"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[VirginiaCougar]

New assistant GM.

I wonder how that works. Seems he would be forced to let go of the players he represents. Beyond that, does he lose his NBPA agent certification? In other words, can he never go back to being an agent.

Lindsey sure has brought a unique vision and a different approach to the GM position.

[MarkGrace]

Larry Sanders close to a 4 year $44mm deal. Is this a benchmark for Favors?

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Larry Sanders close to a 4 year $44mm deal. Is this a benchmark for Favors?

The comedian? Seems like a stretch.

[Jacob]

Larry Sanders close to a 4 year $44mm deal. Is this a benchmark for Favors?

Yep. Sanders had more buzz last year as the better player. Hope Favors wouldn't try for a higher deal.

[MarkGrace]

Five breakout players.

5. Enes Kanter | Utah Jazz
WARP: plus-1.9 | WIN%: minus-.057

Kanter
You can make an argument for Kanter or teammate Derrick Favors to be listed here, as both are expected to move into full-blown starting roles. For Favors, it's a matter of proving he can cut his off-the-bench foul rate without losing any of the aggressiveness that makes him an elite offensive rebounder. Kanter simply needs to do what he's been doing as a reserve. Last season, he averaged 16.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per 36 minutes while shooting 54.4 percent from the field -- all at the age of 20. Look out.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9581033/nba-projecting-top-five-breakout-players-2013-14

[Donuthole]

Utah Jazz not one of the worst 15 team names, according to Grantland.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9581428/the-definitive-guide-nba-team-names-part-1

Predictions as to where Utah lands in Part 2 of the article? I'll go with 15.

[Donuthole]

Utah Jazz not one of the worst 15 team names, according to Grantland.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9581428/the-definitive-guide-nba-team-names-part-1

Predictions as to where Utah lands in Part 2 of the article? I'll go with 15.

6? Seems a little high. But I agree that the Jazz note/basketball J is one of the best logos in all of sports.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/...-names-part-ii

[MarkGrace]

Saw this earlier in the summer, but looks like DWill still lives in Utah. How many Jazz players (or former) ever have made Utah home? Obviously you've got guys like Eaton, but over the years it hasn't been many.

[MarkGrace]

5. Which one of the Utah Jazz's "Core Four" makes the biggest jump this year?

One of the reasons I've been bullish on the Jazz's future is the cadre of young talents known as the Core Four: Alec Burks, Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, Enes Kanter. They represent varied skill sets and different positions, and have the opportunity to grow together: Burks as a slashing, playmaking big combo guard, Hayward as a skilled shooter who can put the ball on the floor, and the pairing of Favors and Kanter as talented bigs with very high ceilings.

While my Insider colleague Bradford Doolittle ranked Kanter as one of his top-five breakout players for this season, citing his youth efficiency in 36-minute averages, Favors is my pick for the player most likely to take the biggest jump. The offseason losses of Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson open up a ton of minutes for both of those frontcourt players, but Favors brings an impressive combination of size, strength, elite athleticism and defensive IQ to go along with a blossoming offensive post game. The truth is, the Jazz will go only as far as Favors takes them, as he's the member of the Core Four with the potential to be elite at his position. He's got to improve his efficiency around the rim and finish shots that aren't dunks in order to take that leap, but the opportunity to play more than 24 minutes per game (along with an offseason preparing for the role) should go a long way in Favors' development.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9584656/nba-burning-questions-northwest-division

[MarkGrace]

The Sure Bets in Utah

Enes Kanter

Utah will exercise Year 4 options on both Kanter and Alec Burks. The Jazz have essentially no long-term commitments, meaning they can keep paying all four of their core young guys without any cap or tax worries — for now.

Kanter hasn't done quite enough to justify a monster $5.7 million fourth-year option, but that's due to playing time issues; Kanter didn't play in college, and he's been no. 4 in Utah's big-man pecking order. He barely cracked 1,000 minutes last season, much fewer than we'd expect from a no. 3 selection working as a full-time rotation player on a .500 team.

Kanter loves to work from the left block, Al Jefferson's undisputed territory. But Kanter already projects as a very effective scorer from there — the rare back-to-the-basket force who scores with both hands, demands double-teams, and shows a feathery shooting touch.

Kanter can overpower smaller defenders, and he's flashed a variety of moves from the left block — a righty jump hook in the lane, an up-and-under counter that ends in a lefty layin, and a soft spinning baseline shot that vaguely evokes Hakeem Olajuwon (but which Kanter shoots too eagerly). Utah is still figuring out how to mix Kanter's post-up game with Derrick Favors's pick-and-roll basket dives, but they'll have much more time to do so now that Jefferson and Paul Millsap are gone. And they've already tinkered with having Kanter duck in for a post-up on the left block as Favors pick and rolls down the lane — a simultaneous bullying attack Memphis has long used with Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol:

Kanter expanded his pick-and-roll game, showing some nice footwork in creating passing angles and an ability to catch in traffic and launch tricky floaters. But those are low-value shots, and Kanter now faces the challenge of progressing without a credible pick-and-roll point guard.

He also improved as a passer after somehow recording just eight — eight! — assists as a rookie. He can see the floor well on the move and from the post, and coach Tyrone Corbin even let Kanter handle the ball from the elbow now and then. Again, the nuances of big-man play come slowly.

Kanter's already a monster offensive rebounder; only Reggie Evans and Hibbert snagged a higher percentage of their own teams' misses last season. Watch Kanter after he whips a pass from the post to an open shooter. He'll spin to inside rebounding position before that shooter even releases the ball.

Kanter's ceiling as a defender probably isn't very high, and it's certainly lower than Favors's. Kanter isn't especially fast or athletic (as a leaper, at least), and his wingspan is relatively short for someone his height. But topping out as "solid" would be fine, given his potential on offense. Kanter tries hard on defense, to the point that it almost looks as if his feet are always moving — sort of like Luigi jumping in Super Mario Bros. 2. The happy feet can make it hard for Kanter to maintain full control of his body, and to shift his momentum smoothly from one direction to the other; point guards who are clever changing directions around the same screen on a pick-and-roll can leave Kanter in the dust. And sometimes, it took only a crossover dribble — especially when Utah had Kanter chase point guards far from the rim:

But he's young, he cares, and he's a decent athlete. He'll be fine.

Alec Burks

This would be more interesting if the Jazz had any cap issues, and even now, Burks generates a lot of interest in spitballing sessions with team execs outside Utah. He's the Jazz's fourth banana, he's set to earn a fat $3 million on his fourth-year option, his PER declined badly last season, and teams have long wondered whether the opaque Jazz might be willing to deal him.

Burks has the toolbox of a nice rotation cog. He's got the size and wingspan of a shooting guard, and enough ball-handling chops to work as a secondary pick-and-roll guy. He also shot 35.9 percent from deep last season — exactly league-average, encouraging for a second-year guy who enjoys adventurous shots.

But there's a big gap between "decent rotation cog off the bench" and "above-average NBA starting guard," and Burks has to rejigger his decision-making in order to end up on the happier part of that continuum — and/or become the kind of 3-point shooter that defenses actively respect.

An emblematic tic: Burks dribbled away from the pick on 36 percent of pick-and-rolls he ran, the highest such rate by a giant margin among guys who ran at least 35 pick-and-rolls.9 Going against picks isn't bad by definition. It's a way to catch a defense leaning the wrong way, and Burks's explosiveness driving with his weak (left) hand is a huge asset.

But any habit becomes damaging when defenses can plan for it and use against you. This is especially true on side pick-and-rolls, a play Utah often called for Burks. Defenses on such plays typically try to force ball-handlers away from the screen and into a triangle of death formed by the sideline, the baseline, and the big man defending the screener. They regularly trapped Burks within that triangle, and Burks usually responded by launching bad off-the-bounce jumpers. Here's Burks on a rejected pick-and-roll with Jefferson on the right wing:

And here's the scene just before a Burks-Kanter rejected pick-and-roll leads to a long miss against San Antonio:



These are low-efficiency on their own, and even more so when you factor in the missed opportunities of Burks driving-and-kicking or resetting the offense. Burks's love of shooting is one reason he assisted on just 13 percent of Utah's baskets while on the floor, one of the lowest marks in the league for a guard. Burks's assist numbers might jump without Jefferson and Millsap around to act as inside-out cogs, but Jefferson's departure also means Burks won't get the same kind of open standstill 3s as a result of Big Al drawing double-teams.

Burks is a little jumpy on defense, and he'll be late on perimeter rotations here and there. But most young players fight through similar issues learning the roving nuances of NBA defense. Burks should be a reliable defender in the long run, and Utah is a cinch to pick up his fourth-year option. Even if Burks's ceiling ends up as an off-the-bench combo guard, that's a decent outcome for the no. 12 draft slot, and currently an easy choice for Utah.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9628650/derrick-williams-jimmer-fredette-more-nba-make-break-players

[clackamascoug]

Is this the thread where we debate the Jazz/Blazers for the 8th spot in the playoffs? Blazers are going to be better than last year, but not as good as we want them to be. That said, I'll still watch 80 regular season games this year. I think the major storyline this year will be LaStupid Aldredge wanting to get out of town ala, Deron Williams. So we got that to look forward to. Which is good.

[The_Douger]

The Jazz better not make the playoffs this year.

[Donuthole]

Is this the thread where we debate the Jazz/Blazers for the 8th spot in the playoffs? Blazers are going to be better than last year, but not as good as we want them to be. That said, I'll still watch 80 regular season games this year. I think the major storyline this year will be LaStupid Aldredge wanting to get out of town ala, Deron Williams. So we got that to look forward to. Which is good.

Do you already know which two you're skipping?

[clackamascoug]

Do you already know which two you're skipping?

I'm not sure of the 2 games, but 80 of the 82 will be televised locally. If you want me to look them up for for I'd be happy too.

[clackamascoug]

I'm not sure of the 2 games, but 80 of the 82 will be televised locally. If you want me to look them up for for I'd be happy too.

Well, that was easy.


The Trail Blazers released their 2012-13 TV broadcast schedule today. The highlights:- 60 games will air on CSN (Comcast 37)
- 17 games will air on KGW (8/NBC)
- 5 games will air on TNT (Comcast 54)
- 3 games will be simulcast nationally on ESPN and locally on KGW or CSN
CSN will air five of the team's seven preseason games. The other two games - Oct. 15 at Sacramento, Oct. 25 at Utah - are the only ones that will not be available on TV.
Home games are shaded blue in the grid below.