Thoughts? Who’s your pick for game MVP?

Year 2 of a rebuild… tonight was an ugly game for sure but still holding on for hope. Go Jazz!

THT & Sexton just shot a combined 5-22 from the field, 2-9 from 3 with 4 TOs combined. I am so beyond sick of watching these two continue to get minutes over literally anybody on roster or G-League team. And there is no team in the NBA that would think playing these 2 together off the bench is a good idea other than us.

Clarkson had 4 turnovers again as well. As much as I personally love JC, his decision making as a starter is a glaring issue as well. And I am starting to get frustrated with his shot selection more this year.

Kessler needs to be starting long term over Omer. I think Omer has proven he deserves minutes, but Kessler is our best rim protector by far still. I would like to see him start tomorrow against Rudy & the Twolves.

Our road record is really bad, which can be expected from a young team, but I really hope this group can show improvement over the year.

We’re rebuilding, so it is what it is, but this is a pretty disappointing loss after they play so good against the Pelicans.

This is such a weird team because there are nights when we’re on the big stage and Utah is competing well with the best teams. Then the following night they’re down 25 to the worst team.

I think the next 7-10 games (practically by game 30 of the season) are going to be telling of the direction because Lauri and Kessler both being healthy is something we haven’t actually seen this year with Kessler being hurt the first few games and playing through it.

Simone looks really good though, huge, huge improvements.

GAME NOTES:

Damn. That was such an ugly game. The first quarter wasn’t bad, we were clicking on both ends of the floor, and assisted all 8 made field goals in the quarter. Even though we only scored 25, we gave up just 24 points. We were moving the ball, everybody was getting touches, and our offense was flowing. Then shit hit the fan. Fewest points scored in a game by us in 20 months lol.

The biggest discrepancy was points in the paint. Big credit to Jaren Jackson Jr for disrupting our flow all game. Buddy had 6 blocks on us, and was everywhere. We were heavily outscored 58-36 in the paint.

Another big discrepancy was fastbreak points. Although the turnover battle was fairly even, the Grizzlies ran, and they ran fast. 23 fastbreak points compared to just 9 from us. Pitiful.

John Collins had a great game. He was absolutely killing it in the first half, scoring 15. It was pretty frustrating to see him no longer be involved in our offense in the second half. Again, credit to JJJ for shutting it down, but he was our only consistent option. We needed to find a way to get him involved throughout the game. Collins finished with 17 points, 7-14 shooting, 3-5 from 3, 4 rebounds.

Credit to Simone Fontecchio too. Although he shot 4-13, all of his made field goals came in the second half. Compared to last year, his shooting and defense has come a long way. 4-8 from 3, 4-13 from the field, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 12 points for him. His defense on Desmond bane was pretty good, forcing him to pass a lot more than Bane probably wanted to.

Keyonte George has really struggled with Lauri out. I think he feels more pressure to perform as a top option, and is forcing things. He looks more smooth when he is able to play with Lauri. Keyonte finished with 8 points on 2-6 shooting (2-4 from 3), 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 3 rebounds. Not a good game from him tonight.

Jordan Clarkson played an alright game. I would’ve liked to have seen him keep up the playmaking skills he showcased last game, but that is wishful thinking. 4-10 shooting, 2-5 from 3, 12 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 turnovers. He was forcing some bad passes out there, and dribbled off his foot twice I believe, but only once for a turnover.

Yurtseven was getting eaten alive down low. Really tough game from him on both ends, although he did have a great putback dunk on a wild THT layup. 4 points, 4 rebounds in 15 minutes for Omer.

Walker Kessler came off the bench again, although he played 28 mintues. I think it is because he plays really well off of Kelly, and with Lauri still out it makes more sense to have him with floor stretchers and other playmakers. Kessler struggled around the rim, going 4-9 from inside the arc, and went 0-2 on his 3 point attempts. Both of them were deadass, so take that as you will. 7 rebounds, 6 blocks, 9 points. His defense down low was good, but one guy can only do so much.

Our bench unit was terrible. 38 points from the bench, which a lot of it came in garbage time. Our bench play was highlighted by an incredibly inefficient night from our bench backcourt of THT & Sexton.

THT looked absolutely terrible. One of the worst games I’ve seen from him. 2-12 shooting, 1-5 from 3 for 5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers in 24 minutes of action. The amount of times where he would hold the ball for 16+ seconds in a possession and then put up a terrible shot triple teamed in the paint was too many to count.

Sexton was not much better. 9 points on 3-10 shooting, 1-4 from 3, paired with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 turnovers in 22 minutes. He would just attack and attack the paint but he wasn’t getting calls, and wasn’t scoring, and definitely wasn’t passing out. I don’t know what he was doing out there.

Kelly Olynyk looked good offensively, but couldn’t stop anybody 1-on1 defensively, or even help out on drives. 2-2 shooting, 1-1 from 3, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals. His two steals were good, but that doesn’t minimize a poor defensive effort from him.

Ochai Agbaji played pretty good. I was ragging on him hard early this season, but the last 5 or so games he has turned it around. 2-5 shooting, 1-4 from 3 for 5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and just -1 in 21 minutes. It felt like he was active in our offense, active on defense, and disrupting the rhythm of Memphis a bit.

Lastly, Luka Samaic got 6 minutes of garbage time, and was the only jazzman to finish with a + +/- tonight, with +6. 2-2 shooting, 1-1 from 3 for 5 points.

This was such an ugly game from the second quarter on. We were getting absolutely hammered inside, and couldn’t attack the paint. Again, major props to JJJ & Bismack Biyombo for stopping all of our efforts. Those two had more blocks than our entire team combined.

Anyway.

6-12. Hurry back Lauri