David Locke: The Utah Jazz are continuing to evaluate & learn about their young talent
David lock weekly interview brought to you by the Murdoch Auto team David good morning good morning how are you good how are you I’m great we’re still in Dallas we’re heading to Houston this afternoon um everything’s good little March mad is going on but I have to
Admit I didn’t watch a bunch of it women’s tournament starts here which I I actually follow in the group that I somehow think I’m more intrigued by the women’s tournament than the men’s tournament this year I bet you would have been intrigued watching Kentucky get be
Oakland that well my you know my my wife was uh remember my wife was a reporter in Lexington for a long time or a few years and uh so that’s still very close to our families kind of we touch on that all the time keep an eye on it it’s
Pretty that’s that that that’s not allowed down there we have we have no idea um what that’s like being in Salt Lake City that’s that’s different level there they aren’t happy this morning no it’s like like it’s Birthright kind of stuff yeah like yeah that’s that’s like you’re born into
Kentucky blue and then it’s part of it’s really part of who you are the Utah Jazz seem to have fallen into a little bit of a pattern here David they uh have spent the last week competing uh pretty solidly for three quarters and then the fourth quarter
Tends to get away in a hurry uh should I just chalk that up to the young guys when they game the intensity of the game ratchets up late there’s just too many young players in the court who don’t know exactly how to excel in that moment probably I thought I mean I I
Would characterize it a little more vaguely than you did I think they’re they’ve competed really hard and then they’re having extended stretches of struggles at some point in time that are the difference in the game so if I was I thought it was you know the opening
First and third quarter the other night last night I thought it was the second quarter um or portions of it and so I yeah there’s spikes during the game where the game’s getting away from them and I thought will you know said hey our goal would be
To to have you’re gonna have six bad minutes five bad you know whatever you’re not gonna play 48 minutes but can we can we find a way to have them be one minute at a time rather than having them be you know six consecutive minutes right so last night
The game gets into double figures by halftime and I think it may have gone under double figures at some point but I don’t think so maybe for a brief moment late in the third we got down to about seven um and made a rally but you know
Then you’re spending a lot of the night playing from behind and I think that’s the same thing in Oklahoma but I thought it was a start um in Oklahoma I thought our starters just didn’t play with a lot of juice that night and then we got
Behind but I guess in that you know if you go back to that night I think we we led by halim so that was really the fourth quarter one after we rallied back but yeah there’s just these stretches of basketball that that aren’t particularly good which of the young guys do you see
Making real progress knowing that at this time of year it can be a little funky based on who’s playing and what lineups are out there not only for your team but the other team so I just think that I mean Taylor and keontay are probably two were talking about this
Point Bry is still finding himself a little surprised about his three-point shooting because he was one of the best Shooters in the draft so I figure that’ll come around um and Bryce is probably the one us to go through the biggest Evolution from going to being
The number one guy to figuring out what kind of role player he is in the NBA um and I just Taylor and Keon are just on such different timelines right now of where they are so their experience is so different so the answer to your question is unquestionably tailor but that’s a
Little bit because keante has now I think moved into the stage where there’s a scouting report on him and people are playing him differently and so his next step is now dealing with that which in turn usually causes you to head the wrong direction for a little while um
Because now they’re scouting you and playing you they’ve enough work to figure out what you’re good at and what you’re not and so from there um I I think you have you know that’s where I think so keante is is is just on a different timeline than Taylor but Taylor is showing all
Sorts of signs of of exciting things right now and top of that list is well one I just think it’s fight like he actually you know I think there was a little question just this nice softspoken kid from Florida you know what kind of fight did he have in him
Like you know he hadn’t been a high level recruit I mean he was you know Miami and Florida and Florida State were in so it wasn’t like you know 69ine he can run and jump he wasn’t off the timeline um or off the you know off the
Charts but they he hasn’t been you know that guy so I think you know he’s guarded Jimmy Butler he sced Victor and last night he had Luca and he had shave for part of the night before I mean they’re just really throwing him out there you just haven’t seen they quit at
All out of him so I think that’s really good and then you’ve also a ton of plays athletically where he’s showing some signs and then you know I thought like last night he took a charging foul on it but the a few nights before I saw him
Put a ball on the deck and two dribbles to the to the basket and there’s you know there’s a level of offensive players you’re either a no- dribble player two dribble player a multiple dribble player he’s certainly not a multiple dribble guy yet but I didn’t
Know that he had one he had one or two bounces in him either um so to see that one or two bounce I think is really nice progress though there’s been a lot of really good stuff out of Taylor I think get settled on his shot it was really
Flat for a little while I think you get some more Arch on it will’ll start going in more um you know I don’t know what that I mean this guy’s way better than he was earlier this year I mean way better he he really like training camp
Was he was really having it hand from everything I’ve been told and those that I’ve seen um and in preseason I mean he was really having it handed to him every night so for him to battle through that use the G League get a lot better and
Now you know looks fine out there it’s it’s terrific he had a few games uh early this month that were uh the the rebound numbers were really getting my attention using double figures three games out of four now this month he’s also had a couple rebounds where he only had two games and
You mentioned that regardless of how skilled or how raw you are in different parts of your your game you know you’re always 69 and you’re always as PK likes to say real bouncy he likes to go to the Scout words you know he’s 69ine and he’s
Bouncy he’s got long arms he’s quick and you would think well this guy could be a pretty good rebounder and I mean once you start doing you 10 and 13 rebounds and three nights out of four I think you’re better than a pretty good rebounder you’re a very good rebounder
But that just makes the the knights with two you know kind of jump out at you more and I know he’s young so he ought to be up and down so I can write some of it off to that do you think there’s something that’s that’s going on is
There something about those games am I missing something here or is it just purely Youth and inexperience and it’s something that is veteran you learn to you know even out and be more consistent well I don’t think you’re missing anything because you’ve never missed anything that’s not true and you
Know it I think it I think it has to do with who he’s guarding okay he gets totally locked into that and the effort out well no but he’s if he’s guarding Luca oh you’re talking about distance from the hoop yep so I think that’s the issue okay
Right he had Luca he had Luca Shay and jayen last three nights his rebound numbers were low you go find rebound numbers when he was high I’ll bet you he had Jimmy Butler yeah Miami uh Atlanta and Minnesota so Atlanta he was probably guarding he wasn’t guarding uh Deon very
Much so I don’t know who he had but maybe Jaylen Johnson some then he’s rebounding yeah so I think it has to do I think it has to do with his defensive positioning when the shot goes up got it so if he’s within if he’s guarding
Somebody within 15t of the hoop he’s got a chance to get some rebound numbers but if he’s got to go match up with somebody up high and he starts end up 25 ft from the hoop it’s not going to happen that’s my thought that’s okay because I noticed last night I think he
Had two right yeah and then I watched a play a play or two and I was like oh he’s guarding Luka right yeah no no wonder right and you got to pick up Luca beyond the three-point line and you’re not gonna get any rebounds out there to
Speak of I thought he did a really I mean I I literally said on the broadcast last night oh dear Luka could score 70 because and I didn’t and I didn’t mean a crit critical tailor like if you ask me any player in the NBA guarded by a rookie who’s most
Likely to like annihilate the rookie my answer is Luca and so the first three or four possessions I was like oh dear like this is really G to be What’s the phrase baptism by fire um and then I as the night went on Taylor got better and
Better handling it like I thought that was really encouraging wasn’t it like hey you know Luka may have pulled off the gas a tiny bit but um and luuka definitely you know had his way early but but Luca should have his way early like Luka is the best offensive player
In the NBA I mean I understand yic has the biggest offensive impact but just like so you know when that game starts and Luca comes out and you know passes a few times and all of a sudden it’s like oh wait I got this rookie on me so all
Right let me hit a three and then drive into nine feet but like I and then I think he hit like another 10-footer and threw a foul on Taylor with his pump fake and then he drove him back toback times for a layup and you’re like yeah
It’s like you’re seven minutes into the quarter and he’s got 12 points and you’re like oh dear like this is going to go I I thought he did I thought when it came back the second time around he kind of had settled himself and did a better job on him I thought that’s
That’s all you’re asking right now these are can you imagine what it’s like to go from like Shay one night to Luca the next to like I mean it’s crazy what they’re asking Taylor to do like mama can I have a break please please can I
Have a night off like that’s why you come to the NBA you sign up that’s what you sign up for you want to play against the best in the world yeah you sign up for it and then it happens yeah I know right those are two totally different things a little
Tougher in the middle of it when some dude scored on you four straight trips down the court that’s not quite as much fun I mean I lit I’ve had some I’ve had some moments where I just want to go give Keon a hug right now right like
Like you know they’re the age of you you and I are going through the same thing these it’s crazy to watch because these guys are the age of our kids I did I did tell somebody they were we were talking about that and they said I’m just seeing that athletes who are
Turning pro now it doesn’t matter the sport really they are impossibly young I literally said that yesterday to somebody and they’re about our age they’re like yeah I know yeah and and I don’t mean it necessarily I mean it certainly makes us feel old but like so my daughter’s
Playing division one sports right now she’s the exact same agees Keon yeah I not Keon I guess is a little older like it’s been wildly interesting for me to literally and my poor daughter you know you have she’s had to deal with this for all 19 years of her life because she’s
Been parented by me for all of them um and obvious and I like love the deep thoughts and serious conversations and it seems to be working way better when she’s in college and can choose when she wants to listen compared to when she’s forced to listen side note um but like
Yeah I mean I sent her a long text about Keon the other day like hey I’m watching keante here’s what he’s going through here’s like where his frustrations are like here’s what you need to learn how to avoid because while one’s the NBA and one’s division one golf at least in
Their worlds it’s pretty similar like right like I mean sure ke is one against the best in the world but like my daughter was paired with the number one recruit in her recruiting class the other day my daughter was like the 280th recruit in the country like she was not
A big recruit in any way shape or form trust me there were more days of no phone calls no letters no interest than there was of any ever any interest and she’s paired against the number one recruit in the country like oh you’re into a different Stratosphere like it’s a different world
The expectations are different and then even though you’re not actually different you think you’re supposed to be it’s really hard I’m intrigued by let’s go to the Jazz guys who are more recruits 280 than recruits one because when we talk about the young guys we always talk about the
Guys who are drafted but there are other players the Jazz are taking a look at and whether it’s a y7 or Johnny juang or uh Potter or I mean we can pretty much run through the rest of the roster you know the kind of guys I’m I’m you know
Talking about are any of them making a marker they displaying they got something they got one skill like this one skill they’re so good at it could impact a game is there something there or are they going to be cycling through those roster spots because they’re not finding anything there what do you
Think so you you kind this was my thought actually I was watching last night very much off built off the first comment I just made a moment ago so we’re on the same page here um like Mah Potter has just really become a pretty decent player and Micah
Potter is was born in 1998 and konay George was born in 2003 right so he’s five years old so he’s 25 right now Johnny juang was built or was built was born in 2001 so he’s a little younger he’s about 22 23 and he’s dramatically different player than what what we saw
And it made me go run over to like Miami right so like they have that guy heith Haywood heith no one ever heard of was sudden you know one of their million undrafted players well he’s born in 96 right and you and Orlando Robinson who’s their seven foot center out of
Fresno State who was undrafted born in 2000 and they have the two-way player Kane who’s given he’s born in 99 maybe there is something here where your bench players are 25y old former g-league two-way players who just learn how to get better but they also learn the very specific skills that
Are going to work for them to be NBA players I think there’s something to that and Kevin oconor talked about it a long time ago that there are players uh who are good they’re pretty good at doing a lot of things and he said that doesn’t help you win as
Many games as you’d like to think what happens is a guy who isn’t very good at some stuff but this one thing he can rebound okay this guy can really shoot the three may not play a lick of D whereas a player and Alex Jensen was the
Player brought this up he says Alex is pretty good at a lot of stuff but to make it in the NBA you have to be great at something okay I’m gonna quibble with you here I well you’re quibbling with Kevin oconor but go ahead no I am and
I’m but I was in the same conversations with Kevin all Kevin all the time and Gordon cha used to phrase it as when you Scout a player there has to be something that makes the opponent say OB beat okay that was the other saying the same thing
A different way right yeah right so same concept I am not sure that’s not updated that the game has changed so much and you’re positionist to some extent now so that inless you have to be able to dribble pass and sh now if you can’t dribble pass and
Shoot you can’t play catch unless unless you’re seven1 catch and shoot three catch and shoot three point like the Ryan Anderson right that remember Ryan Anderson like the 6 fo1 Wing player just caught the ball in the corner and shot it like that player doesn’t exist in our league
Anymore that player really doesn’t like like like that’s a little bit of like where that’s M A Potter’s right Anderson and maybe he can dribble pass and shoot better than I know I just haven’t seen it um he’s delightful young man I mean for that reason alone I would
Put him on the roster I mean he really is just one of the best people really just a super like well-rounded desire High desire cool guy um but with that said I don’t know that he can dribble and pass right now I think he can shoot
And he’s fairly big at 610 um but I’m not like the Ryan Anderson even the Bruce Bowen like that’s oai like I don’t know I’m I’m really concerned about oai like he can’t really dribble and pass and he now can’t shoot but I’m not sure that even if he can shoot it’s
Enough like there just really aren’t that many guys out in the league that are just three and D guys anymore David we’re going to have to stop right there we appreciate the time we will hear you in Houston Saturday night safe travels there there was something there was something different
About today’s show it was nice and calm and had a good flow to it what’s different today uh you’re fun p is enjoying little RNR he’ll be back next week and he’s going to torture you a double double batch of torture now that you’ve tweaked him while he wasn’t
Here to defend himself now you’re in trouble guy wasn’t there today oh that’s what it was that guy’s not here today oh what’s his name again stop thank you David David lock radi voice of the Jazz Scotty G radio voice of the aies coming up at the top of the hour rsl’s
Off to Vancouver next we’ll talk with Kurt smid stay with us right here on the zone
David Locke joined DJ Friday morning for his weekly visit on the show to talk about the Utah Jazz and the NBA as the final month of the regular season plays out.
