Game 9: Cleveland Cavaliers (4-4) @ Utah Jazz (5-3)

[Charlie_S]

missed the game tonight. sounds like jazz forwards had their way in the paint. haven't heard much about favors or kanter though. mostly howard, millsap, and jefferson.

Big Al abused the Cavaliers down low, had his touch going and scored almost at will over Varejao. I thought we force-fed him a bit during stretches but it worked almost every time so can't really complain. He wasn't at his best defensively when helping on penetrations but rebounded well.
Millsap got off to a great start offensively but then he just couldn't stay away from fouls. Some ticky-tacky calls there but he should've adjusted better. Still, we can afford it considering our big man rotation can truly go 4 players deep without hurting us too much.
Favors was solid overall, had a couple of nice moves and was a presence on the offensive glass. Couldn't make up for Big Al's lack of interior defense when playing together with him. Got in foul trouble as well and fouled out of the game. Would like to see him consistently more focused but he's showing progress in his skillset.
Kanter had limited minutes and few chances to make himself noticed on the offensive end. He did the usual stuff: he was a magnet for rebounds and struggled finishing in traffic (couple of putback misses). Thought he could've gotten a little more burn in the 2nd half but he'll have other chances...

[carrottop12]

Favors hit probably the best shot of his career though. Fall away 16 footer from the baseline with the clock running down. If he can develop that turn around jumper ala Garnett on the baseline, the sky really is the limit, it's an unguardable shot for a guy his size.

[laytonjazzfan]

Favors hit probably the best shot of his career though. Fall away 16 footer from the baseline with the clock running down. If he can develop that turn around jumper ala Garnett on the baseline, the sky really is the limit, it's an unguardable shot for a guy his size.

Yeah, I was super impressed with that shot. There is not many big guys that can hit that. I also believe if he can do that consistently he will be greater than I anticipated.

[carrottop12]

In the past two games he's hit three low post turn around jumpers that I've seen. Probably means he's pretty comfortable with that shot and will start to use it more and more. That's a pretty advanced low post move for a guy his age, and a good sign for his future as an offensive weapon.

While most guys with his size and athleticism usually stick to simply out running and out jumping their defender, Favors is putting together an actual offensive repertoire.