Jazz SL Team Drops Final Game to Sixers; Go 0-3 in Tourney

July 7th, 2016 | by Angie Treasure
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

Utah Jazz forward Trey Lyles, left, lays the ball up as Philadelphia 76ers forward Ben Simmons, left, looks on during the second half of an NBA summer league basketball game Thursday, July 7, 2016, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

 

 

Welp, the Jazz SL team lost their final game of the SLC hosted event, dropping a game to the stacked Sixers, 86 to 75. Sophomore Trey Lyles played well in his 30:39, scoring 22 points on 17 shots, splashing 3 shots from behind the arc and getting to the line 12 times. He continued to rebound well, too, with 8 boards.

Trey vs. No. 1 pick Ben Simmons

Trey spent most of his time matched up against the 76ers number one pick, Ben Simmons, who played one year at LSU. I thought Trey did a respectable job defensively, and Simmons ended the game with only 6 points on 8 shots. It was good to see Trey engaged, and I think he really took it upon himself to do well in that kind of one-on-one scenario.

The problem — as Jazz Summer League coach Johnnie Bryant pointed out — is that while you may do well in one area against Simmons, it’s hard to fully limit him. The Jazz were told to sag off of Ben1, but you have to be careful not to leave him too much because you then open up the floor for him to see. Though Simmons scored just those 6 points, he dropped 6 jaw dropping dimes2 and grabbed 7 rebounds. Trey also baited him into fouling him, as Simmons picked up 4 PF which led to some of Lyles’ trips to the line, resulting in 11 of his 22 points.

Tibor Pl3iss

Though he didn’t want to talk about today’s France vs. Germany matchup, the 7’3” big man had a fun showing in today’s game, going 2-3 from long range3, scoring 13 points on 8 shots.

He talked about how much working out at P3 has helped his body. He’s basically spent the last three months at the Santa Barbara sports institution gaining muscle, he said now he has to figure out how to use it. It will be interesting to see if Tibor can carve out space for himself on the Jazz’s regular season roster.

Don’t Panic

Today’s matchup in particular is tricky because the Jazz’s roster was pitted against a Sixers team with a lot of NBA talent. Simmons and Luwawu-Cabarrot are lottery picks with crazy potential, McConnell has logged time in the league and Christian Wood looked particularly impressive in the contest. Trey Lyles is a proven NBA player, but beyond that, it’s all debatable; one could argue that Dionte Christmas was the second most worthy player for the Jazz.

Summer League is an excellent time to evaluate talent, and the coaching staff is getting a good long look at what they have. Bolomboy in particular has a very important Vegas SL ahead of him if he wants to prove he deserves to play with the BolomMen.4

Beyond Trey, none of these guys are going to log double-digit minutes  per game for the Jazz next season.

Okay, now Simmons

So if you live under a rock, you probably don’t realize that Ben Simmons is a really, really nice passer. Like, exceptionally good. It’s a scary skill for a 6’10” guy to have. Less talking, more video evidence:

It’s going to be crazy if the Sixers team can figure out how to put talent around him for maximum efficacy.

New Guys

Also fun: lots of actual Jazz players were in the house, new and previously established alike. Joe Johnson, George Hill, Alec Burks, Rudy Gobert and Rodney Hood were in the building.

Really, really excited about the Jazz’s roster. Heart-breakingly excited. Let’s do this again in October.5

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