Outside of the first 8ish minutes of the game, we played fairly well the entire time. Our starting big men struggled early, and Kessler came in off the bench near the end of the first and turned the tide.
Once again, we outrebounded our opponent pretty easily. 53 rebounds to 43. While the offensive rebound number was the same for both teams, we excelled at grabbing defensive rebounds.
Collin Sexton is feeling himself. He had a 360 self alley-oop in the third that was absolutely absurd. Jerry Sloan would not have approved haha. His scoring and ability to get into the paint and finish was huge this game. He missed both of his 3 point attempts, but went a perfect 8-8 from inside. 20 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover. He has been playing incredibly the last 2-3 weeks, and it makes me so happy. Always been a fan of Sexton, going back to his college days. I really hope that he is our consistent starting 2 guard.
Hardy had a moment with Sexton in the fourth with 5 min left where he was very animated with Sexton. Sexton was late on a closeout, and it resulted in a 3 that cut the lead to 15 (lol). Hardy was frustrated that Sexton was falling asleep on the play. I thought it was great of Hardy to hold his guys accountable, even when we are up by 15.
Lauri Markkanen showed the world that he is the Unicorn, not Wemby. 31 points, 12-17 shooting, 5-9 from 3, 12 rebounds (3 offensive), 1 steal, 2 assists. He just looked like he was toying with SA the entire game. He had a few plays where he just outplayed Wemby, and got good separation from him. I think that he plays well off of Dunn & George, they both seem to have an easy time finding him from the perimeter. Just a classic, very efficient Lauri Markkanen game. Back to back 30 burgers for him too! He absolutely needs to be an all star again.
Jordan Clarkson picked up where he left off against the Raptors scoring 24 points, 7-17 shooting (2-8 from 3), and a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line. 6 rebounds, team high 8 assists(!!!!!) and just 3 turnovers. That 3 guard lineup off the bench was doing pretty good offensively, although they struggled to keep up with the high-speed, get out and run, Spurs. They still protected the lead in the third when SA was threatening to comeback, and pushed the lead out early in the fourth.
Keyonte George is back! He came off the bench, but still played 24 minutes. 10 points, 4-11 shooting, 2-5 from 3, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers. Not the best game, but he looked comfortable. The playmaking is still there despite his 3 assists. He makes the correct reads, the extra passes, and played within the team tonight. His shot needs to get more consistent, and I’d like to see him be more aggressive in hunting for assists and assist opportunities, but I’m not worried about either of those right now. I’m glad he’s back and I think he looked great considering he’s missed some time.
Kessler was a big difference maker tonight. Before he checked into the game, the team looked sluggish, and we were giving up open looks inside and out. Once he checked in, JC & Sexton found him for easy dunks, and his defense really picked up. He finished with 11 points, 5-10 shooting, 1-1 from 3, 7 rebounds (3 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, and 4 blocks tonight. Just 18 minutes tonight for him, which is still puzzling for me. I don’t understand why he isn’t starting yet, or why he isn’t getting 20+ minutes consistently like Fontecchio or JC. The first half was the better half for Kessler, but overall a really good game.
Agbaji played a stellar game. Box score watchers aren’t going to be impressed by his 4-6, 2-4 from 3 shooting night, nor his 4 rebounds, or his 1 assist to go with just 10 points. But, his hustle makes me giddy. He always is running, making cuts, and rotating properly. It seems like the offense and defense don’t have many issues when he is on the floor. Although nothing jumps out in particular, I think he has a good feel for the game. It took me a while to see his impact this season, but I think that he is a top 4 player for us this year. Great on-ball defense inside & out, consistent shot, and correct plays/spacing.
Kris Dunn started, didn’t make a FG, but did have a good game in my eyes. 0-2 shooting, 2-2 from the free throw line, but 7 rebounds (2 offensive), 6 assists, just 1 turnover. It’s almost like he is able to look into the future on plays and is able to see when players will get open and how to find them, because there were a few times where he would easily draw the corner defender in and kick it out to an open shooter. He didn’t look to score, he looked to set up the scorer which is super important, especially on this team which is full of scorers. I was really impressed with him, and impressed that Hardy started him, much less played him, in a game with Sexton, JC, Keyonte, & THT all healthy.
John Collins struggled offensively tonight. To me, it seemed like he wasn’t looking to score. I couldn’t tell if it was because we didn’t really draw up plays for him, or what. He wasn’t too involved in the offense, and finished with just 7 points on 2-7 shooting, 1-4 from 3, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 3 turnovers, all in 18 minutes. A +6 on the night, but it just seemed like he was out there existing…
Kelly Olynyk frustrates me sometimes with his lack of willingness to shoot. There were a few times tonight where he was open, and would pump fake, or run into a defender and draw a foul. I’d rather he just shoot the open shot instead of looking to create an even more open look. He finished with 7 points, 2-6 shooting, 1-3 from 3, 5 rebounds (2 offensive), 6 assists, 0 turnovers, and 1 block. I appreciate his playmaking and how unique it is to have a Center be running the pick n roll, but I would rather start Kessler, especially now that Lauri is healthy.
Fontecchio had the highest +/- of the game with +23 in 22 minutes. He shot the ball well, 3-5 and 2-4 from 3, 8 points, 3 rebounds. His defense was sharp, and he had good chemistry with Dunn & Lauri in finding a way to be open for a corner 3. I really like Fontecchio, and I’m glad he has carved out 15-20 minutes a night for us. I’ve been very impressed with his defense. He still makes mistakes, but for the most part he is locked in on-ball and rotates well. It doesn’t seem like he gets lost often.
No meaningful Samanic, Hendricks, THT, Sensabaugh, or Yurtseven minutes tonight. We ran a 10-man lineup the entire game which I had mixed feelings on. I liked not playing THT. I didn’t like not playing Hendricks. I wonder if Hendricks is going to be like Agbaji was last year. If you remember, he racked up a decent amount of DNP-CD, and it wasn’t until later in the season he got his moment and he shined. Hopefully the same happens with Hendricks. Hendricks, Sensabaugh, Yurtseven, and Samanic all played the last 2 minutes of garbage time (Hendricks 0-3, 0-2 from deep), but still no THT.
Overall a great shooting night from the free throw line and from inside the arc for us. Defensively, Kessler was a game changer, and offensively, Lauri, JC, and Sexton carried us tonight. 6 players in double figures. We did a great job of containing the bench of SA (outside of Johnson), and a good job protecting the paint.
13-18! 3 straight victories! THAT’S A WINSTREAK BABY
lumpyfred
Vote for Lauri!
Tha_crack_fox
6th man JC is best JC
RiPPn9
The Jazz have a better record than the Hawks, let that sink in.
sdsanft
Just too many guys on the roster rn who deserve playing time. 10 guys played between 19-31 minutes and THT and Hendricks didn’t/hardly played.
JoeIngles
GET IN WE’RE GOING STREAKING! ^tied ^for ^the SECOND LONGEST WINSTREAK IN THE NBA
thehelpfulcamel
This 3 game win streak has been against three bad teams, but the Jazz are still looking like a much improved basketball team lately. Turnovers are down, ball movement has been way better, zone D is actually working (for the most part), and the offense has been much less selfish. Players seem to be finding their role, with Sexton in particular being impressive lately. Also JC and Kessler playing like themselves again is huge. The team still has a long way to go, but at least the Jazz are competitive and fun to watch again.
Elkbowy
Look I see where Hardy is coming from but dude the young guys are an investment they need more minutes
Xsy
I just thought it was funny listening to Boler praise how strong our bench was, when our bench was our starters.
Really, though, we need Kessler starting games. Guessing Kelly is just being showcased right now.
austinc668
THT finally got placed to the bottom of the guard rotation! Huge W
Lauri Bird dominated Wemby, JC 6th man cooking, Keyonte back, Dunn diming, Sexton showing consistent improvement, Kessler looking better, Ochai making 3s & cutting, and the whole team starting to buy in to the team concepts & their roles.
Rolling into NOLA with a lot of confidence, let’s keep it going!
torbibalibo
we are the 96 bulls when it comes to beating the two worst teams in the league
13 Comments
3 games won in a row. A miracle
Playoff run cmonnnn
GAME NOTES:
Outside of the first 8ish minutes of the game, we played fairly well the entire time. Our starting big men struggled early, and Kessler came in off the bench near the end of the first and turned the tide.
Once again, we outrebounded our opponent pretty easily. 53 rebounds to 43. While the offensive rebound number was the same for both teams, we excelled at grabbing defensive rebounds.
Collin Sexton is feeling himself. He had a 360 self alley-oop in the third that was absolutely absurd. Jerry Sloan would not have approved haha. His scoring and ability to get into the paint and finish was huge this game. He missed both of his 3 point attempts, but went a perfect 8-8 from inside. 20 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover. He has been playing incredibly the last 2-3 weeks, and it makes me so happy. Always been a fan of Sexton, going back to his college days. I really hope that he is our consistent starting 2 guard.
Hardy had a moment with Sexton in the fourth with 5 min left where he was very animated with Sexton. Sexton was late on a closeout, and it resulted in a 3 that cut the lead to 15 (lol). Hardy was frustrated that Sexton was falling asleep on the play. I thought it was great of Hardy to hold his guys accountable, even when we are up by 15.
Lauri Markkanen showed the world that he is the Unicorn, not Wemby. 31 points, 12-17 shooting, 5-9 from 3, 12 rebounds (3 offensive), 1 steal, 2 assists. He just looked like he was toying with SA the entire game. He had a few plays where he just outplayed Wemby, and got good separation from him. I think that he plays well off of Dunn & George, they both seem to have an easy time finding him from the perimeter. Just a classic, very efficient Lauri Markkanen game. Back to back 30 burgers for him too! He absolutely needs to be an all star again.
Jordan Clarkson picked up where he left off against the Raptors scoring 24 points, 7-17 shooting (2-8 from 3), and a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line. 6 rebounds, team high 8 assists(!!!!!) and just 3 turnovers. That 3 guard lineup off the bench was doing pretty good offensively, although they struggled to keep up with the high-speed, get out and run, Spurs. They still protected the lead in the third when SA was threatening to comeback, and pushed the lead out early in the fourth.
Keyonte George is back! He came off the bench, but still played 24 minutes. 10 points, 4-11 shooting, 2-5 from 3, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers. Not the best game, but he looked comfortable. The playmaking is still there despite his 3 assists. He makes the correct reads, the extra passes, and played within the team tonight. His shot needs to get more consistent, and I’d like to see him be more aggressive in hunting for assists and assist opportunities, but I’m not worried about either of those right now. I’m glad he’s back and I think he looked great considering he’s missed some time.
Kessler was a big difference maker tonight. Before he checked into the game, the team looked sluggish, and we were giving up open looks inside and out. Once he checked in, JC & Sexton found him for easy dunks, and his defense really picked up. He finished with 11 points, 5-10 shooting, 1-1 from 3, 7 rebounds (3 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, and 4 blocks tonight. Just 18 minutes tonight for him, which is still puzzling for me. I don’t understand why he isn’t starting yet, or why he isn’t getting 20+ minutes consistently like Fontecchio or JC. The first half was the better half for Kessler, but overall a really good game.
Agbaji played a stellar game. Box score watchers aren’t going to be impressed by his 4-6, 2-4 from 3 shooting night, nor his 4 rebounds, or his 1 assist to go with just 10 points. But, his hustle makes me giddy. He always is running, making cuts, and rotating properly. It seems like the offense and defense don’t have many issues when he is on the floor. Although nothing jumps out in particular, I think he has a good feel for the game. It took me a while to see his impact this season, but I think that he is a top 4 player for us this year. Great on-ball defense inside & out, consistent shot, and correct plays/spacing.
Kris Dunn started, didn’t make a FG, but did have a good game in my eyes. 0-2 shooting, 2-2 from the free throw line, but 7 rebounds (2 offensive), 6 assists, just 1 turnover. It’s almost like he is able to look into the future on plays and is able to see when players will get open and how to find them, because there were a few times where he would easily draw the corner defender in and kick it out to an open shooter. He didn’t look to score, he looked to set up the scorer which is super important, especially on this team which is full of scorers. I was really impressed with him, and impressed that Hardy started him, much less played him, in a game with Sexton, JC, Keyonte, & THT all healthy.
John Collins struggled offensively tonight. To me, it seemed like he wasn’t looking to score. I couldn’t tell if it was because we didn’t really draw up plays for him, or what. He wasn’t too involved in the offense, and finished with just 7 points on 2-7 shooting, 1-4 from 3, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 3 turnovers, all in 18 minutes. A +6 on the night, but it just seemed like he was out there existing…
Kelly Olynyk frustrates me sometimes with his lack of willingness to shoot. There were a few times tonight where he was open, and would pump fake, or run into a defender and draw a foul. I’d rather he just shoot the open shot instead of looking to create an even more open look. He finished with 7 points, 2-6 shooting, 1-3 from 3, 5 rebounds (2 offensive), 6 assists, 0 turnovers, and 1 block. I appreciate his playmaking and how unique it is to have a Center be running the pick n roll, but I would rather start Kessler, especially now that Lauri is healthy.
Fontecchio had the highest +/- of the game with +23 in 22 minutes. He shot the ball well, 3-5 and 2-4 from 3, 8 points, 3 rebounds. His defense was sharp, and he had good chemistry with Dunn & Lauri in finding a way to be open for a corner 3. I really like Fontecchio, and I’m glad he has carved out 15-20 minutes a night for us. I’ve been very impressed with his defense. He still makes mistakes, but for the most part he is locked in on-ball and rotates well. It doesn’t seem like he gets lost often.
No meaningful Samanic, Hendricks, THT, Sensabaugh, or Yurtseven minutes tonight. We ran a 10-man lineup the entire game which I had mixed feelings on. I liked not playing THT. I didn’t like not playing Hendricks. I wonder if Hendricks is going to be like Agbaji was last year. If you remember, he racked up a decent amount of DNP-CD, and it wasn’t until later in the season he got his moment and he shined. Hopefully the same happens with Hendricks. Hendricks, Sensabaugh, Yurtseven, and Samanic all played the last 2 minutes of garbage time (Hendricks 0-3, 0-2 from deep), but still no THT.
Overall a great shooting night from the free throw line and from inside the arc for us. Defensively, Kessler was a game changer, and offensively, Lauri, JC, and Sexton carried us tonight. 6 players in double figures. We did a great job of containing the bench of SA (outside of Johnson), and a good job protecting the paint.
13-18! 3 straight victories! THAT’S A WINSTREAK BABY
Vote for Lauri!
6th man JC is best JC
The Jazz have a better record than the Hawks, let that sink in.
Just too many guys on the roster rn who deserve playing time. 10 guys played between 19-31 minutes and THT and Hendricks didn’t/hardly played.
GET IN WE’RE GOING STREAKING! ^tied ^for ^the SECOND LONGEST WINSTREAK IN THE NBA
This 3 game win streak has been against three bad teams, but the Jazz are still looking like a much improved basketball team lately. Turnovers are down, ball movement has been way better, zone D is actually working (for the most part), and the offense has been much less selfish. Players seem to be finding their role, with Sexton in particular being impressive lately. Also JC and Kessler playing like themselves again is huge. The team still has a long way to go, but at least the Jazz are competitive and fun to watch again.
Look I see where Hardy is coming from but dude the young guys are an investment they need more minutes
I just thought it was funny listening to Boler praise how strong our bench was, when our bench was our starters.
Really, though, we need Kessler starting games. Guessing Kelly is just being showcased right now.
THT finally got placed to the bottom of the guard rotation! Huge W
Lauri Bird dominated Wemby, JC 6th man cooking, Keyonte back, Dunn diming, Sexton showing consistent improvement, Kessler looking better, Ochai making 3s & cutting, and the whole team starting to buy in to the team concepts & their roles.
Rolling into NOLA with a lot of confidence, let’s keep it going!
we are the 96 bulls when it comes to beating the two worst teams in the league