All That Jazz - MyLeague NBA 2K15

[JeriousNorwood]

I'm a stat freak. I cannot have any of my games simmed because then I feel the stats are not "mine". I also cannot play 82 games each season and be expected to stick with it. That's why I feel my route of playing 29 games a season is the way to go. I will play with updated rosters on Superstar (I'm not that good at the game, so this is a difficult difficulty for me) and playing every single game.

Trust me, I'm quite a few games into this season and it's rough. I've never had to endure losing over and over again. 2K15 has humbled me and I want to take you on my journey. Since I am playing with this team through thick and thin, I did have to make a few moves. They will all be detailed from here on out. I hope you enjoy.

[JeriousNorwood]

Jazz Welcome New Additions

Let's be frank, the Utah Jazz entered this season with a lot of D-League talent on their roster. While young and cheap, they didn't have much of a chance to stick with the Jazz for the entire season. Thus, knowing the team would have a rough go of it this season, the Jazz felt they could take a risk on some aging veterans to provide some depth and maybe even help get a few wins.

In order to clear some room on the roster, the Jazz traded away Joe Ingles and the uber athletic yet woefully flawed Jeremy Evans along with a 2017 first round pick to the Nuggets for their 2015 first round pick. This allowed the Jazz to make room on their roster to sign some free agents while also getting a pick that may be useful in gaining talent this year.

The second move the Jazz made was to give up Grant Jarrett and Jack Cooley along with one of their many 2016 second round draft picks for the veteran Dorell Wright. Not only did this move free up another roster spot, but the team was severely lacking a competent small forward behind Gordon Hayward. The fact that he's also versatile and could occasionally give a big man a break is a huge boost to the team.

These moves allowed the Jazz to make their move on a few veterans they felt could contribute to their team out of the gate. The first signing the Jazz made was signing Vitor Faverani to a one year, $4.42M deal. He brings to the table what Enes Kanter brought, a mid-range game and spacing for Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors. He should be the primary player to step in when one of those two are tired.

In need of a veteran presence, someone to mentor Trey Burke and first round pick Dante Exum. That's where the Jazz felt the signing of Nate Robinson to a one year, $3.62M deal was a good one. He could help bring the young guns up and assuming he's healthy, help contribute at the point position as well.

The final signing made by the Jazz was that of Emeka Okafor to a one year, $2.48M deal. Behind Derrick Favors, the Jazz had no real muscle down low. That's where Okafor comes in. He provides a cheap veteran presence down low that should help the team.

While on paper these moves seem pretty good, it remains to be seen how these moves will pay off when the games are actually played.

Below is the projected opening day roster:

Utah Jazz Depth Chart - 2015
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
PG	Trey Burke	Nate Robinson	Dante Exum	Ian Clark
SG	Alec Burks	Rodney Hood	Elijah Millsap
SF	Gordon Hayward	Dorell Wright
PF	Derrick Favors	Trevor Booker
C	Rudy Gobert	Vitor Faverani	Emeka Okafor

[JeriousNorwood]

(Coming shortly)

Los Angeles Lakers at Utah Jazz
Nov 3, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Los Angeles (0-1)	24	28	26	22	100
Utah (1-0)	31	26	27	27	111

Los Angeles Lakers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
S. Nash, PG	32	4-12	0-1	0-0	4	8	1	1	5	8
K. Bryant, SG	38	15-23	1-2	5-5	8	2	1	0	1	37
N. Young, SF	36	4-14	1-2	2-2	1	3	0	0	0	11
E. Davis, PF	32	1-4	0-0	0-0	10	1	0	1	0	2
J. Hill, C	31	5-8	0-0	2-3	11	3	0	1	4	12
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
J. Randle, PF	15	2-3	0-0	2-2	5	0	0	2	1	6
W. Ellington, SG	13	3-5	1-3	0-0	1	2	0	0	1	7
J. Lin, PG	13	1-3	0-2	0-0	1	3	0	0	2	2
W. Johnson, SF	12	3-6	0-2	0-0	1	2	0	0	1	6
C. Boozer, PF	11	2-3	0-0	1-1	5	0	0	1	0	5
T. Black, C	7	1-1	0-0	2-2	1	1	0	0	0	4
R. Price, PG	DNP	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
R. Kelly, PF	DNP	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
TEAM TOTALS		41-82	4-13	14-15	54	25	2	6	15	100

Utah Jazz
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
T. Burke, PG	28	9-19	1-3	1-2	2	5	0	0	0	20
A. Burks, SG	32	2-8	2-3	2-2	4	7	2	0	0	8
G. Hayward. SF	38	11-26	2-9	1-2	4	4	2	4	0	25
D. Favors, PF	35	2-6	0-0	3-6	10	3	1	2	0	7
R. Gobert, C	33	5-13	0-0	4-5	17	0	3	1	1	14
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
N. Robinson, PG	17	2-7	1-1	0-0	0	4	1	0	0	5
T. Booker. PF	13	5-8	1-1	1-2	3	1	1	0	0	12
R. Hood, SG	11	0-2	0-1	0-0	0	2	0	0	1	0
D. Exum, PG	9	0-2	0-0	2-2	1	4	0	0	0	2
V. Faverani, C	7	1-2	0-0	0-0	1	0	1	0	0	2
E. Okafor, C	7	1-2	0-0	0-0	4	0	1	0	0	2
D. Wright, SF	5	4-4	2-2	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	10
E. Millsap, SG	5	2-2	0-0	0-0	2	0	0	0	0	4
TEAM TOTALS		44-101	9-20	14-21	54	30	13	7	2	111

[Ran180]

How did you get your stats up like that?

[JeriousNorwood]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ran180

How did you get your stats up like that?

I use the operation sports dynasty tables. They're great.

http://dynasties.operationsports.com/index.php

Also, this is not dead people. So I've been playing and losing so much that I couldn't take updating every game. Thus I played through the trade deadline and will start updating constantly now.

[JeriousNorwood]

Schedule to date:

Utah Jazz 2015 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Nov 3	vs Los Angeles Lakers	Won, 111-100
Nov 6	at Denver Nuggets	Lost, 109-100
Nov 16	at Charlotte Hornets	Lost, 100-95
Nov 19	at Miami Heat	Lost, 112-91
Nov 26	vs Houston Rockets	Lost, 111-83
Dec 1	at Oklahoma City Thunder	Lost, 120-109
Dec 8	vs Orlando Magic	Lost, 111-99
Dec 12	at Portland Trailblazers	Lost, 113-93
Dec 15	at Phoenix Suns	Lost, 106-98
Dec 19	at New York Knicks	Lost, 101-98
Dec 22	at Toronto Raptors	Lost, 109-105
Dec 29	at Los Angeles Clippers	Lost, 113-94
Jan 5	vs Philadelphia 76ers	Won, 97-88
Jan 7	at Chicago Bulls	Lost, 97-88
Jan 8	at Milwaukee Bucks	Lost, 109-81
Jan 10	vs San Antonio Spurs	Lost, 104-90
Jan 15	vs Cleveland Cavaliers	Lost, 115-90
Jan 29	vs Brooklyn Nets	Lost, 105-95
Feb 11	vs Minnesota Timberwolves	Lost, 112-106
Feb 23	vs Dallas Mavericks	Lost, 103-100
Feb 25	vs Boston Celtics	Won, 99-97
Mar 2	vs Atlanta Hawks
Mar 4	at New Orleans Pelicans
Mar 11	vs Memphis Grizzlies
Mar 13	at Detroit Pistons
Mar 16	at Indiana Pacers
Mar 24	vs Washington Wizards
Apr 1	vs Golden State Warriors
Apr 16	vs Sacramento Kings

[JeriousNorwood]

Summary of Season to this Point:

• The Jazz have been horrible, yes, but their season hit a low point when Gordon Hayward missed a whole month due to a shoulder injury. While he was down, no one could fill the void of team leader/main scorer. During his absence the team went 0-5. They are 3-13 with him in the line up. Yes, it's not much better, but the team was absolutely lost without Hayward.
• It's easy to see this team has a very bright future, but they are just not there yet. With an average age of 22.8 in their starting line up, the Jazz have shown their inexperience. They often blow close games and get flustered far too easily. All the talent is there, they just need to grow together.
• The Jazz soon realized that there was no chance to make any noise this year. Thus, they adopted the thinking that if there's no chance of them making the team next year, the player will be moved to make room for others. This led to a fire sale in which the Jazz aquried young talents such as Miles Plumlee along with a '15 2nd rounder and a '16 first rounder. There is no mistaking the Jazz's intentions now. They are clearly punting on this year and looking to the next year.

Summary of Trades to this Point:

Nate Robinson, PG and 2016 1st Rounder to Magic for Victor Oladipo, SG:

Two things were clear. Nate Robinson had recovered fully from his injury and that the Nate Robinson experiment was a failure in Utah. Yes it was great news that he had his athleticism that defined him back, but his play style was not what Utah needed. He played too much iso basketball and the offense ground to a halt when he was in control. The talent was not there around him either to support his play style. Finally, with the team doing so poorly, he was hindering the development of the younger point guards in Trey Burke and Dante Exum. Thus, while he still had value, the Jazz decided to offer him up, and that's when the Magic came knocking.

At the time the Magic were looking for a veteran to arrive and help with a playoff push. This led them to offering up Victor Oladipo up in a trade for Robinson. Utah was very intrigued with his athleticism along with his contract to where he could be a core piece of their team long into the future. The price they paid, however, was very steep. With as poorly as the Jazz are doing this year, unless a miracle happens, everyone is expecting the Jazz to have a high draft pick next year. A potential unprotected top five pick, clearing cap space and a veteran scorer is what led the Magic to making this trade.

Unfortunately the Magic could not look into the future. Only five games into his Magic career, Nate Robinson dislocated his patella and will miss the rest of the season.

Vitor Faverani, C and Elijah Millsap, SG to Bucks for Miles Plumlee, C:

This is the trade where we saw the Jazz punt on the season and develop their thinking "If they have no chance to make the roster next season, they are going to be moved." Vitor Faverani was a big signing for the Jazz earlier this season. They felt they were getting a center with a high ceiling, someone who could space out the floor with Derrick Favors and hit a jumper like former teammate Enes Kanter. They soon found he was not the right fit for their system. He was too slow to play defense, his shot took too long to develop and he was just not as productive as fellow centers on the team, Emeka Okafor and Andrew Bynum. This led to him being inactive on a nightly basis.

Fellow former Jazz member, Elijah Millsap was a different case. He had some nice athleticism, a decent shot and OK defense. However, he was never able to put it together on a nightly basis where it was ever of any benefit. He was given the chance to step up when Gordon Hayward went down, but he often became a black hole of possessions, either turning the ball over or missing a shot. It was clear with his age that the Jazz were not going to keep him on for another year, so they shopped him along with Faverani.

The Bucks became trade partners when they offered up Miles Plumlee for the pair. Plumlee had fallen out of favor with the Bucks and was inactive of 90% of the nights they would play. The Jazz, however, were intrigued with his athleticism, size, age and soft contract. The Bucks felt they were giving up nothing in a player who never played for two desirable expiring contracts and decent depth this year. A win win trade.

Emeka Okafor, C to Spurs for Jeff Ayres, C and 2015 2nd Rounder:

This may have been a very insignificant move for the Jazz, but it certainly helps out the Spurs. At the trading deadline, everyone knew the Jazz would listen to any offers on the veterans they had on their team, and that's when the Spurs brought this offer forward. The Jazz knew they would not bring Okafor back and thus had no reason to keep him on the team. The Spurs in getting Okafor receiving amazing veteran depth behind Boris Diaw. It was just another savvy move for the perennial title contending Spurs which should help them down the stretch. The Jazz in turn received a cheap center and a second round pick that they didn't initially have.

Dorrell Wright, SF to Hawks for 2016 1st Round Pick:

We have a feeling this may turn out poorly for the Hawks. The Jazz reluctantly put their top role player out on the block. Dorrell Wright was always huge coming off the bench and knocking down threes while also playing a huge role on defense. He was the only early season move that actually panned out. However, they couldn't say no to what the Hawks offered. The Hawks are currently ranked fifth in the standings and wanted to make sure they stayed there by grabbing additional talent. This led them to trading a first round pick in 2016 for Wright. While the Hawks are definitely trying to win now, they may have given up too much to pad their line up. The Jazz are quite excited that they now have a first round pick in 2016 after giving up their only one earlier in the year to the Magic for Oladipo.

Post Trade Deadline Line up:

Utah Jazz Depth Chart - 2015
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
PG	T. Burke	D. Exum
SG	A. Burks	V. Oladipo	R. Hood
SF	G. Hayward	J. Salmons	J. Kapono
PF	D. Favors	T. Booker
C	R. Gobert	A. Bynum	M. Plumlee

[JeriousNorwood]

Jazz Defeat Hawks in Huge Upset 100-92

Atlanta Hawks at Utah Jazz
Mar 2, 2015	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Atlanta (11-8)	21	28	24	19	92
Utah (4-18)	24	23	31	22	100

Atlanta Hawks
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
J. Teague, PG	38	7-18	0-1	2-2	2	11	0	1	3	16
K. Korver. SG	36	10-17	0-1	0-0	3	3	0	0	2	20
T. Shefolosha, SF	33	3-10	1-2	0-2	6	5	1	0	0	7
P. Millsap, PF	36	4-7	1-1	0-0	13	0	3	0	0	9
A. Horford, C	38	5-8	0-0	0-0	6	0	0	2	1	10
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
D. Schroder, PG	15	6-10	1-4	4-4	1	3	0	0	0	17
M. Scott, PF	12	1-3	0-0	0-0	2	0	1	0	0	2
D. Carroll, SF	12	2-6	0-4	0-0	1	0	2	0	0	4
N. Collison, PF	10	0-0	0-0	0-0	2	0	0	2	0	0
K. Bazemore, SG	10	3-5	1-1	0-0	2	3	0	0	0	7
S. Mack, PG	DNP	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
D. Wright, SF	DNP	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
E. Brand, C	DNP	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
TEAM TOTALS		41-84	4-14	6-8	38	25	7	5	6	92

Utah Jazz
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
T. Burke, PG	30	4-10	2-3	0-0	4	7	1	0	2	10
A. Burks, SG	30	4-11	1-4	0-0	1	5	0	1	1	9
G. Hayward, SF	35	6-18	4-12	2-2	6	3	1	0	1	18
D. Favors, PF	27	5-8	0-0	3-3	6	0	0	2	0	13
R. Gobert, C	25	5-9	0-0	0-0	13	0	1	1	0	10
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
A. Bynum, C	17	1-5	0-0	0-0	8	0	0	0	0	2
T. Booker, PF	17	3-5	0-0	2-2	5	1	0	0	0	8
D. Exum, PG	14	3-4	1-1	0-0	2	5	0	0	4	7
V. Oladipo, SG	14	5-8	2-5	0-0	1	3	0	0	0	12
M. Plumlee, C	10	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	1	0	0	0	0
J. Salmons, SF	10	1-2	1-2	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	3
R. Hood, SG	7	1-2	1-2	2-2	1	0	0	0	0	5
J. Kapono, SG	4	1-1	1-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	3
TEAM TOTALS		39-83	13-30	9-9	48	26	3	4	8	100

Game Notes:
Many NBA fans, and rightly so, call the Atlanta Hawks the Utah Jazz 2.0. This is due to similar concepts of team basketball, Jazz head coach Quin Snyder was the assistant head coach at Atlanta last year, and how many of the players that have moved on from the Jazz went to the Hawks. Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver and DeMarre Carroll each used to excel while on the Jazz, and they are now successful on the Hawks. Plus there's the added bonus of Dorrell Wright having just been traded to the Hawks a few days ago. While these teams may not play each other often, they sure know each other well.

The reason this win was so big for Utah was not only because the team with the worst record in the NBA beat a playoff team, but also because this was a case of little brother beating big brother. Utah played some incredibly stifling defense, managing to keep Millsap and Al Horford both to ten points or less. The Hawks were able to score nothing down low thanks to the incredible defensive tandem of Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert. As usual, the opposing point guards tore the Jazz up, but that defense was compensated, again, by the Favors, Gobert duo down low. One incredible stat was that the Jazz held Kyle Korver without a three pointer. Undoubtedly that was one of Snyder's game plans coming into this game, to not allow to Korver to get hot. While he did put up 20 points, he was not able to make an impact from down town and that was a huge factor in this win.

On Utah's offensive side of the ball, this was one of the best efforts we have seen from them as a whole maybe all year. Alex Burks did struggle, but his back up Victor Oladipo was able to come off the bench and make up for his inefficiencies by having his most efficient game with the Jazz yet. Hopefully he can continue to grow to a point where there is no drop off from when Burks leaves the game and Oladipo enters it. The biggest stat of the day may be the +10 rebounds Utah had over Atlanta. It's very hard to win a game when getting out rebounded by that much. Gobert got another double double and Jason Kapono hit is first shot since signing with the Jazz.

Interesting note: Dorrell Wright, the forward that Utah traded to Atlanta at the deadline for a 1st round pick next year did not even enter the game. He was a healthy scratch.