Game Thread Feb 14, 2024 07:00PM MT: Jazz vs. Lakers

[Tremendous Upside]

We traded away talent from 3 skillsets where we were already thin. Thats playmaking (passing), defense and 3 point shooting.

Especially the last two hurts. We are 22nd in the NBA with 35.6% team 3 point percentage, but we traded away 2 of our top 5, and now we have just 3 guys left who are over 34% for the season.

This.

I hate the "If we were this dependent on guys like Simone and Kelly, we're worse than I thought" argument.

Sometimes an NBA roster is like a house of cards and there's nothing wrong with that per se. I mean the ideal situation is obviously that a team is 100% resilient against every injury or trade, but that's rare. In reality, guys like Simone and Kelly are often the ones who are holding it all together. They both had their warts but they provided shooting, size, BBIQ and an unselfish mentality. The rest of the roster is lacking many of those things.

Not at all surprising that we look like crap now and Lauri has a convict's thousand-yard stare going on. I think the guys we sold off were some of his closest friends on the team.

 

[HermanG]

I'm sorry, what?

He was literally hunted every time he stepped on the floor and Hachimura abused him 1-on-1 so badly I felt like calling 911.

Hardy noticed it too and kept yanking him

I didnt see Rui doing that to him any more than he did it to Collins. In fact I'm pretty sure Collins got pushed around more. They also got him switched on Keyonte and Clarkson a few times and it wasnt pretty.

Went to check the tape and Rui scored exactly 3 field goals on Hendricks. One was a corner 3 where Hendricks overextended on help a bit and was too late to close out, one was a 20ft jumper off a screen where Hendricks didnt do a bad job and one was as you described where Rui got the ball in low post and Hendricks didnt provide much resistance.

 

[FrenchJazzFa]

Just watch the replay. We are not good which is not surprising after the moves. But the moves can allow young players to play and playing is the best way to improve. We have to be patient and accept another season similar to what we got last year.
Hopefully , we start to become buyer next off season and getting better. It can be frustrating but this is the road they choose so enjoy the ride and hope for the best.

 

[HermanG]

DA/RS' big picture strategy is now clear:
Allow your new young coach to work with his best tools before trade deadline. Let the team excel to their best potential to allow said coach to build a good reputation in the league and get the fans good and lathered up in support. Sell fanwear, popcorn, content subscriptions etc etc out the wazoo.
Then come trade deadline sell off what you wish to (or can - talking to you JC & THT) and tank the last 1/3 of the season while coasting on dwindling fan support which edges toward draft position excitement.

It's a businesslike strategy and maybe a sensible one as well.

But it's a sh!tshow to put the players through. Don't know if I'd have the heart to do it myself when odds of us ever winning the chit are so extremely low regardless of FO skill in executing it.

I dont know if the players buy in to what Hardy is selling next year, as the FO has undermined them twice in a row. Playing hard and putting in effort to exceed expecations for two years only so FO can cash in on the added value isnt really a strategy that you can pull off too many times.

 

[UpArrow]

I dont know if the players buy in to what Hardy is selling next year, as the FO has undermined them twice in a row. Playing hard and putting in effort to exceed expecations for two years only so FO can cash in on the added value isnt really a strategy that you can pull off too many times.

Agreed. I predict Markkenen will hit end of season having talked his Wife into the charms of OKC living.

 

[HermanG]

Agreed. I predict Markkenen will hit end of season having talked his Wife into the charms of OKC living.

I hope not, but it feels like if Keyonte, Kessler, Hendricks or others dont take major leaps rest of the way it feels inevitable.

 

[UpArrow]

I hope not, but it feels like if Keyonte, Kessler, Hendricks or others dont take major leaps rest of the way it feels inevitable.

I think the clunky play of Hendricks is going to allow defenders to focus even more on Laurie and he's going to get frustrated as hell on offense.

 

[fishonjazz]

The most interesting storyline the rest of the season is whether or not the NBA comes down hard on the jazz for blatantly tanking.

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[Elizah Huge]

This.

I hate the "If we were this dependent on guys like Simone and Kelly, we're worse than I thought" argument.

Sometimes an NBA roster is like a house of cards and there's nothing wrong with that per se. I mean the ideal situation is obviously that a team is 100% resilient against every injury or trade, but that's rare. In reality, guys like Simone and Kelly are often the ones who are holding it all together. They both had their warts but they provided shooting, size, BBIQ and an unselfish mentality. The rest of the roster is lacking many of those things.

Not at all surprising that we look like crap now and Lauri has a convict's thousand-yard stare going on. I think the guys we sold off were some of his closest friends on the team.

You literally just proved my point thank you. If Simone and Olynyk held the team together we’re not as good as we thought. Great teams can lose rotation pieces and still be fine.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I can’t decide if the team has let go of the rope a little or if the Collins/Kessler/Lauri frontcourt is enough to tank the starting lineup and Taylor is enough to mess up the bench. Either way it’s over. We need the other teams below us to play ball though if we are going to get to #9.

 

[HermanG]

You literally just proved my point thank you. If Simone and Olynyk held the team together we’re not as good as we thought. Great teams can lose rotation pieces and still be fine.

But this is a team building error, not a en error on overall talent.

FO has traded out 3 rotation players in each of the last 2 years DL. And they havent traded single one of our turnover prone hero ball combo guards, leaving the roster at a massive imbalance where we overflow with the most useless player archtype in the modern NBA while lacking the best ones (like off ball shooters). I mean we have 5 combo guards in rotation right now, with only 1 frontcourt player who can shoot the 3 at a high level and create space for those guys.

 

[fishonjazz]

I can’t decide if the team has let go of the rope a little or if the Collins/Kessler/Lauri frontcourt is enough to tank the starting lineup and Taylor is enough to mess up the bench. Either way it’s over. We need the other teams below us to play ball though if we are going to get to #9.

We will probably keep getting blown out and the teams below us will keep losing as well. Give up our pick, have no shot at the playoffs, and have unwatchable basketball.
Ainge is ruining the franchise.

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