Official 2021-2022 Utah Jazz Season Discussion Thread

red4hf · Post #181 » by **red4hf** » Sat Nov 27, 2021 4:48 pm

Any updates on Udoka? Looks like he had another serious injury last night?

Post #182 » by **Inigo Montoya** » Sat Nov 27, 2021 8:54 pm

red4hf wrote:Any updates on Udoka? Looks like he had another serious injury last night?

What I found so far:

Azubuike suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter of Friday's defeat against the Stockton Kings. He had three rebounds in the game before being taken out.

Azubuike was taken to the University of Utah Hospital for evaluation, but early signs are that it is a serious injury, which would be a huge loss for the Stars as he's averaging 7.7 points and 10.8 rebounds per game this season. More information should be available in the coming days.

https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/basketball/news/jazzs-udoka-azubuike-suffers-ankle-injury/

Catchall · Post #183 » by **Catchall** » Sat Nov 27, 2021 9:03 pm

The Jazz's backcourt is small with Conley and Mitchell. Mitchell is often forced to guard bigger players, while Conley I think is not exerting himself as much right now in order to avoid injury. The result is that big guards keep going off for season highs against the Jazz. Whether it's Desmond Bane, Lu Dort or Tyler Herro, they can just get a clean look over the top of our perimeter defense.

I honestly don't think it's a coincidence that Trent Forrest keeps having solid +/- performances in very limited minutes.

red4hf · Post #184 » by **red4hf** » Sun Nov 28, 2021 1:51 am

Inigo Montoya wrote:
red4hf wrote:Any updates on Udoka? Looks like he had another serious injury last night?

What I found so far:

Azubuike suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter of Friday's defeat against the Stockton Kings. He had three rebounds in the game before being taken out.

Azubuike was taken to the University of Utah Hospital for evaluation, but early signs are that it is a serious injury, which would be a huge loss for the Stars as he's averaging 7.7 points and 10.8 rebounds per game this season. More information should be available in the coming days.

https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/basketball/news/jazzs-udoka-azubuike-suffers-ankle-injury/

Thanks.... Man, I feel sorry for him..... Second year in a row...... The footage of it just made me sick.....

babyjax13 · Post #185 » by **babyjax13** » Sun Nov 28, 2021 3:52 am

Good article about Royce O'neale:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/royce-oneale-is-the-latest-midcareer-player-to-break-out-for-the-jazz/

tugs · Post #186 » by **tugs** » Sun Nov 28, 2021 11:53 am

Catchall wrote:The Jazz's backcourt is small with Conley and Mitchell. Mitchell is often forced to guard bigger players, while Conley I think is not exerting himself as much right now in order to avoid injury. The result is that big guards keep going off for season highs against the Jazz. Whether it's Desmond Bane, Lu Dort or Tyler Herro, they can just get a clean look over the top of our perimeter defense.

I honestly don't think it's a coincidence that Trent Forrest keeps having solid +/- performances in very limited minutes.

Time to consider swapping Clarkson and Conley?

Catchall · Post #187 » by **Catchall** » Sun Nov 28, 2021 7:24 pm

tugs wrote:
Catchall wrote:The Jazz's backcourt is small with Conley and Mitchell. Mitchell is often forced to guard bigger players, while Conley I think is not exerting himself as much right now in order to avoid injury. The result is that big guards keep going off for season highs against the Jazz. Whether it's Desmond Bane, Lu Dort or Tyler Herro, they can just get a clean look over the top of our perimeter defense.

I honestly don't think it's a coincidence that Trent Forrest keeps having solid +/- performances in very limited minutes.
Time to consider swapping Clarkson and Conley?

Conley runs Quin's system very efficiently, and he's shooting the ball well. At the end of the day, the Jazz have to ask themselves if it's more important to run their system, or just put more defensive and one-on-one scoring talent on the floor.

One thing that stood out last night was that swapping in Joe Ingles for Royce gave the Jazz some more size. If the Jazz are going to be small in the backcourt, then playing a bigger wing at the 3 may be important. So that would mean starting Joe or Rudy Gay instead of Royce.

Crunch 99 · Post #188 » by **Crunch 99** » Mon Nov 29, 2021 2:48 pm

Notwithstanding the Jazz' recent struggles, they are still the number one ranked offensive team at NBA.com and number eight ranked defensive team. Only GS has a higher net rating. I think the Jazz still have upside on offense as Clarkson and Mitchell likely move a bit more towards last season's TS% and as we continue to incorporate Gay and Whiteside in to the offense.

I am less certain whether we will make the needed improvement on defense. Maybe Trent Forrest can eventually earn some more minutes by scoring occasionally to go along with his defense? Forrest has the Jazz' best defensive rating at NBA.com, but we have a pretty small sample on him. Gay has a pretty good D rating on a small sample as well. Go Jazz!

Crunch 99 · Post #189 » by **Crunch 99** » Mon Nov 29, 2021 3:06 pm

I noticed that Steve Kerr plays 11 Warriors at 14 plus minutes per game. I know it is important to win regular season games and Forrest and Paschall probably haven't earned double digit minutes yet, but I wish Quin would play them, or maybe Fitts and Butler, double digit minutes along with our regular nine players to see if they can become credible two way players. Both Forrest and Paschall have a good start on the defensive end of the floor imo.

vryadli · Post #190 » by **vryadli** » Mon Nov 29, 2021 3:17 pm

Crunch 99 wrote:I noticed that Steve Kerr plays 11 Warriors at 14 plus minutes per game. I know it is important to win regular season games and Paschall and Forrest probably haven't earned double digit minutes yet, but I wish Quin would play them, or maybe Fitts and Butler, double digit minutes along with our regular nine players to see if they can become credible two way players. Both Paschall and Forrest have a good start on the defensive end of the floor imo.

Jazz lost games definitely did not happened because of playing youngsters too much. And seeing a lot of young guys around NBA playing first and second roles, one have to question Q. approach with young. I mean, yes, Jazz is great about Ingles-Clarkson development. But with draftee - not so much. They hover on the brink of rotation for years and then go for some other team. Actually, DM last young boy who actually make the team...

babyjax13 · Post #191 » by **babyjax13** » Mon Nov 29, 2021 7:38 pm

I'd like to see us release Oni and sign Kris Dunn. He at least has the upside to fix our perimeter defense issues if he is right.

tugs · Post #192 » by **tugs** » Tue Nov 30, 2021 3:54 am

Catchall wrote:
tugs wrote:
Catchall wrote:The Jazz's backcourt is small with Conley and Mitchell. Mitchell is often forced to guard bigger players, while Conley I think is not exerting himself as much right now in order to avoid injury. The result is that big guards keep going off for season highs against the Jazz. Whether it's Desmond Bane, Lu Dort or Tyler Herro, they can just get a clean look over the top of our perimeter defense.

I honestly don't think it's a coincidence that Trent Forrest keeps having solid +/- performances in very limited minutes.
Time to consider swapping Clarkson and Conley?

Conley runs Quin's system very efficiently, and he's shooting the ball well. At the end of the day, the Jazz have to ask themselves if it's more important to run their system, or just put more defensive and one-on-one scoring talent on the floor.

One thing that stood out last night was that swapping in Joe Ingles for Royce gave the Jazz some more size. If the Jazz are going to be small in the backcourt, then playing a bigger wing at the 3 may be important. So that would mean starting Joe or Rudy Gay instead of Royce.

This I support, maybe leaning towards Joe more

babyjax13 · Post #193 » by **babyjax13** » Tue Nov 30, 2021 6:50 am

Catchall wrote:
babyjax13 wrote:
Catchall wrote:
Jazz would have to put together a package with multiple players and a pick.

We can only really do that with our 2027 pick, and the players we could add (our prospects, or even Ingles/Clarkson/Bogdanovic) are not likely to result in a big wing who rebounds better than O'neale. If I look for 'wings' that get more than 7 rebounds a game I am left with Kuzma (poor defender, don't think this is the kind of player you are suggesting), Jayson Tatum, Miles Bridges, and Harrison Barnes. Barnes *kind of* fits the MO, but is more of a power forward in today's league, which leaves you solely with Tatum and Bridges. If instead we just look for players averaging more than 5 rebounds per game (where Royce is at so far) you can add DeRozan (not available), Avdija (recent lottery pick, not available), Nassir Little (Royce is better), Will Barton (Royce is better), OG Anunoby (not available), Jimmy Butler (not available), Saddiq Bey (not available), Jae'Sean Tate (Royce is better), Keldon Johnson (not available...and Royce is better), and Anthony Edwards (not available). Realistically, a role player that fits what you are describing does not exist.

Rui Hachimura might do it.

Just bringing this here: Rui is more of a 4/5 than a wing. I'm not opposed to the general idea here, and it seems Barnes would be the only possible target, but I don't think moving Royce specifically is a solution to anything. Of our mid-salary guys, Clarkson is the most movable/replaceable, especially if we could get someone like Barnes. Would certainly require a three-way and for us to send additional compensation.

Post #194 » by **Inigo Montoya** » Tue Nov 30, 2021 12:09 pm

I don't think that Clarkson is all that replaceable. In fact, I think he's one of the most important players on the team. Other than Mitchell, he's the only player who can create his own shot and score on a consistent basis (Conley might be able to do that too a bit but that's not his game). The Jazz will be much easier to stop without Clarkson, especially in the playoffs, where you sometimes need a guy who can just get you buckets.

AingesBurner · Post #195 » by **AingesBurner** » Wed Dec 1, 2021 4:40 pm

Inigo Montoya wrote:I don't think that Clarkson is all that replaceable. In fact, I think he's one of the most important players on the team. Other than Mitchell, he's the only player who can create his own shot and score on a consistent basis (Conley might be able to do that too a bit but that's not his game). The Jazz will be much easier to stop without Clarkson, especially in the playoffs, where you sometimes need a guy who can just get you buckets.

Yep, I’d rather see what Ingles, Royce, and other stuff would get us.

Crunch 99 · Post #196 » by **Crunch 99** » Thu Dec 2, 2021 4:34 pm

Stars played again last night and lost to Agua Caliente Clippers. Jared Butler led the Stars. Sometimes you have to make additional clicks to get the boxscore to come up in this link:
https://gleague.nba.com/games/20211201/SLCACC/

Watch on YouTube

Crunch 99 · Post #197 » by **Crunch 99** » Fri Dec 3, 2021 1:59 pm

In his five games as a starter, Ingles is averaging a very efficient 12.4 ppg on 8.2 fga, 51.2 fg%, 50 3p%, 4 rebs and 3.6 ast. In 16 games off the bench, Ingles is averaging 6.5 ppg on 5.4 fga, 43 fg%, 36.2 3p%, 2.8 rebs and 3.1 ast. Locke recently argued that a lot of this performance differential is due to playing with and without Gobert. Gobert sets screen assists for Joe and opens up better opportunities for Joe. Locke said Conley is another player whose results are dramatically better when playing with Gobert. When he first came here, a fair portion of Conley's minutes were playing without Gobert and he really struggled. Now practically 100% of Conley's minutes are played with Gobert and Conley has a high efg%. Mitchell's results are not impacted as much by playing with and without Gobert.

I am not necessarily pushing for Ingles to start, because I do think O'Neale is a better defender, but I am just giving another Gobert related stat that supports the argument that Rudy Gobert is our mvp. I am hoping that Whiteside can learn a few things from Gobert and improve as a screen assist guy. I also think we could be feeding the ball to Whiteside in the paint a bit more. Go Jazz!

Crunch 99 · Post #198 » by **Crunch 99** » Fri Dec 3, 2021 3:56 pm

babyjax13 wrote:Good article about Royce O'neale:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/royce-oneale-is-the-latest-midcareer-player-to-break-out-for-the-jazz/

I just belatedly read this article about O'Neale because I was on a trip when you posted it. It's a good analysis that highlights a lot of great things that Royce is doing that aren't readily apparent from looking at conventional stats. Go Jazz!

ProcessDoctor · Post #199 » by **ProcessDoctor** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 4:50 pm

Sixers fan in peace here. Thoughts on a Tobias for Bogs/Ingles swap? I've seen it discussed before, but am curious what your fanbase thinks about it now.

D Rog · Post #200 » by **D Rog** » Sat Dec 4, 2021 7:07 pm

ProcessDoctor wrote:Sixers fan in peace here. Thoughts on a Tobias for Bogs/Ingles swap? I've seen it discussed before, but am curious what your fanbase thinks about it now.

Obviously I can't speak for all but I would probably be opposed. I like the idea of getting younger but Ingles plays kind of a back up PG for the Jazz and initiates the offense really well. Harris is also shooting 29% from 3 this year? That may improve if he plays with the Jazz but Ingles is shooting 42% from 3 and Bojan is shooting 41%. I like the idea of getting younger but I am not sure I mess with the chemistry of a team that is currently 3rd in the West.