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Alec Burks night a symbol of the Utah Jazz developmental program

David Locke

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SUMMARY: The Utah Jazz’s offensive explosion continued as they turn a close fourth quarter game into a blowout 126-107 win over the Clippers.

  • The story of the night was Alec Burks. Alec finished with 28 points (a season high), 7 rebounds (a season high), 5 assists (a season high), 3 steals (a season high), and 1 blocked shot.

 

  • Alec has been working really hard to change his game and he saw the result of all that hard work tonight. The East coast road trip was a disaster for Alec, but he continued to work. His assistant coach Jeff Watkinson has been working with Alec to get wider in his stance. When you think of Alec, you think of that tall, rhythm, bouncy dribble. That left him with poor balance and the inability to stop on drives. Playing with a wider stance and shorter, choppy steps gives him the ability to stop in the lane before he is in trouble, keep him on his feet, pick his spots so he can attack, pull up or pass.

 

  • He threw a pass tonight on a play in the paint that I had never seen from him. He was in the paint and stayed on the ground. Because he was on balance and playing slower, he was able to rip a pass to Ingles in the corner for a 3. In the past, this play was Alec driving to the basket recklessly, and if he made the pass he threw a wraparound from the baseline.

 

  • He played under control the entire night. He made floaters in the lane. He curled out on a 1-on-2. He had DeAndre Jordan on a switch and he lifted into a 3-pointer instead.

 

  • Talking to Alec today at shootaround, he said he is just trying to play slow. He had to change because his former game wasn’t working. When I asked him how hard that is, he said it is really hard because everything he did before was about explosion, which he’s trying to learn to play without. The irony is by taking away away and slowing down, he will give himself an opportunity to use those explosive qualities again.

 

  • The Jazz are doing so many things with their coaching staff. I talk about preparation so much in regard to in-game adjustments, but each player has an assistant coach assigned to them for floor work. That same coach will do film work with the player. They do this every day.

 

  • Add to that the advances the Jazz are making with their medical staff and the Jazz have the complete package for player development. Each player is doing table massage work before every practice and every game to activate their muscles. The same professional is working with them each day so that trainer knows that body and what is needed. Each player has a specific strength plan that is built for them, largely based on what their body needs and what is discovered in those table sessions.

 

  • That’s a pretty good recipe for player development: High level work on the player to prepare them to be ready on the floor then individual coaching attention dedicated to specific aspects of the player’s game. Couple that with a head coach that gives players every chance to have success and the Jazz have the premier player development program in the NBA.

 

  • The offense continues to be remarkable. Over the past 10 games, the Jazz have been taking 38% of their shots as 3-pointers. Tonight they took 34 of 85 shots as 3s (exactly 40%) and they hit an incredible 16 of 34.

 

  • The Jazz had 38 assists; The last time they did that was 2010. Every Jazz starter had at least three assists and five players had five or more.

 

  • It was a 1-point game with 10:30 left in the fourth quarter and the Jazz went on a 21-4 run to blow out the Clippers. That run stretched out to 50-19 to end the game.

 

  • The Jazz didn’t play a lot of defense (or couldn’t get stops) until late in the third quarter. The Clippers shot 66% in the second quarter.

 

  • This was statistically the best offensive game of the year for the Jazz.

 

  • Derrick Favors was terrific again. He had 7 offensive rebounds and was a beast.

 

  • The Jazz being 6-4 in 10 games without Rudy Gobert is surprising. The level of offensive play has been completely stunning.

David Locke enters his ninth year as the radio play-by-play voice of the Utah Jazz, having spent the majority of his career in radio in Salt Lake City and Seattle. In the summer of 2016, Locke created the Locked on Podcast Network which has podcast daily bite sized podcasts for every NBA and NFL team. A native of Palo Alto, Calif., Locke graduated from Occidental College in Los Angeles with a degree in Political Science and Sociology. Locke and his wife have a son and a daughter.

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JAZZ GAME REWIND: 2nd Half propels Toronto past the youthful Jazz

David Locke

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The Jazz fell short in the second half as the Toronto defense shut the new-look Jazz down in route to cruising to an 114 – 82 Raptors victory. Lauri Markkanen shined for the Jazz with 20 points and 5 rebounds but the Raptors length and athleticism proved to be too much for the Jazz riding a dominant 3rd quarter to pull away from the Jazz who played well in the first half, only trailing by one.

Relive the game through the radio highlights. Voiced by Leif Thulin.

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Utah Jazz

Utah Jazz trade Rudy Gobert – the emotions, the decision making, what did we get and what now

David Locke

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The Utah Jazz traded Rudy Gobert on Friday after a 4th of July weekend to soak in the biggest news of the NBA trade season we try to digest what it means for the Utah Jazz. David Locke, radio voice of the Utah Jazz and Jazz NBA Insider, take a look at all angles of the Rudy Gobert trade. The emotions of losing one of your own and a beloved player like Rudy Gobert. The player that we knew how great he was and had to argue on his behalf and now someone else gets the pleasure. Locke revisits the decision making tree of the Utah Jazz and how they got to trading Rudy Gobert and why they took this trade rather than other options that may have been on the table for the Utah Jazz. Then Locke looks into what did we really get in this trade and what are the possibilities of benefit for trading one of the great players in franchise history. A look at each of the 5 first round picks and what they could become and the margin starts to expand the farther out you go. Then are the Utah Jazz re-building? Why now would be the question. That is a decision that the Jazz don’t need to make for the some time. Summer league kicks off today and what are the Utah Jazz looking for and who could make an impression. What the Jazz want to see from Jared Butler Locked On Jazz Podcast 💻 https://www.lockedonjazz.net/ 🎧 LockedOnJazz.com https://buff.ly/2FEZTVY 🎧 Apple https://apple.co/3Dc8QBq 🎧 Spotify https://spoti.fi/3IfvgVX 🎧Stitcher https://bit.ly/3pkGyzB 🎧 Google https://bit.ly/3I8TwJz

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Utah Jazz

NBA Free Agency is here for the Utah Jazz

David Locke

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NBA Free Agency is day is here for the Utah Jazz. What can we expect to take place? Will the Utah Jazz make a trade? Is this the day Rudy Gobert or Mike Conley or Donovan Mitchell gets traded? Do the Jazz have a free agency move to be made? David Locke, radio voice of the Utah Jazz and Jazz NBA insider take a look at all of these questions and gives you the free agency primer. Is the market drying up on the Utah Jazz? The Clippers and Wizards have already made moves and the Atlanta Hawks have used their draft capital. Rumors continue with Rudy Gobert at the forefront and we take a look at what those deals might be for the Utah Jazz and what would have to be included to make a deal happen. Then a look at the Utah Jazz options at the tax payer mid level contractsand what the Jazz current roster looks like and what could take place. Locked On Jazz Podcast 💻 https://www.lockedonjazz.net/ 🎧 LockedOnJazz.com https://buff.ly/2FEZTVY 🎧 Apple https://apple.co/3Dc8QBq 🎧 Spotify https://spoti.fi/3IfvgVX 🎧Stitcher https://bit.ly/3pkGyzB 🎧 Google https://bit.ly/3I8TwJz

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