On A Stern Defensive Challenge, Plus Player Grades for Grizzlies @ Jazz 2/4/2015

The Memphis Grizzlies have developed a reputation over the years as a defense-first unit, a grit and grind bunch that ekes out enough points offensively to survive while they suffocate opponents. Their defense certainly...

Jingles All the Way

At times, it’s tough to remember that Joe Ingles is an NBA rookie. Despite a growing number of foreign players making their way to the league, many not until midway through their professional careers, it’s still often natural...

Dante Exum vs. Marcus Smart, and Player Grades for Jazz – Celtics 1/26/15

As we’re constantly reminded, process and experience is the name of the game for Dante Exum right now, and he got a stern reminder of that tonight in Utah’s loss to Boston. In one of his toughest professional games...

Derrick Favors’ Big Leap

While hardly anonymous to locals and those with a keen eye, Derrick Favors continues to impress in a way that feels somehow underappreciated. In a very broad sense, Favors just looks exponentially more comfortable in his own body...

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Ingles, Exum, and Grades for Nets @ Jazz 1/24/15

Any major relocation or culture change will require an adjustment phase, even for professional basketball players. For rookies Joe Ingles and Dante Exum, both hailing from Down Under, this process has been evident to the naked...

Has Dante Exum Hit a Rookie Wall?

In a broad sense, there was perhaps no better candidate for a collision with a rookie wall than Dante Exum. Unlike the majority of his peers in the 2014 Draft class who either attended a Division I college program or played a...

Utah’s Team-Wide Defensive Progression

Despite losses in their last two games to tough Western contenders over the weekend, the last several weeks have been an enormously positive stretch for this Jazz team. They’ve gone 7-6 starting with a victory over the Heat...

The Triple Team: Three Thoughts on Jazz at Thunder 1/9/2015

1. Utah’s dominoes are beginning to fall into place. The Jazz had a rough go of it down the stretch tonight in a tough building versus a desperate team, but once again hung with (and outplayed for periods) a presumed contender....

Evaluating Trey Burke’s Development

Easily the most divisive, hot-button member of Utah’s roster this season has been second year point guard Trey Burke. He had an unusual rookie campaign that saw him buck certain negative first-year historical trends, but...

Lessons for Rudy Gobert, Grades for the Jazz

Rudy Gobert is learning new NBA lessons by the day, and tonight’s tough home loss to the Indiana Pacers was yet another on a long list. Matched up with Roy Hibbert, perhaps the most elite among a category of top rim...