Game Preview: Utah Jazz at Kosta Koufos and the Memphis Grizzlies

The Utah Jazz are now an awful 8-27 on the road and the Memphis Grizzlies are a respectable 20-14 at home. The game tonight is in Memphis so my guess would be that the Jazz lose tonight.

The Jazz have been spiraling since the trade deadline, which makes this girl happy. Since the All Star break the Jazz are 3-13, that is pretty bad.

Since Ty took over we have had one season that our record was above .500 post All-Star, that's not very good for a team that is obsessive about making the playoffs.

I mean I am all about the tank this season, I couldn't care less if we won another game this season ( I would feel bad for the players but that is it) obviously though I care that there has been no significant improvement in defense, discipline or development.

I did not start the season being about the tank. I thought our young core was talented enough to win around 35 games with Ty as coach. I was wrong. I am okay with being wrong. Everything obviously changed after the 1-14 start. I still think we have lots of talent on this team and we just need to have someone to pull it all together. Coaching makes such a big difference. If coaching didn't matter why do the Jazz choose to be so loyal? Why wouldn't teams like the Spurs go for a cheaper younger coach? Why did the Clippers make a TRADE for Doc Rivers? How did the 2003-2004 Utah Jazz team win 42 games if coaching didn't matter?

Sidney Lowe however thinks that Pop is a great coach because of his good players. Of course it helps but its not everything like Lowe made it sound. Its like he can't compliment Pop because that would be an insult to Ty.

From Moni:

What about San Antonio makes them so effective? Why can Gregg Popovich interchange pieces and still have the same level of success?

You know, I don’t, I mean, they, I mean, Pop does a great job obviously, you know? You know, we, there’re great coaches in this league. There’re a lot of good coaches in this league, and you know, but with those good coaches, you know, you have to have good players. And Pop has that.

And he’s done a great job, though, of instituting the pieces, as you say, as you said, that fit to what they’re doing. And then the second thing is, I think that there’s an accountability factor there. You could see it. Those guys know that they have to do the right things. They have to play the right way. They have to play hard, or they’re gonna get it.

They’re gonna hear it, whether it’s from Pop, whether it’s from Timmy [Duncan], [Manu] Ginobili or Tony [Parker]. Especially Timmy and Tony. Those two are very vocal leaders, and Pop doesn’t have to say much. So, that’s a major factor.

When you have that type of leadership from within, where the other guys respect you, then it really almost doesn’t matter who you bring in, because they’re gonna have to play the right way or they won’t be there. And that’s a major thing. That’s a big factor.

Our coaches once again indirectly insulting our players. We have talented players. Someday and hopefully someday soon we'll see our players in a system that helps them succeed.

Oh well there is another game tonight. Another game if we lose that we'll probably hear about how young our team is. Another game if we lose that we'll hear about tired legs at the end of a challenging road trip. Another game if we lose that we'll hear that "they made shots and we didn't". Another game if we win we'll hear about the greatness that is our vetzz and how wonderful our coach is.

Anyways the Grizzlies have won a remarkable 10-of-14 games since the All Star break. They also have won five of their last six games. The Grizzlies last played on Saturday "beating" the Philadelphia 76ers on the road. Mike Conley lead the Grizzlies with 19 points followed by Zach Randolph who scored 14 points.

The Jazz are playing their last game on a three game road trip. The Jazz are 0-2 so far on the trip. The loss against Houston was pretty bad. Our leading scorers, Derrick Favors and Alec Burks only scored 15 points apiece. Our offense was awful and our defense was worse. I wonder which assistant coach came up with the game plan, yikes.

Tonight is a new game and for the greater good I hope the Jazz lose. I hope we see a lot of this

I know, I know we don't want a losing culture. I don't think losses this late in the season will make things any worse for the team or the players. I think we just need to endure the next few weeks and leave our hope for any changes in a winning culture that promotes defense, discipline and development when the season ends.

Starting Lineups

Utah Jazz

PF- Marvin Williams Enes Kanter (announced via Locke, Jody Genessy etc)

SF- Richard Jefferson

C- Derrick Favors

SG- Gordon Hayward

PG- Trey Burke

Memphis Grizzlies

PF- Zach Randolph

SF- TayShaun Prince

C- Marc Gasol

SG-Courtney Lee

PG- Mike Conley

Injuries

Utah Jazz

None

Memphis Grizzlies

Quincey Pondexter - Foot- Out for Season

Jazz vs Grizzlies coverage

Grizzly Bear Blues

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