Game Thread Jan 19, 2026 03:00PM MT: Utah Jazz @ San Antonio Spurs

[Handlogten's Heros]

IIRC illness are never specified unless it's something long-term like Cody's mono last season.

Sometimes the team will have reporters say something though iirc. Sometimes its flu like symptoms. IDK... it was the most incredibly timed illness if its completely legit. If dude has a cold or something then its milking the injury report.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Solid tank loss. Now we need to keep the tank mentum into tomorrow night.

Schedule is pretty solid for a few games... though if Lauri is back I'm sure we win at least one of the home games against Miami/GS/SA/Clips.

Everytime a get a little comfortable we end up winning a game or two we shouldn't.

 

[Tanktastic]

Had no idea Nurk was at 36% from 3 on the year. Thought it was more like 25%

That's on the widest of wide-open threes only though. Shots that good 3pt-shooters make at 50-60 %.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

That's on the widest of wide-open threes only though. Shots that good 3pt-shooters make at 50-60 %.

Yeah, but 36% (league average) is still good enough to force at least some defensive attention when Nurk is standing on the perimeter. That's important.

People went crazy with Kessler's ridiculous 3pt barrage before he got hurt, but I don't believe for a second that Walker is an overall 36% shooter from there in reality. He still can't even shoot a basic jumpshot from anywhere. For some reason his weird outside shot just started clicking. It happens.

Nurk is on another level when it comes to offensive skill, even though he's a weirdly bad FT shooter. Sometimes it seems like he just doesn't give a F when he's at the line.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

That's on the widest of wide-open threes only though. Shots that good 3pt-shooters make at 50-60 %.

No they don't. Steph is usually around high 40's for wide open shots. No one is hitting 60% wide open

 

[KqWIN]

Another 0 FTA game for Ace btw. I guess I should just stop worrying about it because it likely can’t be fixed until summer. But the current situation is….dire.

 

[HadAnEffectHere]

Another 0 FTA game for Ace btw. I guess I should just stop worrying about it because it likely can’t be fixed until summer. But the current situation is….dire.

I mean, his FTr is extremely bad and nothing like you want to see, but he's too small and too instinctively a fan of pullup jumpers to get to the line right now.

 

[KqWIN]

I mean, his FTr is extremely bad and nothing like you want to see, but he's too small and too instinctively a fan of pullup jumpers to get to the line right now.

Small has nothing to do with it, but his affinity for pull up jumpers and evading contact is absolutely a problem.

 

[HadAnEffectHere]

Small has nothing to do with it, but his affinity for pull up jumpers and evading contact is absolutely a problem.

He's like 20-30 pounds underweight imo.

 

[KqWIN]

He's like 20-30 pounds underweight imo.

Getting to the line isn't about being heavy.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

Getting to the line isn't about being heavy.

True. SGA may be, umm... a special case, but he has an equally light build (playing weight under 200lbs) and is the most effective FT merchant in the universe. Getting to the line is largely a skill issue, plus you have to be willing to take bumps.

However, Ace also has the same problem as most young NBA players: the refs won't really give you calls until you prove that you can also finish through contact, not just seek it. They only started respecting Keyonte after he got stronger and started putting the ball in the basket after getting bumped.

Even a star rookie like VJ isn't getting calls on his drives because the refs are not giving him the benefit of the doubt yet. His finishing has been pretty bad.

 

[KqWIN]

True. SGA may be, umm... a special case, but he has an equally light build (playing weight under 200lbs) and is the most effective FT merchant in the universe. Getting to the line is largely a skill issue, plus you have to be willing to take bumps.

However, Ace also has the same problem as most young NBA players: the refs won't really give you calls until you prove that you can also finish through contact, not just seek it. They only started respecting Keyonte after he got stronger and started putting the ball in the basket after getting bumped. Someone like Cody is getting no calls because he's still making his way to the prove-it stage.

Certain players get more respect than others, but it's a marginal problem for Ace. The real problem is how he plays. It was a problem a Rutgers and it's clear that he's trained to play his whole life in a certain way. Hendricks couldn't dream of getting off the shots Ace could, but he still has 2.5x the free throw because he attacks in a way that yields FT's. Ace could have all the respect in the world, but if he still choose to pull up and evade defenders he's not going to get to the line much.