Rudy Gobert

Questions and Concerns for the Utah Jazz through 15 Games

November 23, 2019 by Kelby Jones Leave a Comment

Kelby Jones and Ryan Van Dorn welcomed in Bruce Pitcher (Season 4 of ABC’s Extreme Weight Loss, Author – “Larger Then Life”) this week to discuss the Utah Jazz through 15 games and what we’re concerned with.

Watch the video below to see the Utah Jazz Fan Show’s takes from the week:

About the Utah Jazz Fan Show

The Jazz Fan Show is a podcast and blog focusing on all things Utah Jazz. Founded by Ryan Van Dorn and Kelby Jones in September of 2018.

You can hear the show Saturdays at Noon on 1280 AM and 97.5 FM The Zone.

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The show began in an attempt to create more content around the Utah Jazz for the fans to enjoy.

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Where Everything’s Made Up and the Stats Don’t Matter

questions and concerns for the utah jazz through 15 games

What We Learned from Utah Jazz Early-Season Road Trip Woes

November 6, 2019 by Kelby Jones Leave a Comment

Utah Jazz road trips are never easy to stomach these days. But while it’s never fun to see the Jazz in the losing column, the season is young. There’s lots to be learned from these slip-ups. Unfortunately, there will also probably be some more slip-ups as the team figures out exactly who they are.

Let’s take a look at the positive and negative takeaways from the past week of Utah Jazz NBA basketball.

Utah Jazz Early-Season Road Trip Positives

Donovan Mitchell – The Boy Wonder

If you’ve watched ANY Utah Jazz basketball in the past two years, you know the kid can hoop. Plain and simple. The question Jazz fans have been asking since seeing the put-back dunk off the Alec Burks miss is just how good can he be?

After six games, Spida is averaging 25.7 points per game on 52% shooting. I know it’s early, but it this is where he starts the year off, imagine where he’ll be come the All Star break!

What we learned from Utah Jazz early-season road trip woes

I fully expect Donovan to be an All Star this year. And while his team dropped two on the road in early November, Donovan was the only reason the game was close at all.

But most importantly, when the ball is in his hands, I feel optimistic something good will happen. When he pulls up for the mid range jumper, I feel as confident as I would be if he were going in for an uncontested layup.

I haven’t felt that way in a long, LONG time.

Bojan Bogdanovic – Feed The Beast

We knew the Utah Jazz front office was going to get some talent to help their stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. What it seems like we didn’t know was ANYTHING about Bojan Bogdanovic.

Bojan is averaging better than 2o points per game six games into the season. Plus, the Croation looks like he’s the bonafide scoring threat the team needs to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Whether he’s taking it to the hole for the tough finish through contact, or hitting the deep elbow 3-pointer without even grazing the rim, Bojan can score.

Utah Jazz – Rule #1: Defense First

Utah currently sits second in the league in terms of team defensive rating.

This defense is elite. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been enough for the Jazz to remain in first place. To understate it, the offense is still a work in progress.

Nobody Important is Worried About Mike Conley

Utah Jazz Early-Season Road Trip Negatives

Back-to-Basics: Rebounding Needs Work

The Utah Jazz were visibly out rebounded by the Clippers Sunday night in Los Angeles. In fact, the final rebounding totals were LAC 54 rebounds to Utah’s 37…

With Derrick Favors playing in New Orleans this year (RIP), Utah has been transitioning to more of a “small ball” lineup. This places the bulk of the rebounding duties squarely on Rudy Gobert’s shoulders.

Now we know Rudy can hold his own when it comes to rebounds, but can he make up for an entire team who has seemingly forgotten how to box out?

Not to mention the fact that Ed Davis is now out at least a month with a leg injury. Look for rebounding to improve under the fine tutelage of Quin Snyder.

Offense of Everyone Not Named Bojan or Donovan

I’m just going to leave this here…

NBA Referee Patterns

The Utah Jazz, especially now that Ed Davis is out for extended time, need to learn how to manipulate NBA Referees.

I know that sounds like I just said they need to learn how to cheat (maybe they do need to learn how to cheat…), but that’s not what I mean.

It just seems like the refs call a million fouls either on the Jazz or the opposing team at a certain time, and have to make up for it later on.

For example, against Phoenix, refs called a ridiculous amount of fouls against Utah in the 3rd quarter. During that time, the Suns were able to get out to a decent lead.

However, the 4th quarter was the opposite story, with most of the fouls being called against Phoenix. Simply put, the refs want to call an even game, and know when they need to favor a team to make it happen.

The Jazz need to come out physical from the start of the game, which will ultimately lead to refs calling less fouls for more physical defense later in the game. #Solved

In Conclusion…

We learned a lot about the Utah Jazz during one of their first mini road trips of the season. Hopefully we right the ship and get back to the winning ways we’re used to!

Utah Jazz Look to Get Back On Track Wednesday vs. Philadelphia 76ers

November 4, 2019 by Kelby Jones Leave a Comment

Despite Donovan Mitchell’s heroics, two straight losses leave the Jazz limping back to Vivint Smart Home Arena.

The Utah Jazz went 0-2 during their latest mini road trip in California. Both losses (first to the Sacramento Kings, then to the Los Angeles Clippers) came even though the Jazz led late in the 4th quarter.

Both losses also came despite great play from Utah’s star player Donovan Mitchell. The third-year did everything in his power to make sure his team was at least in the game during crunch time.

Bojan Bogdanovic helped, but ultimately the third scoring option never materialized and the Jazz dropped both close contests.

What to Look For: Philadelphia 76ers vs Utah Jazz

Joel Embiid (fresh off suspension) vs. Rudy Gobert

Joel Embiid will be rejoining his team after serving a two game suspension for fighting with Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl Anthony-Towns (see The Ringer’s breakdown below).

Normally, this game would be scheduled rest for Embiid, who is infamously scared to play against Rudy Gobert in Salt Lake City. Fortunately (hopefully) for Jazz Nation, the suspension likely means a full-strength Embiid vs Rudy contest.

Donovan Mitchell vs. (Perennial ROTY Ben Simmons)

We all know about Donovan’s Rookie of the Year snub to a sophomore Ben Simmons. In some ways, this seems like the rivalry that will never die… even though it’s kind of not a real thing.

However, we know there’s not a lot of mutual respect between Mitchell and Simmons, which makes it special every time the two are on the court at the same time.

Here’s to hoping we see a Jazz/76ers matchup in this year’s NBA Finals so this can be a real rivalry once and for all.

PS: Ben Simmons shoots with the wrong hand!!!

Which Mike Conley shows up for Utah Jazz?

It’s no secret that some who claim to be Jazz fans are already on the Mike Conley hate train. Especially on Utah Jazz Facebook.

For the love of all that is good and decent, let’s give the man some time to get used to the altitude. Six games is nowhere near enough time to write off one of the greatest teammates in the history of the game.

Check JazzFanShow.com to see if my take has changed after 20 games!

That being said, look for the veteran point guard to play a bigger roll in the offense after two days of practicing (three hours per day…) with Quin Snyder.

Will anyone besides Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic be able to put the ball in the basket?

We’ve seen Conley go off for 29 points once. Other than that, the offense of players not named Donovan or Bojan has been atrocious.

Utah Jazz Look to Get Back On Track Wednesday vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Once again, look for all of this to work itself out in the nice two-day break the Utah Jazz are currently enjoying.

Six hours of practice can go a long way…

10 Utah Jazz Predictions for the 2019/2020 Season

October 22, 2019 by Kelby Jones Leave a Comment

For Utah Jazz predictions to be credible, they have to be recorded BEFORE the season starts…

Our beloved Utah Jazz open up their schedule for the upcoming NBA season on Wednesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Utah Jazz Predictions for the upcoming NBA Season.

Before the season kicks off, we made sure to create our own Utah Jazz predictions for the team and league as a whole. Predictions include…

Total Utah Jazz Regular Season Wins?
Final Utah Jazz seed in the West?
How far will the Utah Jazz get in the NBA Playoffs?
Which teams will make the NBA Finals and which will win it all?
Will Jazz make a trade during the season and if so, who is involved?
Will Jazz have any NBA All Stars?
How many games into the season before Rudy Gobert shoots a 3-pointer?
How many points will Donovan Mitchell average per game?
Most surprising player for the Utah Jazz?
NBA MVP winner and leading scorer?

Watch Kelby Jones, Ryan Van Dorn and Bruce Pitcher (on the phone) make their season predictions below:

Interested in More from the Utah Jazz Fan Show?

The Utah Jazz Fan Show was created by Ryan Van Dorn and Kelby Jones in September of 2018. You can listen each and every Saturday at noon on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM, The Zone Sports Network.

You can also listen to the Utah Jazz Fan Show on-demand by downloading The Zone Sports Network App.

Don’t have the app? Listen wherever you listen to podcasts, including iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud and more!

Utah Jazz Preseason Wrap Up

October 18, 2019 by Aaron Ostler Leave a Comment

Now that the preseason is in the rearview mirror, we have a little better perspective on what this Jazz team is and what it can become. Let’s look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of this Utah Jazz preseason.

Since I like to end on a good note, we’ll go in reverse order.

The Ugly

The big white guy defending Georges Niang (see below):

The Bad

Today, the team is not looking like it’s ready to contend for a title, or even a western conference championship. There is a lot to get done in order for this team to gel and come together before talk of contention can commence. The defense struggled mightily, giving up an average of 128.75 points per contest against NBA competition, which ranked 33rd in efficiency. Given that there are only 30 teams in the NBA, that means they finished behind some of the international teams who participated in the preseason.

Can you say struggles?

What makes matters worse is that we didn’t even see the high-octane offense that many thought we would see given the offseason acquisitions.

Fortunately, we did see flashes of it, particularly against the younger teams, New Orleans and Sacramento. Overall, though, it was difficult to watch guys turning the ball over, look discombobulated, and clank threes off the rim.

The Good

Aside from some nice individual performances (here’s looking at you, Donovan), most of what was good about the preseason was the opportunity for time on the floor together. There are so many new pieces to the team this year that it was inevitable not everything was going to be peachy king from the jump. Having time on the court against other teams was valuable to help the players start to mesh and have the coaches experiment with rotations. It’s worth noting that Quin Snyder is one of the best in the business at having his teams improve throughout the season.

I don’t expect to see all of the Jazz’s ills cured by the time they tip off against the Thunder next week. However, I do suspect that there will be significant improvement from month to month. This team is chalked with more veteran leadership than it has been in many years. That bodes well for keeping the whole team towing the line and staying on task.

The Irony from Utah Jazz Preseason?

Ironically, I believe that some of the bad we saw during the preseason was due to these veterans, especially those who are 30+, saving what’s in the tank for games that matter. We saw improvements of some of the Jazz’s younger players, including: Donovan Mitchell, Royce O’Neale, and Tony Bradley.

While Tony Bradley’s talents may not be needed extensively this season, Donovan’s and Royce’s most certainly will. Donovan looked more decisive with the ball in his hands, and he was a more efficient player. Royce not only looked like he belonged but he also looked like a sharpshooter from distance. If he can become a reliable 3 and D guy this season, he may end up being a regular in the starting lineup.

Rudy Gobert’s Future is Crystal Clear

June 22, 2019 by Gretchen Devine Leave a Comment

No one delivers quite like Rudy Gobert when it comes to style.

Whether wearing a tailored suit, leopard print, or both, he always brings his A-game.

His fellow team-mates may not fully appreciate Rudy’s sartorial choices, but I believe they are worthy of appreciation.

Lately, Rudy has been rocking some literal rocks:

But these are more than a fashion statement.

They’re CRYSTALS.

Why Utah Jazz Fans Should Care About Rudy Gobert’s Crystals

What are crystals. and why should you, as a Jazz fan care? Well, I consulted what I assume would be the most accurate source for information on crystals (Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP website) and found this:

“Scientifically, crystals are the most orderly structure that exists in nature, meaning they have the lowest amount of entropy (a measurement of disorder). Crystals are structured in such a way that they respond to the inputs of all different energies around them, so they oscillate, emitting specific vibratory frequencies… Our ancestors intuitively knew that when worn, the energies of the stones would interact with the human electromagnetic field to bring about energetic changes.”

Meaning, these crystals could be a literal game-changer for Gobert. Could crystals give him an extra edge on the court? We have photo evidence of Rudy wearing these crystals on and off all season. They could be the source of some of his success. Three out of the four games he wore crystals heading into the stadium, the Jazz won. It could also be a potential source of failure. Crystals need specific care if they are to retain their energetic properties.

Crystals need to be cleaned to remove dense or stale energy. This can be accomplished by
- burying them in the ground
- purifying them in salt water
- leave them out under the light of the full moon
- burn sage and run the crystals through the smoke
You are not supposed to let other people touch your crystals as it may transfer their vibrations or energies leading it to be no longer attuned to you
There is also the slight chance that choosing the wrong crystal can actually have negative affects if you choose the wrong kind or if they’re not sourced ethically

So what does this mean for Rudy?

Can we guarantee that his crystals are connected to good vibes only?

Where Did Rudy Gobert Get These Crystals?

Not to worry. He got his crystals from none other than the king of crystals himself Spencer Pratt of Pratt Daddy Crystals:

You may know Spencer Pratt as one of the lead “villains” from The Hills, but he has turned over a new leaf and deals in good vibes only. Rudy is one of Pratt Daddy’s key influencers, and as such has the inside track to all the best crystals.

So will Rudy’s game help the Jazz dominate via electromagnetic vibrations? All I know is that they won the the 4 game after wearing crystals on the 13th, so I say the odds are in his favor.