Identity Crisis - Utah Jazz 30-Team MyLeague

[JazzMan]

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Hayward Records Double-Double in Favors' Absence
Jazz Win 117-78

February 27, 2015

No Derrick Favors? No problem. The blossoming star power forward for the Jazz Derrick Favors sat out tonight in the road game against the Nuggets, as he had a sore knee. Coach Quin Snyder threw Trevor Booker into the starting lineup, where Booker finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds off of a perfect 8 for 8 shooting from the floor in just 24 minutes. Star forward Gordon Hayward recorded a double-double of 23 points and 11 assists, and pitched in 4 rebounds and 3 steals as well. Rudy Gobert had 18 points and 15 rebounds in just 27 minutes.

It was a great night for the Jazz, as everybody on the active roster played at least 10 minutes. Starters Dante Exum and Joe Ingles were only on the floor for 18 minutes and 19 minutes, respectively. Exum struggled with foul trouble in the first half. Grant Jerrett played in his first NBA game and recorded 8 points for Utah in 12 minutes, while Bryce Cotton pitched in 7 points and 3 assists, and Jerrelle Benimon had 5 points and 2 rebounds in 15 minutes.

Denver struggled in just about every facet of the game. They shot just 36% from the field, allowed Utah to shoot 54% from the field, including 48% from three, they got outrebounded by 12. It just was not a good night for Brian Shaw and company. Starting point guard Ty Lawson was held to just 1 point and 3 assists on the night.

Utah comes home to SLC on the 28th for one game, then starts a 4-game road trip on March 3rd.

Other Notes From Tonight's Game:

• Not a single Jazz player was negative in +/- tonight
• Every player for the Jazz except Eli Millsap scored
• Gordon Hayward was the only starter to play 28+ minutes
• Erick Green shot 8 threes in 16 minutes
• Each Denver player was negative in +/-
• Trevor Booker scored 14 of his 18 points in the 2nd half
  

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Around the League:

• Steph Curry nearly gets a triple-double in Warriors win
• Chicago overcame 17 turnovers to beat Minnesota 103-97
• Dwight Howard had 22 and 18 in win against Brooklyn
• Kyrie Irving drops 38 on the Pacers in Cavs win 124-112
• Clippers lose yet again with CP3 on the sidelines against Memphis
• Pelicans force 21 turnovers against Heat in 108-90 win
• Jan Vesely drops 20 point game against Wizards in Philly win 105-98
• OKC had 8 players score 10 points or more in win against Portland
• Spurs grind out win over Sacramento 83 to 78
• Hawks decimate Orlando 127 to 97 behind Teague's double-double
• Mo Williams drops 24 and 8 off the bench in Charlotte win over Boston
• Knicks beat Detroit behind Hardaway Jr's 15
• Bucks take out Lakers 100 to 89

[JazzMan]

Exum Scores Career-High 18 Pts in Win Over Bucks
114-74

February 28th, 2015

Dante Exum had himself a night tonight. The rookie from Australia scored 18 points, a career-high, and recorded 8 assists as well. The 19-year-old point guard shot 5-8 from the field, including 3 for 3 from three, and 5-6 from the free throw line. It was truly a significant performance by such a young player who is becoming known for his passiveness on offense and his defensive skills.

Gordon Hayward led all scorers with 27 points, and pitched in 6 rebounds, and 6 assists for his typical "triple-couple." Hayward also finished with 5 steals on the defensive end, and shot 5-6 from downtown. Aussie Joe Ingles shot 5-10 from the field to finish with 12 points, Rudy Gobert had 12 and 8, and a returning Derrick Favors had 10 points and 12 boards, as well as 3 blocks.

This is Utah's 5th win in a row, and their 38th win this season. The Jazz currently stand in 5th place in the West with the win at 38-20. They begin their 4-game road trip against Memphis on March 3rd.

Other Notes From Tonight's Game:

• Utah held Milwaukee to 35% shooting on the night
• The Jazz were 11/20 from behind-the-arc
• Milwaukee got outrebounded 34 to 52
• Utah's biggest lead was 40 points
• Milwaukee never led the Jazz
  

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Around the League:

• Parsons' 34 points help take out Brooklyn 115-92
• Memphis' Big Three combined for 67 points in a win against the Wolves
• Phoenix stole a game from the Spurs behind the Morris Twins
• The Wizards finally get a win as Wall goes for 22 pts, 5 reb, and 16 ast
• Miami steals a game from Atlanta 102 to 101
• Hardaway Jr. scored 23 points in a 107-79 loss to Toronto
  

[JazzMan]

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Jazz To Start 4 Game Road Trip Without Hayward

March 1st, 2015

Utah Jazz star forward Gordon Hayward played last night against the Bucks in Salt Lake City and recorded a 27, 6, 6, and 5 statline. He shot 5 for 6 from behind the arc, and 10-15 from the floor. But that's not even the most impressive part. Hayward approached a team doctor after the game complaining about soreness in his right wrist - his shooting wrist. They had him do an MRI and the results came in this morning; Hayward has suffered a sprained wrist and will not play against Memphis on Tuesday.

It is uncertain on whether Hayward will travel with the team and play the remaining games (@Boston, @Philly, @New York), but he is ruled out for the game in Memphis. This is a huge blow to the Jazz, as they are currently in the thick of an intense playoff race in the West. Utah is currently 5th in the West with a 38-20 record, right ahead of Memphis (36-22), Los Angeles Clippers (34-25), Dallas (35-26), Portland (33-25), and New Orleans (30-28).

Hayward is leading the Jazz in scoring with 19.9 points a night, and is 3rd on the team in rebounds with 7.2 a game. He is also leading the team in steals with 1.7, and 3rd in assists at 4.5 a night. It is presumed that rookie Rodney Hood will receive the start against Memphis.

[JazzMan]

Around the League: March 1st - March 3rd



Spencer Hawes has suffered a lower leg stress fracture and will be out for 6 to 8 weeks. Chris Paul, however, is returning early from his shoulder injury and will start on the 2nd against Minnesota.





Gordon Hayward will not play against Memphis due to a sprained wrist. It is uncertain on if Hayward will play in any of the 4 games away from Salt Lake City this week.





The Wizards fire head coach Randy Wittman. Wittman has led Washington to just a 15-45 record this season, nearly worst in the Eastern Conference. They promote assistant Sam Cassell as the interim head coach.

[JazzMan]

Preview: Jazz (38-20) @ Grizzlies (36-22)

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Matchup to Watch

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What a season it's been for the Jazz. Utah is 38-20, on the verge of making the playoffs, and is slowly becoming one of the most feared defensive units in the league. They've been winners of 5 straight, and have done so in rather convincing fashion. However, here's where there's a couple of problems.

They come into this game against a red hot Grizzly team that are winners of 4 straight. Of Memphis' 36 wins, 19 of them are at home. They're winners of 7 of their last 10. Not to mention, Utah's best player is out for tonight due to a sprained wrist. Not only is Gordon Hayward Utah's top scorer, but he crashes the boards, gets assists, and plays tough D, which is exactly what the Jazz need in order to come into Memphis' house and win.

I expect this game to get downright ugly. With no Gordon Hayward, I have a bad feeling about this one.

Prediction: Grizzlies win 83 to 75

[JazzMan]

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Z-Bo, Grizz Nab Win In OT, 103-97

March 3rd, 2015

Zach Randolph had himself a vintage Z-Bo game, as he willed the Grizzlies to an overtime win over the upstart Utah Jazz. Randolph had 28 points and 12 rebounds, as well as 4 steals and a block. Marc Gasol had 21 points and 17 boards, and 4 steals and a block as well. Mike Conley put in 17 points, 3 boards, and 10 assists.

The Jazz struggled to score consistently without leading scorer Gordon Hayward tonight. Derrick Favors led the way with 24 points and 13 boards, and Rodney Hood filled in nicely with 19 points, but the Jazz shot just 40% from the field all night, including 28% from three. Rudy Gobert had 25 boards on the night in addition to 10 points and 4 blocks. Jeremy Evans had 10 points in 15 minutes.

Jazz head coach Quin Snyder was asked after the game about Hayward's injury and when he could potentially return for the Jazz: "Well, the wrist that he sprained was his shooting wrist, so it's going to be hard to get him back and going at 100%. We're going to ease him into it, I think. He won't play tomorrow night against Boston, but we'll see afterwards how he's feeling and when he feels he can come back and play great basketball."

The Jazz travel to Boston tonight to take on the Celtics tomorrow night.

Other Notes From Tonight's Game:

• Memphis shot a perfect 15 for 15 from the free throw line
• The Jazz took 32 three pointers on the night, only making 9 of them
• The Grizzlies had 19 steals on the night
• A total of 5 players had double-doubles tonight
• Trey Burke shot just 1 for 9 from the field

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Around the League:

• Al Jefferson and Mo Williams led Charlotte to a win over the Lakers
• Washington lost its first game after the Wittman era to Chicago
• Denver had to grind to get a win over Milwaukee 89 to 86
• Atlanta scored 39 points in the first quarter in their win over Houston
• The Cavs got 24 points from Kyrie and 20 from Love in a win against Boston

[JazzMan]

Preview: Jazz (38-21) @ Celtics(27-31)

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Matchup to Watch

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Jazz head coach Quin Snyder has decided to change the lineup tonight with Gordon Hayward out for the second consecutive game due to a sprained wrist. Snyder is moving rookie forward Rodney Hood from the starting lineup to the bench after just one start, and is also moving forward Joe Ingles to the bench as well. Elijah Millsap will get the start at small forward, while Trey Burke will start at point guard, which will shift Dante Exum over to the shooting guard spot.

[JazzMan]

Since I'm not too far in this, I'm going to restart it. Patch #4 just dropped and it has fixed the regression issue, but doesn't affect saves before the patch.