Home sweet home...Wolves/Jazz GDT

[FNG]

I’m just noticing kuminga body language getting annoyed with Rudy

I didn't notice that, but if so, it's a bad look for JK. Rudy put up 10/15 with some real man rebounds, while JK had 4 points, NO rebounds, and a team worst -10. I love what JK has brought to this team, but there's no excuse for that kind of crap...especially when he's having a shitty night.

It was in the 4th where Rudy wasn’t in the correct spot on offense. By far JK worst game this year.

I also don’t want to overreact to things because I don’t know there relationship, that might be how they communicate

Fair point, Kek. That moment a few games ago when JK and Ball seemed to be yelling at Rudy on the bench seemed to mean a lot more to us fans than it did to them. JK and Rudy probably have a special bond in that French is both of their first languages. Still, he might have a little more credibility on his criticism if he were having a better game.

[Q-is-here]

Ugh...you don't expect to win when you have 18 assists and 20 turnovers. But then again, we were playing a minor league club, and we did enough to win. Kudos to the bench for bringing this one home...it helped that they had 7 assists and only 2 turnovers. Not much of a box score for Clark, but similar to last year, we're now 5-1 when he gets 15+ minutes.

We're handling Ant's absence pretty well so far with a 5-2 record...we were 12-9 without him last season, so we have shown we can win without him before. Still, if he's going to be out until Christmas, it's nice to know 12 of the remaining 19 games he'll miss will be at home. Now we get a few days off at home before playing Dallas...it will be helpful to get a few practices in, and maybe we'll play a less sloppy game against a better opponent.

Yeah, it was a choppy affair. I feel like it's more a function of playing every one of their games within 48 hours of the last one. There are only a couple of other teams that have played 11 games already. The break will be nice.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Abe's Not All That Jazzed About This Game DVR Review:

- Ball starts the game by ALMOST throwing the ball away... getting it back... and then throwing it away. He does a lot of things so well. The 1.4 Assist/TO ratio he's carrying is the major bugaboo right now. I expect that to get much better as he learns more about his new teammates, but his tendency for lazy TOs is just going to be higher than other guys.

- The Wolves recover so quickly on defense. They scramble and chase and get back in position really well right now. How long can this sort of effort continue... and will Edwards join in the fun when he returns?

- Darryn Peterson is making some tough shots. He looks good. Also notice he came into the game shooting 37%. So much uncertainty with this guy. Can't help but think about Jalen Green watching him. I assume Peterson will be better, but I just don't know yet.

- Speaking of uncertain opinions about players... I still haven't collected all my thoughts about Kuminga yet. But, it is interesting that other posters have chimed in on his theatrics toward Gobert that I called out in the Pelicans game. He doesn't have that kind of clout to do that. But maybe it looks harsher than it really is? (Hopefully)

- Bones Hyland is a playoff liability. But it's the regular season, so who cares. He's just a good deeper rotation guy to have on the team. I've always championed the heat check bench guys... so it's nice to have one in Bones. It's great when he's on. And he can be pushed down the rotation when he's not. The one constant with him, however, is his shoddy defense. Yikes.

- Josh Okogie remains Josh Okogie. That aint ever gonna change. I assumed his career record in 500 games would be something like 150 - 350. But it's not nearly that bad (230 W - 270 L). Just the same, I don't think he gives any fanbase or coaching staff a ton of confidence when he's out there. It's fun to have a team with players that give you mostly positive vibes.

- I didn't understand it this summer when some questioned whether Ayo Dosunmu was an overpay. The guy scored 43 points in a playoff win and his entering his prime years. Meanwhile, Josh Green is finishing up a contract paying him $15M. There are loads of guys like him out there. $19M - $25M for Ayo seems very fair right now.

- Once again, I thought Jaden McDaniels played a bit sloppy on offense at times. Once again, he still looked solid on the boxscore with 16/6/3 while making 5 of 9 from the field. I guess that's a testament to him considering we've seen more 7 point, 3 rebound games in the past when he didn't seem to have "it" that game. Being consistently solid is a skill that good professional basketball players develop over time. That's where McDaniels seems to be right now.

- Rudy Gobert played a good Rudy Gobert game. His health is so vitally important for this squad.

- Will Hardy as coach of the Jazz...
37 - 45
31 - 51
17 - 65
22- 60
1 - 8

Even Brett Brown won by his 5th season... I know Hardy is well regarded (connected in the inner circle of coaches)... but when does that need to show up on the court. The Jazz were selectively tanking for a spell there, but now they're a team with real expectations. Hardy has to eventually win some games to earn his title of "good young coach."

- Speaking of coaches, Chris Finch is lapping the field as best coach in Timberwolves history. Someday, we'll dig in deeper on what he's done throughout his tenure with very large personnel changes from season to season.

[FNG]

Abe's Not All That Jazzed About This Game DVR Review:

- Ball starts the game by ALMOST throwing the ball away... getting it back... and then throwing it away. He does a lot of things so well. The 1.4 Assist/TO ratio he's carrying is the major bugaboo right now. I expect that to get much better as he learns more about his new teammates, but his tendency for lazy TOs is just going to be higher than other guys.

- The Wolves recover so quickly on defense. They scramble and chase and get back in position really well right now. How long can this sort of effort continue... and will Edwards join in the fun when he returns?

- Darryn Peterson is making some tough shots. He looks good. Also notice he came into the game shooting 37%. So much uncertainty with this guy. Can't help but think about Jalen Green watching him. I assume Peterson will be better, but I just don't know yet.

- Speaking of uncertain opinions about players... I still haven't collected all my thoughts about Kuminga yet. But, it is interesting that other posters have chimed in on his theatrics toward Gobert that I called out in the Pelicans game. He doesn't have that kind of clout to do that. But maybe it looks harsher than it really is? (Hopefully)

- Bones Hyland is a playoff liability. But it's the regular season, so who cares. He's just a good deeper rotation guy to have on the team. I've always championed the heat check bench guys... so it's nice to have one in Bones. It's great when he's on. And he can be pushed down the rotation when he's not. The one constant with him, however, is his shoddy defense. Yikes.

- Josh Okogie remains Josh Okogie. That aint ever gonna change. I assumed his career record in 500 games would be something like 150 - 350. But it's not nearly that bad (230 W - 270 L). Just the same, I don't think he gives any fanbase or coaching staff a ton of confidence when he's out there. It's fun to have a team with players that give you mostly positive vibes.

- I didn't understand it this summer when some questioned whether Ayo Dosunmu was an overpay. The guy scored 43 points in a playoff win and his entering his prime years. Meanwhile, Josh Green is finishing up a contract paying him $15M. There are loads of guys like him out there. $19M - $25M for Ayo seems very fair right now.

- Once again, I thought Jaden McDaniels played a bit sloppy on offense at times. Once again, he still looked solid on the boxscore with 16/6/3 while making 5 of 9 from the field. I guess that's a testament to him considering we've seen more 7 point, 3 rebound games in the past when he didn't seem to have "it" that game. Being consistently solid is a skill that good professional basketball players develop over time. That's where McDaniels seems to be right now.

- Rudy Gobert played a good Rudy Gobert game. His health is so vitally important for this squad.

- Will Hardy as coach of the Jazz...
37 - 45
31 - 51
17 - 65
22- 60
1 - 8

Even Brett Brown won by his 5th season... I know Hardy is well regarded (connected in the inner circle of coaches)... but when does that need to show up on the court. The Jazz were selectively tanking for a spell there, but now they're a team with real expectations. Hardy has to eventually win some games to earn his title of "good young coach."

- Speaking of coaches, Chris Finch is lapping the field as best coach in Timberwolves history. Someday, we'll dig in deeper on what he's done throughout his tenure with very large personnel changes from season to season.

Good remarks, Abe. A couple additions:

I’ve also relegated Hyland to the role of a poor-defending guy who can help you on nights he’s hot from beyond the arc. But last night was a rare exception…he shot poorly (1 for 5 on treys) but had a sufficiently good floor game that he ended up with a nice +15. Unlike the pelicans game where the offense stagnated when Ball was out, I thought the ball moved pretty well with Bones at the paint.

Yes, Finchy is far and away the best coach in Wolves history, and has to be in the running for COY. I would say he lags one guy so far…Micah Nori!

[Q-is-here]

Abe's Not All That Jazzed About This Game DVR Review:

- Ball starts the game by ALMOST throwing the ball away... getting it back... and then throwing it away. He does a lot of things so well. The 1.4 Assist/TO ratio he's carrying is the major bugaboo right now. I expect that to get much better as he learns more about his new teammates, but his tendency for lazy TOs is just going to be higher than other guys.

- The Wolves recover so quickly on defense. They scramble and chase and get back in position really well right now. How long can this sort of effort continue... and will Edwards join in the fun when he returns?

- Darryn Peterson is making some tough shots. He looks good. Also notice he came into the game shooting 37%. So much uncertainty with this guy. Can't help but think about Jalen Green watching him. I assume Peterson will be better, but I just don't know yet.

- Speaking of uncertain opinions about players... I still haven't collected all my thoughts about Kuminga yet. But, it is interesting that other posters have chimed in on his theatrics toward Gobert that I called out in the Pelicans game. He doesn't have that kind of clout to do that. But maybe it looks harsher than it really is? (Hopefully)

- Bones Hyland is a playoff liability. But it's the regular season, so who cares. He's just a good deeper rotation guy to have on the team. I've always championed the heat check bench guys... so it's nice to have one in Bones. It's great when he's on. And he can be pushed down the rotation when he's not. The one constant with him, however, is his shoddy defense. Yikes.

- Josh Okogie remains Josh Okogie. That aint ever gonna change. I assumed his career record in 500 games would be something like 150 - 350. But it's not nearly that bad (230 W - 270 L). Just the same, I don't think he gives any fanbase or coaching staff a ton of confidence when he's out there. It's fun to have a team with players that give you mostly positive vibes.

- I didn't understand it this summer when some questioned whether Ayo Dosunmu was an overpay. The guy scored 43 points in a playoff win and his entering his prime years. Meanwhile, Josh Green is finishing up a contract paying him $15M. There are loads of guys like him out there. $19M - $25M for Ayo seems very fair right now.

- Once again, I thought Jaden McDaniels played a bit sloppy on offense at times. Once again, he still looked solid on the boxscore with 16/6/3 while making 5 of 9 from the field. I guess that's a testament to him considering we've seen more 7 point, 3 rebound games in the past when he didn't seem to have "it" that game. Being consistently solid is a skill that good professional basketball players develop over time. That's where McDaniels seems to be right now.

- Rudy Gobert played a good Rudy Gobert game. His health is so vitally important for this squad.

- Will Hardy as coach of the Jazz...
37 - 45
31 - 51
17 - 65
22- 60
1 - 8

Even Brett Brown won by his 5th season... I know Hardy is well regarded (connected in the inner circle of coaches)... but when does that need to show up on the court. The Jazz were selectively tanking for a spell there, but now they're a team with real expectations. Hardy has to eventually win some games to earn his title of "good young coach."

- Speaking of coaches, Chris Finch is lapping the field as best coach in Timberwolves history. Someday, we'll dig in deeper on what he's done throughout his tenure with very large personnel changes from season to season.

It seems like Utah has a lot of overlap with young shot creators, none of whom are elite. Keyonte George is the best of them of course, but relative to the upper tier of shot makers in the NBA he's more like a super-sub than a 32 MPG #1 option. Then there are basically even lesser versions of that same archetype in Peterson and Bailey. May be one of them breaks out of the pack and becomes elite at it, but to your point, it feels very Zach LaVine/Jalen Green-esque right now.

Same thing with their role players. A number of them are solid, but you wouldn't rank any of them in the upper tier of NBA role players.

[FNG]

Abe's Not All That Jazzed About This Game DVR Review:

- Ball starts the game by ALMOST throwing the ball away... getting it back... and then throwing it away. He does a lot of things so well. The 1.4 Assist/TO ratio he's carrying is the major bugaboo right now. I expect that to get much better as he learns more about his new teammates, but his tendency for lazy TOs is just going to be higher than other guys.

- The Wolves recover so quickly on defense. They scramble and chase and get back in position really well right now. How long can this sort of effort continue... and will Edwards join in the fun when he returns?

- Darryn Peterson is making some tough shots. He looks good. Also notice he came into the game shooting 37%. So much uncertainty with this guy. Can't help but think about Jalen Green watching him. I assume Peterson will be better, but I just don't know yet.

- Speaking of uncertain opinions about players... I still haven't collected all my thoughts about Kuminga yet. But, it is interesting that other posters have chimed in on his theatrics toward Gobert that I called out in the Pelicans game. He doesn't have that kind of clout to do that. But maybe it looks harsher than it really is? (Hopefully)

- Bones Hyland is a playoff liability. But it's the regular season, so who cares. He's just a good deeper rotation guy to have on the team. I've always championed the heat check bench guys... so it's nice to have one in Bones. It's great when he's on. And he can be pushed down the rotation when he's not. The one constant with him, however, is his shoddy defense. Yikes.

- Josh Okogie remains Josh Okogie. That aint ever gonna change. I assumed his career record in 500 games would be something like 150 - 350. But it's not nearly that bad (230 W - 270 L). Just the same, I don't think he gives any fanbase or coaching staff a ton of confidence when he's out there. It's fun to have a team with players that give you mostly positive vibes.

- I didn't understand it this summer when some questioned whether Ayo Dosunmu was an overpay. The guy scored 43 points in a playoff win and his entering his prime years. Meanwhile, Josh Green is finishing up a contract paying him $15M. There are loads of guys like him out there. $19M - $25M for Ayo seems very fair right now.

- Once again, I thought Jaden McDaniels played a bit sloppy on offense at times. Once again, he still looked solid on the boxscore with 16/6/3 while making 5 of 9 from the field. I guess that's a testament to him considering we've seen more 7 point, 3 rebound games in the past when he didn't seem to have "it" that game. Being consistently solid is a skill that good professional basketball players develop over time. That's where McDaniels seems to be right now.

- Rudy Gobert played a good Rudy Gobert game. His health is so vitally important for this squad.

- Will Hardy as coach of the Jazz...
37 - 45
31 - 51
17 - 65
22- 60
1 - 8

Even Brett Brown won by his 5th season... I know Hardy is well regarded (connected in the inner circle of coaches)... but when does that need to show up on the court. The Jazz were selectively tanking for a spell there, but now they're a team with real expectations. Hardy has to eventually win some games to earn his title of "good young coach."

- Speaking of coaches, Chris Finch is lapping the field as best coach in Timberwolves history. Someday, we'll dig in deeper on what he's done throughout his tenure with very large personnel changes from season to season.

It seems like Utah has a lot of overlap with young shot creators, none of whom are elite. Keyonte George is the best of them of course, but relative to the upper tier of shot makers in the NBA he's more like a super-sub than a 32 MPG #1 option. Then there are basically even lesser versions of that same archetype in Peterson and Bailey. May be one of them breaks out of the pack and becomes elite at it, but to your point, it feels very Zach LaVine/Jalen Green-esque right now.

Same thing with their role players. A number of them are solid, but you wouldn't rank any of them in the upper tier of NBA role players.

8 first round draft picks since Ainge chose to trade Rudy from a 49-win team, and nothing but disaster since then. Either Hardy or Ainge has to be on the hot seat, right? Or both? How can you have all these first rounders, including several lottery picks, and continue to finish last?

[Q-is-here]

Abe's Not All That Jazzed About This Game DVR Review:

- Ball starts the game by ALMOST throwing the ball away... getting it back... and then throwing it away. He does a lot of things so well. The 1.4 Assist/TO ratio he's carrying is the major bugaboo right now. I expect that to get much better as he learns more about his new teammates, but his tendency for lazy TOs is just going to be higher than other guys.

- The Wolves recover so quickly on defense. They scramble and chase and get back in position really well right now. How long can this sort of effort continue... and will Edwards join in the fun when he returns?

- Darryn Peterson is making some tough shots. He looks good. Also notice he came into the game shooting 37%. So much uncertainty with this guy. Can't help but think about Jalen Green watching him. I assume Peterson will be better, but I just don't know yet.

- Speaking of uncertain opinions about players... I still haven't collected all my thoughts about Kuminga yet. But, it is interesting that other posters have chimed in on his theatrics toward Gobert that I called out in the Pelicans game. He doesn't have that kind of clout to do that. But maybe it looks harsher than it really is? (Hopefully)

- Bones Hyland is a playoff liability. But it's the regular season, so who cares. He's just a good deeper rotation guy to have on the team. I've always championed the heat check bench guys... so it's nice to have one in Bones. It's great when he's on. And he can be pushed down the rotation when he's not. The one constant with him, however, is his shoddy defense. Yikes.

- Josh Okogie remains Josh Okogie. That aint ever gonna change. I assumed his career record in 500 games would be something like 150 - 350. But it's not nearly that bad (230 W - 270 L). Just the same, I don't think he gives any fanbase or coaching staff a ton of confidence when he's out there. It's fun to have a team with players that give you mostly positive vibes.

- I didn't understand it this summer when some questioned whether Ayo Dosunmu was an overpay. The guy scored 43 points in a playoff win and his entering his prime years. Meanwhile, Josh Green is finishing up a contract paying him $15M. There are loads of guys like him out there. $19M - $25M for Ayo seems very fair right now.

- Once again, I thought Jaden McDaniels played a bit sloppy on offense at times. Once again, he still looked solid on the boxscore with 16/6/3 while making 5 of 9 from the field. I guess that's a testament to him considering we've seen more 7 point, 3 rebound games in the past when he didn't seem to have "it" that game. Being consistently solid is a skill that good professional basketball players develop over time. That's where McDaniels seems to be right now.

- Rudy Gobert played a good Rudy Gobert game. His health is so vitally important for this squad.

- Will Hardy as coach of the Jazz...
37 - 45
31 - 51
17 - 65
22- 60
1 - 8

Even Brett Brown won by his 5th season... I know Hardy is well regarded (connected in the inner circle of coaches)... but when does that need to show up on the court. The Jazz were selectively tanking for a spell there, but now they're a team with real expectations. Hardy has to eventually win some games to earn his title of "good young coach."

- Speaking of coaches, Chris Finch is lapping the field as best coach in Timberwolves history. Someday, we'll dig in deeper on what he's done throughout his tenure with very large personnel changes from season to season.

It seems like Utah has a lot of overlap with young shot creators, none of whom are elite. Keyonte George is the best of them of course, but relative to the upper tier of shot makers in the NBA he's more like a super-sub than a 32 MPG #1 option. Then there are basically even lesser versions of that same archetype in Peterson and Bailey. May be one of them breaks out of the pack and becomes elite at it, but to your point, it feels very Zach LaVine/Jalen Green-esque right now.

Same thing with their role players. A number of them are solid, but you wouldn't rank any of them in the upper tier of NBA role players.

8 first round draft picks since Ainge chose to trade Rudy from a 49-win team, and nothing but disaster since then. Either Hardy or Ainge has to be on the hot seat, right? Or both? How can you have all these first rounders, including several lottery picks, and continue to finish last?

I asked myself the same thing when we were at our nadir as a franchise, missing the playoffs for the 13th straight year despite having two former #1 picks, two #5s, a #11, a #13, and a #14 all on the roster - just a crazy amount of mostly EXPERIENCED lottery talent assembled on one roster and we couldn't even sniff the playoffs. So pathetic.

Yeah....Utah ownership needs to move on from favorite son Danny Ainge. He's ultimately to blame.

[AbeVigodaLive]

It seems like Utah has a lot of overlap with young shot creators, none of whom are elite. Keyonte George is the best of them of course, but relative to the upper tier of shot makers in the NBA he's more like a super-sub than a 32 MPG #1 option. Then there are basically even lesser versions of that same archetype in Peterson and Bailey. May be one of them breaks out of the pack and becomes elite at it, but to your point, it feels very Zach LaVine/Jalen Green-esque right now.

Same thing with their role players. A number of them are solid, but you wouldn't rank any of them in the upper tier of NBA role players.

8 first round draft picks since Ainge chose to trade Rudy from a 49-win team, and nothing but disaster since then. Either Hardy or Ainge has to be on the hot seat, right? Or both? How can you have all these first rounders, including several lottery picks, and continue to finish last?

I asked myself the same thing when we were at our nadir as a franchise, missing the playoffs for the 13th straight year despite having two former #1 picks, two #5s, a #11, a #13, and a #14 all on the roster - just a crazy amount of mostly EXPERIENCED lottery talent assembled on one roster and we couldn't even sniff the playoffs. So pathetic.

Yeah....Utah ownership needs to move on from favorite son Danny Ainge. He's ultimately to blame.

Maybe they'll have his kid take over.