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Game Thread Jan 05, 2026 08:00PM MT: Utah Jazz @ Portland Trail Blazers

Added to Calendar: 01-05-26

I dont really get why we consistently play 5-6 feet away from the ball above the break, and then stay glued to the ground when contesting shots taken from there. Its as if we are afraid of driving so much that we just simply allow the other team to play lazy offense and sling 3s at will.

Theoretically above the break 3s arent great shots but you shouldnt hand them out free like halloween candies. I may have to run through some statistics on this, but it feels true that we give poorly contested early clock 3 pointers more than any other team in the league.
 
Lauri started the game well, picking up all four of his assists early. At that point, it felt like the blueprint for a dominant offensive night was right there: attack the rim decisively, but also slow the game down when needed and find cutters and shooters when the defense collapsed. Boston did a great job helping and taking away easy angles for kickouts. Portland didn't. Their team defense fell apart when Lauri got past his defender.

Instead, Lauri responded by cranking his intensity all the way up and continuing to force his way inside with blinders on. I appreciate the activity level and the competitive edge he showed, but his decision-making was a major disappointment.
 
Well well. I do hope the tankers development experts are happy! There was a lot of tanking developing going on, to be sure.

HermanG said:
Theoretically above the break 3s arent great shots but you shouldnt hand them out free like halloween candies. I may have to run through some statistics on this, but it feels true that we give poorly contested early clock 3 pointers more than any other team in the league.
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This.

Overall the approach to perimeter defense is just bizarre. One time the Blazers ran a lazy ball screen for Avdija (the Jazz switched for no reason at this point), who took a couple of slow lateral dribbles along the 3pt line... and that was apparently a signal for the Jazz defenders to start doubling him like he was prime Steph, leaving the screener (who had done a lazy pop) all alone, waiting for a wide open 3pt shot on the weak side. Deni flipped him the ball (the Jazz weren't even blitzing or anything) and you can guess what happened next. Obviously the Jazz didn't rotate to the shooter because our guys had to take care the paint was clogged up at all times.

I mean what are they trying to achieve? Open threes are gold in the NBA. There is no situation where you should be giving them away to even very average shooters. It makes zero sense. Avdija is a pretty good playmaker these days, but he's a meh athlete with no length. I'll take my chances with him trying to maneuver his way to the interior in a static half court situation.

Sooo... we have a new defensive low for the season and the offense wasn't much better. Lauri was the only one playing with any kind of pride or fire, and he was pretty off too. All the youngins who should have been "developing" just gave up.
 
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Peter_Mentor said:
Instead, Lauri responded by cranking his intensity all the way up and continuing to force his way inside with blinders on. I appreciate the activity level and the competitive edge he showed, but his decision-making was a major disappointment.
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LOL. Sure he had some very uncharacteristic TO's (didn't check if 5 is a career high) and made some bad decisions, but he also had 4 assists and was constantly looking to kick it out to shooters. The trouble was that people like Flip, Brice, and Collier played without any fire and moved like they were underwater. Just another gutless performance by the "youth movement" (maybe excluding Keyonte who mainly just had an off night).

Oh, and Svi had probably his worst game ever, but apparently he doesn't matter anyway, so there's that.
 
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HermanG said:
I dont really get why we consistently play 5-6 feet away from the ball above the break, and then stay glued to the ground when contesting shots taken from there. Its as if we are afraid of driving so much that we just simply allow the other team to play lazy offense and sling 3s at will.

Theoretically above the break 3s arent great shots but you shouldnt hand them out free like halloween candies. I may have to run through some statistics on this, but it feels true that we give poorly contested early clock 3 pointers more than any other team in the league.
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Oh wow its worse than I thought.

Shot clock analysis:
We allow a total of 41.0 three point attempts per game (2nd most in the NBA to Pelicans 42.0)
In 22-18 clock range we allow 6.4 attempts (2nd most to Knicks)
In 18-15 clock range we allow 8.6 attempts (2nd most to Knicks)
In 15-7 clock range we allow 19.5 attempts (6th most)
In 7-4 clock range we allow 3.4 attempts (13th most)
In 4-0 clock range we allow 2.8 attempts (27th most)

So despite allowing 2nd most three pointers we are near the bottom in late clock 3s against and near the very top in all early clock ranges. Thats not great. What about contesting 3P shots?

Closest defender analysis:
We allow the 2nd most "wide open (6ft+)" threes with 24.6 (Pels #1 with 24.9)
We allow 9th most "open (4-6ft)" threes with 14.6 per game
We rank DEAD LAST in "tight (2-4 ft)" threes with 1.9 per game
Our opponents have taken ZERO "very tight (0-2ft)" threes against us all year (naturally raking us last in that category as well)

Thats just absolutely horrible. NBA average for 3 pointers taken per game league wide is 37.0 per basketball reference. We allow 39.2 threes that classify as "wide open" or "open", while not even forcing any time pressure on those shots.
 
Tremendous Upside said:
LOL. Sure he had some very uncharacteristic TO's (didn't check if 5 is a career high) and made some bad decisions, but he also had 4 assists and was constantly looking to kick it out to shooters. The trouble was that people like Flip, Brice, and Collier played without any fire and moved like they were underwater. Just another gutless performance by the "youth movement" (excluding Keyonte who mainly just had an off night).

Oh, and Svi had probably his worst game ever, but apparently he doesn't matter anyway, so there's that.
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Sure. As I mentioned: "Lauri started the game well, picking up all four of his assists early". During the second half he in fact wasn't constantly looking to kick it out.

I agree with the youth. I’m thrilled to get Ace back because watching a young core where Cody has the highest ceiling after Key is honestly depressing.
 
That was disgusting. And awful. A game that makes you feel dirty.

Nurk did what he's currently capable to do. Lauri showed some pride at the end with hustle, blocks, steals, just anything. The rest of these mother****ers? No effort whatsoever. And the coach had absolutely zero answers or response.

Keyonte didn't play any defense to start with and somehow managed to get worse as the game went on. Completely gave up in the 2nd half. Haven't seen such a bad game from him since his rookie season.

Accountability on the Jazz? Nah.
 
Tremendous Upside said:
Well well. I do hope the tankers development experts are happy! There was a lot of tanking developing going on, to be sure.
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I know you think you've got a great sense of humor when you type **** like this, but let me clarify a couple things:

1. You don't.
2. This is another crystal clear example of you being a little bitch. Stop it.

It's like you developed your sense of humor from the Big Bang Theory, because it's similarly unfunny and autistic.
 
Tremendous Upside said:
Those numbers don't mean much when you average 1.2 3PA and 5.8 FGA.

He's very much a negative player both on offense and defense. I don't make the rules.
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From a pass/fail point of view most of our young guys are failing including collier. I wish we had insight on the skills each guy is trying to develop.
 
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I'm becoming a little frustrated with Flip. Way too passive out there and has lost some confidence in his 3pt shot.

And while he is a good passer, he hasn't developed into an exceptional passer.
 
Qman said:
From a pass/fail point of view most of our you guys are failing including collier. I wish we had insight on the skills each guy is trying to develop.
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I don't think Collier is failing, he just has a huge uphill battle to being relevant in the NBA outside of being a 3rd string PG because he's such a passive shooter.

But he has improved his shooting. His open C&S attempts look better than last year, now he just has to translate those into being a bit higher volume.

Or he needs to develop some kind of in between games that makes him a threat in the 10-15' area like a TJ McConnell.

I would call this season a success for him (not a massive one, but he has improved), but the Jazz may very well move past him if they really want to start competing.
 
The only player I would say is flat out failing is Sensabaugh. He's a 3rd year guy and he has regressed despite being put in positions to succeed (always gets the easiest defensive assignment and has plenty of open shots)

I would also say Flip is on the cusp of that too, but he has more leeway as a 2nd year player.

Hendricks health recovery gives him a pass, but if he looks the same to start next year from an athletic standpoint his career is over
 
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