Santa’s Gifts for the Jazz

With a little help from Santa, the rest of the Jazz season will be a slam dunk! (Michael Dwyer/AP Photo)

Dear Santa,

I have been extra good this year because I knew I would be asking for a lot of presents. I’m not being selfish though! They’re for someone else, or many someone elses. Let’s just say they’re for friends who haven’t been quite as good this year as we all thought they’d be.

But I still know they are good, and so I think they deserve some of the best presents you have. 

I know some of these gifts are a little unusual, but I believe in your creativity and problem solving ability, and besides, they’re really needed. I include reasoning for why they’re needed and everything.

Oh, yeah, and these aren’t totally crazy wishes or anything like that. I know you’re Santa Claus, not a genie.

Okay, to my list!

Please give Rudy Gobert a straight elbow on his hook shot

I love that he’s trying to develop this shot. Nothing makes more sense for someone with a 7’9″ wingspan. But he just doesn’t have it worked out yet, mostly because he keeps bending the elbow and then pushing on the ball, kind of like a half shot-put. It’s not a controlled shot at all at this point, so if you could help him just keep his elbow straight, that’d be great.

Please give Donovan Mitchell a few more corner threes with his feet set

Open ones mind, and not off the dribble. The poor guy is eight for 29 on those shots (28-percent)! But so many of those come after Donovan sprints around screens or hefts at the end of the shot clock. You don’t even have to give him the shots really; what if you just agree to trade him, say, three of his pull up threes for kick out ones in the corner each game?

Please give Joe Ingles confidence in his floater

The guy gets to the rim a lot and defenders often just wait for him to reach the hoop because they know he can’t jump over them. This is a really good shot that he should make way more than the 35-percent he’s currently shooting between five and nine feet.

Please give Ricky Rubio a touch of discretion on his lobs

Most of them are okay, even those times they don’t work. But it’s the really tough ones, the one’s he sees from the corner of his eye as he search dribbles under the hoop and where Gobert is still guarded that make me wince. In these instances, the team can get a jumper by Favors or O’Neale or some other shot that isn’t awesome but is sure better than a turnover with both Ricky and Rudy stuck beneath the hoop.

Please give Derrick Favors a bit of pep on his free throws

I swear, that super long breath he takes psyches him out or something. The guy’s quietly having a stellar offensive season, shooting career highs from the field — 60-percent — and even three-point line — 30-percent, which is better than Donovan, Raul, or Dante¹. That 63-percent from the line just doesn’t make sense!

Please give Jae Crowder some of those and-ones

He calls for them all the time, not without some reason. Jae’s neither super fast nor a particularly high riser, and so most of the time he makes his way to the hoop like a tank through a hedgerow. I know he’s built like a tank as well, but this is hoops after all, and breathing on James Harden has been a foul for at least the last four years.

Please give Kyle Korver some way to hide that his shot works great off the dribble

Defenders routinely sell out completely when contesting Kyle’s shots beyond the arc, whether he’s coming off screens or getting open on the break. It’d be awesome to see more closeouts like this.

Please give Dante Exum help finishing when right on top of the rim

Nearly 60-percent of his shots come point blank, but he’s only making half. He can get there practically any time he wants, so if you could, I don’t know, help him realize how easy those shots are, it might help?

Please give Royce O’Neale a few more open lanes to the rim

As Donovan hasn’t had an open lane all season, no one on the team has been able to attack off the drive with ferocity quite like Royce. These rim rockers just make everyone feel good.

Please give Thabo Sefolosha some attention

He’s only played in 20 games but the guy’s shooting 51-percent from the field, 50-percent from three, is thieving the ball at the best rate on the team, grabbing defensive rebounds faster than anyone not named Rudy or Derrick, and has a better plus-minus than both Jae and Derrick. Can this guy get a little love on the holidays?

Please give Ekpe Udoh a few games to shine (but not because of injuries!)

With Rudy and Derrick on the team, there really isn’t much of a chance for Ekpe to show what he can do. It’s just hard to get time as a big in today’s NBA, particularly with two excellent players in front of you. But there might be a chance or two this season to give Ekpe free rein, maybe with Favors against Anthony Davis and Julius Randle for instance. 

Please give Raul Neto more free throws

Dude’s shooting 92-percent! He’s only attempted 12 all season, but still.

Please give George Niang a little defensive footwork

It’s great that a guy once thought a fringe talent in the league is contributing, but 12.5 fouls per 100 possessions?

Please given Grayson Allen a major NBA moment

It’s right and proper that Grayson has all but dropped out of the Jazz rotation, particularly given the trade for Kyle.  There are simply many good, more experienced players in front of him. However, the young man will be a good NBA player, and he deserves a moment to crystallize that in his mind. Maybe a big quarter with a pair of huge threes and a key dunk in a game down the playoff stretch or something of that sort.

Please give Naz Mitrou-Long a chance to can a three

In his four minutes of play this season, he’s taken one shot total and it came from long range. It’d be so nice if he got a chance to drill one in a real NBA game.

Please give Quin Snyder better post entry play

The Jazz offense under Quin has always had untapped potential on quick-hitting passes to bigs moving to the post within the churn of the motion offense, a.k.a. the Blender. The problem is the bigs haven’t been particularly good about sealing defenders and catching the ball, nor have the ball handlers excelled at recognizing and accurately passing to guys in the post. Quin’s clearly been trying to weave that thread into the offense more this season, so it would be great if you could help his players put the pieces together like this more often.

Please give Dennis Lindsey another chance to trade with Denver

After filching Rudy and Donovan from the Nuggets², I won’t even specify what I hope they’d get back in the trade. As long as it’s with Denver, I’m good.