"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Burks committing to the exhibition game probably sealed it for me. Get to see Kanter, Burks, and Jimmer, along with seeing how Favors and Jefferson look after a reportedly very productive off-season. I wasn't sure if I'd go watch but I'd really like to see Burks up close.

Jazz players participating - Burks, Favors, Jefferson, Millsap, Harris, Price, Watson, Kanter

Other NBA players: Steph Curry, Billups, Maggette, Wes Matthews, Jimmer, Anthony Tolliver

[smokymountainrain]

Burks committing to the exhibition game probably sealed it for me. Get to see Kanter, Burks, and Jimmer, along with seeing how Favors and Jefferson look after a reportedly very productive off-season. I wasn't sure if I'd go watch but I'd really like to see Burks up close.

Jazz players participating - Burks, Favors, Jefferson, Millsap, Harris, Price, Watson, Kanter

Other NBA players: Steph Curry, Billups, Maggette, Wes Matthews, Jimmer, Anthony Tolliver

That may do it for me as well. Thanks for the info.

[Jacob]

Randy Rigby on the radio today:

God will bless the Jazz with more wins for not playing on Sunday.

Seriously.

Ute fans will never forgive such self-righteousness, I presume. Expect season ticket sales to plummet.

[Blueintheface]

In the FWIW category, ESPN has 5 "experts" rate who they think will be the TOP 5 incoming 'Freshman' in the NBA. Sadly no one picked Jimmer but Kanter and Burks get a mention or 2.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/...t-nba-freshmen

3. Who will be the third-best "NBA freshman" in the 2011-12 season?

Patrick Hayes, PistonPowered: Alec Burks. Burks' shooting needs work, but his size for a guard, ability to get to the rim and finish will give the Utah Jazz the weapon at the shooting guard spot they've long coveted to complement Deron Williams. Oh, right. Devin Harris should like him, too.

John Krolik, Cavs: The Blog: Enes Kanter. I think Kanter will have a rookie season a lot like DeMarcus Cousins' -- he's going to have a few huge games, he's going to show flashes of extreme skill for his size, and he's going to put up good raw numbers, but his defense and scoring efficiency are going to be question marks. Five years down the line, I might like Biyombo more than Kanter, but I'm having a hard time picturing what Kanter looks like on a good team.

4. Who will be the second-best "NBA freshman" in the 2011-12 season?

Hayes Davenport, CelticsHub: Enes Kanter. The first phone call made after the lockout lifts will likely involve an Al Jefferson trade, paving the way for Kanter to start at center for the Jazz. He's a big improvement from Jefferson as a defender, with a vast skill set to make up most of Jefferson's lost production on offense.

[San Juan Sun]

In the FWIW category, ESPN has 5 "experts" rate who they think will be the TOP 5 incoming 'Freshman' in the NBA. Sadly no one picked Jimmer but Kanter and Burks get a mention or 2.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/...t-nba-freshmen

What about the Al Jefferson trade bit at the end? Has anyone heard about this?

[Blueintheface]

What about the Al Jefferson trade bit at the end? Has anyone heard about this?

It was rumored at the February deadline but I hadn't heard anything since. I wouldn't put stock into it. O'Connor doesn't make moves like this (I don't count the D-Will trade as anything other than a preemptive strike and a bit of retaliation for running off a legend).

[Blueintheface]

Listened to an interview with Jeremy Evans on 1280 on the way home tonight. Nothing Earth-shattering, just that he's working on his shot and confidence in pulling the trigger, and hasn't been able to add weight despite multiple attempts. But what I thought was most interesting and completely unrelated to The NBA though was that he will be launching a new website of his artwork. Artwork that includes his paintings of several LDS temples in Utah among other things.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Alec Burks will lead the league in scoring.

If the NBA counts 20' jumpers for 3 points and nobody plays defense on him.

But seriously, his shot looks good. And based on everything else he showed in college, if his shot is really that solid, I'm ecstatic about that pick.

[MarkGrace]

Burks apparently looked quite good last night. Or, as good as one you can possibly look in a game where nobody is doing anything other than dunking and jacking up shots from all over the floor.

[MarkGrace]

[YOUTUBE]NGfZvKz6aw4&feature=player_embedded[/YOUTUBE]

Evans has some seriously freaky bounce.

[MarkGrace]

Derrick Favors flexxed his biceps while CJ Miles stuck an imaginary microphone in his face.

"Why did you dunk on Jeremy Evans," Miles asked, impersonating the Salt Lake City media.

"He needed to hit the weight room," came the retort from Favors.

The exchange was in jest, but the intent is clear: Derrick Favors is a much better player now than when he was traded to the Jazz last February as a wide-eyed rookie.

Favors scored 24 points on an impressive display of dunks and jump hooks in Monday night's charity exhibition at Salt Lake Community College.

His drop step and dunk on Evans, though, was arguably the play of the game.

Favors is more explosive than he was last year, he's more refined offensively in the post and he looks much more confident.

"Derrick is a potential all-star," Ronnie Price said.

Favors certainly looks as if he's headed that way. And at this point, a summer of workouts looks to have paid off.

"It was about me getting more confident," Favors said. "I worked a lot on my game and I just want to make an impact."

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsja...looks.html.csp

[Jacob]

What about Jefferson. Was he there? Did he look in better shape? Or same old?

[MarkGrace]

What about Jefferson. Was he there? Did he look in better shape? Or same old?

He was there. Reportedly in great shape, but I feel like I hear that about every player every offseason.

Jazz's Devin Harris said that Al Jefferson has been "working his butt off" since the offseason started. Harris said that Jefferson has ...
dropped noticeable weight and is excellent shape. He worked out with Jefferson in Santa Barbara, then ran into him about two weeks ago.
Harris said that Jazz fans will be very surprised if they saw Jefferson right now.

[smokymountainrain]

I think you can tell very little, if anything, regarding skill level and potential impact a guy is going to have in real games, from a "game" like that where there is so little defense being played, but from a physical standpoint, Favors was a man among boys last night. The other big men were Kanter, Millsap, Tolliver, Jefferson and Evans. Favors was on completely different level in terms of size and athleticism. After seeing him (again, taking nothing from his actual play - which was very good, btw) last night and being reminded of his physical tools and obvious god-given ability, I wouldn't trade him straight up for Williams. In fact, I'm giddy knowing the Jazz were able to get him for Deron, to say nothing of the other pieces they got in the trade.

Burks was fun to watch, shot lights out and was the best player on the floor last night,(other than perhaps Favors and/or Steph Curry) but again, the game was useless in terms of determining future success. I was excited to see him play for the Jazz when he was drafted and last night did nothing to change my mind. I think he has a chance to be special.

Ultimately, IMO, Burks and Favors are the most important players on the team and I think Hayward and Kanter will be nice complimentary players to the two of them.

[Blueintheface]

He was there. Reportedly in great shape, but I feel like I hear that about every player every offseason.

I was pleasantly surprised by the block shots last year but I'll temper my expectations on him playing solid one on one defense until the season starts (if it ever does).

If being out of shape was the reason he didn't choose to play solid defense in the first place it begs the question of what has changed?