"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[MarkGrace]

Looks like Jason Thompson's little brother has been invited to camp. Apparently he showed pretty well at Portsmouth (37 point game).

[Sizzle]

Also of note, Jazz are 8th in the future power rankings. Not a terrible place to be, although they would be 3rd in the division and 5th in the West. Rankings are:

Heat
Lakers
Thunder
Bulls
Rockets
Blazers
Magic
Jazz

Should the Bulls really be that much higher than Utah? Deron > Rose. We will see how much we miss/they enjoy Booze.

[Donuthole]

Also of note, Jazz are 8th in the future power rankings. Not a terrible place to be, although they would be 3rd in the division and 5th in the West. Rankings are:

Heat
Lakers
Thunder
Bulls
Rockets
Blazers
Magic
Jazz

Should the Bulls really be that much higher than Utah? Deron > Rose. We will see how much we miss/they enjoy Booze.

Sadly, as long as Noah is healthy i'm not sure Bulls fans will every truly understand just how bad Boozer is defensively. Noah will erase a lot of Boozer's mistakes in a way Okur couldn't.

[Bastage]

Also of note, Jazz are 8th in the future power rankings. Not a terrible place to be, although they would be 3rd in the division and 5th in the West. Rankings are:

Heat
Lakers
Thunder
Bulls
Rockets
Blazers
Magic
Jazz

Houston always gets love in articles like this. For example, Hollinger lists pretty much their entire roster as giving them a 'nice foundation'. Scola, Battier, Brooks, Ariza, etc., are exactly what Hollinger says, just nice.

Who is their go-to guy? They don't have a player who can take over a game. They don't have a superstar.

[MarkGrace]

Houston always gets love in articles like this. For example, Hollinger lists pretty much their entire roster as giving them a 'nice foundation'. Scola, Battier, Brooks, Ariza, etc., are exactly what Hollinger says, just nice.

Who is their go-to guy? They don't have a player who can take over a game. They don't have a superstar.

And two of those guys have already crossed 30.

[MarkGrace]

I'm kind of surprised the Jazz went down in the future power rankings. Is age a factor in this thing? If so, I thought the Jazz would get a boost by exchanging a younger 20/10 player for an older one. Plus, they lost points by actually having a pick materialize into a player (though I guess I see the reasoning for that).

In terms of the Jazz core, I think it has only improved over the last little while by adding two young, talented pieces in Jefferson and Elder Hayward. And now they have an asset in AK's contract and are closer to financial freedom. I'm feeling pretty good about where they are right now.

[Sizzle]

Houston always gets love in articles like this. For example, Hollinger lists pretty much their entire roster as giving them a 'nice foundation'. Scola, Battier, Brooks, Ariza, etc., are exactly what Hollinger says, just nice.

Who is their go-to guy? They don't have a player who can take over a game. They don't have a superstar.

Houston is built on a statistical moneyball like approach in Basketball. Of course Hollinger is going to have a woody for them, with their team ranking high in a statistical analysis.

[Sizzle]

I'm kind of surprised the Jazz went down in the future power rankings. Is age a factor in this thing? If so, I thought the Jazz would get a boost by exchanging a younger 20/10 player for an older one. Plus, they lost points by actually having a pick materialize into a player (though I guess I see the reasoning for that).

In terms of the Jazz core, I think it has only improved over the last little while by adding two young, talented pieces in Jefferson and Elder Hayward. And now they have an asset in AK's contract and are closer to financial freedom. I'm feeling pretty good about where they are right now.

Jazz ranked 7th in players, 4th in management (KOC sucks!), 21st in money, 18th in market, and 27th in draft.

I really think the Knicks pick was overvalued. The thought of adding a guy like Cousins, a potential All Star at the 5, would have been enough to push them up higher IMO. Hayward, while a nice piece, doesn't appear to be on that level potentially. I think the big thing hurting the Jazz is they don't have the unlimited funds like Portland does. Put money in the top 10 and I'm sure they move up.

[Donuthole]

Jazz ranked 7th in players, 4th in management (KOC sucks!), 21st in money, 18th in market, and 27th in draft (KOC sucks!).

I really think the Knicks pick was overvalued. The thought of adding a guy like Cousins, a potential All Star at the 5, would have been enough to push them up higher IMO. Hayward, while a nice piece, doesn't appear to be on that level potentially. I think the big thing hurting the Jazz is they don't have the unlimited funds like Portland does. Put money in the top 10 and I'm sure they move up.

Fixed

[Jacob]

Should the Bulls really be that much higher than Utah? Deron > Rose. We will see how much we miss/they enjoy Booze.

I would say so. The Bulls starting lineup is locked in for the next several years. And Boozer, who is not 30, is the oldest player by a long shot. The only player locked into the Jazz for 4 years is Elder Hayward.

I rate the Bulls as better than the Jazz this year, and I see no reason why that won't be the case for the next 3-5 years.

Deron > Rose, but I bet Rose takes a big step forward this year. It's his 3rd year, and with Boozer in the paint, his efficiency and assists should see significant improvement. Especially if he improves his jump shot.

[MarkGrace]

Fixed

I way fine with KOC giving away draft picks to get Al.

[Donuthole]

I way fine with KOC giving away draft picks to get Al.

Doh! I was thinking that was an evaluation of past-drafting (which, now that I think about it, makes no sense considering it's a report on future potential). Still, i like to take jabs at O'Connor's first-round drafting when I get the chance.

And I agree. Giving up the draft picks for Al was a no-brainer.

Does Hollinger's evaluation of the Jazz include any mention of Tomic?

[Sizzle]

Doh! I was thinking that was an evaluation of past-drafting (which, now that I think about it, makes no sense considering it's a report on future potential). Still, i like to take jabs at O'Connor's first-round drafting when I get the chance.

And I agree. Giving up the draft picks for Al was a no-brainer.

Does Hollinger's evaluation of the Jazz include any mention of Tomic?

No mention of Tomic, though that Should be factored in.

[MarkGrace]

No mention of Tomic, though that Should be factored in.

No kidding. Ford loves to talk about random Euros -- he really dropped the ball on this one.

[MarkGrace]

KOC signs multi-year extension so he can continue to torment Donut with his 1st round draft picks: http://www.nba.com/jazz/news/080510_...errysloan.html