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The Utah Jazz went 2-2 last week, with wins against the Not-So-Marvelous-Mavs and an OT thriller over Damian Lillard and the Blazers. The offense came up empty Friday night at home versus the Raptors and on the road against Houston.
Luckily for the Jazz, a quick regroup and a new win streak is in store as the Jazz have a three-game homestand this week against Eastern Conference foes: Philly, Miami, and Brooklyn.
Tuesdays, vs 76ers
If you had a fully functioning #NBA league pass, with tons of free time, and tons of nachos, which team would you constantly binge watch?
— Steve Godfrey (@JazzJunkie12) November 4, 2017
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsI’m part of the 45%. In fact, I have been struggling to decide who I have a bigger non-Jazz crush on: Joel Embiid or Ben Simmons. It’s more of a 1A and 1B at this point.
The case for Embiid: He’s a freaking big dude, but also a freaking goofy dude. He wore a Dodgers jersey while cheering on the Astros, talks trash on Twitter all the time, nicknamed himself The Process, and is trying desperately to hook up with Rihanna. Best of all he plays really good basketball.
Obviously, the caveat for Embiid is that he needs to be healthy. So far in 2017, he has been. He has played all eight games, in a 30-minute minute restriction, and puts up 20.5 points a game. He can do inside or outside, 52% from the field and shoots three threes a game and makes one. He is also averaging 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks a game, making him someone to watch on defense, too. His go-to move seems to be a pump-fake from deep, then a slashing drive-by to the rim for a ferocious dunk.
The case for Simmons: He is 6 foot 10, 230 lbs, and plays point guard like a LeBron-lite. He is 21 and technically in his second year, but remember he sat out all last year with injuries so he’s taking the lead in the Rookie-of-the-Year conversation. Simmons has already put up two triple-doubles, but his stat line is a near triple-double: 18 points, 8 assists, and 9.8 rebounds a game. From a 21-year-old, rookie point guard. My goodness.
I’ll tell you who I do not have a crush on: Markelle Fultz and Jahil Okafor. Fultz was the 2017 1st overall pick out of Washington but had shoulder issues that caused him to either change his shooting motion or get fluid flushed out of his shoulder. Either way, he’s in recovery now but could add another scoring dimension in the near future (or next year, like most Sixer rookies).
Okafor is another complex case. He always reminded me of Al Jefferson – a terrific post player and that’s about it. He was born in the wrong era for a big, one-dimensional basketball player is unplayable for the Sixers. In fact, he has played in one game this year (and scored 10 points and grabbed nine boards in 21 minutes) but is now looking for a trade or a buyout. Remember, he was the 3rd overall pick in 2015 out of Duke but now can’t find a role in the NBA.
Friday, vs the Heat
There isn’t anything special about this Heat team. They score 103 points a game, good for 22nd in the league, and give up 105 points a game, good for 14th in the league. They pull in 42.5 rebounds a game and dish out 21 dimes a contest, both ranked 20th in the league. #Meh.
The roster is just as ho-hum. Goran Dragic is still a good point guard, leads the team in scoring at 20/game, and Dion Waiters, 15/game, starts at shooting guard while Josh Richardson lines up at small forward, a steal and a block a game. Those three have started and played in all eight games, but the rest of the roster is still in a bit of a flux with four different starting lineups in the eight games. Hassan Whiteside is coming back from a knee injury and team captain James Johnson is either dealing with a knee injury, too, or dunking on people at power forward.
.@IamJJ16‘s poster vs Indiana was October’s @verizon Dunk of the Month! pic.twitter.com/VROOW8DUk2
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) November 4, 2017
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsOne interesting player on the Heat roster is 21-year-old Justise Winslow, taken 10th overall in the 2015 draft after Miami refused a million and a half draft picks from Boston to pick up the Duke product. His rookie year, Winslow showed a lot of promise, especially as a versatile defender who would hustle and make winning plays. His sophomore season was a let down as he dealt with a sore wrist and then had season-ending shoulder surgery. Both setbacks really led to a lost year for development as Winslow now seems a step behind and out of place on the Heat’s roster.
Winslow can still do it all – averages seven points, an assist, five rebounds while guarding some of the most talented players in the league. Yet, he is picking up about twenty minutes of playing time a night as his lack of shooting and his limited offensive game puts coach Erik Spoelstra in a tough spot.
I miss the good ol’ Heat days, like last year when they finished the season 30-11 and Waiters Island was a real thing. More so, I miss when Millsap made all those threes to bury LBJ and the Heat in the real Heat good ol’ days.
Saturday, vs the Nets
My buddy texted me out of nowhere a few weeks ago (shoutout Spencer Hohman!) and said, “I lowkey like the Nets. Sleeper pick for the 8th in the East.” His rationale was that “Brooklyn has all the guys out to prove a point.”
On the one hand, he has a point. DeMarre Carrol and Allen Crabbe were castoffs, D’Angelo Russell was unwanted in LA, Timofey Mozgov was equally unwanted, and Caris LaVert fell down the draft pecking order after injury history scared teams away.
Unfortunately, on the other hand, they’ve lost four in a row and Jeremy Lin went down with an ACL injury early on in this already-early season. They are still a young team but Russell is thriving in his new change of scenery.
Magic Johnson originally questioned his leadership which helped open the door for Russell to take his “ice-in-my-veins” talents elsewhere. Johnson wanted a point guard who made his teammates better, electing to draft Lonzo Ball and send Russell to Brooklyn. The remarks have irked Russell who admits it “ruffled a few feathers” and that he”went through a lot while in LA” from the Kobe farewell tour to releasing a private Nick Young video.
Having moved on, Russell is now leading the Nets in points, 21/game, and assists, 5/game, while starting and playing 28 minutes a night. On the opening night with his new Nets, Russell dropped 30. On Halloween, Russell went off for 33 points against the Suns, but the next game he shot 1/8 versus his old squad. It’ll be like that for most the season as the 6-foot-5 point-guard is just barely drinking age, 21 years-old, and is still learning how to lead a new team and a new offense. If he stays positive and motivated, he could become something special trying to prove his point.
Steve Godfrey Writes 