"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[Blueintheface]

Burks looks like dog shit tonight.

[MarkGrace]

Foye makes a great read and Sap blows it. Leads to a fast break and ATL lead.

[MarkGrace]

And that'll do it. Great 4th quarter, dipshits.

[LiveCoug]

I was not impressed with this loss.

[UtahJazzFan88]

Terrible terrible loss, not sure why Watson is deserving of any minutes out there either. He's a bigger liability on offense than Jarron Collins.

[Donuthole]

We always lose to ATL. If i had to guess, id say over the last 6 years the Jazz are 3-9 against the Hawks.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

The emergence of Ante Tomic

http://thebasketballpost.com/2013/01...nte-tomic.aspx

So, what has proceeded to happen next has been a delightful surprise, even to the most avid Tomic fans, like yours truly. Under Pascual’s tutelage, Tomic has developed into one of the best, most reliable defensive pillars in European basketball. The advanced metrics of lineups that feature Tomic are remarkable. According to gigabasket.org, with Tomic on the floor, Barcelona is allowing only 84.53 points per 100 possessions in the Euroleague, 4.3 points per 100 possessions better than the overall team’s league-leading mark of 88.8 in defensive efficiency. Tomic has finally rebounded and blocked shots like somebody of his stature should. He ranks fifth in the Euroleague in block percentage and 10th in the Spanish league in total blocks, also ninth in the Euroleague in rebounding rate and second in the Spanish league in total rebounds.

He has even added to his skill-set on offense. Tomic was mostly known for his post game but he was never a good finisher rolling to the rim off a screen and never that much of a reliable mid-range shooter, but the logic in the summer was he would get his touches on the block while Lorbek and CJ Wallace spaced the floor, much the same way Barcelona attempted to do it with Fran Vázquez if not for the fact that Fran Vázquez is Fran Vázquez. Pascual modified the offense this season, though, involving Huertas more into the attack. Tomic was being counted on to adapt and he did. He has developed good chemistry with Huertas, Sada and Navarro and the result is he currently ranks 11th in the Euroleague in points in the lane and second in the Spanish league in dunks.

[MarkGrace]

Great start against a hapless Pistons squad

[MarkGrace]

I'm reconsidering Tomic. Not that long ago I felt pretty confident that he'd never materialize with the Jazz, but I have to say his play this year has me intrigued. He's still 25, and given that he's spent his entire career in Europe, his total mileage is probably that of a player a couple years younger by NBA standards. There's no reason to think that he couldn't play at a decent level into his early 30s, especially since his game doesn't seem terribly dependent on athleticism.

I've always been worried about his weight, but that's something else I've been reconsidering for two reasons. First is that it appears he has put on some weight. His wiki page shows his current listing at 7'2" 260 lbs. Who knows if that's accurate, but I think anything in that ballpark is fine for a 4 (Gasol lists 7' 250 lbs). Second is that Thorpe is really on a kick this year that the need for strength in the NBA is overrated. He's made this argument in connection with Drummond, who despite weighing 270 is a pretty weak kid and got pushed around a lot in college, and more recently with Henson. Here's that comment:

I always get a laugh when I read how a college prospect must gain weight and strength to be able to compete in the NBA. Suggesting that means you are not watching NBA games, where quick whistles and a much more open game allow thin players to excel far more than they could in college. Plus, all players get stronger even if they don't put on weight, which they almost always do.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story...kie-watch-rise

I have no idea how that comment translates to Euro ball, but it does have me wondering if Tomic's lack of strength wouldn't hinder him as much as has been suggested. I also think it's probably not a great 1:1 comparison, because it seems Henson and Drummond are both succeeding because they can use their athleticism with the additional space on the floor, where Tomic seems to play a lot to contact in the post like Kanter (who, btw, looks totally lost on his approaches to the hoop unless he has a body to bump).

Anyway, at his age and production he's not the next Gasol or anything, but I think there's a solid chance he could be an NBA rotation player. I'd be pretty intrigued by a Kanter/Favors/Tomic 4/5 rotation a year or two from now.

[MarkGrace]

I will be really unhappy if the Jazz lose this one.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

I just can't fathom how Corbin feels it is better to give Carroll 25 mpg at SF with Favors playing less than 20, rather than using the big lineup. If Favors doesn't get back in the game, this will be the 3rd game in a row and 4th in 5 that he's played fewer than 20 minutes. The other game he played exactly 20.

This will also be the 3rd game in a row that Kanter has been under 10 minutes played.

And FWIW, Jefferson has 0 FTAs and zero blocks. Again.

[MarkGrace]

So bad.

[smokymountainrain]

So bad.

Unhappy if they win too?

[MarkGrace]

Unhappy if they win too?

No. Letting that lead collapse from 12 to 2 in a couple mins was terrible.

[smokymountainrain]

No. Letting that lead collapse from 12 to 2 in a couple mins was terrible.

Ah, I missed the 2nd half so I didn't see that. The first half was pretty ugly too.