2022-23 Around the League Thread

[MHSL82]

Count out, or count on?

I won’t count them out. Not saying great or anything, but “working out.”

 

[MHSL82]

What does this comparison mean?

When I said that, I would be disappointed if we ended up with 45 wins. I stick by that. But anyway, you told me about how the Indiana Pacers started well and then ended poorly. I was just saying I don’t care about what other teams do. Our failures are going to be ours and I think that our failures may be justified but the thing that made me give up on them was that they couldn’t win games that they’re supposed to. Toronto, they did. But they didn’t beat Atlanta or Dallas without their players, and they didn’t show up against Minnesota, but I guess that’s understandable with having a big trade that day.

Playing poorly the game before because of worries about being traded, too bad. I think the day of when you’re missing players that you would normally use, fine. But I would have liked to have some sort of spark. Minnesota was missing players too.

Before the season started, the expectation was not to win games, at least by people at large. However, I don’t like to expect things like that and I’m starting to expect that. But anyway, what frustrated me this year was that I had no baseline I could count on. It was great to beat teams that we “shouldn’t” beat according to others, but I still want to beat the teams that we “should” and that would be Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, and then tests like Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks without their star.

I looked around at teams that those bad teams beat and even the best teams lost to those bad teams. However, when I want us to prove something, I want us to not have those games. Pie in the sky, but at least I would like to expect us to win and win most all.

 

[nuraman00]

and they didn’t show up against Minnesota, but I guess that’s understandable with having a big trade that day.

That loss made me post in the worst team in sports thread. It had been a long time since I thought they deserved to be in that thread.

 

[nuraman00]

When I said that, I would be disappointed if we ended up with 45 wins. I stick by that. But anyway, you told me about how the Indiana Pacers started well and then ended poorly. I was just saying I don’t care about what other teams do. Our failures are going to be ours and I think that our failures may be justified but the thing that made me give up on them was that they couldn’t win games that they’re supposed to. Toronto, they did. But they didn’t beat Atlanta or Dallas without their players, and they didn’t show up against Minnesota, but I guess that’s understandable with having a big trade that day.

Playing poorly the game before because of worries about being traded, too bad. I think the day of when you’re missing players that you would normally use, fine. But I would have liked to have some sort of spark. Minnesota was missing players too.

Before the season started, the expectation was not to win games, at least by people at large. However, I don’t like to expect things like that and I’m starting to expect that. But anyway, what frustrated me this year was that I had no baseline I could count on. It was great to beat teams that we “shouldn’t” beat according to others, but I still want to beat the teams that we “should” and that would be Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, and then tests like Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks without their star.

I looked around at teams that those bad teams beat and even the best teams lost to those bad teams. However, when I want us to prove something, I want us to not have those games. Pie in the sky, but at least I would like to expect us to win and win most all.

I think I saw a stat recently that the Jazz are great against bad teams. Probably better than most.

However, they're not that good against average to good teams.

 

[nuraman00]

But anyway, you told me about how the Indiana Pacers started well and then ended poorly. I was just saying I don’t care about what other teams do. Our failures are going to be ours

I made the Indiana reference, at the beginning of the year. Like you, I was trying to find a baseline, so I looked at some other teams in history that I remembered that had great starts, and faded.

In my post yesterday, I was comparing the Jazz with the Jazz.

I wanted to see how many places in the standings that 2010-2011 team fell, from February 07, 2011, to the end of the year. Just in terms of number of places, I think it's one of the most dropped places I've seen.

There might be other teams who had even worse finishes, but I doubt they fell as many spots.

Deron Williams, Jerry Sloan departed after that date in 2011. Derrick Favors did join.

Beasley, Vanderbilt, Conley Jr. departed this week in 2023. Newcomer Westbrook hasn't played a game yet.

If Westbrook does play for the Jazz, then the comparison with 2011 probably doesn't apply. Or maybe it does, since Favors also played after he joined in 2011. I don't know, just thinking.

 

[nuraman00]

Anthony Davis was terrible in Tuesday's game.

He had a great start tonight, but wasn't the same after the first quarter.

When I talk about his talent, it's always what he COULD BE. If he wasn't hurt. If he had more consistency.

Maybe these are just two games out of 82.

But he doesn't seem to have what Malone, Stockton, or Antetokounmpo have. They are always doing something to help their team, almost every possession. That's what makes them great.

 

[nuraman00]

Good win by the Jazzwolves over the Mavericks.

 

[MHSL82]

Good win by the Jazzwolves over the Mavericks.

We don’t want Minnesota to win. They have our draft picks. Or I should say, we have their draft picks.

 

[nuraman00]

We don’t want Minnesota to win. They have our draft picks. Or I should say, we have their draft picks.

If Minnesota misses the play-in, they'll have the 10th best odds in the draft lottery. They're not going to be bad enough to have the 9th worst record so 9th best odds at the draft lottery.

Right now, they would get the 16th best pick.

The 6 pick differential seems moderate. But for most drafts, after the top 4, there's not much of a consensus on who the best prospects are.

So every GM will have his own ranking board after the top 4.

I also think Minnesota has enough talent, that they will most likely make the play-in.

It they were OKC, who might make the play-in, and the Jazz had OKC's picks, then I could agree with your sentiment to make sure they don't make the play-in.

But Minnesota "should" be better than OKC, so barring a surprising losing streak, they should make the play-in. Or barring a long winning streak by Portland and OKC.

 

[nuraman00]

Lastly, while Gobert should be a hall of famer, it strengthens his career to have success in Minnesota.

It would be great for the Jazz organization to have had a player who makes the Hall Of Fame, who had spent 9 of his years in Utah.

Donovan Mitchell spent 5 years. That would also help the organization, but Gobert's longevity with the Jazz makes it even more special.

Mitchell also needs a few more years of accomplishments, before evaluating whether he has a case for the hall of fame.

Mehmet Okur, Carlos Boozer, or Deron Williams aren't going into the hall of fame. So Mitchell and Gobert are the only current ones that have ties to the Jazz organization that can represent the Jazz, partially.

 

[MHSL82]

Better is better, so we want Minnesota to fail. We have a chance to also get a god pick if we lose (not hoping for by me).

 

[MHSL82]

 

[nuraman00]

Better is better, so we want Minnesota to fail. We have a chance to also get a god pick if we lose (not hoping for by me).

You just said "better is better".

Why not root for both Minnesota and Utah to fail, so they both have the best draft lottery odds? It's not a pick swap for 2023.

Then hope both teams get #1 and #2, in either order.

.

 

[nuraman00]

Better is better

Exactly. So if Gobert wants to make his Hall Of Fame case even stronger, Minnesota needs to be good.

 

[MHSL82]

You just said "better is better".

Why not root for both Minnesota and Utah to fail, so they both have the best draft lottery odds? It's not a pick swap for 2023.

Then hope both teams get #1 and #2, in either order.

.

If the fourth to last got the fourth pick always, then I can understand a little bit of cynical or justification, for it not really mattering between 4th or 5th pick. However, if Minnesota gets lower in the standings, we have a higher chance of randomly getting a better pick. Of course, their pick could randomly be the worst of them all. I also understand that we could make the wrong choice, but I don’t root for my team to lose as a general rule. So therefore, I can only root for a Minnesota to lose so their draft pick has a higher chance of being a good one for us, even though we could mispick.

 

[nuraman00]

but I don’t root for my team to lose as a general rule.

 

[nuraman00]

ESPN's 2nd game tonight was supposed to be Brooklyn vs. Chicago, with a 9 PM local start time.

It's been dropped for Oklahoma City vs. Phoenix.

So, between Milwaukee a few weeks ago on February 2, and Chicago today, ESPN + TNT were going to have a central time zone team with a local 9 PM start, twice in a month. The one on February 2 did happen.

 

[nuraman00]

Bridges is still on pace to play 83 games this year. Let's hope it happens!

 

[nuraman00]

History says Brooklyn, Boston, Clippers, Sacramento, Chicago, Detroit, and Houston won't win a championship this year, because they gave up 150 points in regulation.

The curse of allowing 150 points

Reflections on Friday's Kings/Clippers scoring frenzy, coverage of more half of the NBA's 30 teams and an update on Victor Wembanyama all feature in our latest assemblage of around-the-league notes

marcstein.substack.com

 

[MHSL82]

History says Brooklyn, Boston, Clippers, Sacramento, Chicago, Detroit, and Houston won't win a championship this year, because they gave up 150 points in regulation.

The curse of allowing 150 points

Reflections on Friday's Kings/Clippers scoring frenzy, coverage of more half of the NBA's 30 teams and an update on Victor Wembanyama all feature in our latest assemblage of around-the-league notes

marcstein.substack.com

I understand Brooklyn, Boston, Clippers, and Sacramento, but I think they’re 100% wrong on Houston having no chance. I mean, where is this Rockets hate coming from? Now that Chicago has Patrick Beverley and the Pistons have Bogdanovich, how could they count them out?

Let’s have a friendly wager, if the Houston Rockets win the championship this year, you give me $10 million. But if they don’t, you only give me $1,000,000. That’s how confident I am.