Round 1, Game 3: Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets

Post #1 » by **Inigo Montoya** » Thu Aug 20, 2020 7:29 pm

Conley might be back. The Jazz played well and may have figured out the Nuggets, but I expect Denver to show up and play a better game than the last one.

KqWIN · Post #2 » by **KqWIN** » Thu Aug 20, 2020 8:13 pm

Just have to keep executing and keep making shots. We’ll get them unless Malone has an adjustment ready...but his last adjustment made it even easier for us.

red4hf · Post #3 » by **red4hf** » Thu Aug 20, 2020 10:56 pm

If we keep O'Neale on Murray, which we should, who is Conley going to guard?

KqWIN · Post #4 » by **KqWIN** » Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:07 pm

red4hf wrote:If we keep O'Neale on Murray, which we should, who is Conley going to guard?

Hope the play Monte Morris...otherwise it's Conley on Craig and Mitchell on Porter Jr.

Catchall · Post #5 » by **Catchall** » Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:55 pm

red4hf wrote:If we keep O'Neale on Murray, which we should, who is Conley going to guard?

I think Conley will be matched up with Torrey Craig, but really he'll switch off and harass Jokic. The Jazz will ignore Craig for the most part. I think the matchups will look like this if Conley starts:

Conley --> Craig
Mitchell --> MPJ
O'Neale --> Murray
Ingles --> Millsap
Gobert --> Jokic

Starting Conley is really an offense-for-defense substitution. Now there are 4 bonafide shooters and 3 ball handlers around Gobert. Mitchell can continue to attack MPJ and Jokic, while Conley can attack Millsap and Jokic.

KqWIN · Post #6 » by **KqWIN** » Fri Aug 21, 2020 4:39 am

I'm hoping that Malone continues to be a poor coach and we see Rudy score 25+ tomorrow. There's a good chance that DEN overreacts to the 3's and stop sending a guy to help on Rudy after they hedge.

Side note...Rudy was fantastic in the short roll last game. One of the things we've been doing really well is taking care of the ball, which we are usually terrible at. Making the right decision in the short roll isn't an easy task for big men, but Rudy was making great decisions last game.

Crunch 99 · Post #7 » by **Crunch 99** » Fri Aug 21, 2020 8:48 pm

KqWIN wrote:I'm hoping that Malone continues to be a poor coach and we see Rudy score 25+ tomorrow. There's a good chance that DEN overreacts to the 3's and stop sending a guy to help on Rudy after they hedge.

Side note...Rudy was fantastic in the short roll last game. One of the things we've been doing really well is taking care of the ball, which we are usually terrible at. Making the right decision in the short roll isn't an easy task for big men, but Rudy was making great decisions last game.

Rudy is off to a heck of a start!

SunsRback4Good · Post #8 » by **SunsRback4Good** » Fri Aug 21, 2020 8:58 pm

I would test Gobert for banned substance at halftime. What he's doing is physically impossible.

KqWIN · Post #9 » by **KqWIN** » Fri Aug 21, 2020 8:59 pm

Crunch 99 wrote:
KqWIN wrote:I'm hoping that Malone continues to be a poor coach and we see Rudy score 25+ tomorrow. There's a good chance that DEN overreacts to the 3's and stop sending a guy to help on Rudy after they hedge.

Side note...Rudy was fantastic in the short roll last game. One of the things we've been doing really well is taking care of the ball, which we are usually terrible at. Making the right decision in the short roll isn't an easy task for big men, but Rudy was making great decisions last game.

Rudy is off to a heck of a start!

Yup, DEN got tired of giving up 3's. They look tired of playing defense in general. Pick your poison, give us Rudy dunks or wide open 3's. They are picking both.

icoholic · Post #10 » by **icoholic** » Fri Aug 21, 2020 9:22 pm

Dang, nice half Jazz!

anish23 · Post #11 » by **anish23** » Fri Aug 21, 2020 9:27 pm

Lets not get complacent and go finish this off strong and maybe even get our starters some rest.

Also shoutout to Mike Conley, that last step back gave me glimpses of Memphis.

sipclip · Post #12 » by **sipclip** » Fri Aug 21, 2020 9:49 pm

Where the heck was this jazz team all year? These last couple of games have been our best of the year. It would have been interesting to see us play this well and add a shooter like Bojan to the mix.

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red4hf · Post #13 » by **red4hf** » Fri Aug 21, 2020 9:57 pm

I mean, it's like game 2 never ended.......

KqWIN · Post #14 » by **KqWIN** » Fri Aug 21, 2020 10:02 pm

sipclip wrote:Where the heck was this jazz team all year? These last couple of games have been our best of the year. It would have been interesting to see us play this well and add a shooter like Bojan to the mix.

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Well, we're not playing DEN every game :lol:

As a serious answer, the difference is that we're using our offense and multiple ballhandlers to get the best shot possible. During the course of the season, it was 3 or 4 guys on the floor fighting to take any shot that they found acceptable. Now if we don't get a layup, dunk, or 3 pointer I'm disappointed.

There's no more floatery crap...no more staring down the defense for hero ball. We're getting a great shot almost every possession and not settling for acceptable shots.

Crunch 99 · Post #15 » by **Crunch 99** » Fri Aug 21, 2020 10:02 pm

Ingles just gave Mike Conley a big bear hug as Conley came off the court to end the third quarter. Go Jazz! :biggrin:

El Hespiritu · Post #16 » by **El Hespiritu** » Fri Aug 21, 2020 11:21 pm

So far so best.

At Game 2, I saw for the first time a functional SpidaSystem at work.
Fiinally he could match efficient ball movement, impactful defense and sane command of the team with his usual hero ball all at the same time.

Today I saw it again but in a minor tone while team added best McOnly version ever seen here to make the whole stuff even better.
Nothing to do with his Memphis usual self btw; he only plays true Point Guard when Don sits, elsewhere he becames an off the ball sharpshooter/passer willingly side-kicking the SpidaSystem.

Works as a dream.

Rudy, Ol'Man Aussie and Royce anchor defense.
Juwan offers unexpected intangibles.
Clarkson, Bradley, Mudiay and Niang look at times as legit reliable NBA players.
I'm not even missing Bogda.

Remains to be seen if this harmonical display of basketball is sustainable long term.

Hope so.

Mike The MaloOne might try some stuff to turn DEN into anything remotely similar to a Play Off defense.
Curious about.
It will be probably weird and I always support that.

MeestR · Post #17 » by **MeestR** » Sat Aug 22, 2020 1:12 am

Feels good to beat a team from Denver this badly. But no matter the size of the win, it only counts as 1 win.

SoCalJazzFan · Post #18 » by **SoCalJazzFan** » Sat Aug 22, 2020 1:40 am

Should I have been concerned that Conley might mess up the chemistry or matchups, nope!

tugs · Post #19 » by **tugs** » Sat Aug 22, 2020 1:45 am

Can't believe the Nuggets did not exploit Utah's size.

That was a hell of a performance from the Jazz. Blowout with Joe and JC having off nights.

Post #20 » by **trex_8063** » Sat Aug 22, 2020 3:48 am

Just wow. Can't remember the last game I watched that was so lop-sided. Jazz dominated in just about every way possible, I think; Nuggets looked downright demoralized.

Fun to watch, I sure hope the Jazz can keep this offensive rhythm going. They look fantastic: not just the shot-making, but the off-ball movement, the passing and ball-movement.......everything is clicking right now. :clap: