Game 14: Utah Jazz (7-6) @ Dallas Mavericks (5-8)

[popfan]

We definitely have not a guard problem.
We definitely have not a wing problem.
We definitely have not a big men problem.
We definitely have not a coaching problem.
We definitely have not a style of playing or franchise culture problem.

We have now the same problems that we had past season at these same dates, before and after Gobert's DNPs.
There's nothing new driving me to think that we'll be so bad now as we were projected to be then.

If those projections proved wrong then, is not impossible they will be wrong again.

My educated guess is we'll do more or less the same we did.
When Late Pre Season finishes and real RS starts, we'll look fine.


If not, I'll post an #IWasWrong and I'll bow my head to Iñigo's delicate taste when it comes to ironcladed vanes tuned with cannons.

On June 7, 1998, the Utah Jazz lost to the Chicago Bulls 54-96. I remember the game. It was a total humiliation of a great Jazz team. Sloan didn't get fired because the Jazz were playing in the NBA finals against one of the best teams in NBA history. Over twenty years later, the Utah Jazz lose to the Dallas Mavericks 68-118 in an early regular season game. The Mavs are not a good team. What does this say about the 2018 Utah Jazz? In two years, they haven't grown much. They were merely 7-6 before this game. Has this promising team now regressed under Quinn? If so, is Quinn willing to evolve with the game as Pop has over the years?

Me gusta a Rubio pero este resulto no es algo que puede defender.

[Inigo Montoya]

That was embarrassing. Jazz couldn't make a pass, dribbled off their feet, missed everything. We got Donchey Punched, and owned by the Donch.

Still, since every loss counts the same, I think it's better the Jazz lost by 50 and not by 1, because at least this way they'll have to acknowledge that things aren't working and this kind of loss has to wake them all up, one would hope.

EDIT: Don't know how common it is, but every single player on the Jazz has a negative +/-, while every single player on the Mavs has a positive +/-.

[El Hespiritu]

Me gusta a Rubio pero este resulto no es algo que puede defender.

Ets força selectiu a l'hora de que t'agradi algú.

A mí m'agrada Ingles, m'agrada Spida, m'agrada Rudy, m'agrada Favors, m'agrada Jae, m'agrada Dante, m'agrada AB, m'agrada Niang m'agrada O'Neale, m'agrada Udoh, m'agrada Thabo, m'agrada Grayson i m'agrada Neto.

I don't dislike Bradley, Naz or Tyler but they didn't play enough to say I like them.
I like Quin and his staff and I'm learning to appreciate Lindsay.


Mmmh... did I miss someone?
Oh, yeah... I like TheGoldenBoy, too.
I even miss the Swedish Gansta (not that much Hood or Joe Johnson, mark you).


Addendo: Who's defending what result?
I honestly missed that part.

Addendo2: Agree with the fact this Dallas score meaning something needs to be done:
Specifically, compete to death against Phillie and Boston in b2b.
Beyond that, I'm not BB wise enough to propose nothing.

If Quin decides some minor changes on the rotation, I'll be OK with that, implying or not RR or any other players.
If not, I'll be more than OK.
I'll be happy.
I can't foresee some drastical revolution or losing all the confidence in somebody 'cause of this particular game.

That would be disappointing as it would be disappointing if they did it during past season's bad streak.

[Hoops Addict]

That was a prison beating. Glad I missed it.

Go Jazz....I believe.

[LesGrossman]

I thought the whole team looked flat, hung their heads, looked tired. All those short shots, like they had no legs right from the start. I guess we are missing a key part of the story here, something that affected everyone somehow. Still its the same game, same league, and this team rocked everyone just one year ago. I dont see a reason to doubt that they have the potential to turn things around. THe start of this season is eerily similar to last year (where the same subjects have screamed for a tank season, too).

[KqWIN]

I thought the whole team looked flat, hung their heads, looked tired. All those short shots, like they had no legs right from the start. I guess we are missing a key part of the story here, something that affected everyone somehow. Still its the same game, same league, and this team rocked everyone just one year ago. I dont see a reason to doubt that they have the potential to turn things around. THe start of this season is eerily similar to last year (where the same subjects have screamed for a tank season, too).

Whether you the Jazz turn it around or not, the start is still disappointing. The FO bragged about continuity and depth, yet those things have not materialized into anything. We're clearly behind other teams in terms of execution, and our depth isn't worth anything if we get smashed whenever Gobert is out of the game.

The whole point of bringing back the same team is so they could pick up where they left off and be a better team over the course over the whole season. You don't bring back the same team and expect to have these types of issues. Even if you didn't expect them to pick up where they left off, I don't think anyone expected them to be this bad. I certainly didn't think they would be quitting on a game and getting blown out 14 games into the season.

If you're a fan of this team, regardless of who is or isn't on roster, it's hard to be satisfied with bringing back the same team for the same results. That is the definition of stagnation and, I don't know about you, but that's not good enough for me.

[El Hespiritu]

Being a PO's Pain In The Ass again (this one, with a reasonably healthy staff)?
Where should I sign that stagnation for next two or three years?

I'll do it with my own blood if you don't want spilling yours.

Because that should be best clue I could ask for if I'm speaking about options to ring...
... without seeing myself as a (insert a qualifier adjective here).

[LesGrossman]

I dont see a problem with bringing back the same team, because the team worked fine and could have gotten even deeper without injuries. I'm not getting carried away, noone gets past the Warriors until they break up anyway and last years rockets were also a force, but for what its worth it was a very successful and entertaining season. To think that one or two upgrades would have made this team a serious contender to beat Golden State is delusional imo.

I see two problems right now: one is the lack of energy - even physically, but also mentally - and the other is that i feel like in key aspects we have given up continuity and actually regressed, on both ends of the floor. Some of the stuff we are running on offense just makes no sense, and i thought we had that insight by end of regular season last year. On defense i feel like the team hasnt been adjusted to the new rules and now tries to do that on the fly.

[KqWIN]

Same team is fine if that same team is improving and taking a step forward...but that hasn't happened. All of this stuff about improving and adjusting to the new rules is great, but again, the whole point of bringing back the same team is that you don't have to go through these bumps in the road again. It stinks when the FO and players brag and boast about all these amazing things that are going to happen, and none of it happens. Unfortunately that's not something new with the Jazz franchise.

If all you want is for the Jazz to make the playoffs, be a feel good story, and be a pest in the playoffs...sure, not much to worry about here. Not yet anyways. (Reminder that the Jazz were just two games away from missing the playoffs, and it took a ridiculous finish to the season to get into that position.) But if you wanted the team to carry over their momentum from last season and take a step forward, this is far from that. That's really the frustration I'm having with this team.

As far as the offense not making sense, what really doesn't make sense is how we turn wide open shots into passes into the stands or pick 6's the other way. At some point the players just have to start playing better. If their not good enough, then we need better players. Key issue with our offense right now is that there are no threats except for Gobert. You take the roll away, and the Jazz have nothing. The Jazz can't punish teams for packing the paint, so there's no reason not to.

It also doesn't make sense how you can go from the best defense in the league to 20th just because of some rule changes that effect everyone. Maybe the rules do effect us more than others, but that's still a sorry excuse for THAT big of a drop off. I see a lot of laziness and just plain bad defense. Sometimes the game is really simple. If nobody can stay in front of their guy, you're defense is going to get lit up. There's definitely a mental block going on, this team has good defensive talent but are failing to produce. If we were anything above average offensively, that would be a good outcome. But if we are anything but elite on defense, that is a total failure in my eyes. And that's not some old school "defense wins championships mentality". That's just the reality of our talent level. The defense has to improve.

[El Hespiritu]

Basically agree your last paragraph.

Maybe I don't see that much laziness or mental blocking but I do see plain bad defense or perhaps pretty good defense alternating with awful bad defense...
And if defense is not regular, consistent and reliable then works the same as plain bad.

Again, I sign with blood particularly your last sentence.

[stitches]

I thought the whole team looked flat, hung their heads, looked tired. All those short shots, like they had no legs right from the start. I guess we are missing a key part of the story here, something that affected everyone somehow. Still its the same game, same league, and this team rocked everyone just one year ago. I dont see a reason to doubt that they have the potential to turn things around. THe start of this season is eerily similar to last year (where the same subjects have screamed for a tank season, too).

Whether you the Jazz turn it around or not, the start is still disappointing. The FO bragged about continuity and depth, yet those things have not materialized into anything. We're clearly behind other teams in terms of execution, and our depth isn't worth anything if we get smashed whenever Gobert is out of the game.

The whole point of bringing back the same team is so they could pick up where they left off and be a better team over the course over the whole season. You don't bring back the same team and expect to have these types of issues. Even if you didn't expect them to pick up where they left off, I don't think anyone expected them to be this bad. I certainly didn't think they would be quitting on a game and getting blown out 14 games into the season.

If you're a fan of this team, regardless of who is or isn't on roster, it's hard to be satisfied with bringing back the same team for the same results. That is the definition of stagnation and, I don't know about you, but that's not good enough for me.

The reality is continuity works if you are continuing from an elite level. I think the unsustainable second half of last season might have confused us about what the real level of this team is and what we are continuing from. I still expect us to make a push in the second half of the season, but this team is probably closer to 45 win team than it is to 50-55 like many(myself included) predicted. We just lack offensive firepower and you can just do so much with so mediocre offensive talent.

If we cannot get a high profile FA next couple of summers this team is screwed and will end up exactly where some of us predicted last year before the second half explosion. BTW LesGrossman is kind of right... last year we started in a similar way even before Gobert got injured... we were kind of mediocre the first 20 games or so... then we crashed down when Gobert got injured and had to wait until the end of January before we got the train on the right track again. I'm still not sure what's happening with the defense... That's the real shocking thing, not the offense. We don't have great offensive talent and struggles on that end are somewhat expected... with the defense it's an entirely different story. I have no idea what's happening.