Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s 112-111 win over the Brooklyn Nets from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.
1. The absurdity of tanking
This was perhaps the most absurd game yet in a season full of absurdity.
It is absurd that the Jazz sat seven players tonight, at least three of whom would definitely play if the Jazz were trying to win. I mean, the Jazz just didn’t dress 23-year-old Walker Kessler due to “rest.” Come on now.
But the Nets were even more brazen. They sat everyone who had averaged more than 10 points per game — D’Angelo Russell, Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson, and so many more.
The result was a super wild and messy game. Perhaps the peak of it was the 8-second violation as the Jazz had the chance to win the game:
Collier was distracted by Sexton demanding the ball and didn’t get across the timeline. Incredible bad team stuff.
But then the Nets bested the Jazz by missing a game-winning dunk:
Eventually, Sexton and Collier’s scoring in overtime pushed the Jazz to the win; the Nets sat Ben Simmons down the stretch because he was too useful.
For fans, it’s a weird position to be in. I think most of the crowd of the Delta Center was rooting for the Jazz to win; likewise, there are rabid fans that desperately want the Jazz to lose this season. Some have turned the season off, mentally fast forwarding to a better future.
This game was best suited for a fourth crowd: those who like watching car crashes, or watch absurdist films, or find real joy in nihilism. It was some twisted stuff for a while there.
Three more of these games are coming up rapidly. The Jazz play the tanking Hornets next, then two in a row against the tanking Pelicans. Sensible fans might tune out. Those who remain are these kind of people:
Tank observers.
What a weird year.
2. Isaiah Collier’s 23/7/7
Collier had an absolutely wild game, with as many highs and lows as possible. The first roller coaster came on this play:
A terrific block, especially from a 6-2 guy, followed by a punctuating dunk, and then a horrendous fall right on his face. Collier said he was bleeding from his nose and his mouth after the fall, and left the court to get checked out for a concussion.
(By the way, I learned a new NBA rule tonight as a result: when a player leaves the game to get a concussion check, the standard rules don’t apply. Normally, a player must take the ensuing free throw after an injury or he is ineligible to return to the game, but in concussion situations, that’s not the case. Furthermore, in the case of a concussion check, the potentially concussed player’s team chooses who takes the free throw, not their opposition.)
We’ve already mentioned the eight-second violation, which was a definite lowlight. But minutes later came the game winner:
It’s actually quite the impressive play for Collier to throw the ball so far out in front of him to beat the trap, then recover it around bigger players, then finish it in traffic with that speed. Speed, ingenuity, directness, physicality — some of Collier’s best attributes all coming together in that play.
In general, I think he has a really, really good point guard brain — the way he creates openings with his passing is really impressive. He pushes in transition and sees advantages extremely well.
The question with him is just whether or not the ballhandling and shooting skills will follow: prior to tonight, he was shooting just 16% from three, and they don’t let you stay in the NBA if you’re that bad of a shooter. The turnover numbers were appalling. But Sunday night was a push in the right direction: only two turnovers, 3-6 from deep.
3. A reasonable trade idea
One of my guilty pleasures is reading NBA fan message boards, especially those talking about NBA trades. It’s kind of fun to learn how fans view their teams, their coaches, and their players — occasionally, you might even gain an insight or two.
For a couple of decades now, I’ve read RealGM’s Trades and Transactions board. On that page, fans post trade ideas, and explain why they make sense, and then ask the fans of other teams to comment. 90% of the time, the other team’s fans think the trade doesn’t make sense, and the idea is basically scuttled.
But every once in a while, there are good trade ideas posted, ones that fans of all two, three, or even four teams all basically agree on. Such an idea was posted last night, by Jazz fan “babyjax13.” The trade idea:
The Jazz fan's trade idea on RealGM.
Essentially, the Jazz trade Collin Sexton for four seconds, cut salary that they can use later, and get a couple of non-shooting but good defensive wings. It feels like a deal that the Jazz might not choose as their first option — they’d prefer a first-round pick — but would give them something and likely help the tank. Meanwhile, the Pistons use Sexton to get better, and the Suns get a couple of rotation players.
It sounds crazy, but I know that some people in NBA front offices, including the Jazz’s, appreciate these kind of ideas. The world of hundreds of NBA players and 30 teams with byzantine salary rules is a complicated place, and sometimes some package of teams, contracts and talents to get a deal done isn’t immediately obvious. This is that kind of deal, and those fans deserve some credit for their creativity to find a solution that seems to help all three teams accomplish their goals.
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