Overall, I was not expecting too much due to the back to back (and last night was a hard-fought game) and it is the end of the road trip. However, I hate the rockets, a leftover emotion from the mcgrady era. I agree with those that say Hardin is not championship guy. He is the next mcgrady playoffs wise... Anyway, watching the rockets keep pushing Jazz guys in the back and stuff (an action I loath as a basketball player, and esp now that i'm old.) I wanted Kanter to punch any of them tonight.... I was more ticked than I thought i'd be about the loss. Some thoughts on players:
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Jingles is loved and hated because he is, at the same time, everything you want in a Jazzman, but yet not good enough. He runs the offense, he facilitates offense at times, and makes some good passes, does the right things, but unfortunately, he simply isn't good enough to be rotation player on a contending team. I'm hopeful that Hood is that player. An upgraded version of Jingles, who in particular, can hit threes regularly. Hood does a good job as a facilitator of the offense. We just need him healthy.
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The Kanter Konundrum - Fish and Dalamon discussing his performance illuminated this. I don't think his defense "sucks" as much as I think he is lacking judgment at times. The subtlety in this is that his hustle and effort are high, he's just not able to do the right thing all the time. Rudy, regardless of his length, has that defensive IQ. Is this because Rudy has been relegated to focusing on D his whole life and Kanter has been focused on O his whole life? So the Konundrum is if you believe Kanter can get defensive IQ. I did see a couple of times that he left his man to help, but didn't help all the way so it was just a pass off to his man who scored. This is the sort of thing I place my money on the Jazz org/Quin's team and will get him to learn to play D (because Kanter appears to want be good at d, unlike his typical comparisons, Big Al & Boozer)
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Trey... He's really turned the corner. On tired legs tonight and against Beverly, who's a good on-ball defender, he had a tougher night, but overall his recent stats and play are good. Much of the improvement is purely his shooting (better sleep and weight lifting habits or something...) but his actual pg play is much improved. Tonight he had some PnR plays that I haven't seen him make for some time. It is clear he has taken some feedback from the coaches and is adjusting his game. He still has room for improvement but he's only 1.4years in the league so there is reason to be optimistic if his shooting remains consistent. It is still very unknown to me his influence on the team: does he help bring the team together or is he self centered. His demeanor on the court shows me he not much of a 'team guy' or leader. That doesn't mean he isn't a positive influence, but I don't see it.
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Dante... he simply has to get stronger mentally and physically. not much to do with him other than let him grow up and see what you have 1, maybe 2 years from now.
