"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[Sizzle]

The Oklahoma City Thunder signed point guard Diante Garrett to a make-good contract prior to the start of training camp and there is a light chance he makes the opening night roster.

From Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman: " ... the extended absence of Russell Westbrook, and Garrett's strong play in limited preseason minutes, has suddenly made him a viable regular season roster candidate."

Currently the Thunder point guard position has Reggie Jackson as the starter and Derek Fisher as the backup with Westbrook sidelined.

“I think Diante has done a great job of stepping in and making his impact felt,” said head coach Scott Brooks. “He's done a pretty good job. We still have to make decisions with our roster.”

The Thunder will likely go with 14 players to begin the 2013-14 regular season as a way to stay below the luxury tax line, but if they fill the 15th spot it might go to Garrett.

Almost made the Thunder roster, so that's a positive...

[Sizzle]

Strengths: Garrett is a 6’4 pure PG with very nice fluidity and smoothness to his game … Flew under the radar throughout his career playing for Iowa State … Played with some pro-level talents before his Sr. year in Craig Brackins and Marquis Gilstrap, and was effective getting them shots in their favorite spots … Possesses the great floor vision that comes with his above average height for the position … Shows very passing ability and is highly unselfish as a distributor as his 6 apg shows … Eyes rarely look at the floor, and he reads the defense very well … Shows a very nice arsenal of moves he likes to use, and shows a very tight handle that’s low to the floor with both hands … Has a nice, smooth 1st step…Very strong in the pick and roll game … Almost always breaks down his man and gets into the lane to create high percentage shot if a big man gets switched on to him …Very good at getting in the lane and is impressive in isolation…Flashes a floater in the lane at times … Good at using the glass and rim to shield the ball from shot blockers…Has solid quickness and shiftiness … Improved his pull-up jumper as a Senior … His 6’8 wingspan and active hands make him a threat as a ball thief … Shows pretty good leadership skills

Weaknesses: Managed to improve his jump shot and confidence in his last 2 years, but remains a below average jump shooter…Has a deliberate release and doesn’t very good touch…Didn’t make defenders pay for diving his screens as much as he needed to…Put up good scoring numbers for Iowa State this past season; but he’s not much of a scorer at all, as his 41 FG% shows and only scored so much because his teammates weren’t very talented…Not was particularly efficient as a scorer, even when he had a limited scoring role…Struggles to finish around the rim in traffic due to his below average explosiveness and leaping ability…Not very strong and more pounds wouldn’t hurt…Very unselfish, but sometimes to a fault…Not always polished with his footwork in the lane, and is prone to overdribbling or killing his dribble in bad spots of the floor…Somewhat turnover prone…Plays with a pretty high center of gravity for a PG..Lacks a degree of quickness laterally and struggles to deny dribble penetration against small, quicker guards…Never played in the post season at Iowa State in his entire career …

Overall: Garrett is a nice talent that has great size and shows some very nice skills as a natural playmaker and is a great ball-handler who plays the unselfish basketball you love to see from a PG. He lacks athleticism, has a skinny frame, never won at Iowa State, and isn’t the best shooter though so there are doubts about him sticking in the NBA.

Sounds like the perfect pickup.

[MarkGrace]

Jazz apparently sending 5 scouts to watch the Champions Classic this week.

[Sizzle]

Jazz apparently sending 5 scouts to watch the Champions Classic this week.

The Jazz aren't trying to lose, but they clearly are not playing to win this year either.

[UteStar]

I am actually shocked that the Jazz waived Tinsley. I know that Corbin really liked him and that the organization (not sure about Lindsey) liked him generally. Hey, I'm glad that they are trying someone else at point besides a guy with a cane. It is nice to see that we have a real veteran like Lucas to help the young guys learn how to not shoot well and not be good distributors of the ball.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Randle with his 3rd straight 20/10 game to start the year. 25 and 12 against a very good, very experienced MSU team with 3 minutes to go.

[smokymountainrain]

Randle with his 3rd straight 20/10 game to start the year. 25 and 12 against a very good, very experienced MSU team with 3 minutes to go.

I haven't watched the game yet (I will start it in a few minutes), but Randle really does look like the real deal. Barkleyesque in his ability, strength and explosiveness. He'd be a pretty damn good consolation prize if Wiggins and Parker stay 1 and 2.

[MarkGrace]

Holy shit is randle good or what? Wouldn't hesitate for a second to take that kid #1

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Holy shit is randle good or what? Wouldn't hesitate for a second to take that kid #1

So blasted strong already. Is he lying about his age? He is going to destroy weaker teams throughout the year. I've called him a more athletic and already better shooting Antoine Walker, but that just doesn't come close to accounting for his strength. The way he moves around the court and his dribble do remind me of Walker, but Barkleyesque is a better way to describe his physicality and results.

I was most impressed tonight when he'd get doubled in the post. He was patient, didn't make a panic turnover, and then usually found a guy for a wide open jumper. He's played 3 college games and already does that better than most bigs ever will.

I hope the Jazz win the 1st pick, then make a Webber/Hardaway trade, moving down to get Randle and collecting a few extra firsts for their trouble. Or maybe some team will be trading up to get Randle, and it will be Parker that the Jazz pick at #3.

[Sizzle]

Chris Webber is actually another interesting comparison for Randle. I kept trying to think who he reminded me of and couldn't come up with anything. Like a longer Barkley.

I haven't watched Wiggins yet, but from what I've seen so far, I'd be more than okay with either Randle or Parker from this years draft.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Marcus Smart had 9 steals in a game where I doubt he played more than 20 minutes.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

The Jazz look like geniuses because they kept Corbin around. He is their secret weapon in the tankapalooza.

[smokymountainrain]

So for the Jazz, if I had to come up with reasons to be concerned about some of these top prospects - after just one game, it would look something like this.

Parker - he looks like a wing in every sense offensively, but defensively a bit of a tweener because he's pretty thick for just a young kid. When you think of thicker SFs, Carmelo and Pierce come to mind - at 18 he already looks as big or bigger than those two guys. He looks to lack lateral quickness on defense and yesterday, while I liked his attitude and effort defensively, he struggled with anybody he was guarding. He mostly defended the post yesterday, tried to front guys all night long and really got burned with passes over the top a few times. At one point last night toward the end of the game, it looked like they were trying to protect him a bit and they had him defending Traylor who really isn't a threat offensively and after Kansas couldn't find a shot, Traylor took Parker off the dribble and scored an easy layup. Ultimately his weight may never be an issue, but because he's half poly, I'd be a little more concerned perhaps than I might otherwise be.

Wiggins - first, and most obvious is his shooting. He missed every perimeter jumper he took last night and didn't look good doing it. The form isn't bad, but his lack of follow through is a problem. Second, he didn't look comfortable in situations where he had to create his own shot off the bounce. He had one play last night when he tried to take his guy off the dribble, pulled up from about 12 feet and shot it hard off the glass - didn't even hit rim. Had another in the first half when he dribbled, ran into traffic, spun and crashed into a waiting offensive player for an easy charge call (although they called it on the defender). Another wild drive that looked forced and uncomfortable ended in an unintentional hard bank shot from straight away that went in and even he looked surprised it went in. Because of his length and athleticism, he'll score a ton of points this year in transition, off the ball, offensive rebs, etc, but it will be interesting to see if he looks more comfortable putting it on the floor as the season goes on.

Randle - He's a true 4 and looks like he's only about 6'7 or 6'8. Having said that, Barkley was about 6'5" and I've already compared him to Barkley. Barkley was a decent NBA player. The problem is that a lot of guys have been compared to Barkley, yet there has never been anybody else as an undersized 4 who could do what Barkley did. He's always proven to be more explosive, stronger, and just had superior skill in every way than some of the guys who have been compared to him.

The Harrison twins didn't look especially quick or explosive. Andrew, who looked like the better of the two, has been compared to Westbrook, but Westbrook has elite quickness and run/jump ability and I didn't see that from Harrison last night. After that one game, Kentucky's hyped recruiting class looks more like last year's class than the MKG/Anthony Davis class that won it all. Randle may just be good enough that they could be a lot better than last year's team after Noel got hurt, but unless the Harrison twins and Young show more than they have so far this season, I don't see it.

[cougjunkie]

So for the Jazz, if I had to come up with reasons to be concerned about some of these top prospects - after just one game, it would look something like this.

Parker - he looks like a wing in every sense offensively, but defensively a bit of a tweener because he's pretty thick for just a young kid. When you think of thicker SFs, Carmelo and Pierce come to mind - at 18 he already looks as big or bigger than those two guys. He looks to lack lateral quickness on defense and yesterday, while I liked his attitude and effort defensively, he struggled with anybody he was guarding. He mostly defended the post yesterday, tried to front guys all night long and really got burned with passes over the top a few times. At one point last night toward the end of the game, it looked like they were trying to protect him a bit and they had him defending Traylor who really isn't a threat offensively and after Kansas couldn't find a shot, Traylor took Parker off the dribble and scored an easy layup. Ultimately his weight may never be an issue, but because he's half poly, I'd be a little more concerned perhaps than I might otherwise be.

Wiggins - first, and most obvious is his shooting. He missed every perimeter jumper he took last night and didn't look good doing it. The form isn't bad, but his lack of follow through is a problem. Second, he didn't look comfortable in situations where he had to create his own shot off the bounce. He had one play last night when he tried to take his guy off the dribble, pulled up from about 12 feet and shot it hard off the glass - didn't even hit rim. Had another in the first half when he dribbled, ran into traffic, spun and crashed into a waiting offensive player for an easy charge call (although they called it on the defender). Another wild drive that looked forced and uncomfortable ended in an unintentional hard bank shot from straight away that went in and even he looked surprised it went in. Because of his length and athleticism, he'll score a ton of points this year in transition, off the ball, offensive rebs, etc, but it will be interesting to see if he looks more comfortable putting it on the floor as the season goes on.

Randle - He's a true 4 and looks like he's only about 6'7 or 6'8. Having said that, Barkley was about 6'5" and I've already compared him to Barkley. Barkley was a decent NBA player. The problem is that a lot of guys have been compared to Barkley, yet there has never been anybody else as an undersized 4 who could do what Barkley did. He's always proven to be more explosive, stronger, and just had superior skill in every way than some of the guys who have been compared to him.

The Harrison twins didn't look especially quick or explosive. Andrew, who looked like the better of the two, has been compared to Westbrook, but Westbrook has elite quickness and run/jump ability and I didn't see that from Harrison last night. After that one game, Kentucky's hyped recruiting class looks more like last year's class than the MKG/Anthony Davis class that won it all. Randle may just be good enough that they could be a lot better than last year's team after Noel got hurt, but unless the Harrison twins and Young show more than they have so far this season, I don't see it.

Leave it to SMR to pick apart the top prospects as opposed to break down how they would fit in. Glass half empty guy.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

[Sizzle]

So for the Jazz, if I had to come up with reasons to be concerned about some of these top prospects - after just one game, it would look something like this.

Parker - he looks like a wing in every sense offensively, but defensively a bit of a tweener because he's pretty thick for just a young kid. When you think of thicker SFs, Carmelo and Pierce come to mind - at 18 he already looks as big or bigger than those two guys. He looks to lack lateral quickness on defense and yesterday, while I liked his attitude and effort defensively, he struggled with anybody he was guarding. He mostly defended the post yesterday, tried to front guys all night long and really got burned with passes over the top a few times. At one point last night toward the end of the game, it looked like they were trying to protect him a bit and they had him defending Traylor who really isn't a threat offensively and after Kansas couldn't find a shot, Traylor took Parker off the dribble and scored an easy layup. Ultimately his weight may never be an issue, but because he's half poly, I'd be a little more concerned perhaps than I might otherwise be.

Wiggins - first, and most obvious is his shooting. He missed every perimeter jumper he took last night and didn't look good doing it. The form isn't bad, but his lack of follow through is a problem. Second, he didn't look comfortable in situations where he had to create his own shot off the bounce. He had one play last night when he tried to take his guy off the dribble, pulled up from about 12 feet and shot it hard off the glass - didn't even hit rim. Had another in the first half when he dribbled, ran into traffic, spun and crashed into a waiting offensive player for an easy charge call (although they called it on the defender). Another wild drive that looked forced and uncomfortable ended in an unintentional hard bank shot from straight away that went in and even he looked surprised it went in. Because of his length and athleticism, he'll score a ton of points this year in transition, off the ball, offensive rebs, etc, but it will be interesting to see if he looks more comfortable putting it on the floor as the season goes on.

Randle - He's a true 4 and looks like he's only about 6'7 or 6'8. Having said that, Barkley was about 6'5" and I've already compared him to Barkley. Barkley was a decent NBA player. The problem is that a lot of guys have been compared to Barkley, yet there has never been anybody else as an undersized 4 who could do what Barkley did. He's always proven to be more explosive, stronger, and just had superior skill in every way than some of the guys who have been compared to him.

The Harrison twins didn't look especially quick or explosive. Andrew, who looked like the better of the two, has been compared to Westbrook, but Westbrook has elite quickness and run/jump ability and I didn't see that from Harrison last night. After that one game, Kentucky's hyped recruiting class looks more like last year's class than the MKG/Anthony Davis class that won it all. Randle may just be good enough that they could be a lot better than last year's team after Noel got hurt, but unless the Harrison twins and Young show more than they have so far this season, I don't see it.

Based on what I watched last night, if I am ranking the prospects overall, I think I'm ranking them like this:

Randle
Parker
Wiggins

Based on fit for the Jazz, I may put Parker ahead of Randle, but it's close. Randle is such an intriguing player because he has good athleticism and skill for a big guy, not Lebron level skill or athleticism, but a notch below, but that he plays like a post player. I don't know who I would compare him to in today's game. Barkley is interesting, but it would be Barkley if he were 6'8" (which isn't really 'undersized' for a 4 in the NBA). Randle is just tough because you doubt that he can play the 3 next to Favors and Kanter. Do you have those three be a beast of a frontcourt rotation, do you move one of them, or do you take a player that maybe fits better like Parker? Parker I think fits the traditional Jazz culture very well strictly from a basketball point of view. Good wing player, smart, good passer, unselfish. He definitely feels like the prospect with the least upside, but a good portion of that is just because of how good he is right now. He's developed and ready to step onto an NBA court and play big minutes from day 1. Parker and Randle look like safer bets to me right now than Wiggins, though granted, it's a ridiculously small sample size that anyone would be foolish to make their entire decision off of. Definitely will be interesting to watch play out this year.