Official 2021-2022 Utah Jazz Season Discussion Thread

[vryadli]

After Monday's loss to the Mavs and the GS win last night, the remainder of the season is probably going to be more about trying to fend off Dallas and Denver for fourth place rather than catching Memphis or GS.
.....
The computer programs at 538.com and basketballreference.com are projecting the Jazz to finish ahead of the Mavs and Nuggets.

Unfortunately current Jazz has great underachieving skills. Looks like the team always manages to perform below expectations.

[vryadli]

I have been right about the Jazz since Hayward(should have been traded the summer before), Conley(gave up too much, should have kept Rubio), and trading Joe Ingles over the summer, our team has been hit with mediocrity on the basis of chemistry, money ball doesn’t work, anyone remember the end of the movie Moneyball!? At the end of the day talent matters most.

... especially true, when Jazz was loosing to number of the worst teams in the league.

[Crunch 99]

My Rambling about the Jazz ...

Spoiler:

I remember the first game I ever watched of the Jazz. I was in my early 20s. It was during the 1988 playoffs. The Jazz took the great Lakers to game 7 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals. There was a lot of excitement after that series and I became a Jazz fan. After that series, I couldn't wait for the next year to begin. For the next 15 years I rarely missed a game. I remember taking my 70+ year old grandmother to a game (I believe against Denver) for the greatest Jazz comeback of all time. As I recall, the Jazz were down 25+ points and came back to win. I used to listen to a young David Locke on the radio every day in the early 90s as he criticized the Jazz organization from time to time and regularly gave fans a dose of reality. Now he is one of their key salesmen. I understand why he backs the Jazz now, they sign his paycheck. I used to listen to an old Dave Blackwell (RIP) every day (One of the best sports radio hosts in the business).

I still look forward to the Jazz games in October and by January 1st I start to look at the trade deadline and potential moves. The last 15-20 years I started to miss the occasional game (still watching most) in January, February and March. I would just read stats or catch highlights. This year was the same until mid-January. I believe the last game I actually watched was the loss at Detroit. I usually start to watch every game again at the end of March or first of April to watch the playoff seeding. I am not sure I am all that interested this year. We have seen this version of the Jazz team for too many years and they are not going anywhere. They are irrelevant. Maybe I am just getting too old or I am just a cynic but a couple of years ago I stopped buying what the Jazz were selling.

The Jazz took a shot by adding Conley a few years ago. I give them credit for taking a shot. From the beginning I was critical of the deal for 4 reasons and Jazz Fans were split on Conley primarily for these reasons.
1) Conley's age as it related to the core of the Jazz at the time (Mitchell / Gobert)
2) The Jazz had to give up too much to get Conley (draft picks / players etc.)
3) Conley's injury history
4) Conley's size (because our back court was going to get worked by bigger guards)

That being said, I think Conley has been a good addition (mainly as a team leader and calming influence on DM) but as I stated above the Jazz aren't going anywhere. Again, I give the Jazz credit for taking a shot.

Last summer, after we had all acknowledged the lack of length and athleticism on the Jazz, they added a 35 year old Rudy Gay??? I understand the thinking but I disagree with the contract. 3 YEARS???? For a 35 year old??? Sorry, but I don't think Gay has panned out and I would prefer the Jazz play Paschall for his energy and toughness.

I agree with what TNJazz stated above about a lot of the bad losses the Jazz had this year. I remember a few of those losses. Most of all, I remember the early loss at Orlando. The Jazz were getting greedy. I assumed the Jazz would rest Conley against Miami to ensure a win against Orlando the next night. Instead, they played Conley at Miami (thinking they could get a win on the road against one of the best teams in the East). The Jazz lost that game and then played Orlando the next night (one of the worst teams in the league) and lost while Conley rested. This was piss poor management on Quin or the Jazz Front Office. The Jazz should have rested Conley and maybe all of the key players against Miami. I watched a couple other inexcusable losses and every team has bad losses every year but the Orlando game was on management.

I am sure the Jazz will make adjustments this summer and I will watch free agency and trades. I am sure I will start to watch again next October. I just advise young Jazz fans not to swallow what the Jazz sell you. Remember, they are a business selling you on a product for profit.

Agree with a lot of what you posted, but going forward, I suspect Ryan Smith and Ainge are in it to try win it all, not to just cruise along with a winning franchise that has no real chance to win it. They might not ever win a championship, but everything about Ainge's history as GM shows a guy willing to take big swings to try to win it all, as well as making some great draft picks. He actually did win it all with the trades to acquire Garnett and Ray Allen to pair with Pierce. His acquisitions of Hayward, Irving and Kemba Walker all looked great on paper, but didn't pan out for reasons of unpredictable injuries and Irving's quirkiness. And Irving missed the entire 2018 playoffs. Boston is still pretty much playing with Ainge's roster and has a good chance to make the Finals according to the 538.com and Basketball Reference computer programs.

Dennis Lindsey left Ainge limited, attractive tradable contracts and picks to work with at the just passed trade deadline, assuming Ainge reasonably didn't want to come in and immediately break up the core of the team. I am fine with the acquisitions of House, Naw and Hernangomez at the trade deadline given what Ainge had to work with, and guess next summer after Ainge has watched most of a season and the results of a playoff run could be when Ainge considers making more dramatic moves to impact the team.

[AingesBurner]

My Rambling about the Jazz ...

Spoiler:

I remember the first game I ever watched of the Jazz. I was in my early 20s. It was during the 1988 playoffs. The Jazz took the great Lakers to game 7 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals. There was a lot of excitement after that series and I became a Jazz fan. After that series, I couldn't wait for the next year to begin. For the next 15 years I rarely missed a game. I remember taking my 70+ year old grandmother to a game (I believe against Denver) for the greatest Jazz comeback of all time. As I recall, the Jazz were down 25+ points and came back to win. I used to listen to a young David Locke on the radio every day in the early 90s as he criticized the Jazz organization from time to time and regularly gave fans a dose of reality. Now he is one of their key salesmen. I understand why he backs the Jazz now, they sign his paycheck. I used to listen to an old Dave Blackwell (RIP) every day (One of the best sports radio hosts in the business).

I still look forward to the Jazz games in October and by January 1st I start to look at the trade deadline and potential moves. The last 15-20 years I started to miss the occasional game (still watching most) in January, February and March. I would just read stats or catch highlights. This year was the same until mid-January. I believe the last game I actually watched was the loss at Detroit. I usually start to watch every game again at the end of March or first of April to watch the playoff seeding. I am not sure I am all that interested this year. We have seen this version of the Jazz team for too many years and they are not going anywhere. They are irrelevant. Maybe I am just getting too old or I am just a cynic but a couple of years ago I stopped buying what the Jazz were selling.

The Jazz took a shot by adding Conley a few years ago. I give them credit for taking a shot. From the beginning I was critical of the deal for 4 reasons and Jazz Fans were split on Conley primarily for these reasons.
1) Conley's age as it related to the core of the Jazz at the time (Mitchell / Gobert)
2) The Jazz had to give up too much to get Conley (draft picks / players etc.)
3) Conley's injury history
4) Conley's size (because our back court was going to get worked by bigger guards)

That being said, I think Conley has been a good addition (mainly as a team leader and calming influence on DM) but as I stated above the Jazz aren't going anywhere. Again, I give the Jazz credit for taking a shot.

Last summer, after we had all acknowledged the lack of length and athleticism on the Jazz, they added a 35 year old Rudy Gay??? I understand the thinking but I disagree with the contract. 3 YEARS???? For a 35 year old??? Sorry, but I don't think Gay has panned out and I would prefer the Jazz play Paschall for his energy and toughness.

I agree with what TNJazz stated above about a lot of the bad losses the Jazz had this year. I remember a few of those losses. Most of all, I remember the early loss at Orlando. The Jazz were getting greedy. I assumed the Jazz would rest Conley against Miami to ensure a win against Orlando the next night. Instead, they played Conley at Miami (thinking they could get a win on the road against one of the best teams in the East). The Jazz lost that game and then played Orlando the next night (one of the worst teams in the league) and lost while Conley rested. This was piss poor management on Quin or the Jazz Front Office. The Jazz should have rested Conley and maybe all of the key players against Miami. I watched a couple other inexcusable losses and every team has bad losses every year but the Orlando game was on management.

I am sure the Jazz will make adjustments this summer and I will watch free agency and trades. I am sure I will start to watch again next October. I just advise young Jazz fans not to swallow what the Jazz sell you. Remember, they are a business selling you on a product for profit.

Agree with a lot of what you posted, but going forward, I suspect Ryan Smith and Ainge are in it to try win it all, not to just cruise along with a winning franchise that has no real chance to win it. They might not ever win a championship, but everything about Ainge's history as GM shows a guy willing to take big swings to try to win it all, as well as making some great draft picks. He actually did win it all with the trades to acquire Garnett and Ray Allen to pair with Pierce. His acquisitions of Hayward, Irving and Kemba Walker all looked great on paper, but didn't pan out for reasons of unpredictable injuries and Irving's quirkiness. And Irving missed the entire 2018 playoffs. Boston is still pretty much playing with Ainge's roster and has a good chance to make the Finals according to the 538.com and Basketball Reference computer programs.

Dennis Lindsey left Ainge limited, attractive tradable contracts and picks to work with at the just passed trade deadline, assuming Ainge reasonably didn't want to come in and immediately break up the core of the team. I am fine with the acquisitions of House, Naw and Hernangomez at the trade deadline given what Ainge had to work with, and guess next summer after Ainge has watched most of a season and the results of a playoff run could be when Ainge considers making more dramatic moves to impact the team.

I think you’re slightly contradicting yourself in this statement between limited assets and seeing what we can do, I think Ainge was forced to see what we can do based on limited assets to improve the team. I think we would have been in a better spot originally by just signing Bogey and keeping Rubio with all of our assets, we could have gotten someone like Jrue Holiday. We were focused too much on shooting, this team’s former front office has a litany of bad decisions by not trading players when they should have.

[Catchall]

If the Jazz can get to 53 wins and beat Golden State in their next matchup, the Jazz could catch the Ws for the 3rd seed. It means that the Jazz would have to finish 10-3 though.

Warriors have some tough games: @MIA, @ATL, @MEM, PHX, UTA, SAN twice, @NOL. Without Steph and with Draymond on a mins restriction, I could see them finishing 6-6 to end up at 53 wins. Maybe they come in a win or two below that.

Jazz can maybe lose @BRK, @BOS and @DAL. They'd have to win everything else, including LAC twice, NYK, MEM, LAL, @GSW and PHX. By the 2nd to last game of the season, PHX has nothing to play for and could rest their key players.

[Crunch 99]

My Rambling about the Jazz ...

Spoiler:

I remember the first game I ever watched of the Jazz. I was in my early 20s. It was during the 1988 playoffs. The Jazz took the great Lakers to game 7 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals. There was a lot of excitement after that series and I became a Jazz fan. After that series, I couldn't wait for the next year to begin. For the next 15 years I rarely missed a game. I remember taking my 70+ year old grandmother to a game (I believe against Denver) for the greatest Jazz comeback of all time. As I recall, the Jazz were down 25+ points and came back to win. I used to listen to a young David Locke on the radio every day in the early 90s as he criticized the Jazz organization from time to time and regularly gave fans a dose of reality. Now he is one of their key salesmen. I understand why he backs the Jazz now, they sign his paycheck. I used to listen to an old Dave Blackwell (RIP) every day (One of the best sports radio hosts in the business).

I still look forward to the Jazz games in October and by January 1st I start to look at the trade deadline and potential moves. The last 15-20 years I started to miss the occasional game (still watching most) in January, February and March. I would just read stats or catch highlights. This year was the same until mid-January. I believe the last game I actually watched was the loss at Detroit. I usually start to watch every game again at the end of March or first of April to watch the playoff seeding. I am not sure I am all that interested this year. We have seen this version of the Jazz team for too many years and they are not going anywhere. They are irrelevant. Maybe I am just getting too old or I am just a cynic but a couple of years ago I stopped buying what the Jazz were selling.

The Jazz took a shot by adding Conley a few years ago. I give them credit for taking a shot. From the beginning I was critical of the deal for 4 reasons and Jazz Fans were split on Conley primarily for these reasons.
1) Conley's age as it related to the core of the Jazz at the time (Mitchell / Gobert)
2) The Jazz had to give up too much to get Conley (draft picks / players etc.)
3) Conley's injury history
4) Conley's size (because our back court was going to get worked by bigger guards)

That being said, I think Conley has been a good addition (mainly as a team leader and calming influence on DM) but as I stated above the Jazz aren't going anywhere. Again, I give the Jazz credit for taking a shot.

Last summer, after we had all acknowledged the lack of length and athleticism on the Jazz, they added a 35 year old Rudy Gay??? I understand the thinking but I disagree with the contract. 3 YEARS???? For a 35 year old??? Sorry, but I don't think Gay has panned out and I would prefer the Jazz play Paschall for his energy and toughness.

I agree with what TNJazz stated above about a lot of the bad losses the Jazz had this year. I remember a few of those losses. Most of all, I remember the early loss at Orlando. The Jazz were getting greedy. I assumed the Jazz would rest Conley against Miami to ensure a win against Orlando the next night. Instead, they played Conley at Miami (thinking they could get a win on the road against one of the best teams in the East). The Jazz lost that game and then played Orlando the next night (one of the worst teams in the league) and lost while Conley rested. This was piss poor management on Quin or the Jazz Front Office. The Jazz should have rested Conley and maybe all of the key players against Miami. I watched a couple other inexcusable losses and every team has bad losses every year but the Orlando game was on management.

I am sure the Jazz will make adjustments this summer and I will watch free agency and trades. I am sure I will start to watch again next October. I just advise young Jazz fans not to swallow what the Jazz sell you. Remember, they are a business selling you on a product for profit.

Agree with a lot of what you posted, but going forward, I suspect Ryan Smith and Ainge are in it to try win it all, not to just cruise along with a winning franchise that has no real chance to win it. They might not ever win a championship, but everything about Ainge's history as GM shows a guy willing to take big swings to try to win it all, as well as making some great draft picks. He actually did win it all with the trades to acquire Garnett and Ray Allen to pair with Pierce. His acquisitions of Hayward, Irving and Kemba Walker all looked great on paper, but didn't pan out for reasons of unpredictable injuries and Irving's quirkiness. And Irving missed the entire 2018 playoffs. Boston is still pretty much playing with Ainge's roster and has a good chance to make the Finals according to the 538.com and Basketball Reference computer programs.

Dennis Lindsey left Ainge limited, attractive tradable contracts and picks to work with at the just passed trade deadline, assuming Ainge reasonably didn't want to come in and immediately break up the core of the team. I am fine with the acquisitions of House, Naw and Hernangomez at the trade deadline given what Ainge had to work with, and guess next summer after Ainge has watched most of a season and the results of a playoff run could be when Ainge considers making more dramatic moves to impact the team.

I think you’re slightly contradicting yourself in this statement between limited assets and seeing what we can do, I think Ainge was forced to see what we can do based on limited assets to improve the team. I think we would have been in a better spot originally by just signing Bogey and keeping Rubio with all of our assets, we could have gotten someone like Jrue Holiday. We were focused too much on shooting, this team’s former front office has a litany of bad decisions by not trading players when they should have.

I agree with you. I didn't write very clearly. Lindsey didn't leave Ainge a lot of picks or leave attractive contracts that could easily be traded to make the team a lot better at the trade deadline.

[AingesBurner]

Agree with a lot of what you posted, but going forward, I suspect Ryan Smith and Ainge are in it to try win it all, not to just cruise along with a winning franchise that has no real chance to win it. They might not ever win a championship, but everything about Ainge's history as GM shows a guy willing to take big swings to try to win it all, as well as making some great draft picks. He actually did win it all with the trades to acquire Garnett and Ray Allen to pair with Pierce. His acquisitions of Hayward, Irving and Kemba Walker all looked great on paper, but didn't pan out for reasons of unpredictable injuries and Irving's quirkiness. And Irving missed the entire 2018 playoffs. Boston is still pretty much playing with Ainge's roster and has a good chance to make the Finals according to the 538.com and Basketball Reference computer programs.

Dennis Lindsey left Ainge limited, attractive tradable contracts and picks to work with at the just passed trade deadline, assuming Ainge reasonably didn't want to come in and immediately break up the core of the team. I am fine with the acquisitions of House, Naw and Hernangomez at the trade deadline given what Ainge had to work with, and guess next summer after Ainge has watched most of a season and the results of a playoff run could be when Ainge considers making more dramatic moves to impact the team.

I think you’re slightly contradicting yourself in this statement between limited assets and seeing what we can do, I think Ainge was forced to see what we can do based on limited assets to improve the team. I think we would have been in a better spot originally by just signing Bogey and keeping Rubio with all of our assets, we could have gotten someone like Jrue Holiday. We were focused too much on shooting, this team’s former front office has a litany of bad decisions by not trading players when they should have.

I agree with you. I didn't write very clearly. Lindsey didn't leave Ainge a lot of picks or leave attractive contracts that could easily be traded to make the team a lot better at the trade deadline.

Yep and unfortunately it seems like the only way to improve the team this off-season is to trade Gobert or Mitchell, those are the only two with real trade value or take on an overpaid player like Harris and a pick for Conley and filler. We are just stuck with this team, hopefully NAW pays off because we could have gotten a decent pick or two for Joe Ingles last summer.

[TNJazz]

The last two games have seen an important switch being thrown. Let's hope it doesn't blow the breaker!

In the Chicago game, up by 13 in the 4th, it looked as if maybe the bulls were going to come back for the win, but the team flipped a switch and ended up winning by 15 after the 13 point lead had been trimmed to 6. Fast forward to the Clippers game, with 5 regular rotation players including 2 starters out, the energy in the building from the two newest members propels the Jazz to an impressive lead, then rather than back of, they end up going up by 41 and completely thrashing the Clips. Let's hope these last two games are a precursor to the last 12, this road trip is brutal, but if they continue to play the way they have these pat 2 games, they will be in terrific shape for the end of the season and the playoffs.

GO Jazz!

[Catchall]

If the Jazz can get to 53 wins and beat Golden State in their next matchup, the Jazz could catch the Ws for the 3rd seed. It means that the Jazz would have to finish 10-3 though.

Warriors have some tough games: @MIA, @ATL, @MEM, PHX, UTA, SAN twice, @NOL. Without Steph and with Draymond on a mins restriction, I could see them finishing 6-6 to end up at 53 wins. Maybe they come in a win or two below that.

Jazz can maybe lose @BRK, @BOS and @DAL. They'd have to win everything else, including LAC twice, NYK, MEM, LAL, @GSW and PHX. By the 2nd to last game of the season, PHX has nothing to play for and could rest their key players.

Actually, if the Jazz can get to 52 wins, that might get the 3rd seed. Jazz need to finish 7-3 over their last 10 games and beat Golden State. In that scenario, Dallas would need to go 9-1 over their last 10 games to pass the Jazz, since the Jazz will hold the tie-breaker (winning their Division).

Most winnable games remaining: @Portland, OKC, @LAC, @Warriors, @Hornets, Lakers
Toughest games remaining: @Boston, Phoenix, @Dallas, Grizzlies

[TNJazz]

[/quote]

Actually, if the Jazz can get to 52 wins, that might get the 3rd seed. Jazz need to finish 7-3 over their last 10 games and beat Golden State. In that scenario, Dallas would need to go 9-1 over their last 10 games to pass the Jazz, since the Jazz will hold the tie-breaker (winning their Division).

Most winnable games remaining: @Portland, OKC, @LAC, @Warriors, @Hornets, Lakers
Toughest games remaining: @Boston, Phoenix, @Dallas, Grizzlies[/quote]

That's a tough schedule, ,but one that could really get them prepared for the playoffs. Phoenix may be the easiest to pull of of the 4 "tough" games simply bc they are resting, but they also probably want to send a message...Same could be said about the Memphis game.

Looking at those 4, it's Dallas that is the most important to win. Not feeling too good about Boston tomorrow, 3rd game in 4 nights, hopefully Bogey is back and Royce hits at least 2 shots instead of going 0-4 like in Brooklyn.

[Catchall]

Actually, if the Jazz can get to 52 wins, that might get the 3rd seed. Jazz need to finish 7-3 over their last 10 games and beat Golden State. In that scenario, Dallas would need to go 9-1 over their last 10 games to pass the Jazz, since the Jazz will hold the tie-breaker (winning their Division).

Most winnable games remaining: @Portland, OKC, @LAC, @Warriors, @Hornets, Lakers
Toughest games remaining: @Boston, Phoenix, @Dallas, Grizzlies

That's a tough schedule, ,but one that could really get them prepared for the playoffs. Phoenix may be the easiest to pull of of the 4 "tough" games simply bc they are resting, but they also probably want to send a message...Same could be said about the Memphis game.

Looking at those 4, it's Dallas that is the most important to win. Not feeling too good about Boston tomorrow, 3rd game in 4 nights, hopefully Bogey is back and Royce hits at least 2 shots instead of going 0-4 like in Brooklyn.

If the Jazz can finish 7-3, that will force Dallas to go 9-1 in order to pass the Jazz, since the Jazz hold the tie-breaker (Division winner).
- Jazz gimmies are Portland, OKC & LAC.
- Must-wins are LAL, CHA & GSW (w/o Curry).
- Jazz then need an extra win from BOS, MEM, DAL & PHX.

Phoenix will have nothing to play for when they play in Utah, and I'm expecting they'll rest players. The Jazz should also beat Memphis at home, and this would give the Jazz another game as a cushion in case they blow one of their must-win games.

If Dallas loses 2 more games this season, the Jazz can just follow the above formula. Dallas plays @MIL, @CLE on a B2B, @MIN and vs. UTA, and they won't be favored in any of those games.

[TNJazz]

Is it me or am I seeing a trend the last 3 seasons. Starting with the bubble, we're up 3-1 against Denver and crumple and that was being up 20 in the 4th of game 7. At the time, an anomaly or a precursor?

Last season, basically the best record the entire season or at least from very early on, then crumpled down the stretch and barely held off the Suns to keep the best record, ended up beating the Grizzlies 4-1, but then lost to the Clippers after being up 3-1 again.

This season, Jazz have most 2nd half 20+ leads that ended up in a loss in the league. Ok, not sure about this, but has to be near the top. Definitely the most of these types of losses to lottery bound teams. Now it seems as if they are crumpling again at the end of the season. While they are in 4th place in the west, no one is saying anything positive about them. Teams with worse records are given better odds of winning it all. Every game it seems as if a new problem rears its head. Hornets game it was giving up too many offensive rebounds, something like 17, which is absurd. Bogey and House, while being important players for this squad, are not the answer to the myriad of issues this team is facing.

We have heard all season long that they are not worried about problems (Turnovers, bad transition defense, lack of quick decision making on offense, poor perimeter defense, etc.) as long as they were playing their best at the end of there season things would be fine.

How close to the end of the season do they need to get before that happens?

[Catchall]

Is it me or am I seeing a trend the last 3 seasons. Starting with the bubble, we're up 3-1 against Denver and crumple and that was being up 20 in the 4th of game 7. At the time, an anomaly or a precursor?

Last season, basically the best record the entire season or at least from very early on, then crumpled down the stretch and barely held off the Suns to keep the best record, ended up beating the Grizzlies 4-1, but then lost to the Clippers after being up 3-1 again.

This season, Jazz have most 2nd half 20+ leads that ended up in a loss in the league. Ok, not sure about this, but has to be near the top. Definitely the most of these types of losses to lottery bound teams. Now it seems as if they are crumpling again at the end of the season. While they are in 4th place in the west, no one is saying anything positive about them. Teams with worse records are given better odds of winning it all. Every game it seems as if a new problem rears its head. Hornets game it was giving up too many offensive rebounds, something like 17, which is absurd. Bogey and House, while being important players for this squad, are not the answer to the myriad of issues this team is facing.

We have heard all season long that they are not worried about problems (Turnovers, bad transition defense, lack of quick decision making on offense, poor perimeter defense, etc.) as long as they were playing their best at the end of there season things would be fine.

How close to the end of the season do they need to get before that happens?

It's hard for me to draw these conclusions because I can't remember the last time the Jazz had Mitchell, Conley, Bogdanovic, Royce, Gobert and Whiteside all available at the same time. Bogdanovic is about to miss his 8th straight game, and he's critical to the Jazz's spacing and scoring. Whiteside has been in and out of the lineup, and he's critical to the Jazz's rebounding and defense with the 2nd unit. This matters when the Jazz are losing games by a few possessions, which is what happened against BRK and CHA.

The Jazz aren't as deep at the wing as they were a year ago, so when they miss guys like Bogey and House they have to give more minutes to Gay and Forrest, both of whom have been a disaster. Gay shot 1/14 (7%) in the Jazz's last two games. He was 0-for-6 against Boston, and his 1-for-8 performance against Charlotte (with only 2 rebounds) changed the outcome of the game. Forrest was held scoreless in both games, going 0-for-4 in a combined 28 minutes. He also only recorded 1 rebound total in those games despite being a big, physical guard.

The Jazz are not a very physical team. They're a finesse team, and they can get pushed around by bigger, tougher athletes. They still struggle against long, athletic defenders who switch and trap on the perimeter. That isn't going to change because they have a limited number of players who can put the ball down and attack a switch.

The Jazz are making a mistake by not giving more minutes to NAW at the expense of Forrest and Royce.

[tugs]

I agree. NAW must be evaluated. They've done a good job with Juancho, why not NAW? Save the vets' legs as early as now, give the young guys some run

Also, if not Butler, let Clarkson run some PG to prepare him for the playoffs, make him a triple threat if Conley is stinking it up

[Crunch 99]

Azubuike underwent surgery Friday, March 25th, to repair multiple ankle and foot ligaments, and he is out for the rest of the season, Sarah Todd of The Deseret News reports.

[red4hf]

I've been hoping, and now the Jazz have brought in Greg Monroe........ Good job....... I've liked Monroe for a long time...... He looked decent earlier this season......

[Crunch 99]

I've been hoping, and now the Jazz have brought in Greg Monroe........ Good job....... I've liked Monroe for a long time...... He looked decent earlier this season......

Yes, I am hopeful for this pickup. Monroe should be in good condition from playing in G League and can probably take Doke's spot as the third string center, playing when Gobert, Whiteside or both are out and Gay doesn't have a favorable matchup. Gobert has missed 16 games this season; Whiteside has missed 15 games; Gay 24 games and Doke is out for season, so we need another center.

Tiny NBA game sample for Monroe this season, but Monroe may be able to play as well or better than fellow 2010 draft pick Favors is playing in the backup role for OKC for the price of a veteran minimum contract versus Favors' ten million dollar contract:

Basketball reference compare Monroe and Favors
https://stathead.com/basketball/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&player_id1=monrogr01&p1yrfrom=2022&player_id2=favorde01&p2yrfrom=2022

[D Rog]

Simple question / comment

The Jazz have quickly become an older team. They claim they need healthy, well rested players before going into the playoffs.

Did it make sense for the Jazz to drag Bojan Bogdanovic and Danuel House all across the country on this past 6 game road trip? They didn't play one minute due to injury. I would think the players would be able to get more rest and possibly more therapy if he stayed in SLC and went to the training facility daily. The Jazz have done this multiple times throughout the year with various players whether it was just a one game road trip or a multiple game road trip.

Before you reply "The organization wants the players to still feel like they are part of the team and they don't want a negative impact to team chemistry", I kind of get that but I think resting in your own bed for 10 days instead of moving to a different hotel room every other day is more beneficial.

[red4hf]

Some players like being around their teammates while recovering........ And I'm sure they can get comparable treatment on road.......

[TNJazz]

Good question D Dog, I agree with Red, but there also might have been some question about an earlier return with 1 or both players, so having them with the team would have facilitated that should their recovery be faster than what it actually was.

Valid point though about getting more rest in familiar surroundings, although both players probably live in a hotel in SLC (at least House since he was so recently added as a part of the team) so hotel rooms are all pretty much equal. Now its just plane rides impacting rest. The trip also was in NY and LA, pretty fun towns to visit and they stayed in the same hotel for the Knicks and Brooklyn games.