"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

I'm calling bull on Brother Ford. Absolutely no way he takes 8 or 9 guys over Noel or Oladipo. He had those two ahead of Smart last year before Smart pulled out of the draft, and Oladipo has some NBA folks raving while Smart didn't come out shooting like crazy yet in college so it makes no sense to say his stock has gone up relative to last year. Embiid is bigger than Noel, but they are about the same age and while both were raw offensively, Noel dominated many college games defensively before getting hurt.

At this point it definitely looks like Parker, Randle, and Wiggins would rate ahead of anyone from last year's draft. Once it gets down to it, I'm not sure Exum or Smart would rate higher than Noel or Oladipo, though that could certainly change as the season goes on.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

The fact that the Jazz are so bad both offensively AND defensively leads me to think that they're staying there for the immediate future.
.

The fact that the Jazz are so bad both offensively AND defensively leads me to think that Corbin isn't staying here long. How could he? The Millers were reportedly very worried about tanking the past two years because of the effect it would have on fans. The product on the court has been worse than I would think they suspected it would be this year, obviously compounded because they couldn't have predicted losing Burke. Getting Burke back will help sustain fan interest and should improve the play. But I think at some point the axe has to fall on Corbin as a sacrificial offering to fans.

Going into the year I thought they'd ride out the whole year with Corbin. But the team looks so lost for long stretches on both ends of the floor that I can't see them keeping him around much longer.

[smokymountainrain]

I'm calling bull on Brother Ford. Absolutely no way he takes 8 or 9 guys over Noel or Oladipo. He had those two ahead of Smart last year before Smart pulled out of the draft, and Oladipo has some NBA folks raving while Smart didn't come out shooting like crazy yet in college so it makes no sense to say his stock has gone up relative to last year. Embiid is bigger than Noel, but they are about the same age and while both were raw offensively, Noel dominated many college games defensively before getting hurt.

At this point it definitely looks like Parker, Randle, and Wiggins would rate ahead of anyone from last year's draft. Once it gets down to it, I'm not sure Exum or Smart would rate higher than Noel or Oladipo, though that could certainly change as the season goes on.

I couldn't agree more. People forget Kentucky, with all it's problems last year, was a good team headed for the NCAAs and was likely a sweet 16 or elite 8 contender with Noel. Without Noel, they lost most of their games and were out in the first round of the NIT. Noel was a game changer. Embiid is more comparable to Gobert at this point.

And yes, I have to say Oladipo > Smart at this point as well.

[MarkGrace]

Noel had a busted up knee. That would have likely killed his stock with more competition.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Noel had a busted up knee. That would have likely killed his stock with more competition.

But even after the busted knee, he was ahead of Smart. So why would Ford now put Smart ahead of him? Smart's presence in the supposed top 8 or 9 that Ford would pick over Noel shows he's just going over the top in his response to emphasize the talent in this draft.

[MarkGrace]

But even after the busted knee, he was ahead of Smart. So why would Ford now put Smart ahead of him? Smart's presence in the supposed top 8 or 9 that Ford would pick over Noel shows he's just going over the top in his response to emphasize the talent in this draft.

Ford's mocks are projections based on what he's hearing and who he thinks a particular team would take, not how he would rank them. He could have very well felt Smart was the better prospect last year as well.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Ford's mocks are projections based on what he's hearing and who he thinks a particular team would take, not how he would rank them. He could have very well felt Smart was the better prospect last year as well.

But his big board is just listing the players based on his influenced opinion on where players rank not based on team need or rumor. And IIRC, he had Noel and Oladipo over Smart on the big board before Smart pulled out. On some mock drafts before draft night he had Orlando at #2 even taking Trey Burke based on team need, but Burke wasn't in the top 5 on his big board. I'm not even sure if Noel even moved off of the #1 spot on his big board all year, even after the knee injury. He moved up and down the mocks, but not the board.

So even though his point of this draft being more talented makes sense, he hasn't ever had Smart as a better prospect than Noel in the past, so it seems odd to change it now. And unless he has Smart as #9 in this draft, which is doubtful based on how much he likes him, he's clearly not taking 8 or 9 guys over Noel (or Oladipo, who Ford called "the surest thing" in last year's draft).

[MarkGrace]

I'm pretty sure the Big Board is always impacted by what he's hearing as well. He goes to a tourney like in Chicago last weekend, talks to execs there, then starts shuffling things based on where he thinks they stand. He thought Smart was in play for #1 last year so doesn't seem out of the question that he would think he's a better prospect.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

I'm pretty sure the Big Board is always impacted by what he's hearing as well. He goes to a tourney like in Chicago last weekend, talks to execs there, then starts shuffling things based on where he thinks they stand. He thought Smart was in play for #1 last year so doesn't seem out of the question that he would think he's a better prospect.

Then I think his chat responses are too.

[smokymountainrain]

With all the talk the freshmen are getting, don't sleep on Rodney Hood as a draft prospect. He looks like a more polished and better shooting version of Andrew Wiggins right now. May not have the upside of Wiggins, he's damn explosive.

[Blueintheface]

Even if he is playing out of position, Burks is not taking advantage of his increased role. That sucks as I'm a fan.

[Sizzle]

Clay and Steph combine to shoot 1-12 in the first quarter... And the Jazz still down by 3 after 1. Yikes.

[Blueintheface]

Dennis Lindsey is trying to tank and I have to believe Ty Corbin is trying to get fired. this line up is just awful.

[Blueintheface]

Sloan refuses to play 3-pt defense. It's a low percentage shot so why would you?

[Maximus]

I wonder how many nights of embarrassment it will take to get corbin fired early.