Round 1, Game 2: Utah Jazz @ Dallas Mavericks

[TNJazz]

Up by 10 - lose again...

So glad to learn how the game one win was supposed to show how the team had adjusted away from hero ball in the 4th to team ball and strong defense. Lesson learned, oh wait, it wasn't.

This game was lost in the first 5 minutes, when the feed Gobert gameplay was on full display. Inigo mailed it, Gobert has NO offensive skills other than lobs and put backs. When adjustments are made, what a team should't do is revert to what hasn't worked all season. The beginning of the game was terrible and the 4th quarter was another rendition of Mann having a career night in a playoff game. Brunson & Kleiba did that last night, unbelievable...

During two of the "Mic'ed up" segments, it was interesting that it was overheard Q talking to Mitchell saying "We were feeding him..." and another when Q was taking about energy & Gobert inserts especially on Defense, and Q basically ignores the comment and states execution on Offense...

[Inigo Montoya]

I wonder why we signed Gay if we aren't playing him in the playoffs, because we didn't sign a 35 year old vet for the regular season.

[Inigo Montoya]

Dallas is doing a good defensive job on Gobert. Gobert is a career playoff 13.3 ppg on 7 fga with just 1.6 tov. I think we are missing the Joe Ingles' run pick n roll some too.

The Mavs aren't doing anything on Gobert. He isn't an offensive threat that you need to do a good defensive job on him, you just need to make sure his teammates don't have a passing lane for a lob or an easy dunk. The guy can't score otherwise. I see people complain about how we don't pass him the ball when he seals a smaller defender down low, in both games I've seen defenses switch smaller defenders on him like Brunson down low and he didn't even try to seal them and ask for a pass.

[babyjax13]

Read on Twitter

So it's a gameplan issue. I think when team start getting cute defensively it backfires pretty frequently.

[Rauxcee]

That was one of the worst defensive "efforts" (and I hate using that wors as no effort was given) I've ever seen.

Snyder has got to go. He has zero defensive skill. Even bad defensive players can look competetent in team defense with a good coach. Just a putrid coaching effort.

[TNJazz]

When you're leading by 10, Defense has to take priority. Offense just needs to maintain and a win will happen. Defense can't be overlooked. Does anyone remember the last time we played Houston with Harden there? Q's defensive scheme was to have Conley play BEHIND Harden, giving him an open look at the basket and anyone/thing in front of him. Now its just to give a jab step at a shooter, who's only job is to shoot 3's? That's quality coaching tight there...

[Inigo Montoya]

Read on Twitter

[SoCalJazzFan]

There is a lot of Gobert griping recently.

Was he the one who let Brunson run full speed to the rim, where he either made a layup or passed to an open teammate on the perimeter? No, that was Mitchell, Conley and Clarkson. None of them could even slow down Brunson and for completely baffling reasons let him go left (his dominant hand) over and over and over again.

Is it Gobert's fault that he is supposed to defend both the perimeter and the paint at the same time? Or if the gameplan is to stunt towards Maxi, but not fully guard him, is it his fault that Maxi went off behind the line making practice shots over and over again without any changes to the gameplan? If the gameplan wasn't just to stunt him, why do none of his teammate, not a single one, fall back into the paint or rotate to cover Gobert when he is pulled out to the perimeter? Is this on Quinn or his teammates?

Gobert has obvious offensive limitations, but this team is built around that. The concerning thing is on the other side of the court. (edit: I'll add that on the offensive side, there are concerns when Mitchell goes hero-ball late in the game when he hasn't been so heroic in those situations this year. I attribute at lest some of that to the rules changes which have really adversely affected him, and others such as Harden who relied on favorable calls in the past).

When rumors started about trading Gobert, I started to read many articles about how great he would be on this team or that team and how he could make that team a defensive jauggernaut or pull them over the top and make them a championship team. Why can't he with the Jazz?

Without Gobert, this team is in Cancun already.

[Rauxcee]

When you're leading by 10, Defense has to take priority. Offense just needs to maintain and a win will happen. Defense can't be overlooked. Does anyone remember the last time we played Houston with Harden there? Q's defensive scheme was to have Conley play BEHIND Harden, giving him an open look at the basket and anyone/thing in front of him. Now its just to give a jab step at a shooter, who's only job is to shoot 3's? That's quality coaching tight there...

It was Rubio- and that scheme actually kinda worked. It forced Harden into Rudy's Orbit and the Jazz/Rudy heald Harden to well below his averages in that series. But I digress...

[red4hf]

I wonder why we signed Gay if we aren't playing him in the playoffs, because we didn't sign a 35 year old vet for the regular season.

Well, obviously it was because we want to use a couple of second round picks to dump his contract in the off season....... It's 4-D chess.......

[Nate505]

Read on Twitter

So it's a gameplan issue. I think when team start getting cute defensively it backfires pretty frequently.

If it's a game plan issue...why the **** **** **** is this the game plan!?!?!?!

[Inigo Montoya]

I wonder why we signed Gay if we aren't playing him in the playoffs, because we didn't sign a 35 year old vet for the regular season.

Well, obviously it was because we want to use a couple of second round picks to dump his contract in the off season....... It's 4-D chess.......

More like 2-D checkers.

[Inigo Montoya]

There is a lot of Gobert griping recently.

Spoiler:

Was he the one who let Brunson run full speed to the rim, where he either made a layup or passed to an open teammate on the perimeter? No, that was Mitchell, Conley and Clarkson. None of them could even slow down Brunson and for completely baffling reasons let him go left (his dominant hand) over and over and over again.

Is it Gobert's fault that he is supposed to defend both the perimeter and the paint at the same time? Or if the gameplan is to stunt towards Maxi, but not fully guard him, is it his fault that Maxi went off behind the line making practice shots over and over again without any changes to the gameplan? If the gameplan wasn't just to stunt him, why do none of his teammate, not a single one, fall back into the paint or rotate to cover Gobert when he is pulled out to the perimeter? Is this on Quinn or his teammates?

Gobert has obvious offensive limitations, but this team is built around that. The concerning thing is on the other side of the court. (edit: I'll add that on the offensive side, there are concerns when Mitchell goes hero-ball late in the game when he hasn't been so heroic in those situations this year. I attribute at lest some of that to the rules changes which have really adversely affected him, and others such as Harden who relied on favorable calls in the past).

When rumors started about trading Gobert, I started to read many articles about how great he would be on this team or that team and how he could make that team a defensive jauggernaut or pull them over the top and make them a championship team. Why can't he with the Jazz?

Without Gobert, this team is in Cancun already.

It's not like we lost the game because of Gobert or because he's the biggest problem on the court. But the narrative about him not getting passes from DM or his other teammates is and was so overblown that Snyder had to actually address it during the game (DM was mic'd) and make the team give him token passes for post ups just so he could say he did it and then move on.

As for Gobert's impact, he's obviously a great defender but we can all see the difference between the regular season and the playoffs, when teams actually put effort every night and gameplan more extensively. He helps you get regular season wins because most teams treat it like it's just one out of 82 games, they come to play and move on to the next game. In the playoffs, teams know how to exploit his weaknesses. Which doesn't mean he isn't still the best defender on the team by a mile.
The issue is that he's paid way too much for this team to put a good roster around him. He can't be your best or second best player, get paid a supermax, and your team be a legit contender. Maybe Gobert would make another team a contender, but with his supermax contract and the assets that team will have to spend to get him, that may be a tough thing to accomplish.

Why is there talk about trading Gobert? Because what I just wrote, and because he's about to be 30 years old with 4 more years on his contract. He's been very durable thus far and this might start to change, players of his size usually aren't as durable. His age suggests he will also start to decline during his contract. That's why I'd trade Gobert and keep Mitchell, who is 25.

Obviously, this roster minus Gobert wouldn't make the playoffs because this roster can't defend. What is advocated (by me, at least), is to trade Gobert and pretty much everyone else, and start a new team around Mitchell. A team with a different composition and a different game philosophy that is more in line with where modern basketball is going, and obviously a team with a roster that can defend better. I don't know how much tweaking can be made with this roster with the current payroll situation, and that is in large part due to Gobert's massive contract.

[vryadli]

The issue is that he's paid way too much for this team to put a good roster around him. He can't be your best or second best player, get paid a supermax, and your team be a legit contender. Maybe Gobert would make another team a contender, but with his supermax contract and the assets that team will have to spend to get him, that may be a tough thing to accomplish.

Why is there talk about trading Gobert? Because what I just wrote, and because he's about to be 30 years old with 4 more years on his contract. He's been very durable thus far and this might start to change, players of his size usually aren't as durable. His age suggests he will also start to decline during his contract. That's why I'd trade Gobert and keep Mitchell, who is 25.

the playoffs because this roster can't defend. What is advocated (by me, at least), is to trade Gobert and pretty much everyone else, and start a new team around Mitchell. .

There are about 15 players in the NBA, who are better than DM. And other 15 who are about same level. So yes, you can start a new team around Mitchell, only it will be not contender, but perennial bottom feeder. On good side of such decision, no more problems with early PO exits.


But on the else other side, the team which worked hard year after year destroy its defensive pride and fighting attitude can't be contender even with Rudy. So, of course, trade him to some team where coach appreciate defense would be right and fair thing to do.

[Crunch 99]

Spoiler:

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So it's a gameplan issue. I think when team start getting cute defensively it backfires pretty frequently.

If it's a game plan issue...why the **** **** **** is this the game plan!?!?!?!

I can understand why the initial plan might have been to stunt Kleber, who has only shot 18.8% from three since the All Star break. But we aren't talking about a Trent Forrest three point shooter here. For the 20-21 season, Kleber shot 41% from three on 4.2 3pa/game. He's a career 36% three point shooter.

I was under the impression that normally a stunt plan includes a further provision that says if that opponent you decided to leave open hits a couple of threes early on, proving he can do it, you adjust the game plan and get out and guard him. Here we made no adjustment and let Kleber get on a roll. Kleber was 2-3 on threes first half, 3-4 on threes in Q3 and 3-4 on threes in Q4 --- all with very little Jazz effort to contest the shots (if I recall correctly).

[Nate505]

Spoiler:

Read on Twitter

So it's a gameplan issue. I think when team start getting cute defensively it backfires pretty frequently.

If it's a game plan issue...why the **** **** **** is this the game plan!?!?!?!

I can understand why the initial plan might have been to stunt Kleber, who has only shot 18.8% from three since the All Star break. But we aren't talking a Trent Forrest three point shooter here. For the 20-21 season, Kleber shot 41% from three on 4.2 3pa/game. He's a career 36% three point shooter.

I was under the impression that normally a stunt plan includes a further provision that says if that opponent you decided to leave open hits a couple of threes early on, proving he can do it, you adjust the game plan and get out and guard him. Here we made no adjustment and let Kleber get on a roll. Kleber was 2-3 on threes first half, 3-4 on threes in Q3 and 3-4 on threes in Q4 --- all with very little Jazz effort to contest the shots (if I recall correctly).

Absolutely, and that's what is so maddening. I have no issue with the game plan if it's working...but at some point after uncontested 3 after uncontested 3, doesn't Quin see it's not working? And it's not like it was a few of them...the Mavs made like 18 or some ridiculous number.

[dr0welf]

My issues with game 2 was first coaches lack of adjustments. Now I don't know if it is because he didn't make adjustments or the team didn't listen to him but either way it is on the coach.

Second, Mitchell and Conley's lack of focus and effort on the defensive side. I thought their defense made Enes Kanter look like Gobert. I think Luka might have been able to get by them on one leg and he's already slow. This was beyond pathetic on the ball defense and better not happen in the rest the series.

Third, hero ball again down the end. But from multiple players that missed or turned the ball over. Conley missed his floater often.

Fourth, Clarkson was playing hero ball but was hitting his shots. Let him be in the game at the end until he fouls out.