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EMPTYING THE NOGGIN Gritty Jazz prevail in overtime behind Rubio, Mitchell and Gobert

David Locke

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SUMMARY: Grit defined the Utah Jazz win over Portland Trailblazers, 112-103, as Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell carried the offensive load.

  • This was a great game. The Jazz seemed dead on a few occasions in the fourth quarter and relentlessly fought to stay in the game. This is becoming the signature of this team, the grit and resiliency to stay engaged throughout a game.

 

  • The defense is the calling card on this team. They held one of the best offensive teams in the NBA to under a point per possession tonight. The Blazers final offensive rating was 95.4. To do that to a team as loaded as the Blazers offensively is unheard of in the NBA.

 

  • Ricky Rubio is emerging to be a completely different player in Utah than he was in Minnesota. The question is whether this is a continuation of the second half of last season or something completely different. He has scored 20 or more in three straight games and the only other time he ever did this in his career was in March of last year. He scored 30 for the second time in his career and has only scored over 25 five times in his career. He has now scored 20 or more in 10 of his last 24 games of his career.

 

  • And it’s not just how much he’s scoring, it’s how confidently he’s doing it. He pulled up for 3 in transition in the first half, and did the same down by six points with less than 2:00 minutes to play and nailed it. He did it one last time in overtime when the Blazers went under on the pick he stopped at the top of the key for the final dagger. He is playing unleashed.

 

  • Donovan Mitchell is having quite the start to his NBA career. In the 8th game of his career, the Jazz ran the first three plays of overtime to him and he came through on two of the three. Mitchell shot 9 of 21 and 4 of 10 from 3 and finished with 28 points. There is still a long way to go for this kid, but the flashes he is showing are real and super exciting.

 

  • The Jazz are tied for first in the Northwest.

 

  • The Jazz had a chance to win in regulation but had a really bad turnover late. They had a rebound with :11 seconds left with the game tied but Ingles rushed an outlet pass to Rubio who then travelled as Lillard cut off his path. There is no need to rush in those circumstances, but this team is still new to these moments. This is how they lost the Minnesota game.

 

  • Instead, Rudy Gobert came to the rescue. Lillard worked his way into the paint and Gobert blocked the shot to force overtime.

 

  • Thabo Sefolosha is a remarkable player and commands the respect of his teammates. He leads the defense and guarded Lillard for the entire overtime. He was playing the power forward on offense and the point defensively. He is so long and so smart. He was ranked one of the best wing defenders in the NBA and he shows it.

 

  • When the Jazz had Sefolosha on Lillard and Rubio on McCollum, the intensity was remarkable. They blow them off their spots and altered every angle the Blazers wanted to take. Plus, the Jazz still had Mitchell and Ingles on the floor with the most dominating defensive player in the NBA, Rudy Gobert.

 

  • Rodney Hood went 0 for 11.

 

  • Joe Ingles had 7 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks.

 

  • Jonas Jerebko got 20 minutes tonight in place of the injured Joe Johnson and was really good. He hit two 3s and plays with a lot of energy.

    Nov 1, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Jonas Jerebko (8) celebrates after scoring a three point basket during the fourth quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Utah Jazz won’t the game 112-103. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

 

  • Damian Lillard took over the fourth quarter and was impossible to guard. By the end of overtime, he looked like he was tired from all the different Jazz defenders’ harassment.

 

  • The Jazz are 5-0 at home with wins over Denver, Oklahoma City and Portland. Those are really important.

 

  • The Jazz have a real chance to be the number one defense in the NBA. If they are…

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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