"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

I've only watched two of his games, and I realize he's going up against SL talent, but his defense looks absolutely fantastic. And couple that with a potential huge defensive presence like Noguiera behind him, and the Hawks might've just drafted two guys that will anchor a big time defense for years. So even if Schroeder never develops a reliable shot, he looks like he'll be able to get in the lane, create for teammates well, and play terrific defense.

What sucks as a Jazz fan is that Schroeder looks like he belongs so far, while Burke looked so painfully slow and out of place. But teams in the Vegas summer league have almost always played at a higher pace, stats have been easier to come by, and the Jazz have always required their summer league teams to try to learn and run their system more than most other teams seem to do. I still hope Burke was just over-thinking everything and that is why he looked so slow.

[Blueintheface]

I've only watched two of his games, and I realize he's going up against SL talent, but his defense looks absolutely fantastic. And couple that with a potential huge defensive presence like Noguiera behind him, and the Hawks might've just drafted two guys that will anchor a big time defense for years. So even if Schroeder never develops a reliable shot, he looks like he'll be able to get in the lane, create for teammates well, and play terrific defense.

What sucks as a Jazz fan is that Schroeder looks like he belongs so far, while Burke looked so painfully slow and out of place. But teams in the Vegas summer league have almost always played at a higher pace, stats have been easier to come by, and the Jazz have always required their summer league teams to try to learn and run their system more than most other teams seem to do. I still hope Burke was just over-thinking everything and that is why he looked so slow.

Nobody has mentioned it here (that I can recall) but he appeared out of shape to me. It doesn't really concern me as I'm sure he had a bit of a hangover from the draft but he just appeared a bit fatter than his playing shape. I think it was the wake-up call he needed. It better be because you add 5,000 ft of elevation and better players and you have Milt Palacios.

[MarkGrace]

Looking at some of Schroeder's boxscores (I haven't seen the scores of all his games) his numbers have been less than stellar. Maybe he's had some good games as of late.

Stats haven't been awesome, but you can tell he just has a real feel for the position. His burst is absolutely insane, and he's got the kind of quicks where it takes him absolutely no effort to get in the lane. And he's just got a real distributor's mentality in spreading passes all over the floor, from the wings to creative passes in the paint. I just have this vision of him repeatedly collapsing defenses and then dumping off to Kanter or Favors that I just can't shake. His frame is slight, but he's got monster defensive potential as well -- he had a pick in the backcourt the other night with those long arms that was just filthy. Shot isn't much, and he doesn't look like a natural shooter, but CP doesn't look like much of a natural shooter either and he's done fine.

[smokymountainrain]

Stats haven't been awesome, but you can tell he just has a real feel for the position. His burst is absolutely insane, and he's got the kind of quicks where it takes him absolutely no effort to get in the lane. And he's just got a real distributor's mentality in spreading passes all over the floor, from the wings to creative passes in the paint. I just have this vision of him repeatedly collapsing defenses and then dumping off to Kanter or Favors that I just can't shake. His frame is slight, but he's got monster defensive potential as well -- he had a pick in the backcourt the other night with those long arms that was just filthy. Shot isn't much, and he doesn't look like a natural shooter, but CP doesn't look like much of a natural shooter either and he's done fine.

Ugh.

[MarkGrace]

Schroder recovered from a first quarter in which he posted three turnovers to turn in the afternoon's best performance. At the end of regulation, he shook McCollum out of his shoes so badly to free John Jenkins for a jump shot that the gasps were audible in the arena. With every game, Schroder is building a reputation as a player with a game beyond his years. -- Nowell

LAS VEGAS -- There is a certain player type that tends to make waves at summer league. Let's put it plainly: gunners.

Whether fringe veterans relishing the opportunity to let fly at will or young lottery picks showcasing their ability to light it up, players who have the ball in their hands the most tend to garner the most highlights in Vegas. All of which makes Atlanta's Dennis Schroeder something of a surprise.

Most viewers wouldn't begrudge a 19-year-old first-round point guard his green light; the willingness to miss shots a player might be counted on to hit during the season can be a developmental positive. But if Schroeder has the go-ahead, he's choosing instead to showcase his prudence and ability to control a game on relatively few shots.

On Wednesday, the German guard was the best player on the floor during the Hawks' overtime loss to the Blazers, but he shot 4-for-11 from the field. It's the way he pins defenders to his hips, the way he pulls fellow rookie Lucas Nogueira by the waistband during timeouts and his insistence on setting up his teammates that set Schroeder apart. Where others see a need to prove they belong as scorers, Schroeder is building his reputation by filling in the gaps.

Don't let the steals-and-assists-heavy stat lines fool you, though. While Schroeder might not seek to punish the rim out of every pick-and-roll, he possesses jets and a handle that will make him a tough cover for years. On the final play of regulation Wednesday, Schroeder juked C.J. McCollum so viciously that the audience stood and gasped as Schroeder threaded a pass to a wide-open John Jenkins. Jenkins missed the shot, but the point was made: He might not look like what you would expect, but Dennis Schroeder does not blend into a crowd.

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/p...717/daily-dime

[wapiti]

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/p...717/daily-dime

I wonder why was he so awful in draft workouts?

[MarkGrace]

I wonder why was he so awful in draft workouts?

Can't shoot. Not a lot of opportunity to show off team skill.

[MarkGrace]

Tankfest 2013-14

A fair amount of resentment exists among front offices trying to win basketball games in 2013-14 for those rival execs who aren't.

"When you sell failure, you can't be judged by failure," one exec said. "By doing it this way, they buy themselves a five-year cycle rather than a three-year cycle. It's about survival as much as strategy."

In other words, by selling owners on the idea that calamity must precede success, the Merchants of Tank get a pass from owners who might otherwise have a low tolerance for the volume of losses they're about to accumulate.

There are varied opinions as to whether decision-makers such as Philadelphia's new general manager, Sam Hinkie, are pursuing a sensible strategy. Some doff their caps to the pragmatism, boldness and, most of all, power of persuasion required by an executive to sell 62 losses to owners who aren't accustomed to losing in life.

But others feel as if tankers are overplaying their hands. The thinking goes that tanking is all well and good when you're one of only a select group engaged in the practice (as Oklahoma City was during its construction). But when as many as a dozen teams are participating, the race to the bottom is far more competitive -- and potentially corrosive to the franchise.

"There are only three top-three picks," one assistant general manager said. "Everyone wants to be the Thunder, but for the majority of teams, it doesn't work out that way. Meanwhile, you don't want to create a cultural malaise while you're busy driving away your fan base."

The unintended consequence of all this? The competitive balance the league purported to establish during the 2011 negotiations is as nonexistent as ever.

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/p...718/daily-dime

[MarkGrace]

Pelton on what seems to translate between summer and the regular season.

Shot-blocking and defensive rebounding translate particularly well from the summer league to the regular season. That's good news for players, like Milwaukee's John Henson, who have been controlling the glass and blocking shots.

Conversely, shooting during the summer tends to be much less predictive than randomness alone would indicate. The better players shot from 3-point range during last season's summer league (minimum 20 attempts), the worse they shot come November. Accurate 2-point shooting also failed to translate, along with offensive rebounding, steals and even usage rate.

Even stat-haters can be swayed by big performances that are obviously unsustainable. Selby won MVP honors last summer on the strength of obviously fluky 27-of-42 shooting from beyond the arc. He ended up making just one of his six 3-point attempts during the regular season, playing 59 minutes for the Memphis Grizzlies before he was traded to Cleveland and waived in March.

Selby's experience is the perfect example of the stats that don't matter from summer league. But with the appropriate care, they can shed some light on performance in Las Vegas (and Orlando) that might be more meaningful than mirage.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story...regular-season

[MarkGrace]

Summer highlights for the three rooks.

[MarkGrace]

[MarkGrace]

[LiveCoug]

Gobert looks.... long

Burke looks.... slow

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Pelton says he expects Burks to take the biggest leap of the Jazz young players next year, but Favors will gain the biggest boost in terms of national exposure as teams (paraphrasing) "see how good he has been". Also said Burke's struggles didn't worry him too much, and that MC-W's turnover issues in summer league are much more of a concern. Also said he thought Burke would be one of the best players in the league under the age of 21.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

I was expecting this to be about 30 seconds long.