Screw the Lakers (aka Jazz/Rockets game thread)

Done, troll.

The Voice of Reason wrote:

Done, troll.

Wow it's a 3-pt festival. Our young guns are gonna have to work.

I usually like getting the Utah announcers, but damn man, BOTH of them have to call Omer Asik, Omer Asheeek???!!! So annoying!

Going to see what kind of skills Al has tonight. Early on, Asik is turning back everything Al tries.

Just tuned in...what the crap?
Screw the Lakers.

WTF?????

Houston takes anything they want. This is the Jazz that drive my ass crazy. They just don't show up, for no good reason, some nights.

That was an ugly first half. The Jazz are not moving. Tinsley needs to push it. On defense we need to attack their guards.

Favors needs to be in there protecting the basket. And maybe, just maybe, putting Harden on his butt.

No scoring off the bench - GH is missed. but in general, the Jazz just don't look that hungry and motivated. You would think they would have total game face on given they are battling HOU for a playoff slot. This is not pre-playoff hunger we are seeing.

I have an idea - lets leave Al in there until he shoots his way out of his 4-14 problem. Gee Ty, maybe we sit Al down and see what Fav or Kanter can do? Nahhh, too unorthodox, let Al go 8-28.

My hell, Corbin is dumb as a post.
Lead balloons into a 24 point lead and yet no changes.
Lets see some Kanter, Favors and DC.

MTJazz wrote:

I have an idea - lets leave Al in there until he shoots his way out of his 4-14 problem. Gee Ty, maybe we sit Al down and see what Fav or Kanter can do? Nahhh, too unorthodox, let Al go 8-28.

jeremy E can bring more than Al has. Start Favors Kanter second half. Ty needs to tell em play like you care less about winning come off the bench and see if that'll wake em the F up!! Joke the first half. Fing refs!

At this point I would sit my entire starting lineup (except Willilams), and see who is hungry. No way the Jazz win this one at all at this point. Looks like the entire starting lineup has a hang over. What is lost, in a game like this, by putting in guys, (DC, Kanter, Favors, Burks, Evans) for some serious run?

I'm outta here for the night, this is not worth watching and my blood pressure is going up.

MTJazz wrote:

At this point I would sit my entire starting lineup (except Willilams), and see who is hungry. No way the Jazz win this one at all at this point. Looks like the entire starting lineup has a hang over. What is lost, in a game like this, by putting in guys, (DC, Kanter, Favors, Burks, Evans) for some serious run?

No reason to keep Williams out there. Or on the team, for that matter.

Agreed. He was the only starter who had a pulse for a quarter and a half but then he caught the bug too. Blech. Good night Jazz Nation.

Anyone at the game? Or know anyone there? I wish we could get a chant going:

"We want Jerry....we want Jerry...etc" or just the classic
"Jerry, Jerry, Jerry....."

I hate this, because despite my (self-proclaimed) extensive vocabulary of descriptive adjectives and other tools of hyperbole, all I can come up with is "ugh", "poop" and "yuck".

Okay, so there were some questions about the Jazz after the Laker game...were they for real? Were they mediocre? Can they outplay their limitations, or will they be the "slightly-over-.500, maybe 8th spot" team we all feared they'd be?

And then they showed Saturday that they can beat anybody, even a good team that's actually playing pretty well. Questions answered, right??

Not so fast...they came out tonight and said "Hey, how 'bout that Indiana game?"

Drives me crazy.

Or, hey! Maybe Hayward's presence or absence makes a 50 point difference?? Nah...didn't think so.

Trollificus wrote:

I hate this, because despite my (self-proclaimed) extensive vocabulary of descriptive adjectives and other tools of hyperbole, all I can come up with is "ugh", "poop" and "yuck".

Okay, so there were some questions about the Jazz after the Laker game...were they for real? Were they mediocre? Can they outplay their limitations, or will they be the "slightly-over-.500, maybe 8th spot" team we all feared they'd be?

And then they showed Saturday that they can beat anybody, even a good team that's actually playing pretty well. Questions answered, right??

Not so fast...they came out tonight and said "Hey, how 'bout that Indiana game?"

Drives me crazy.

Or, hey! Maybe Hayward's presence or absence makes a 50 point difference?? Nah...didn't think so.

Ha ha...actually this is exhibit A for Calgary as to why Hayward is so important and so vital to this team...he makes a 50 point difference on any given night.

Quote :

Ha ha...actually this is exhibit A for Calgary as to why Hayward is so important and so vital to this team...he makes a 50 point difference on any given night.

If I were Gordon Hayward, I'd go right into Kevin O'Connor's office and demand a raise, or I ain't going back on the court.

The Voice of Reason wrote:

Anyone at the game? Or know anyone there? I wish we could get a chant going:

"We want Jerry....we want Jerry...etc" or just the classic
"Jerry, Jerry, Jerry....."

Not sure how you can pin this one on the coaching, top to bottom the Jazz just sucked last night, didn't matter who was on the court, or what they may have tried to do, they got their asses handed to them. Every player and group that played last night had a negative +/-, from Watson that pulled a team best -5 in 10 minutes, to Favors who was -21 in 28 minutes, to Millsap who was -24 in 21 minutes, to Burks who was an astonishing -32 in 26 minutes, that was a categorical disaster. The kind of thing that makes you question your optimism, and wonder if this team has actually been overperforming rather than underperforming.

Only thing though is that right around the 5 or 6min mark in the 3rd, Ty Corbin still had the same guys in, still trying to force it into Al, still getting the same pathetic result.
I mean, why wait until the game is 110% out of reach, and then go to the youngsters. Why not do it after 4 or 5 minutes into the 3rd, when it's obvious that the vets etc is not working? What was there to lose?? It just seems that Ty will ride the vets into the dirt, let them get ground into it, completely crushed before he even thinks about trying the youth instead.

The Voice of Reason wrote:

Anyone at the game? Or know anyone there? I wish we could get a chant going:

"We want Jerry....we want Jerry...etc" or just the classic
"Jerry, Jerry, Jerry....."

My brother was at the game with his son. This was their free game for Junior Jazz.

I told him that he should have made a sign, "I demand my money back ..... and the tickets were free!"

Seriously, the Jazz should have had the players & coaches at each exit handing out appologies and giving free autographs right after the game, or better yet a voucher for another game ticket with a promise of actually trying.

They better get their shit together by the time Portland comes to town. I have lower bowl tickets for that one.

TheMagnus wrote:

The Voice of Reason wrote:

Anyone at the game? Or know anyone there? I wish we could get a chant going:

"We want Jerry....we want Jerry...etc" or just the classic
"Jerry, Jerry, Jerry....."

Not sure how you can pin this one on the coaching, top to bottom the Jazz just sucked last night, didn't matter who was on the court, or what they may have tried to do, they got their asses handed to them. Every player and group that played last night had a negative +/-, from Watson that pulled a team best -5 in 10 minutes, to Favors who was -21 in 28 minutes, to Millsap who was -24 in 21 minutes, to Burks who was an astonishing -32 in 26 minutes, that was a categorical disaster. The kind of thing that makes you question your optimism, and wonder if this team has actually been overperforming rather than underperforming.

Mags, I agree that it was a disaster of epic proportions. I don't know when the last time I was so embarrassed of the Jazz. Oh yes I do, it was game 3, 1998 finals against the Bulls.

Do I pin all of this on the coach? No. However, I would have liked it if it would have at least appeared that he was trying. I watched the lead go from a mid-teens, to a 20 point lead to a 25 point lead to a 30 point lead and nary a substitution during that time. I watched Harden (and others) drive to the hole uncontested possession after possession and scored at will repeatedly without so much as a glance from the defense. I would have liked to have seen Millsap (who I love and is probably my favorite Jazz player) and Jefferson pulled and Kanter and Favors inserted. Would have it made a huge difference? Probably not. But I think Favors is our best defender around the rim and when I watched Houston run to the basket uncontested several possessions in a row, with no change to the defensive strategy or personnel, then I reserve the right to get pissed off at the coach and his rotations.

Can you pin all this on the coach? Absolutely not.
And you've also got to give Houston a lot of credit. They came to play ball and they didn't let up until that final horn sounded (which also pissed me off). They played a hell of a game and would have beaten anyone last night.

I agree with you...makes me wonder now whether they have been overperforming or underperforming?

Dang, we really could have used a win last night, and especially against that team. I fear that game will come back to haunt us in the last week of the season when everyone is jockeying for playoff position.

As a fan that game was hugely demoralizing. From night to night we really have no idea which Jazz team is going to show up - the one that is a lower echelon playoff team or a lottery team. It has been that way the entire season. It has been easy to chalk up the poor performances in the past because the Jazz were on the road during most of those poorly or uncontested games, but taking it in the shorts like that at home speaks to mysterious and frustrating psychological make-up of this team. They are an easy team to fold many nights and when that collective energy is expressed, like it was early last night, good and not so good teams go for the jugular. Whether finding themselves in a big hole or blowing big leads, suddenly the white underbelly shows, the absence of a "F this, win or lose, I'm leaving everything on the floor" attitude of prideful teams. You can see it in the player's body language in real time when that happens. I think the majority of the Jazz issues are in the collective team mentality.

I'll go out on a limb here and say that there is probably a multi-level back-story we are unaware of and it involves players not completely enamored with Corbin, (for example, do you think DC, Favors, Burks, Evans and Kanter are happy with their minutes?), the fact so many guys are going to be free agents and the league-wide rumor assumption that Sap or Jefferson, probably Sap, are going to be traded within a month, likely with other players. As constituted, this is not a team that can look at each other and be: a) thrilled with their win loss record, b) knowledgeable that the main core of players will be together next year and c) going to be a contender anytime in the near future. I think the team, not just us fans, had a belief at the beginning of the season that the Jazz were well on their way back to relevancy. Well, the jury is in half way through the season - they aren't. I say the Jazz are under performing in a big way. I say its 50:50 Jazz make the playoffs at this point.

After last night's game, it might be time for the Miller family to consider folding the franchise. Don't sell it, just fold it.