Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s 114-112 loss to Portland Trail Blazers from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.
1. Shot selection in the paint
I don’t think Blazers coach Chauncey Billups meant to predict tonight’s proceedings in the pre-game press conference, but he ended up doing so:
“I tell our guys to keep it simple, you know, and not play in crowds,” Billups said. “So if I’m dribbling and you’re guarding me and I see another guy (start to come over), just make it simple. Do your job. Just pass it.”
I thought there was a lot of the opposite of that in tonight’s game, especially from the Jazz’s point of view. The Jazz scored 36 points in the paint, but took 47 shots — just 38% shooting from inside the paint. Here’s a quick supercut of those instances just in the first half:
Rather than keeping it simple, they’re making it complicated. And yes, sometimes, players get fouled in a crowd. Sometimes they make the shots they throw up from that eight foot mark on the move. But for the most part, the game of basketball rewards those who make the right read over and over and over again — even if it means an three-shot, 14-assist night.
When you watch the best teams in the league play — the Cavs, the Celtics, and the Thunder — that’s how they do it. Obviously, making the right read over and over again is easier said than done! But it truly is the difference between players that push their teams to winning and push their teams to mediocrity, getting even 5% better at those decisions.
The Jazz are young, and there’s significant hope for them, but they’re certainly not there yet with the reads.
2. Kyle Filipowski’s 20-point, 10-rebound, five-assist night
We’re beginning to see two things happen:
A) Kyle Filipowski is figuring out what he can translate from college to the NBA and what he needs to change, and
B) Will Hardy and the Jazz’s coaching staff are figuring out how best to use that skillset for this team.
Regarding the first point, the finishing in traffic is still tough. NBA defenders have a lot of length, and will surprise in their ability to beat even a 7-footer like Filipowski to the backboard on layups.
But Filipowski has changed his jump shot to deal with that speed and length on the perimeter, significantly speeding up his release over the course of the last few months. He told media today that it was a difficult change to undergo in the middle of the season — there were times, he said, when he had practiced the new form only from midrange, but had to take threes in game with the new form. Naturally that didn’t go well. But he’s starting to see growth there, shooting 45% in February before tonight’s 4-4 performance.
The defense is also a lot harder, and he does tend to keep his hands too low and in front of him in isolation. But when he focuses on moving his feet, he does really well.
What has pretty immediately translated is Filipowski’s ability to read the game on the perimeter, especially in five-out situations when the Jazz can use off-ball screens to attack both the rim and the 3-point line safely. They give the ball to “Flip,” then have three players run a jumble of stuff here until someone gets open in one direction or another:
That works a lot better, though, if he’s the one playing center. If Walker Kessler or another traditional rim-protecting big is the center, that man’s defender can usually short circuit the threat to the rim, making the rest a lot easier to deal with.
In other words, all of those comparisons to Kelly Olynyk we made when he was first drafted turned out to be pretty right. Like Olynyk has spend 74% of his career playing center, I suspect Filipowski ends up doing the same, because the spacing is too good when he’s able to do so. The good news is that he may be able to hang playing the four just as a spacer and mover somewhat better than Olynyk can.
I continue to be pretty excited about Filipowski as a long-term prospect. I don’t think he’ll ever be a star, but the perfect big man role player (starter or bench) to add to a versatile roster.
3. It’s cheap ticket time!
As you’d expect, interest in the Jazz is down during this tanking season. Fewer people are certainly reading these articles, for example, and I don’t think I’m a substantially worse writer than I was last year. (Maybe a little worse, though.) Jazz TV ratings are down 44% from last year, according to Sports Business Daily. Again, no surprises here.
Also occurring: Jazz ticket prices are falling, big time. Here’s the cheapest ticket price to get in the arena, according to SeatGeek, for the Jazz’s remaining home games:
Jazz ticket prices on SeatGeek.
10 of the 12 games remaining cost $10 or less to get in to, excluding fees. (Fees are substantial and heavy — and also at least somewhat end up in Ryan Smith’s pocket, as he’s an investor in SeatGeek.) To be honest, even these tanking Jazz can be pretty fun, so I’d probably pay that small amount to check out an NBA game at that rate.
I’d also suggest looking at the lower bowl prices. If you wait in the last 30 minutes to hour before the game, you can often find a seat or two available in the lower bowl in the $20-$30 range — again, a pretty stellar deal for NBA entertainment, relatively.
If you don’t want to support these tanking efforts, or just want to tune in when this team gets good again, that’s fine too, of course.
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