Game 43: Los Angeles Lakers (23-19) @ Utah Jazz (21-21)

[sipclip]

Yeah, good points and I hear what you're saying. My point though is that Gobert has morphed into the best center in the NBA by a big margin - he's come so far from the unpolished stone that couldn't catch a pass. McGee who is grossly underrated and underpaid, looked like he deserved his minimum tonight in comparison. And I also feel like many on this board fail to see what even non-Utah fans see in Mitchell. This kid is a rare talent with an incredible BBIQ.

Gobert is my favorite player. Love him and think he is underrated. But he's not the best center in the NBA.

Well if you say Embiid, it's apples to oranges but at least you have an argument. Jokic, no how, no way!

You definitely need to watch more Jokic if you think that way. Not only is he incredible offensively but defensively he has improved by leaps and bounds.

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[KqWIN]

Even though Mitchell has been playing better/shooting better it's notable that he's still not going to the FT line. It's a hard life in the NBA if you are going to be a scorer who doesn't go to the line.

BTW as bad as losing all our PGs is, getting some consistent minutes for Mitchell at PG for evaluation and development purposes might not be the worst thing in the world. He's done well so far distributing the ball and running the offense.

He also has a low 2FG%. Don't get me wrong, he's playing much better on both ends, but the reason why he's been so efficient is ridiculous and unsustainable 3 point shooting. If he's going to be efficient going forward, he's going to half to be better at the rim and getting to line.

[Inigo Montoya]

That was a star performance by Mitchell. He really looked like one in this game. Been a while since we've had that. As for the Lakers, they were pretty awful. I hope they have a plan for what to do in the offseason because this roster just won't get very far even with LeBron.

[Luigi]

Yeah, Mitchell has looked good in the last 8 games, great in the last 5. I hope this is a sign he's getting more efficient and can keep it up.

Lakers knew this was a punt year. Next year, they have to land someone (Durant, Butler, Leonard, Thompson) or get their trade (David, Wall, Beal). Otherwise, Magic steps down.

[stitches]

Here's an interesting hypothetical... lets imagine Ricky misses a couple more weeks and Mitchell continues to have similar performances(not necessarily shooting and scoring-wise which IMO is not sustainable, but rather being able to run the offense and create for teammates)... Do you think this pushes the FO to shift focus towards developing Mitchell as a PG and away from Ricky past this season?

[KqWIN]

Here's an interesting hypothetical... lets imagine Ricky misses a couple more weeks and Mitchell continues to have similar performances(not necessarily shooting and scoring-wise which IMO is not sustainable, but rather being able to run the offense and create for teammates)... Do you think this pushes the FO to shift focus towards developing Mitchell as a PG and away from Ricky past this season?

Here's the thing, he should be playing the exact same way whether he's PG or SG. There are three things I think he's doing particularly well as of late: 1) Making the correct read in PnR. 2) Being more aggressive in transition. 3) Hitting 3 pointers at a very clip. For me those aren't dependent on what his position is or even who is surrounding him. That's simply better decision making and performance.

What the injury situation has done is overload his reps because the only other PnR creator on the team is Ingles. Maybe that's something to think about, but I still don't think that's ideal to have so little firepower.

As far as moving away from Ricky, I think that's something the franchise should already be thinking about. He's just not a fit in this offense and or a natural compliment to Mitchell. In my opinion, the ideal fit next to Mitchell is a player who can space the floor off the ball and also create in PnR/Iso a little bit. His position matters on defense, but offensively it's just about the skills.

Ironically, we've had two players who theoretically fit that mold, but they both play in Cleveland right now It probably would have been a good idea to pair Mitchell in the backcourt more with Hood or Burks when we had them, and maybe it's a good reason to pair Mitchell more with Exum while we can.

[stitches]

Here's an interesting hypothetical... lets imagine Ricky misses a couple more weeks and Mitchell continues to have similar performances(not necessarily shooting and scoring-wise which IMO is not sustainable, but rather being able to run the offense and create for teammates)... Do you think this pushes the FO to shift focus towards developing Mitchell as a PG and away from Ricky past this season?

Here's the thing, he should be playing the exact same way whether he's PG or SG. There are three things I think he's doing particularly well as of late: 1) Making the correct read in PnR. 2) Being more aggressive in transition. 3) Hitting 3 pointers at a very clip. For me those aren't dependent on what his position is or even who is surrounding him. That's simply better decision making and performance.

What the injury situation has done is overload his reps because the only other PnR creator on the team is Ingles. Maybe that's something to think about, but I still don't think that's ideal to have so little firepower.

As far as moving away from Ricky, I think that's something the franchise should already be thinking about. He's just not a fit in this offense and or a natural compliment to Mitchell. In my opinion, the ideal fit next to Mitchell is a player who can space the floor off the ball and also create in PnR/Iso a little bit. His position matters on defense, but offensively it's just about the skills.

Ironically, we've had two players who theoretically fit that mold, but they both play in Cleveland right now It probably would have been a good idea to pair Mitchell in the backcourt more with Hood or Burks when we had them, and maybe it's a good reason to pair Mitchell more with Exum while we can.

Good points in the beginning paragraphs...

About Ricky - IMO they will not move away from him unless they think they have equal or better replacement (either on the roster already(Exum, Mitchell, or high chance in acquiring in FA...).

This coming draft is very weird. IMO past the top 3-4 the talent pool is one huge lottery bowl. IMO it looks a bit like the 2013 draft where the top players of the draft might not get drafted in the top 10... you just don't know who it will turn out to be.

Cam Reddish is not having a great season by any stretch and he might drop a bit(I would consider trading future pick to get him if we can get in position to draft him). IMO he looks like a very good fit with what we need alongside Mitchell and he's naturally a bit passive, which would fit well with Mitchell's natural aggressiveness.

Ja Morant is intriguing but he seems like he's surging up draft boards and will be out of our range.

I like Langford too, but the biggest question with him is his shot so... not sure how that fits... If you trust his shot or your ability to develop his shot he might be worth trading a future pick to get him too.

Who else? Jarrett Culver? Keldon Johnson?

(And Reddish just won the game for Duke vs Florida State. )

[babyjax13]

Rewatching the game, Mitchell looked like a superstar, amazing game.

[LesGrossman]

Very good game. Mitchell has apparently heard the message everyone here and elsewhere screamed at him. Good for him good for the team, the chucking has stopped. I dont fully understand why he needed to be the "official" point guard in order to think about passing more, and i hope he can sustain that way of playing, even when the PG's return and he plays the 2 again. Theres not a single reason i can think of why he would start chucking again.

Everyone else has also stepped up. Encouraging to see, and the postseaon race is still close enough. What a deja vu.

[ForeverRDjazz]

Gobert is my favorite player. Love him and think he is underrated. But he's not the best center in the NBA.

Well if you say Embiid, it's apples to oranges but at least you have an argument. Jokic, no how, no way!

You definitely need to watch more Jokic if you think that way. Not only is he incredible offensively but defensively he has improved by leaps and bounds.

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Depends on the night? Jokic is playing very well and is a very solid player. Better for sure on shooting but not so much for setting screens and not as good playing team D. I like both players and would be fun seeing on same team. Embiid is a freak and does everything good, Like Davis. Getting Rudy at 27 is amazing. Davis was 1 pick and had Emdiid stayed healthy i'd bet he'd went 1. Rudy had came a loooooooong ways.

[ForeverRDjazz]

Since KK has joined the team DM has changed up his shooting stroke. He also seams to be picking his shots better and seeing the floor a little better. Still has a bit to go to be a top PG but i'm really liking what i'v seen lately. Ex and DM should be a strong back court in the near future. Not sure if the jazz offer Ricky a huge contract next year? And I really like Ricky but we're so stacked and Point the way Neto has been playing.

[sipclip]

Well if you say Embiid, it's apples to oranges but at least you have an argument. Jokic, no how, no way!

You definitely need to watch more Jokic if you think that way. Not only is he incredible offensively but defensively he has improved by leaps and bounds.

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Depends on the night? Jokic is playing very well and is a very solid player. Better for sure on shooting but not so much for setting screens and not as good playing team D. I like both players and would be fun seeing on same team. Embiid is a freak and does everything good, Like Davis. Getting Rudy at 27 is amazing. Davis was 1 pick and had Emdiid stayed healthy i'd bet he'd went 1. Rudy had came a loooooooong ways.

Jokic is obviously not nearly as good defensively but he has gone from horrible to solid at that offensively. Offensively the guy is the most unique center that we have probably ever seen. Tonight the guy put up 40pts, 10 rbs, and 8 asts. That is nuts.

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[ForeverRDjazz]

You definitely need to watch more Jokic if you think that way. Not only is he incredible offensively but defensively he has improved by leaps and bounds.

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Depends on the night? Jokic is playing very well and is a very solid player. Better for sure on shooting but not so much for setting screens and not as good playing team D. I like both players and would be fun seeing on same team. Embiid is a freak and does everything good, Like Davis. Getting Rudy at 27 is amazing. Davis was 1 pick and had Emdiid stayed healthy i'd bet he'd went 1. Rudy had came a loooooooong ways.

Jokic is obviously not nearly as good defensively but he has gone from horrible to solid at that offensively. Offensively the guy is the most unique center that we have probably ever seen. Tonight the guy put up 40pts, 10 rbs, and 8 asts. That is nuts.

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Jokic would be a nice PF next to Rudy.

[sipclip]

Since KK has joined the team DM has changed up his shooting stroke. He also seams to be picking his shots better and seeing the floor a little better. Still has a bit to go to be a top PG but i'm really liking what i'v seen lately. Ex and DM should be a strong back court in the near future. Not sure if the jazz offer Ricky a huge contract next year? And I really like Ricky but we're so stacked and Point the way Neto has been playing.

I just don't see the point in bringing back Rubio. That money is better spent elsewhere on a stretch big or a bigger wing that can shoot the ball. A guy like Mirotic makes a lot of sense.

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[ForeverRDjazz]

Since KK has joined the team DM has changed up his shooting stroke. He also seams to be picking his shots better and seeing the floor a little better. Still has a bit to go to be a top PG but i'm really liking what i'v seen lately. Ex and DM should be a strong back court in the near future. Not sure if the jazz offer Ricky a huge contract next year? And I really like Ricky but we're so stacked and Point the way Neto has been playing.

I just don't see the point in bringing back Rubio. That money is better spent elsewhere on a stretch big or a bigger wing that can shoot the ball. A guy like Mirotic makes a lot of sense.

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The jazz could try to move him at dead line? If they don't feel like there's a need and could land player or pick? Unlikely yes but you just never know?

[sipclip]

Since KK has joined the team DM has changed up his shooting stroke. He also seams to be picking his shots better and seeing the floor a little better. Still has a bit to go to be a top PG but i'm really liking what i'v seen lately. Ex and DM should be a strong back court in the near future. Not sure if the jazz offer Ricky a huge contract next year? And I really like Ricky but we're so stacked and Point the way Neto has been playing.

I just don't see the point in bringing back Rubio. That money is better spent elsewhere on a stretch big or a bigger wing that can shoot the ball. A guy like Mirotic makes a lot of sense.

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The jazz could try to move him at dead line? If they don't feel like there's a need and could land player or pick? Unlikely yes but you just never know?

They should shop Rubio but the problem is that you have to find someone that would want him. The team that is in most need of a pg is Phoenix but they don't have the contracts to make it work. I would still like to get a look at Jabari and I would have no problem moving Rubio for him. At least then we get a look at a guy that could conceivably have a future here. I also think the fact that he got minutes last night against the jazz was a showcase for us. That tells me we have at least kicked the tires on him.

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[ForeverRDjazz]

I just don't see the point in bringing back Rubio. That money is better spent elsewhere on a stretch big or a bigger wing that can shoot the ball. A guy like Mirotic makes a lot of sense.

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

The jazz could try to move him at dead line? If they don't feel like there's a need and could land player or pick? Unlikely yes but you just never know?

They should shop Rubio but the problem is that you have to find someone that would want him. The team that is in most need of a pg is Phoenix but they don't have the contracts to make it work. I would still like to get a look at Jabari and I would have no problem moving Rubio for him. At least then we get a look at a guy that could conceivably have a future here. I also think the fact that he got minutes last night against the jazz was a showcase for us. That tells me we have at least kicked the tires on him.

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Think Jabari is a good kid but his injury history and poor D doesn't bold well for me. Still young tho. Missed most the game and didn't get a good look at him. So can't really get to excited about him or his play?

[Crunch 99]

Since KK has joined the team DM has changed up his shooting stroke. He also seams to be picking his shots better and seeing the floor a little better.

Yep, sometimes I see DM take a three point shot now with a follow through that kind of looks like Korver's. Korver is managing to help this team well beyond my most optimistic expectations. What a consummate professional player this guy is to be still contributing at his level at age 37.