Three Questions That Keep Me Up at Night

[AlaskanAssassin]

1- Weren't we supposed to be good defensively?

Maybe "good" isn't the correct term, but at least better. All I read about last year was how bad Jefferson and Millsap were defensively, and how much more committed Favors, Hayward, and Kanter were going to be defensively. Well, we allow 105.8 points per 100 possessions, which is 2nd worst in the league (ahead of only Brooklyn). We finished last year at 104.3, 10th worst. All the while, Jefferson now plays for Charlotte, and they allow 96.9 PP/100, which is good for 4th in the league (granted Jefferson has only played in 1/2 their games).

I'm really not sure what has happened here. Without Jefferson to point a finger at, who is to blame? No one thought we would win that many games here, but most of us though the Defense would be a little better, and the bad offense would be the root of most losses.


2- What kind of coach is Corbin?

Good or bad, most coaches have some kind of identity. "Motivator", "X & O", "Player Development", "Player's Coach", "Defense First", "Run & Gun", etc. What kind of coach is Corbin? We talk about players needing to have an identity, doesn't a coach need to have one as well? What is he actually good at? If anyone can point to something here, I would love to hear it.

Along those lines, if he's not a "Player Development" coach, why is he running the team? He's certainly not here to win games.

3- Can we rebound from a historically bad season?

This one scares me the most. It's not easy to turn things around once you go this low. Our players get accustomed to losing. Right now they are getting accustomed to bringing low-energy to games. Accustomed to playing bad defense. Accustomed to a lack of accountability. If we get Wiggins or Parker, maybe it will all be OK in the end. But what if we end up with Embiid, Smart, or Exum. Is that going to turn our team around anytime soon?

Is the team so bad that we are effectively destroying the trade value of guys like Kanter, Burks, or even Hayward? I know the two things we have going for us are the draft picks and the cap space, so maybe we are better equipped to come out of this than other historically bad teams, but it's hard to envision that until we see it happen.

Once again I will be chugging half a bottle of NyQuil to fall asleep tonight.

 

[Dr. Jones]

All of your answers can be found in #2. Check the toilet.

 

[Dr. Jones]

^Okay srsly.. Corbin sucks and everything will be rosy once he's fired, a new coach is hired, we draft a superstar or two, and kill it in FA. Contenders in two years. Srs.

 

[[size/HUGE] fixed [/size]]

Our defense is the greatest shame of the season. No doubt.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Our defense is the greatest shame of the season. No doubt.

And though that is true.. we're better than average across the NBA.... imagine if we gave a damn.

 

[franklin]

Our defense is the greatest shame of the season. No doubt.

The only thing the Jazz are doing terribly bad from a team defense standpoint is over helping on the interior by sending two guys when only one is necessary. The rest is individual defects that Corbin needs to beat out of these guys the old fashioned way.

 

[Dr. Jones]

The only thing the Jazz are doing terribly bad from a team defense standpoint is over helping on the interior by sending two guys when only one is necessary. The rest is individual defects that Corbin needs to beat out of these guys the old fashioned way.

You assume Corbin sees/understands/gets this? Hahaha

 

[AlaskanAssassin]

And though that is true.. we're better than average across the NBA.... imagine if we gave a damn.

We are not "better than average". We are the 2nd worst team in the league according to points per 100 possessions. We are league average at average points allowed, but that doesn't take account for pace of play. Essentially, we are an extremely bad defensive team that plays at a slow pace (4th slowest in the league). Let's not pretend we are an average defensive team just because we play so slow.

 

[The Midnight]

Our defense is the greatest shame of the season. No doubt.

This.

 

[AlaskanAssassin]

https://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/teamstats/_/sort/paceFactor/order/true

 

[kabenac]

I agree - I thought we would be a better defensive team with Jefferson and Millsap gone. Not that Millsap was a bad defender, but he is undersized. And Favors and Kanter are definite defensive upgrades, but we haven't always seen that....

 

[Dr. Jones]

We are not "better than average". We are the 2nd worst team in the league according to points per 100 possessions. We are league average at average points allowed, but that doesn't take account for pace of play. Essentially, we are an extremely bad defensive team that plays at a slow pace (4th slowest in the league). Let's not pretend we are an average defensive team just because we play so slow.

I live in my world and you live in yours, k? Mine's a happier place.

 

[green]

1 - Team defense. We have potential. We have Burke, who could be a good defender. Same with Hayward, Favors, Burks, Gobert, Marvin. We need a philosophy. Which leads us to #2:

2 - Favors, Kanter, Hayward, and Burks are 100% on Corbin. Their development or lack of one, is on him. He hasn't done a good enough job. There is not a single reason to have him employed the day after the season. In fact, I'd be okay with Lane Kiffining him. After the final game of the year, pull him into the locker room, and tell him we gave his seat away on the plane flight home. If you feel particularly generous, give him a couple of phone numbers to cabs. Or don't.

3 - Absolutely. I don't think you can keep Hayward, Kanter AND have a very good bench. You have to pick two of those. And I'd take a good bench over Hayward and maybe over Kanter. That means, you pick between Hayward and Kanter. This means that after this year, the only players I still have around are Burke, Gobert, Favors, I'd like to keep Marvin at a good price, and Kanter/Hayward. Out of 15 players, you are only hanging onto 4-5. I think Hayward is tougher mentally and could rebound easier than Kanter as well. The point is, a new coach, with a lot of new players, you can turn the attitude around really quick. Really quick. We need Jabari (I want him because he can play SG, SF, PF, and some C. Plus he is a top 10 offensive NBA player right now) more than anything. That will turn this team around more than any coach, or any other player.

 

[Weezur]

That sickening moment when you realize that you actually CAN be a good defensive team with Al.

 

[franklin]

I agree - I thought we would be a better defensive team with Jefferson and Millsap gone. Not that Millsap was a bad defender, but he is undersized. And Favors and Kanter are definite defensive upgrades, but we haven't always seen that....

Kanter has never been an upgrade in post, team, or pnr defense over Jefferson, Boozer, Pau Gasol, Bosh...

 

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Kanter has never been an upgrade in post, team, or pnr defense over Jefferson, Boozer, Pau Gasol, Bosh...

He looked good in PnR situations during his rookie year. Hopes were high. Not much improvement since.

 

[AlaskanAssassin]

1 - Team defense. We have potential. We have Burke, who could be a good defender. Same with Hayward, Favors, Burks, Gobert, Marvin. We need a philosophy. Which leads us to #2:

2 - Favors, Kanter, Hayward, and Burks are 100% on Corbin. Their development or lack of one, is on him. He hasn't done a good enough job. There is not a single reason to have him employed the day after the season. In fact, I'd be okay with Lane Kiffining him. After the final game of the year, pull him into the locker room, and tell him we gave his seat away on the plane flight home. If you feel particularly generous, give him a couple of phone numbers to cabs. Or don't.

3 - Absolutely. I don't think you can keep Hayward, Kanter AND have a very good bench. You have to pick two of those. And I'd take a good bench over Hayward and maybe over Kanter. That means, you pick between Hayward and Kanter. This means that after this year, the only players I still have around are Burke, Gobert, Favors, I'd like to keep Marvin at a good price, and Kanter/Hayward. Out of 15 players, you are only hanging onto 4-5. I think Hayward is tougher mentally and could rebound easier than Kanter as well. The point is, a new coach, with a lot of new players, you can turn the attitude around really quick. Really quick. We need Jabari (I want him because he can play SG, SF, PF, and some C. Plus he is a top 10 offensive NBA player right now) more than anything. That will turn this team around more than any coach, or any other player.

Good thoughts! Rep!