said:
I think that's to be expected if (as you seem to be) you're purely rating them based on offensive output. There a discussion could realistically be had, even if Keyonte's sample size at the highest level is still only about a month+.

But Lauri is an average NBA player on D. Maybe even slightly above average. Keyonte is one of the worst in the league. So even if you ranked them about equally on O, Lauri would still be 50 % "better" as a player.
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I actually rate Keyonte quite a bit above Lauri on offense. Both of them have gravity, both can drive to the rim and both get about the same amount of points. The difference lays in Keyonte's passing ability: he can run the offense and set up his teammates nicely with his precise passing. Unfortunately, Lauri is not a good passer.

I think that Keyonte's passing turns Lauri's defensive advantage in a wash. And then Keyonte's ability to hit tough clutch shots puts him in the lead.

Of course, as bigmike said, we don't know if Keyonte can sustain his recent production over the entire season and I am probably pushing it. I just thought that this would be a timely topic to talk about a bit.
 
SoberasHotRod said:
The Jazz are 12.28pts per 100 possession better with Lauri on the court than when he is off the court. They are 1.34pts per 100 possessions better with Keyonte on the court than when he is off the court.

It's not currently close (but Keyonte is only 22yo)
Click to expand...
But these are the full-season stats. Keyonte clearly improved over the course of the season and has been playing much better in the last 40 days or so.
Just look at last five games where they both played (raw plus-minus):

GSW: Keyonte -5, Lauri -2.
Boston: Keyonte +8, Lauri +13.
SAS: Keyonte +18, Lauri +7.
Detroit: Keyonte +10, Lauri +7.
Denver: Keyonte -12, Lauri -9.

Pretty even.
 
jazznik said:
I think that Keyonte's passing turns Lauri's defensive advantage in a wash.
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Keyonte would have to be twice as good an offensive player for them to be even. He would have to be Space Jam levels above everyone else in the NBA to be that. He isn't (obviously).

Raw +- from a handful of recent games doesn't change that Keyonte is one of the worst defenders in the whole goddamn league.
 
If only there were a way to sift through all the lineups and mathematically adjust +\- according the teammates and opponents a player shares the court with.
 
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