Oh, and since Lopo has very much made it clear that the size of your contract dictates the level of criticism you should receive, will complaining about Mitchell's defense next year be fair game?
January 2021 State of the Jazz Address
- Thread starter LoPo
- Start date
LoPo
Well-Known Member
Once again Cy, address the problem at hand instead of taking shots at me.
I have said numerous times in numerous threads and even in this thread that Don's defense has been inadequate. It's not good enough.
Thee Idiotic Minivan K
Well-Known Member
One of the most vague state of the union addresses ever.
Yes, I think we’re a contender if Don was suddenly the best perimeter defender in the league. That would make him a superstar and elevate the team.
If we add a perimeter defender do we have enough to win the title? No we don’t. We’re not close. We need a superstar talent and Donovan is our chance at that.
We can always improve on the margins. Every team can improve on the margins. But the core thing that is preventing the Jazz from being a contender is not the lack of a perimeter defender, it’s a lack of top end talent.
Think of every contender in the league. They are not contenders because of their role players. They are contenders because of their elite talent.
Agreed. We definitely need a dynamic wing, but our ceiling is attached to Don. We can always do better on the margins, but this team will go as far as his development takes us. I can talk about the margins all day, but in reality it’s premium talent that wins. None of our moves this off season mattered more than Mitchell and Gobert extensions, for example.
It’s frustrating because the step required for Mitchell to be average or plus is to put more effort in. He was at that level as a rookie, but his effort has disappeared over the years. On Team USA he looked every bit the defender that Marcus Smart was and his defense was made the coaches consider him the top player on the squad.
If Quin challenged him and made it a point of emphasis for development, I really think he could be an all NBA defender. Especially if he’s guarding players his size.
LoPo
Well-Known Member
He was a top end talent the entire series against Denver. We didn't lose because Don wasn't a superstar. He was a superstar in that series. We lost because we didn't have enough perimeter defending. There is no way he could have carried us on offense if he was the one who had to stop Murray too.
Putting our entire team on Don is so dumb. He can't do it all.
Sent from my SM-G970U using JazzFanz mobile app
If that is the player Don is, then we're good. I don't think that's the player he is. He's not a 36 PPG player who shoots 50% from 3. But if he is that player, sure, a perimeter defender is our most pressing need.
The entire team isn't on Don. But Don is the only one capable of elevating this team. A perimeter defender does not elevate us to being a contender. Don being a superstar is what keeps us from being a contender. No one else can do that.
Also definitely on the cons list, he has _way_ too many TOs, very many of them just poor decisions. A fair amount of his completed passes are also quite lucky, and was really a bad decision that happened to work out IMO.
jom2003
Well-Known Member
One good game followed by three horrible games. What else is new. Joe Johnson already done that for us. In playoffs too, which Bojan didn't even play. Except when Iso Joe finally start giving us one good game followed by five poor games we finally lost our cool and traded his *** away. Just not sure how many draft picks would it take us this time to unload Bojan’s much more horrendous contract.
SoUjazzfan
Well-Known Member
It will be interesting to see Mitchell's reaction to upcoming criticism and all star snub if he continues to struggle. Will he sulk and blame those around him, or step it up. It was mentioned last night ( or perhaps against Brooklyn) how he was pointing out missed assignments on defense during a time out when he'd been beat multiple times. I think it's good to have accountability but you have to look in the mirror on occasion. To this point this year he's talked the talk, I just hope he starts walking the walk. (Personally I feel he will.)
Jazz would get a 1st rounder and expiring contracts back for Bogey, bare minimum. You are way overreacting, but that's your thing I guess.
He isnt playing nearly well enough for it to be considered a snub.
Handlogten's Heros
Well-Known Member
2019 Award Winner
2020-21 Award Winner
2022 Award Winner
2023 Award Winner
His struggles this year are weird. He's just so unfocused and generally just off. I'm officially worried and hope he is right physically and mentally.
Handlogten's Heros
Well-Known Member
2019 Award Winner
2020-21 Award Winner
2022 Award Winner
2023 Award Winner
I think Ryan Smith figured out how to fix this... offering a scholarship to an under- privileged kid for every win. Don't hustle and try hard every night... well I guess you are against education of under-privileged kids. If this doesn't work he will start donating a $1M to cancer research... the nuclear option is for every loss he will murder a puppy... everyone is pro-puppy.
Side note outside of the jokes... pretty cool thing for Ryan to do.
Side note outside of the jokes... pretty cool thing for Ryan to do.
Having the wing span and using the wing span are 2 different things. If wing span is the deciding factor why are Conley and Mitchell not DPOY candidates, or even decent defenders, or get toasted by bigger and taller players on the reg. All things being equal, a 6'6" player with a 6'10" wing span will be more dominant than a 6'1" player with a 6'10" wing span. Because there is a lot more to it than wing span.
It is almost like you are reducing perimeter D to wing span. Hmmm.
Actually I am beginning to question his BBIQ. He often gets into spots where it is obvious he has no idea what to do, like he can't read the play. His iso is so good, and his athleticism and pure scoring skill is so solid, that we don't see the other parts of the game so much...when he is on. Now that he isn't "on" we are seeing that he isn't a very good decision-maker when under pressure, and he often makes a bad read. Does he just really not get the entirety of the game? Think about his greatest performances, they are almost exclusively him scoring off hero-ball, and going nuclear. Alone. He doesn't rack up triple-doubles, he doesn't get high assist numbers, or steals. He is just not a complete player, and the parts he is missing are the parts we are generally missing as a team. That is a huge void to fill. And with his offensive game MIA he is a negative on the court in general, even if he does chuck enough to get his 20 points.
I am very worried indeed. Fools gold can look really good until you get it under the microscope.
You completely misread that, so try again.