UTA == OVERRATED
I get that it's just one game, and the starters for both teams only played about 20 minutes, but the Jazz looked EXACTLY like I thought they would. That offense is just plain ugly. How they can play at such a godawful slow pace and still turn the ball over so much defies logic. That was a big problem for them last year (tied for 3rd worst in TOV% despite of playing at the slowest pace, by far), and doesn't look like it's changed.
They still don't have a go to scorer. And, like I mentioned in one of the preseason threads, their best scorers are also their worst defenders.
Best bench in the NBA???? LMAO at that one. Those key off season acquisitions look like the shit I predicted they would. It cracks me up that the national media thinks 100 year old Iso Joe Johnson, Fat, lazy Boris Diaw and George Hill are going to take this team from lottery to HCA in the West.
As I've mentioned several times, the only player on that roster that's ever averaged more than 20 ppg is 35-year old Joe Johnson, but what I haven't mentioned is
the last time Joe Jonhson averaged 20 ppg so did Brandon Roy. And, Johnson's defense is even worse than bone-on-bone era Roy. He was -22 in 16 minutes. Expect more of the same Jazz fans. They signed Jonson to a two year $22 million deal. It doesn't sound that bad, in total dollars, considering some of the other contracts handed out this summer, but $11 million a year tied up in a guy who is 35 years old, primarily known as a scorer, who hasn't outscored the guy he's guarding in 4 years, doesn't sound like bargain to me. This article,
by Ben Golliver, about the Johnson signing cracks me up. An A-???? Really? $11 million a year for a 35-year old has been? OK Ben if you say so. This is typical Golliver. Ever since he went national, he deliberately slights the Blazers and piles ridiculous, undeserved praise on their division rivals. He's so desperate to shake the Portland guy image, he completely overcompensates to the point of being ridiculous. Eventually, bullshit like rating the Johnson signing an A- will destroy any shred of credibility he may have left. Note to Ben: old guys get worse, young guys get better. You may want to remember that in the future.
Then there's that lack of ball movement in Nate McSnyder's "offense". Only 17 assists to 19 turnovers while scoring less than 90 points. How is that even possible? We keep hearing about how they have shored up the PG position by trading for Hill and getting Exum back. The two combined for 4 assists last night. In fact, the only player on their roster that had more than 2 assists was Shelvin Mack, whose play at PG last year was considered the main thing holding them back. Guess what, even though Mack is a shoot first (and second and third PG) that is incredibly turnover prone, he's still the best passer they have on their roster. I'd love to see him starting by the end of the year, which would mean they gave up a lottery pick to get George Hill and he's not any better than the D-League guy they pulled off the scrap heap last year.
We had 4 guys with more than 2 assists to their 1. That, my friends, is the difference between a Terry Stotts offense and a Quin Snyder offense.
And is ANYONE surprised that without the threat of Pop looming, Boris Diaw gained 3o pounds this summer? Gee, no one saw that one coming...
The one guy who looked better than I expected is Exum. Well, at least he shot the ball better than he has in the past, but it's only one game. He's still very young and coming back off a major knee injury.
Note: Rodney Hood is NOT a star. We have (at least) three guards on our team better than their best guard. With his length, you think Hood would be a good defender, but Crabbe totally abused him (and Hayward) last night.
Speaking of Crabbe, I LOVED what I saw last night - actually scoring off the dribble and not just a $75 million stand still shooter. That step back, off the dribble, 3-pointer when he torched Rodney Hood was a thing of beauty. If we see more of that from Crabbe (and he did it more than once last night), he'll be worth the money and we may just have the best 3 guard rotation in the league.
Yep, just one preseason game, but it totally reinforces everything I believe to be true about both of these teams.
BNM
P.S. Fuck you national media. As Dame would say, "thanks for the motivation".
