Thoughts on the Jazz game

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

The game was so ugly that I had to turn it off for awhile. But I DVRed it, and went back and watched the parts I missed. I'm glad I did, because the second half was a lot of fun. A few thoughts:

1) I'm not going to go down the "we beat an injured Jazz team, so it's not a big deal" road. I don't think our opponents were unhappy when they beat our injured team by 14 last year, so we shouldn't be either. We were favored by 1 and we won by 14...that's a good night.

2) Rubio may be becoming the "transformational" player Kahn said he would when he drafted him. 17 assists and only 3 turnovers is almost freakish. And the 17 assists doesn't even include all the passes he made that resulted in free throws. I also liked his 2-4 from beyond the arc...having to respect his 3-point shooting opens up so many possibilities for RR.

3) Sam's tough love. Sam was particularly tough on Zach and KAT last night. Especially notable was his dressing down of Zach after he let Burke waltz to the basket, and his benching of KAT after a missed assignment. The funniest thing about his yelling at Zach was KG playing the consoling role! Tyus looked down, and KG came over to cheer him up...great bad cop, good cop routine. Sam was also extremely active on the sidelines much of the game...he wanted this one, but he also understands that his young pups need constant teaching. He's providing it.

4) Tay's defense: Hayward scored 14 points, but I think only 1 of those points came in his 25 minutes against Prince. I may have missed another score, but I don't think so. The amazing thing to me is how well Prince plays team defense while shutting his guy down. Watch where he positions himself when the ball rotates to the other side of the court. Even though Hayward is their biggest threat, he is about 15 feet away from him when the ball is on the other side. And he knows exactly when he needs to get back on him to deny him the ball. Playing off his man allows him to be disruptive on defense...he was only credited with 2 steals, but he was instrumental in many more turnovers.

5) Wig's assists and rebounds. We've been asking for them, and we got 4 and 6 last night. It seems evident that the coaches are harping on how open his teammates are when he drives to the basket, because he was clearly lookin to pass more last night. It even led to one comical moment. Wig beat his man and had a clear layup, but instead passed to a teammate in the corner with 1 second left on the shot clock. The camera cut to Sam, and the look on his face was priceless. A great example of the growing pains with this team. But ultimately, Wig is going to create some wide open looks if he starts passing, and defenses aren't going to be able to collapse on him.

6) KG and Tay on offense: Yes, they are mostly facilitators, but the last two games they have looked for their shot too. They were 8-10 last night after going 10-13 against the spurs, so that's 18-23 the past two games! NBA pros make open jumpers, and Ricky will keep finding them if defenses focus all their attention on KAT and Wig.

7) Centers. Big games from KAT and G...37 and 19. When Pek comes back, there will no deeper team at center.

Lots of signs that this team is doing what a young talented tea is supposed to do...learn and grow as the season progresses. Tonight against Detroit is going to be difficult on the back end of a BTB, but it's nice to see them playing well.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

The fact Mitchell had to put KG and Prince in to close out the game against a god awful Utah squad does not show a lot of growth to me.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

The fact Mitchell had to put KG and Prince in to close out the game against a god awful Utah squad does not show a lot of growth to me.

Fair point. But Zach was having a terrible game, and KG will always be our best defensive option at PF...Sam wanted that win, and going with his best defensive five was the right choice. Wig's passing and rebounding and KAT and Tyus taking what Sam dished out to them were what I meant by growth.

Speaking of Zach, he is really struggling at the 2. I mentioned a Robson in-game tweet, and that he had really missed the point with his tweet. He talked about how Zach has really been struggling with his shot and defense since Martin was benched and called it terrible timing. But he totally ignores the fact that Zach's slump corresponds with a position change. He is matched up with bigger guys at SG, and all of us who have played the game know that playing offense and defense against a 6-8 guy like Hood is different than playing against a 6-2 PG. I like Martin on the bench and giving Tyus a chance at backup PG, so Zach needs to play SG, but he hasn't looked good there recently. There are going to be games like last night where Sam is going to have to go with Wig and Bazz at SG in winnable games. We all know Zach has enormous potential, but Sam made the right choice leaving him on the bench in the second half yesterday.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Growth should be measured by results. The fact is this team has regressed as the season goes on. Perhaps we've hit the nadir and will improve from here, but it's not encouraging at all to see a young team get worse over time.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Growth should be measured by results. The fact is this team has regressed as the season goes on. Perhaps we've hit the nadir and will improve from here, but it's not encouraging at all to see a young team get worse over time.

I'm pretty sure that's the first time "nadir" has been used on this board. Here's to more zeniths and fewer nadirs.

Once again the top three plus minus guys were RR, KG and Tay...big surprise. I don't envy Sam's coaching challenges with this unbalanced roster. He wants to play his young studs for development purposes, but he needs to play his aging warriors as long as the playoffs are within sight. But overplaying KG and Tay last night pretty much guarantees a loss tonight.

Meanwhile the knuckleheads over at rubechat continue to rip Sam for playing Tay...

[AbeVigodaLive]

It was an ugly game. The first half was painful to watch. Utah did not look like an NBA team.

27% shooting and 14 TOs. Yuck. Neto. Ingles. Withey. Johnson. YUCK!

As noted, the second half was more entertaining. And the Wolves won a team against an overmatched team. Nothing wrong with that. Take the win and run.


[Note: Burke got hot the MOMENT Tyus Jones entered the game in the 3rd quarter. The guy had made one shot up to that point and then scored 10 points in a matter of moments. Tony Parker also attacked Jones instantly the previous game with back-to-back drive and dumps for dunks. He's a marked man defensively right now. Still hopeful with him offensively though.]

[Lipoli390]

The fact Mitchell had to put KG and Prince in to close out the game against a god awful Utah squad does not show a lot of growth to me.

Fair point. But Zach was having a terrible game, and KG will always be our best defensive option at PF...Sam wanted that win, and going with his best defensive five was the right choice. Wig's passing and rebounding and KAT and Tyus taking what Sam dished out to them were what I meant by growth.

Speaking of Zach, he is really struggling at the 2. I mentioned a Robson in-game tweet, and that he had really missed the point with his tweet. He talked about how Zach has really been struggling with his shot and defense since Martin was benched and called it terrible timing. But he totally ignores the fact that Zach's slump corresponds with a position change. He is matched up with bigger guys at SG, and all of us who have played the game know that playing offense and defense against a 6-8 guy like Hood is different than playing against a 6-2 PG. I like Martin on the bench and giving Tyus a chance at backup PG, so Zach needs to play SG, but he hasn't looked good there recently. There are going to be games like last night where Sam is going to have to go with Wig and Bazz at SG in winnable games. We all know Zach has enormous potential, but Sam made the right choice leaving him on the bench in the second half yesterday.

I don't think Zach's recent shooting woes have anything to do with the size of the players he's matched up against. He's simply missing open jumpers he was making earlier. He may be having some trouble adjusting to his role at SG where he's no longer controlling the l. It's a different rhythm. He'll adjust eventually as he settles back into his more natural position. All the more reason Sam should have played him at the 2 from the beginning.

[AbeVigodaLive]

The fact Mitchell had to put KG and Prince in to close out the game against a god awful Utah squad does not show a lot of growth to me.

Fair point. But Zach was having a terrible game, and KG will always be our best defensive option at PF...Sam wanted that win, and going with his best defensive five was the right choice. Wig's passing and rebounding and KAT and Tyus taking what Sam dished out to them were what I meant by growth.

Speaking of Zach, he is really struggling at the 2. I mentioned a Robson in-game tweet, and that he had really missed the point with his tweet. He talked about how Zach has really been struggling with his shot and defense since Martin was benched and called it terrible timing. But he totally ignores the fact that Zach's slump corresponds with a position change. He is matched up with bigger guys at SG, and all of us who have played the game know that playing offense and defense against a 6-8 guy like Hood is different than playing against a 6-2 PG. I like Martin on the bench and giving Tyus a chance at backup PG, so Zach needs to play SG, but he hasn't looked good there recently. There are going to be games like last night where Sam is going to have to go with Wig and Bazz at SG in winnable games. We all know Zach has enormous potential, but Sam made the right choice leaving him on the bench in the second half yesterday.

I don't think Zach's recent shooting woes have anything to do with the size of the players he's matched up against. He's simply missing open jumpers he was making earlier. He may be having some trouble adjusting to his role at SG where he's no longer controlling the l. It's a different rhythm. He'll adjust eventually as he settles back into his more natural position. All the more reason Sam should have played him at the 2 from the beginning.

His shots look effortless. So pretty... But they're not necessarily easy shots.

I think that's part of the problem. He needs to learn what is and what isn't a good shot. That comes with time and experience.


[Note: It's NEVER a good idea to get the ball 20 - 24 feet away, pump fake out of rhythm, then rise up and take it over the guy anyway. He's done that multiple times recently.]

[Lipoli390]

Growth should be measured by results. The fact is this team has regressed as the season goes on. Perhaps we've hit the nadir and will improve from here, but it's not encouraging at all to see a young team get worse over time.

I'm pretty sure that's the first time "nadir" has been used on this board. Here's to more zeniths and fewer nadirs.

Once again the top three plus minus guys were RR, KG and Tay...big surprise. I don't envy Sam's coaching challenges with this unbalanced roster. He wants to play his young studs for development purposes, but he needs to play his aging warriors as long as the playoffs are within sight. But overplaying KG and Tay last night pretty much guarantees a loss tonight.

Meanwhile the knuckleheads over at rubechat continue to rip Sam for playing Tay...

The knuckleheads on Rubechat have a point. Prince and KG won't be here in two years. Heck, one or both may not be here next season. Winning games with Prince and KG both playing substantial minutes, both starting and finishing is fool's gold. It does little to further the development of the young guys and it doesn't give us a fully accurate picture of where this team headed or what this team needs to be a contender down the road.

I'm a season ticket holder and want to see the team win. But we have to bite the bullet now by fully evaluating and developing the young guys who could be part of something much better than a 7th or 8th seed down the road.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Growth should be measured by results. The fact is this team has regressed as the season goes on. Perhaps we've hit the nadir and will improve from here, but it's not encouraging at all to see a young team get worse over time.

I'm pretty sure that's the first time "nadir" has been used on this board. Here's to more zeniths and fewer nadirs.

Once again the top three plus minus guys were RR, KG and Tay...big surprise. I don't envy Sam's coaching challenges with this unbalanced roster. He wants to play his young studs for development purposes, but he needs to play his aging warriors as long as the playoffs are within sight. But overplaying KG and Tay last night pretty much guarantees a loss tonight.

Meanwhile the knuckleheads over at rubechat continue to rip Sam for playing Tay...

The knuckleheads on Rubechat have a point. Prince and KG won't be here in two years. Heck, one or both may not be here next season. Winning games with Prince and KG both playing substantial minutes, both starting and finishing is fool's gold. It does little to further the development of the young guys and it doesn't give us a fully accurate picture of where this team headed or what this team needs to be a contender down the road.

I'm a season ticket holder and want to see the team win. But we have to bite the bullet now by fully evaluating and developing the young guys who could be part of something much better than a 7th or 8th seed down the road.

It's possible to do that without pissing games away though.

I don't see "Garnett getting too many minutes" as a problem right now. After all, he'll be playing fewer than 18 minutes over the course of two games. I think Prince's minutes will be curbed as the season progresses and the Wolves languish in the playoff hunt.

Part of the "mentorship" angle is learning HOW to win, too. This franchise has the stench of a losing culture. It's had it for 10+ years. It's had it for most of its existence. Don't teach young kids how to lose. Show them how to win.