Can’t be TOO disappointed about losing to the champs. Plus there was definitely some improvement with the team that I liked. Kessler getting back to his normal self is promising.
Jazz are now 1-2 for moral wins on losses.
GAME NOTES:
This game was a lot more competitive than I thought. Credit to Will Hardy for a good defensive scheme after getting cooked the first half. Murray cooked us the first quarter, and was pretty much a nonfactor the rest of the game. We really limited their stars, and allowed Gordon and their bench to beat us. We finally moved away from that god awful zone (THANK YOU HARDY!!!)
Walker Kessler has arrived!!! In a game where I thought he would continue to slump (going against the best player in the league), he actually held his own and was able to get going both offensively and defensively. 22 points, 13 rebounds, 9-10 shooting, 1 block. I hope he is able to use this as a catapult for the rest of the season.
Overall big game for our big men. Our starting 3, 4, and 5 combined for 64 points 37 rebounds. Besides those 3, our team didn’t do much outside of THT and Sexton.
Credit to Lauri for being unstoppable. He continues to shoot the 3 really well, 5-13 from 3. 27 points 14 rebounds 5 assists in 38 minutes. He is proving he is a #1 option. I wish that in the final minutes he demands the ball more. Clarkson was shooting too poorly to be handling the ball the majority of our “clutch” time minutes. I’d rather give the ball to Lauri on a switch and see what he can do. His next step is going to be creating for himself against any defender.
John Collins was used more in offensive sets which is what I’ve been begging for. 15 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist 1 steal while shooting the second most field goals on the team. Although he was 7-16, I’m thankful he is getting touches and reps. He did have a bad goaltending call with less than a minute left, but an otherwise great game from him. He also continues his double-double streak, having earned one each game this season.
THT bounced back majorly as well. 16 points, 8 assists to 1(!) turnover. 29 minutes, 7-12 shooting, 2-3 from 3. He didn’t look clunky out there, and looked great. I love how the last two games he has been taking care of the ball. I still think he shouldn’t be our starting PG, but I’m glad he had a good game.
Sexton was our other highlight, 12 points 5-10 shooting, 2-5 from 3. No assists, no rebounds, no steals, no blocks, with just 1 turnover in 17 minutes. Still need to see him be more of a playmaker, but I’m glad his shot is falling.
Clarkson didn’t look good at all. 4 points, 2-10 shooting (one of them was in the last 15 minutes), 0-6 from 3, 0-3 from the free throw line. Buddy couldn’t buy a bucket with a million dollars it was that bad. Although he couldn’t see the rim, he had 6 assists, but had 5 turnovers. A very bad Jordan Clarkson game.
Kelly Olynyk is the soul of this team. Although he didn’t make a field goal, he had 5 assists, 3 steals, 4 rebounds. I think that he needs to get more minutes than just 18, although he was in fould trouble with 4 fouls. I love what he brings to the team.
Dunn, George, and Agbaji combined for 1-13, 1-7 from 3, 5 assists and 5 rebounds. Just 3 points, contributed by Keyonte. It is encouraging to see George get the most minutes off the bench with 20, but just a really rough game for those 3. No turnovers though for any of them is a plus.
Dunn only played 6 minutes all game, and seems to be the biggest loser in the PG sweepstakes. We are going from THT to Keyonte with little overlap.
I’m surprised that this game was as close as it was. Jokic did his own thing, but we really limited the two man game, which is crazy considering Murray finished with 18 and 14, and Jokic finished with 27-10-11. It didn’t feel like they beat us, which is somewhat encouraging.
3 +'s of the game: Kessler, THT, moving away from that terrible zone.
3 -'s of the game: Agbaji/Dunn/George terrible shooting night, Clarkson continues to turn the ball over, interior D gave up 68 points.
Oh well.
1-3 on the season.