Three Thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s 105-98 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers starting at Salt Lake Tribune Jazz Beat the writer Andy Larsen.
1. Joel Embiid’s dominance
We’ve never seen a player get 59 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, and seven blocks before. It Also, he shot extremely efficiently: 19-28 in the field and 20-24 at the free-throwline. (We’ll excuse the 1-5 from the 3-point line.) Embiid 26 of the Sixers’ 27 points in the fourth quarter. He Also, the +25 was on the floor in just seven minutes. If Even though you didn’t catch the game, it was amazing and well worth your time.
One A stat is used to determine how well a performance performed. Game ScoreA formula by a pioneer in statistical analysis, John Hollinger. Hollinger’s idea is to put an NBA player’s performance in one game, incorporating all of the box score factors, in roughly the same terms as points: a Game Score The average score is 40. Game Score A 10 is the average.
For The formula for mathematically-inclined people Game Score is: PTS + 0.4*FG – 0.7*FGA – 0.4*(FTA – FT) + 0.7*ORB + 0.3*DRB + STL + 0.7*AST + 0.7*BLK – 0.4*PF – TOV.
So Embiid’s Game Score Tonight’s total was 54.4 How Is that one of the greatest performances? Note That we can only usually calculate Game Score since 1983, because that’s when they started keeping offensive and defensive rebounds separately in box scores.
Look At that point! It’s the best game of any NBA player in the last five years. It’s also the best game involving the Utah Jazz Since Karl Malone’s 61-point performance in 1990 — also the best performance in the fewest minutes since then.
You can probably figure out whether the Jazz It could have been better. Could They are double-, or even triple-teamed. Could They have not feigned as often as they used to? Yeah, probably. But Their options were also limited. Kelly Olynyk It was in dire straits Walker Kessler’s a high-foul player, Lauri Markkanen They struggled and the doubling guard became tiny every time they doubled. Embiid The arms are arranged in a cross-section.
It can be distracting to the amazingness of the topic. Embiid Tonight, I was making all kinds of shots. He These fouls were drawn very masterfully by, and the eight assists are a testament to his ability to pass out help situations. OhHe also totally stymied it Jazz On the opposite end of the floor.
In We witnessed history, in other words. And in this season of good vibes and low expectations, I think it’s good to appreciate that first and Foremost.
2. Accounting for Collin Sexton’s weaknesses
Despite Embiid’s performance, the Jazz He had done enough to shut everyone down so that he could keep the possession of the Sixers — until this possession.
Yeah, Sexton A wide open opportunity exists for this chance to be passed to the next generation Clarkson In the corner, but misses the pass to challenge a player with a top-10 NBA game at the rim. This It is a foolish decision-making.
I had the opportunity to ask Sexton He spoke about the play that he made after the game and said that he saw. Embiid He was constantly following him and he tended to keep his eyes on the center of the court, instead of looking around.
But This also speaks to Sexton’s largest offensive weakness: his vision simply isn’t that of a winning point guard in the NBA. “Tunnel vision” Sometimes, it is a very appropriate phrase to describe. Sexton’s mentality. That’s not to say Sexton’s contributions don’t have value — he probably outplayed Conley tonight — but it’s just tough to win when he misses significant passes like that and instead gets stuffed at the rim literally five times, as he did tonight.
One The thing that you should be aware of is Jazz That is what we have done to reduce that is play Sexton You will see it more often Mike Conley Recent games have seen the backcourt. That Makes Sexton The shooting guard, giving Conley playmaking duties. It’s been working, too: With Conley And Sexton The group will take turns seated together on the floor. Jazz On 100 possessions, they outscored the opposition by nine points. With Sexton And Beasley The backcourt is the however, the Jazz They are about equal, with -0.3 more possessions than their rivals.
At However, the season’s first day is the best. Will Hardy It was a shame that I had to miss this Conley/Sexton Because it allows you to have a very small backcourt Both These guys range in age from 6-0 to 6-1. Sexton can be a little bit physical defensively, it’s still easy to score over the top of them.
We’ll have to see if Sexton Over the course of the year, this skill has improved. Conley obviously can’t be the Jazz’s starting point guard of the future due to his age. Sexton Could be, or could be. Jazz Could be required to search for a replacement in the draft, on the trade market or (least likely), free agency.
3. Spacing Around Jarred Vanderbilt
I’m a little bit concerned about Jarred Vanderbilt. That’s a phrase that will shock some Jazz Given how much he is loved by his fans Jazz career: he hustles like nobody’s business.
But Watch how often you do this Embiid even looks at his man — Vanderbilt — during this possession. Once? Maybe?
Or here — it’s so easy for P.J. Tucker It will cause the paint to clog and sink.
This Is it despite Vanderbilt shooting 50% from three on the season — but making just 0.6 per game. Clearly, teams don’t actually believe in that shooting threat at this point, and that makes sense, given how low of volume it has to be.
Right now, he has the worst plus-minus on the team, with a -4.8 net rating when he’s on the floor for the season. No Other Jazz A rotation player has a net negative plus or minus.
But Vanderbilt This is crucial for the success of your business. Jazz’s chaos identity, so it’s tough to just say that other players should definitely play more. He’s also a legitimate prospect in his own way, at just 23 years old.
Again, it’s just something to watch. Involving Vanderbilt as a screener has worked relatively well against most teams so far, but we’ll see if more teams take the Sixers’ strategy of ignoring him more frequently on the defensive end.
