EMPYTING THE NOGGIN

Summary:  Minnesota outplays the Utah Jazz for all 48 minutes with an aggressive defense and a transition offense.

• Similar to last year when the Jazz fell early in the year to the Minnesota Timberwolves the Jazz lost tonight 116-111.   There are a lot of things to find in tonight’s game but on the simplest form the Jazz will have a hard time winning when their two leading scorers shoot a combined 9 of 39 from the field and 3 of 14 from three.

• The good news is the Jazz showed a lot of offensive adaptation that will serve them well throughout the season. The Wolves really got into the Jazz physically on the high pick and roll and the handoff plays.  This was blowing up the Jazz spacing and their ability to get a rhythm.  In addition, after watching film of the Jazz taking nearly 30 catch and shoot threes against the Blazers the Wolves didn’t leave any of the Jazz shooters playing the pick and roll with two guys.  Their were no passing out for threes in the early part of the game.    The Jazz did a nice job adapting by brining the pick and roll down to the baseline and curling Conley and Clarkson into the middle and when the Wolves wouldn’t leave the shooters this game them nice lanes to the basket.  Finally, the Jazz put Rudy Gobert on the baseline and let their player drive to the basket and this created offensive rebound opportunities and some driving lanes.  If teams aren’t going to leave the shooters the floor should be open for one on one play and the Jazz have much better one on one players than they had a few years ago.

• Defensively the Jazz numbers by the end of the night were alright but in the first half they had a defensive rating of 129 and they allowed Minnesota to be in transition an incredible 28% of their possessions.

• Mike Conley had a great second half brining the Jazz back and scoring 9 straight to open the third quarter. He had 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

• Rudy Gobert got his 4^th foul :30 into the 3^rd quarter and that blew up the Jazz rotations. Last year, Towns was only on the floor for 4 minutes when Rudy was off the floor and he had more time tonight than all three games last year.

• Rudy Gobert had 18 points and 17 rebounds.

• The Joe Ingles/Derrick Favors pick and roll yielded nothing tonight in fact its inability to get going in the 1^st was when the game swung toward Minneosta.

• Last year when the Jazz lost to Minnesota early in the year Donovan was 5 of 23 tonight he was 6 of 23.

• Donovan is not making the off the bounce three yet.   He might have made one making him unofficially 2 for 11 for the season.  I will check that to be certain.

• Anthony Edwards is the real deal. Great job by Minnesota on the first pick

• Late in the game they went to Russell on a high pick and roll and each time he went right on the pick and then veered back left into a mid range jumper. He hit 2 on Joe Ingles, missed when guarded by Conley and then hit again when guarded by O’Neale.