Preseason: Utah Jazz @ LA Clippers

[StocktonShorts]

No lol neither of them played one second in the third.

I didn't think so.

It's strange, my "eyeball-test" told me I wasn't impressed with how Burks/Foye played (as I said above) but the team did well enough when they were on the court. Was it just that the level of competition was inferior or do I just suck at judging what "good basketball" looks like?

[schneiderjazz]

No lol neither of them played one second in the third.

I didn't think so.

It's strange, my "eyeball-test" told me I wasn't impressed with how Burks/Foye played (as I said above) but the team did well enough when they were on the court. Was it just that the level of competition was inferior or do I just suck at judging what "good basketball" looks like?

I think once the Clips started to put pressure on our backcourt, we had some very ugly possessions. I had the same impression, that the Burks-Foye backcourt was really struggling to get the offense going. But, aside from those 3 or 4 possessions, they did better than our starters.
Evans block and dunk were amazing.
Kanter is looking really good. My problem with him last season was that the team struggled whenever he was on the floor. This year so far, it has been the exact opposite. Granted he's playing against worse competition, but he's been our best big so far and it's not even close.

[erudite23]

I think this game showed us exactly what we are likely to be this year. We have the capacity to dominate teams when our young guys are playing well, but the level of inconsistency is going to produce some really rough patches.

Also, I don't like what we have in the half court. We are not likely to be a high efficiency offense, because we struggle to create good shots. We will probably be similar to last year in that our offensive rebounding, ability to get to the FT line, and how well we take care of the ball all combine to make up for a largely mediocre shooting team.

If we can become a stellar defensive team, that is where the improvement is likely to come.


But to me, the story of the preseason continues to be Enes Kanter. He's certainly not ready to be a focal point of the team. Probably not ready to start yet. But unlike last year, you can begin to picture him as a future star. He's so strong and physical inside, and he goes after every rebound with tenacity. Now that he's getting off the floor so much better, he's not getting blocked as much, and his court awareness has improved considerably....you can see how, with more refinement, he could potentially be a dominant force. The dude is averaging 22 and 18 per 36. Those numbers are obviously pie in the sky, but he doesn't need to post them in the regular season to be an All Star. If he can make it to 20 and 13, he'll be an All Star regular. And I'm starting to see how that might happen. I'm incredibly encouraged.

[UTJazzFan_Echo1]

Perfect game to show why Millsap needs to go and Favors needs to start. We win that game if Favors plays.

Evans needs more playing time. Been saying this since his rookie year... the kid is instant energy and changes the pace of the game completely. Going to be even more effective now with how we're pushing the ball up the floor and I think we could play him at the 3 with a combination of Mo/Hayward/Foye on the floor with our other two bigs. Needs at least 10 minutes a game.

[roll]

Second game against Clippers. Favors looks terrible. =(

Left hand, decision making

[Soul Patch]

Favors looks really raw on offense more so than last year. I still have high expectations for him though.