Preseason Game 4: Kings @ Jazz

[sipclip]

I want to get excited about this team but I'm just not feeling it. I'm not confident in them getting off to a good start this year and I don't see much wiggle room if we struggle.

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[Wolverine]

Said it before and I’ll say it again, sign bogut

[Crunch 99]

If Bojon is going to shoot a Favors like percentage from 3, we might as well have kept Favors. I've been very underwhelmed by him so far this preseason.

Our defense has been terrible and rebounding is going to be a big issue this season I think.

The good: really impressed with Green. He's been much better than expected.

Really like Mitchell's drives. He's taking contact and is still finishing plays.

I was impressed with Green on media day and posted about it. Green seemed very professional, focused and not satisfied to just ride on his past game. He said he was still working hard every day to try to improve his game at age 33. From what I've seen of him, I am hopeful that he is indeed still improving his game. Last season, Green shot the three ball at a career high 34.7%, and given this preseason where he has shot the three ball at 58%, I am quite hopeful that Green can shoot the threes at 35% or better again this season. Green is very focused on trying to help this team win and contend.

Regarding other Jazz players, I used to not like it when Jazz players would participate in international tournaments during the off season, worrying that they might overdue it or get hurt, but it feels like our international competitors, Mitchell, Ingles and Gobert, are a bit ahead of the curve in getting ready to compete this season, partially as a result of the recent international competition. Conversely, Bojan looks rusty as heck over what I expected. It's disappointing that he is only shooting 34.3/30.4%. I wish Bojan had played in the FIBA tournament.

[Crunch 99]

I just looked at Bojan's career preseason stats. His shooting percentage has been awful in five of six preseasons, so I guess this is just par for the course for Bojan.

[stitches]

Our defense usually is slow to get into shape and I expect this to continue this year. I remember last year we were doing really bad for about a month before we clamped down. And now with new personnel the communication and somewhat complex stunting we do at shooters might take some time for the new players to adopt. Hopefully the offense keeps us in most games until the new pieces fall into their place on D.

[KqWIN]

Our defense usually is slow to get into shape and I expect this to continue this year. I remember last year we were doing really bad for about a month before we clamped down. And now with new personnel the communication and somewhat complex stunting we do at shooters might take some time for the new players to adopt. Hopefully the offense keeps us in most games until the new pieces fall into their place on D.

I think we can count on Rudy not being so terrible in the regular season. But the trade offs we’ve taken for all the skill we have are real.

[stitches]

Our defense usually is slow to get into shape and I expect this to continue this year. I remember last year we were doing really bad for about a month before we clamped down. And now with new personnel the communication and somewhat complex stunting we do at shooters might take some time for the new players to adopt. Hopefully the offense keeps us in most games until the new pieces fall into their place on D.

I think we can count on Rudy not being so terrible in the regular season. But the trade offs we’ve taken for all the skill we have are real.

Yeah, size and length usually play well on defense. We've substituted long and big defenders at 1 and 4 with short and small, but skilled offensively. I kind of want Quin to get Jingles back in the starting lineup at least in the beginning of the season. Right now we essentially have 3 new starters and IMO it hurts us defensively.

I also am not sure just how much Mudiay I will be able to handle this season. I really hope Dante gets back into shape soon and stays healthy, because Mudiay IMO is not the answer.

[KqWIN]

Our defense usually is slow to get into shape and I expect this to continue this year. I remember last year we were doing really bad for about a month before we clamped down. And now with new personnel the communication and somewhat complex stunting we do at shooters might take some time for the new players to adopt. Hopefully the offense keeps us in most games until the new pieces fall into their place on D.

I think we can count on Rudy not being so terrible in the regular season. But the trade offs we’ve taken for all the skill we have are real.

Yeah, size and length usually play well on defense. We've substituted long and big defenders at 1 and 4 with short and small, but skilled offensively. I kind of want Quin to get Jingles back in the starting lineup at least in the beginning of the season. Right now we essentially have 3 new starters and IMO it hurts us defensively.

I also am not sure just how much Mudiay I will be able to handle this season. I really hope Dante gets back into shape soon and stays healthy, because Mudiay IMO is not the answer.

Mudiay stinks. If Exum is out, I’d much rather have Niang in there. Maybe even Oni. Oni looks less damaging.

It’s definitely going to be a learning process for the whole team. Bojan is really struggling right now. I don’t worry about is shooting, but we’re putting the ball in his hands and having him make decisions that he’s failing at.

He’s been doing way more decision making during these preseason games than the RS games I watched closely, even the ones without Oladipo. Maybe this is something he can work on and get better at, but if we don’t want him to cost us games, we might as well park him in the corners and let the other guys run actions.

I feel much better with Royce with the ball in his hands...which is not something I’d ever thought I’d say.

[mudsak]

I think the team will be fine. It's a whole new group of guys, and they'e figuring it out. I think we get to see just what a luxury it was to have Favors on our team all these years. He really was the unsung hero. There were so many games over the past couple of seasons where Favors was literally the difference maker on the floor. Coming up with a key play when it mattered most... a put back, a difficult rebound, a block, a seemingly impossible finish through heavy contact. He never got credit for how important he was to the team. There were times (matchups depending) that Favs was much better than Gobert. He was always able to cover up all of Rudy's deficiencies. Now Rudy is all alone and I think will get exposed a lot more.

We're extremely weak at the 4 spot imo. Jeff Green is probably the closest thing we have to an actual 4. But even then we have literally no one who will be able to deal with teams who have more powerful 4's. Guys like Draymond, Hortford, Zion, AD, etc...

Green is essentially an upgraded version of Crowder. Bigger, faster, more athletic, can create/finish, but his ability to stretch the floor is about the same as Crowder. Crowder is probably the better defender of two.

We have a gaping hole in terms of defense at the 4. I don't think it will be that difficult for teams to take advantage of it.

[Pistol_7]

Typical preseason overreaction there are alot of new faces on this team will take some time for them to pick things up. Once they do they're going to be dangerous.

[Catchall]

I was at the game last night. The guys were really tired last night. They may have been overworked in practice the day before, but guys weren't rotating on defense, and some of them were barely running the floor. Rudy had a few plays where he didn't bother to run back on defense. Conley couldn't hit a 3, couldn't finish at the rim and just looked tired in general. Guys were missing 3s badly, including Ingles and Bojan, who both shot airballs.

The Jazz had a few stints where they clamped down on defense, but by and large, they were going through the motions for most of the night.

I thought Mudiay looked okay. He played decent defense on 2 or 3 defensive possessions. He had a good drive and kick-out to the corner for an open 3 that someone missed. Then he had his mid-range shots working. I think he's going to be fine after a couple months of playing in the Jazz's system.

Jeff Green has been surprisingly efficient during pre-season. He's finishing above the rim and hitting a high percentage of his 3s. He also had a few nice defensive possessions to stop Harrison Barnes from driving to the rim.

Justin Wright Foreman is making some progress as well. He's more athletic and plays with more pace that NWG. He needs some time in the G-league, but he could be a viable backup within a year or two.

[babyjax13]

I'd wait to judge them team until we've seen them for about 30 games. With this many new pieces it is going to take a bit for things to start humming, but they should still keep their heads above water before then, too.

[Rauxcee]

I'm not sure the Jazz can afford to spend 30 games figuring it out while they have another slow start to a season. The west is too tough and match-ups matter in the playoffs when you aren't head and shoulders the most talented team. If the Jazz finish around 5th again, they are facing a potential unfavorable match-up and an early exit once more.

They really need to gel and get it together sooner rather than later IMO.

[BudTugly]

Watch on YouTube

[tleikheen]

Jazz made a big splash as far as offensive talent goes from last year but that doesn't mean it brings the same results this year. Both Conley and Bogdanovic aren't known as athletic players and defense already looks like its going to suffer on a nightly basis with these two. ,Conley and Mitchell are too small and Jazz defense will suffer with them .Ingles and Boganovic and Green will be sieves on defense ,Jazz will suffer. Going to be really hard for Gobert to win a 3rd Defensive Player of the Year playing with Conley,Mitchell,Ingles and Bogdanovic on defense.