Strongly Disagree with Patrick Byrnes Take at FanNation

[Jammer]

Just a comment on an article by Patrick Byrne appearing on Inside the Jazz at FanNation:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/it-s-time-for-jazz-ceo-danny-ainge-to-stop-with-the-shenanigans/ar-AA18U6iB?ocid=entnewsntp&cvid=c28c66045023422eb6ec8d6d6cf3f9b1&ei=12

Basically the author is making the case that the recuperative time for Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson and recently Lauri Markkanen may be excessive and driven by Lottery Balls.

While that can always be speculated at this stage in the season for any team (I could give lots of clear examples from years past), in this case I think that the writer may be off base.

Sexton had a very serious ACL injury the prior year, and has had issues with muscle pulls more than once this season. The best fix is 100% healing. Not 90%. Not 98%. 100% to prevent re-injury. Too often NBA doctors send players out there and then re-curring injuries become the norm for certain players. It most often occurs with ankle sprains, but in Sexton's case and thinking the Big Picture I think that the author may be jumping the gun in his speculation.

I can make a similar case for Jordan Clarkson and his finger injury. Again, with these types of injuries, 90% or 98% healed do not solve problems in the long term. They just lead to re-injury. It takes 100% recovery to prevent ease of re-injury. So, I see nothing wrong with Clarkson's recuperative handling.

If anything, it means that the Jazz Team Doctors get it and are not trying to negatively impact the long term performance and value of players like Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson. You could make a valid argument to shut Sexton down for the season if you are thinking Big Picture, whether it be with the Jazz or as a Trade piece.

Giving Markkanen some time off when it's easy to see the amount of contact he takes around the basket and on the open floor makes me wonder if the author has endured serious contact in athletics. There are muscle related injuries that can takes weeks to heal, and in the case of achilles, for example, I've seen cases where it took 4 1/2 months to be back to normal.

Overall, I'd say that the Jazz Front Office is outstanding, and that's why I came to their defense.

[Inigo Montoya]

I think the Jazz now has a very good front office but I also think they're trying to tank, but it isn't working. I also see it happen all throughout the league at this point of the season so I don't see why the author chose to focus on Ainge, especially when his attempts at tanking aren't working. Since the Jazz keep on winning games and are firmly in the mix to make the playoffs, I don't see how Ainge's efforts are excessive. If anything, they aren't excessive enough.

[Crunch 99]

I agree with both Jammer and Inigo. Clarkson and Sexton are sitting out with legit injuries. I believe the Jazz front office would have liked a serious tryout for Sexton as starting PG after we shipped out Conley, not sit him on the bench. And as it turns out, better defense, along with moving the ball more on offense from Dunn, THT and Ochai, has arguably offset the higher individual scoring we would have got from Clarkson and Sexton. We are still winning at the same rate.

Markkanen is playing, and he has played in 64 games out of 72 games, which is more games played than most All Stars.

Imo, Ainge tried to make it tougher to reach the play-in or playoffs by shipping out starters and rotation players - Bogey, Conley, Vanderbilt, Beasley and Naw, but the coaching staff and remaining players are doing everything they can to win, and they are winning more games than people expected.