"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[MarkGrace]

Age of Jazz projected starting lineup at start of season:

Hayward - 23
Burks - 22
Kanter - 21
Favors - 22
Burke - 21

Who will have the younger average age starting group this season, BYU or the Jazz? I guess BYU will benefit a lot from Mika being a likely starter.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Rudy Gobert is going to be in this league for a long, long time. I love how active he is and how well he moves at that size. He could've had 2-3 more easy buckets this game already if Burke had just thrown the ball up around the hoop when he got in the lane. At one point Gobert pointed up in the air after Burke missed him again.

[smokymountainrain]

Rudy Gobert is going to be in this league for a long, long time. I love how active he is and how well he moves at that size. He could've had 2-3 more easy buckets this game already if Burke had just thrown the ball up around the hoop when he got in the lane. At one point Gobert pointed up in the air after Burke missed him again.

One thing I've noticed about Gobert in this summer league is that in comparison to his french team, the guys on the Jazz team won't throw it up to him like his french club teammates. I think that is to be expected, but I think it's sorta frustrating to Gobert.

[MarkGrace]

One thing I've noticed about Gobert in this summer league is that in comparison to his french team, the guys on the Jazz team won't throw it up to him like his french club teammates. I think that is to be expected, but I think it's sorta frustrating to Gobert.

Yeah, that just comes with familiarity. I haven't watched him yet, but I'm excited about what I've read. Defend, rebound, dunk definitely has a role.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

These games are so worthless. I don't know why teams even bother. The Jazz have been called for 23 fouls with 3 minutes left in the 3rd. Most games that goes both ways, but this time the Rockets have only been called for 10 fouls. Most of the players on the court are so bad that they won't ever come close to being on an NBA roster. And the Jazz are one of the few teams that always try to run their schemes even though nobody has practiced them and the opposing defenses play so aggressively that the regular scheme has almost no hope of working.

It really seems like Utah's prospects would gain more by just doing individual work with coaches for two weeks.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Yeah, that just comes with familiarity. I haven't watched him yet, but I'm excited about what I've read. Defend, rebound, dunk definitely has a role.

I assume the team will work on him keeping his hands up more on defense. In just two games there have already been a lot of time where he was between his man and the hoop but his guy got a decent look off because Gobert's hands were at his side. All he needs to do is put those arms up and he'll change all sorts of shots. Same on offense, he holds the ball at his waist while at the high post instead of over his head. He turns his body and reaches the ball to his side, so it is far away from his defender, but not safe from other defenders on the perimeter.

But to me the little that he has showed has been the best part of summer league so far for Utah.

[smokymountainrain]

These games are so worthless. I don't know why teams even bother. The Jazz have been called for 23 fouls with 3 minutes left in the 3rd. Most games that goes both ways, but this time the Rockets have only been called for 10 fouls. Most of the players on the court are so bad that they won't ever come close to being on an NBA roster. And the Jazz are one of the few teams that always try to run their schemes even though nobody has practiced them and the opposing defenses play so aggressively that the regular scheme has almost no hope of working.

It really seems like Utah's prospects would gain more by just doing individual work with coaches for two weeks.

It looked like Burks got hammered on that last play of the half before the clock expired, but the refs couldn't get to wherever it is they go soon enough.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Gobert already defends the pick and roll better than Al. I believe this with every fiber of my being.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Another positive on Gobert: he appears to have really good hands. He hasn't fumbled any passes that I've seen, and once he gets his hands on a rebound he usually controls it.

[woot]

Burke was pretty good this year at throwing 'oops; maybe he just doesn't trust or understand his guys' abilities yet. He doesn't seem to be playing all that well, but I imagine a more organized game will benefit him.

[smokymountainrain]

Burke was pretty good this year at throwing 'oops; maybe he just doesn't trust or understand his guys' abilities yet. He doesn't seem to be playing all that well, but I imagine a more organized game will benefit him.

Yeah, I think BGR's comment above about the Jazz trying to run their sets despite this team only having been together for about a week, puts their offense at a disadvantage. It's fun for a geek like me to watch (as opposed to having no basketball), but in terms of taking anything away from it - positive or negative about individual players - it is meaningless.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

And its announced that Gobert will have foot surgery after summer league.

So now do we just completely write him off? Big dudes with feet problem...not good. He's obviously playing with whatever the issue is right now, and since his French team says they knew about it I'm assuming the Jazz did as well before picking him. But this sucks.

[smokymountainrain]

And its announced that Gobert will have foot surgery after summer league.

So now do we just completely write him off? Big dudes with feet problem...not good. He's obviously playing with whatever the issue is right now, and since his French team says they knew about it I'm assuming the Jazz did as well before picking him. But this sucks.

Bizarre.

[Jacob]

The scoring could be brutal this year. Hayward has to be the go-to guy with scoring this coming year. If he can take charge instead of sitting back like he often did with Jefferson and Milsap in the game, then he could develop into a nice 20ppg scorer. I think Kanter has the ability to be a scorer, though I don't think this will be the year that he breaks out. With that said, there is some real potential there. Burks will most likely never be a terrific shooter, but he can get to the rim to get his points. Favors is still raw but he shows that he does some skill around the hoop.

So breaking it down. Who scores this year? Here is my stab at it:
Hayward: 18
Favors: 13
Kanter: 12
Burks: 10
Burke: 10
AND HOLY CRAP, I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THE OTHER 30 POINTS A GAME WILL BE COMING FROM. And, I am OK with that. If Rush is healthy, he can come in and get 8-10 points. No idea how much Biedrins and Jefferson time these two will get, but put them in for another 10 points total between them. But we are going to have see some dramatic leaps in scoring and in play from the young guys. If Burks can stay under control and attack the rim and Burke and Hayward can get him the ball, I could see him getting 12-14 points per game.


With all that said, none of the players are truly ready to be the MAN simply because they were not pushed much by Corbin as he relied too much on Jefferson or Milsap getting them out of jams. I think the defense has a chance to be solid (better than next year but a lot of that has to do with Jefferson moving on and Favors getting more time). The offense will struggle as will the outside shooting. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Jazz in that 93-95ppg range which would put them in the bottom 5 range among teams. Defense next year will be the key. Good defense can lead to some good and easy baskets for Burks and Burke which would be necessary for this Jazz team.

My prediction:
Hayward: 19
Kanter: 17
Favors: 15
Burks: 14
Burke: 15

That's a lot of points. I'm not concerned, though my estimate is probably a little high. It's a lot more than the Jazz starting lineup scored last year.

[MarkGrace]

Jody Genessy @DJJazzyJody 10m

Another source confirmed that Jazz center Rudy Gobert will have a minor ingrown toenail procedure after summer league. Nothing serious.

And the French report makes it sound like serious foot surgery. White flag waving pussies!