Green seems to kill the Jazz, not always as a primary attacker, but the guy who gets open and makes plays because our defense is preoccupied elsewhere. I'm instead going to look at our "advantage" of Gordon Hayward against Uncle Jeff Green. I'm not quite out of my mind to talk about Mike Conley being locked up on defense by Dante Exum. Memphis is about stability, and these old guys know what they are doing. (Some days he's the best player on the court, other days he is nearly invisible on offense.) I don't expect the Jazz guards to make Memphis worry at all though. And Randolph is too polished to be troubled by the mercurial Favors. Gasols don't usually perform well against Gobert.
Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol against Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert is a match of titans. Both teams really depend on their frontcourt pairing. I'm not going to make some allusion to Gordon Hayward being our Rudy Gay or anything, but there are some similarities between who Memphis used to be a few seasons ago and who the Jazz are today. (Btw, Al Jefferson as a Top scorer is just a taller Trey Burke who takes fewer moneyball approved shots than our second year bench point guard.) Today the Jazz make OTHER teams choke under defensive pressure. Before playing a strong defensive team that was slow, like the Pacers, meant instant death for the inefficient Jazz behind Mo Williams and Al Jefferson. They have an identity and that identify forces other teams to play their game.Īs fate would have it, this year's Post-Trade Deadline Jazz aren't doing anything BUT play slowly, and killing teams with defense. If they were a fighting style they wouldn't be the flashy WWE, or the agile Kung-Fu. Their pace of play has gone from being #15th, to #18th, to #30, #30, and #26 this year. During this period their DRTG has been ranked #9, #7, #2, #7 and #4 in the NBA. They are going to make the playoffs for the fifth straight year in a row, also a franchise best. The Lockout shortened season prevented them from doing this beforehand, but they still managed 41 wins in 66 games, which is very impressive.) How have they stayed in power despite coaching changes, ownership changes, and a local boy bringing Sexy Back? Well, they've done it with defense.Īnd their defense is nothing to under-sell, as their traditionally slow pace makes it a force multiplier. They are a lock for winning 50 for the 3rd straight season for the first time in franchise history, provided they get 8 more wins in the next two months. Since 2010-11 the team has gone 235-135, which is winning 63.51% of their games. No longer the guys from Vancouver, Memphis has been really solid the last few years. On paper, and through the eye-ball test, it would appear that the toughest game is tonight, against the Western powers from the same time zone as me, in Chicago - the Grizz. You can try to predict how the team will do here, but frankly from what we've seen from our team lately you can pretty much expect the Jazz to be in contention for all four games. They play the next night the Boston Celtics, have a night off, play the Philadelphia 76ers, have another night off, and then play the "I don't know what to make of this team" Brooklyn Nets. The Utah Jazz start off a four game road trip tonight the Memphis Grizzlies.