The Downbeat #853 - Everybody Loves Enes

Part of my pre-Downbeat routine is to scour the web for Jazz related news, articles, etc. This morning? It was all about Enes. Here's a short roundup of all the Enes-related stories, including one that includes what I am pretty sure is a SLC Dunk coined phrase:

Utah Jazz center Enes Kanter loses 51 pound (USA Today)

UTAH’S ENES KANTER ENDS HORRIFYING DIET, LOSES 51 POUNDS IN 2 MONTHS (Dime)

Jazz centre Kanter loses 51 lbs in 2 months (Toronto?)

THE ENES KANTER WEIGHT LOSS PLAN! (NBA.com - Sekou is awesome)

Enes Kanter details his former, astonishingly massive, eating habits (BDL's Kelly Dwyer, who is also awesome weighs in )

Enes Kanter Added 20 Pounds Before Losing 51 During His "Summer of Enes" (Deadspin)

I can't wait to see what this new and improved Enes can do. If the Summer of Enes gave the kid a chance to sew his oats and get some much needed self-confidence, I am all for it. From Jody Genessy (Deseret News):

"Corbin said he could notice a change in the comfort level and confidence of returning young guys like Enes Kanter and Alec Burks."

I'm also quite optimistic about this physical metamorphosis translating into quicker moves and faster reactions around the basket, as well as an improved vertical.

Media Day, for all its redundant questioning, really has the effect of getting everyone buzzing about the start of the season. The guys all come back and say exactly what we want to hear, spinning us all into a frenzy, lighting up web traffic for anything Utah Jazz related, and hopefully translating into ticket sales. And I love it.

Of course, the real moneymaker is the public scrimmage that takes place this Saturday. It is where we have gotten magical moments such as this:

And this:

This:

And last, but not least, this:

Hopefully Enes took some Zumba as part of his fitness routine. It has done wonders for Amar.

Of all the new guys, I am most interested to see what Marvin Williams does. I think we all kind of know what to expect from Mo and Foye, but Marvin is sort of the mystery. Hopefully he is in better shape than normal, as he has had a tendency to be a bit chunky, in the past. Certainly, the idea of that big lineup of Mo, GH, Marvin, Paul/Fav, and Al is intriguing to Jazz fans, but I wonder how good Marvin's perimeter defense will be and his physical shape will play directly into that. According to Synergy Sports, Marvin was very good at guarding the ball handler in P/R defense (allowing just 0.62 PPP) and also good at post-up defense (allowing 0.74 PPP), however his isolation and spot up defense were not good, as he ranked 241 and 250, respectively. The P/R defense is certainly encouraging though, as that has continually been the Jazz's Achilles Heal.

Finally, because its so close: