"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[Blueintheface]

Keep it up, Corbin. Keep riding Millsap and Jefferson and Miles to the 8th pick in the draft.

He's in a tough spot though. Does his risk losing his job letting the youngsters get schooled night after night? I think he is honestly afraid of that. I also think it's reasonable to assume he's intimidated by Paul and Al to some degree. Also, any coach that is that scared of potentially losing their job is not going to coach for draft picks, at least not without owners consent, implied or explicit.

My hope is that as they fade quickly following the All Star Break that he does what he should have done to start the season and play the younger guys but I'm guessing he fights beyond reason with the veterans.

Perfect scenario is that O'Conner forces his hand again (trading Okur) by doing the same with Milsap. This team needs a starter in the backcourt or a warm body and future assets at the very least.

[UtahJazzFan88]

[YOUTUBE]A-FTtVrY34g[/YOUTUBE]

Deron drops 10 in a minute. It was nice having at least one good player to cheer for.

Love the Ian Eagle commentating on that, entertaining game.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

He's in a tough spot though. Does his risk losing his job letting the youngsters get schooled night after night? I think he is honestly afraid of that. I also think it's reasonable to assume he's intimidated by Paul and Al to some degree. Also, any coach that is that scared of potentially losing their job is not going to coach for draft picks, at least not without owners consent, implied or explicit.

My hope is that as they fade quickly following the All Star Break that he does what he should have done to start the season and play the younger guys but I'm guessing he fights beyond reason with the veterans.

Perfect scenario is that O'Conner forces his hand again (trading Okur) by doing the same with Milsap. This team needs a starter in the backcourt or a warm body and future assets at the very least.

Except as is, he is coaching for draft picks right now while also not developing his young players enough. The team is currently in 11th place in the WC, even though only two teams in the entire league have played fewer road games.

The 4th quarter last night was a perfect example of the mess Corbin is creating. The game is tied in the 4th quarter at 88, and Burks and Kanter are both playing well, but have only played 16 and 11 minutes (and that is with Bell being out). Yet coming out of the timeout, he puts Jefferson, Millsap, Hayward, and Miles with Watson. And the team loses the game. They lose a home game while playing Jefferson 38 minutes and Millsap 36 minutes.

I agree that the easiest way out of this is for a deal to be made. But with the team lottery bound any way, it shouldn't be that difficult to cap the minutes for Al and Paul. They still start, finish, and play the majority of the post minutes, but they take longer rests in between. Favors and Kanter not being able to crack 15 mpg on this team really is absurd.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Who could the Jazz pick at PG in the lottery?

Stock Check

We've profiled Weber State guard Damian Lillard already twice this season. Once as a sleeper and again when looking at the top point guard prospects in the country. Lillard has been a little hard to get a read on because, frankly, a lot of the top decision makers just didn't know much about him.

Over the course of the last month, that's changed. A number of NBA GMs and head scouts have now either seen Lillard in person or have done extensive scouting work on Synergy. The result?

The GMs and scouts I spoke with were virtually unanimous that Lillard is a potential lottery pick in this year's draft. Teams always have loved Lillard's scoring ability. It's been the other areas of his game that have given them pause.

Lillard has improved in virtually every aspect of his game. He's now a much more consistent threat from behind the arc (he's shooting 45 percent from 3 this season). His turnovers have decreased despite his high usage rate, and he's proven to be a capable floor general when he isn't carrying the team's scoring load.

He's second to Kentucky's Anthony Davis in PER and is the second leading scorer in college basketball.

In a draft devoid of elite point guard prospects, more and more teams are talking themselves into Lillard. His closest competition is Washington's Tony Wroten Jr. But Lillard's steadiness, maturity and his jump shot make him a better bet right now. We've had Lillard in the mid- to late-first round most of the year, but after an extensive round of calls this week, we're putting him in the lottery for the first time.

With a great tournament run and great workouts, it's not out of the question that he could work himself even a bit higher. Several potential lottery teams including the Suns, Hornets and Jazz will be in the market for a point guard this year. All three teams like him. It's hard to see him slipping by all three -- especially when you consider that both the Hornets and Jazz have multiple first-round picks.

[MarkGrace]

No interest in Wroten as a point.

I wouldn't be afraid to take Kabongo at the back of the lottery.

Bad news on the GS front. Talk of tanking the further they got out of the playoff picture and have some interest in moving Ellis.

[Blueintheface]

No interest in Wroten as a point.

I wouldn't be afraid to take Kabongo at the back of the lottery.

Bad news on the GS front. Talk of tanking the further they got out of the playoff picture and have some interest in moving Ellis.

Scott Machado? (Again, having never watched Iona play and trusting in a few on here that seem to think he'd be worth a pick)

Incidentally, I trust your judgment on the PG front as you were professing Dubois' talent before he played a minute in the NBA.

[MarkGrace]

Favors named as a replacement for the Rising Stars game.

[MarkGrace]

Scott Machado? (Again, having never watched Iona play and trusting in a few on here that seem to think he'd be worth a pick)

Incidentally, I trust your judgment on the PG front as you were professing Dubois' talent before he played a minute in the NBA.

Haven't watched him at all, but I'd like to. I don't get how in a draft devoid of points he isn't getting more buzz. Averaging 13/10/5 on great percentages and reportedly a plus athlete and good quickness. Sounds pretty good to me.

[MarkGrace]

hunter (utah)
will alec burks become a legitimate starter?

David Thorpe (12:25 PM)
It's not likely, but it is possible.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Saumil (NY)
You and others have mentioned that Kobe has the best footwork in the league today (at least on offense). Which big (Center/ Power Forward) has the best footwork on offense and defense?

David Thorpe (12:54 PM)
Al Jefferson in the post is a work of art.

Thorpe chat.

[LiveCoug]

Lot's of chatter about Jeremy Evans now being a part of the dunk contest....

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Lot's of chatter about Jeremy Evans now being a part of the dunk contest....

@WojYahooNBA

Utah's Jeremy Evans is a replacement for the Slam Dunk contest. If the NBA held this event in your driveway, would you open drapes to watch?

No doubt the fans around the league are saying, "WTF is Jeremy Evans?"

[Jacob]

I struggle to understand how Gordon Hayward gets minutes. Whenever he's on the court it's like a game of 4 on 5.

Can you explain this? Which of our wing players do you think is better than Gordon Hayward? I know that Hayward has had some bad shooting games, but not near as bad as Howard and Miles. But 4 on 5? I think he plays well on defense, and he is much more involved in the offense than Bell, even though Bell has been shooting well for a while now (in limited attempts). I really can't understand why you would think that Howard and Miles and Bell and Burks should be getting all Haywards minutes. The takeaway here should be that the Jazz need lots of help on the wing and ought to trade Jefferson or Millsap for a solid player at 1-3.

This team would be significantly better with Hayward at the 2 and AK at the 3, for example.

[Jacob]

Bad news on the GS front. Talk of tanking the further they got out of the playoff picture and have some interest in moving Ellis.

What do they want for Ellis, I wonder? If Curry is healthy and they move Ellis for a contributor, they wouldn't be much worse.

[Non Sequitur]

Can you explain this? Which of our wing players do you think is better than Gordon Hayward? I know that Hayward has had some bad shooting games, but not near as bad as Howard and Miles. But 4 on 5? I think he plays well on defense, and he is much more involved in the offense than Bell, even though Bell has been shooting well for a while now (in limited attempts). I really can't understand why you would think that Howard and Miles and Bell and Burks should be getting all Haywards minutes. The takeaway here should be that the Jazz need lots of help on the wing and ought to trade Jefferson or Millsap for a solid player at 1-3.

This team would be significantly better with Hayward at the 2 and AK at the 3, for example.

I'm not a fan of Miles, Bell or Howard, but all three of them bring more to the table than Hayward. Hayward has a butt-ugly jump shot...I'm always surprised when one of them happens to go in. With that shot, he'll never be a good shooter. None of the Jazz wings are going to bring you a lot of offense, so you have to look at the ones that have something else to contribute. I just don't think that Hayward has a lot to offer.

[MarkGrace]

I'm not a fan of Miles, Bell or Howard, but all three of them bring more to the table than Hayward. Hayward has a butt-ugly jump shot...I'm always surprised when one of them happens to go in. With that shot, he'll never be a good shooter. None of the Jazz wings are going to bring you a lot of offense, so you have to look at the ones that have something else to contribute. I just don't think that Hayward has a lot to offer.

That's a hard opinion to justify. Miles and Howard are shooting as bad or worse than Hayward, and if you step outside of just shooting and look at overall production as you suggest, Hayward's production based on PER far outstrips Bell and Howard because he contributes in far more categories than Bell and is a much lower mistake player than Howard. And defensively he hasn't been signifcantly different than the rest, and much better than CJ.

Hayward hasn't been awesome and has been very inconsistent, but on the whole, I think the point is no one has been significantly better. Also, I would argue, and have, that he runs the offense consistently better than anyone save possibly Bell. That's why he gets minutes.