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1. Does the Jazz not care if they win or are trying to lose?
I wrote about how I don’t think these seeding games are very important for Jazz, but I wasn’t expecting that.
On Friday morning, Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley and Royce O’Neale sat outside, due to invented bumps and bruises or, in Gobert’s case, admitted rest. And since they announced it, I’ve been trying to figure out the main question, perhaps more succinctly stated as “Are Jazz tanking?”
The Jazz may not care if they won today. So, they’re just resting guys because it’s a back-to-back with the Jazz playing Denver on Saturday, and they think their best players are at a greater risk of injury if they play two games in two days. They want them to be healthy for the playoffs. It makes sense!
Perhaps the thinking is that you want to play your normal rotation against the Nuggets because it’s a test – the Jazz will be able to see where they rank in their potential playoff competition.
On the other hand, maybe they are trying to lose. For example, if they hadn’t tried to lose, would we have seen a Justin Wright-Foreman, Rayjon Tucker, Miye Oni, Jarrell Brantley, Juwan Morgan lined up for all of this, with the game still close at hand? They are literally the last five guys on the depth chart. Quin Snyder wouldn’t have thought “Oh, oops, we might accidentally win this, let’s play Clarkson, Ingles, Bradley or Mudiay?”
And if you were looking to maximize your wins in that scenario, wouldn’t you rest them against the Nuggets? The idea is that the Jazz bench is one of the worst in the league, so it is almost certain that they will lose to any reasonable team. But if the good players play, they are definitely favorites against the Spurs and probably only 50/50 against the Nuggets.
Why should they try to lose? First of all, I think it’s an advantage for them to be seeded six rather than seeded fifth, avoiding the Lakers in the second round and getting the Clippers. And I think the Nuggets are the best match for them, especially with talented guards Gary Harris, Jamal Murray and Will Barton. Those guys may or may not be available for the Nuggets in the playoffs, from what I’ve heard.
The concern would be that the Nuggets would slide from three to four suits. Salt City Hoops ‘Dan Clayton has created this all-in-one look at the Western Conference playoff picture and believes the Rockets’ relatively easy schedule will allow them to get past the Nuggets and their relatively tough schedule.
I’m not so sure. Both the Lakers and the Raptors are stuck in their seats, so I don’t think it’s necessarily losses for the Nuggets. Jazz could also lose to the Nuggets. Meanwhile, the Rockets’ schedule includes Pacers and Sixers, still fighting for their seats. Yes, the Sixers miss Ben Simmons, but they were actually better off with Embiid but not Simmons on the floor.
The fact that the Jazz play Spurs again on the last day of the season gives them some options too. If they want to win to get the fifth seed, the veterans can play. If they want to secure sixth place, they can seat their boys for the playoffs.
I think they are tanking.
2. So how did typical bench players perform?
Jordan Clarkson led the team with 24 points. I came into the game thinking Jordan Clarkson would play like Jordan Clarkson usually does: the light is always green for Jordan Clarkson.
Instead, Jordan Clarkson increased the amount of Jordan Clarkson in his game more than I thought possible. Jordan Clarkson has done so many Jordan Clarkson hits – some got in, some didn’t. Some of them were wild and had no chance.
And then he made a four point play, an amazing hard scoop layup and even some passing.
To be honest, I’m more concerned about the defensive effort he showed, but well, it’s probably more Jordan Clarksoning on that side as well.
Emmanuel Mudiay went 4-13 from the ground, making some medium range shots and missing more. He had five assists alongside just one turnover so it was great to see. I’ll be curious to see if he or Tucker are in the rotation when the real games begin.
Georges Niang did nothing to address his collapse. He started 2-2 from the ground with the first five points of the game for the Jazz, then went 1-9 after that with a couple of assists and a couple of turnovers. If it’s not an offensive threat, it’s not playable, frankly – its defense has always left a lot to be desired, and I don’t think it’s an effort thing. It’s a question of speed / athleticism.
Tony Bradley gave the same 15 points, 11 rebound performances it always does when it plays important minutes. His consistency in this matter is commendable.
Juwan Morgan played pretty well, then seemed to twist his knee towards the end of the match and had to be helped by two Jazz instructors in the locker room. It looks like a serious knee injury, which would be a real shame.
What made this game fun, though, is that the kids we never saw got a chance to play. Some of them played well, others didn’t.
Miye Oni entered the starting line-up and played quite well, scoring 14 points and adding seven rebounds, but no assists. Mark Whalen on Twitter said which looked like the Rodney Hood dollar store. I see it, but I think Oni is a better defender but a worse shooter than Hood. However, in the future he could be an NBA-level rotation player.
Ed Davis makes me sad. Last year, he was a big rotation player for the Nets, setting up the second best defensive Real Plus Minus in the league after Rudy Gobert. This year, it’s as if his powers have been weakened by the Monstars – this is very clearly Ed Davis out there, but he just doesn’t do anything useful. He is not an effective circle protector, individual defender, screen setter or rebounder. What other skills are left? It’s a tough situation to be sure, but he’s not taking advantage of the opportunities he has either.
Rayjon Tucker, in an effort to prove me wrong, took all three of his shots from deep today. He made one, and also came online for two free throws.
Jarrell Brantley was his usual mix of impressive at times and full of mistakes at others. A defense like this is beautiful!
But he is also very capable of defensive mistakes, of losing kids, and of varying between excessive and insufficient help. It’s still very raw, but as far as raw players go, there’s a lot there. He finished with eight points (3-8 FG), six rebounds, three assists, two turnovers, three steals and a block. Jazz doesn’t have many players who can fill a stat sheet in so many categories.
Justin Wright-Foreman also shot 3-8 from the field, missing all three of his three and adding a couple of turnovers. To be an NBA player, he will need to make his three or complete his game in other ways, perhaps by being a better passer-by.
