Patchwork "+ "Spurs rookie manager" = first in the West
That's right, it's this configuration that reached the top spot in the Wild West!!!
The Jazz topped the West with a three-game winning streak! The Jazz are third in the offensive efficiency league and eighth in the defensive efficiency league. They made 179 three-pointers in 12 games, 18 more than the Warriors. They averaged 8.9 steals per game, also third in the league.
Sent away three stars in the offseason, Mitchell, Gobert and Bojan Bogdanovic, in exchange for numerous draft picks and a number of rotation players. It looks like the Jazz are a patchwork team, and with Hardy a very young rookie coach, many people are concluding that the Jazz are trying to mess around. But now it seems that Hardy's team is not going to do so, defeating the Pelicans, Clippers, and double defeating the Grizzlies proves that the Jazz's win is not accidental. As a student trained by Bobo Old Man, Hardy fans who follow the Jazz can see the players on the court constantly running, constantly passing the ball, so that everyone can touch the ball, and no one will feel that they do not belong to the game.
And the team can currently achieve such a record, the biggest advantage is that other teams do not have: Markkanen + Olynyk + Kessler three inside combinations
All three are 210+ tall, with Markkanen and Olynyk both nimble and good outside projection. It can not only ensure the protection of the restricted area, but also open up the offensive space at the offensive end, flexibly run, block and down, which not only enriches the tactical play but also guarantees the inside protection frame. Especially Markkanen, known as the "successor of the king of the noo", the Cavaliers were very reluctant to let him go, because the European Championship guys in the offseason have seen how good Markkanen is, but in order to get Mitchell, they can only endure the pain. This season he averaged 22.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, becoming the team's number one scorer. And rookie Kessler is a strong blue-collar insider with solid basic skills, conscientiousness, doing his job well, not making mistakes, and that's enough.
In addition to the three major inside lines with flexible footwork, accurate projection, and height and energy frames, there are almost no other players who can take the hand:
Conley: In 2016, he won a five-year, $153 million contract with the Grizzlies, becoming the first Mr. 30 million in the NBA after Jordan, he is a high-paid and low-energy player in the fans' mouths, but at the same time he is also a good man in the league, and he has never eaten a T in his career.
Clarkson: Clarkson, who was dumped and sold for a summer, gives the impression of playing alone and with a nerve knife.
Sexton: Sexton came from a Mitchell trade, and the Cavaliers kicked him to the Jazz like a leather ball, and fans may have the impression of him as he appeared in some hilarious videos of him lying low and swinging left and right to defend Ibaka from 3-pointers.
Horton Tucker: Tucker came from the Beverley trade, and Lakers fans did not applaud Tucker's departure, and he was regarded as the backbone of the bad trade that the Lakers sent Kuzma, Caruso, Pop and other players away.
Vanderbilt: Traded from Gobert, he had the best year of his career, shooting 14.3 percent from three-point range for the Timberwolves and even developing a small three-point shooting percentage of nearly 50 percent this season.
Guy: 36-year-old veteran, 16th season of his career
Spurs junior coach Hardy: The 34-year-old Hardy is a master of Popovich's personal tutelage, he has worked for the Spurs for 10 years, starting as an intern, to video editor, to player development coach, to leading the team to play summer league, and then assisting Popovich on the sidelines. Hardy joined the Celtics as the first assistant coach last season and became the Jazz coach this season.
It is such a team of players and a 34-year-old rookie young coach, and now ranks first in the West!
Once again: basketball is a team sport. It's not a simple 1+1+1 superstar stacking game, but the playoff stage belongs to superstars, so the Jazz's current roster may be able to do well in the first half of the regular season, and with other teams targeted research, the second half of the season is the real test for coaches and players. If it comes to the playoffs, with the current composition of the Jazz, playing key rounds, physical strength, tactics do not work, and superstars are needed to solve problems, the Jazz currently have no such players. So if the Jazz want to go further, getting a superstar has to be on the agenda.
