The Triple Team: Three Thoughts on Jazz vs. Blazers 12/9/2013

December 9th, 2013 | by Andy Larsen
The Jazz, as demonstrated in this photo, often didn't have a lot of talent on the floor. Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images

The Jazz, as demonstrated in this photo, often didn’t have a lot of talent on the floor. Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images

1. Surprisingly subversive tweets from Jazz players and parents tonight.

With the frontcourt of Richard Jefferson, Mike Harris, and Andris Biedrins starting the 4th quarter tonight, Alec Burks not getting playing time in crunch time after leading the team in scoring, and Rudy Gobert’s DNP-CD, there was much consternation surrounding the team, especially on the Twitterverse. Jazz Twitter, even nationally, is well known for its slightly kooky opinions, and general tendency for overreaction.

That being said, typically reaction does not come from personalities so close to the team. Brandon Rush, also the recipient of a DNP-CD, responded this way when he was asked why he didn’t play (Note: the tweet has since been deleted, hence the text only format below):

 

Then, both of Trey Burke’s parents got in the action. Trey’s mother Ronda started by calling for the rookie French center Rudy Gobert to receive playing time over Andris Biedrins and whatever Biedrins is at this point of his career:

Then Benji, Trey’s father and agent, got into the mix, denigrating the Jazz’s 3rd quarter performance and the overall veteran-heavy strategy:

 

The Jazz’s PR department has been very quick to stop these sorts of things on Twitter in the past: Enes Kanter was told by the team to become more professional on Twitter after an incredibly entertaining (and very harmless) summer of 2012. Sensitive player tweets have been taken down before, and I’m sure Rush has already been talked to about this one. That being said, its not clear what they’d be able to do about Burke’s parents’ tweets.

Furthermore, if Burke feels as his parents do about Gobert (which isn’t an unreasonable conclusion, especially given the production level of Biedrins), that may lead to some friction in the future between Trey and his coach in his rookie year. Since his return from injury, Burke has probably been Utah’s best player, and this could mean some turmoil in Jazzland. This is especially worrying for a franchise which was fundamentally, drastically altered 3 years ago when the star PG and coach clashed. That being said, upon the return of either Marvin Williams or Derrick Favors, the issue of Gobert’s playing time is probably quickly put to rest.

2. Jazz transition offense is worrisome.

NBA teams should just be better at transition than this, and if the Jazz had been, they would have been in a position to win tonight’s game. Utah shot just 2 for 9 in 13 fast break opportunities, going to the line just once and turning the ball over three times. Some of this was just missed shots: Burke, Jefferson, and Hayward all had open missed transition threes, for example. But Jefferson also carelessly turned the ball over twice, and Diante Garrett probably forced shots. Had the Jazz converted these opportunities at their usual rate of 1.04 PPP (25th in the league), they would have had 7 more points tonight: not quite the difference, but certainly enough to put the outcome in doubt.

The Jazz aren’t terribly athletic as a whole right now: only Burks, Evans, and Hayward really deserve that adjective of those active. That hurts their fast break potency, and means the team relies on overpassing and forced shots in transition. Tonight, when the transition opportunities fell to the other players, they disappointed.

3. That being said, this wasn’t a bad performance by the Jazz.

Given the negativity in the Jazz community right now, and the points above, it’d be easy to lose track of that this was a pretty respectable game for the Jazz. Perhaps the primary reason the Jazz were beaten tonight was Aldridge’s dominance over Jeremy Evans. Evans fought hard, but in the end, Aldridge is just too skilled and too big for Evans, who has shown an ability to be a rotation player but certainly not a starter. Corbin even tried hiding Evans on Lopez for a while, thus leaving the bigger Kanter to guard Aldridge. Then, it was Lopez who bullied Evans effectively.

Out of the 9 players who played tonight for Utah, only Gordon Hayward played more than 20 MPG last season. Mike Harris, Diante Garrett, and Trey Burke weren’t in the league. Richard Jefferson and Andris Biedrins were reasonably benched in Golden State for their poor-to-horrendous play, and Evans, Kanter, and Burke only played limited roles for the Jazz last season. That’s a lot of unproven talent to play in an NBA game against the Western Conference’s best record.

© 2024 Salt City Hoops. All Rights Reserved.