He has been, by far, the biggest bright spot for a Jazz summer league team that’s now 6-0 in play - somehow, a team with no real exciting NBA prospects has been one of the best teams in summer league. He’s broken down every kind of perimeter defender to be able to get to the rim and either finish or create for others. He’s been 100% poised, he’s been aggressive, he’s played well defensively, and he makes every single kind of pass - passes that most NBA players can’t make, let alone summer league players. I love everything about what Trent Forrest has done in this summer league. And that’s okay! Credit to Bryan Bailey, Jazz summer league coach, for getting this roster to defend as well as they do.
It kind of reminds me of the Jazz 3-5 seasons ago: maybe the best defensive team in the league, but a slog offensively. I also think the Jazz’s perimeter defenders have been good: MaCio Teague has been a bright spot, and Hughes is doing well to break the “Syracuse wings can’t play defense” stereotype. He still struggles with everything that isn’t being huge and contesting shots, but honestly, that’s absolutely enough to make the Jazz a defensive force in this setting. The biggest reason for this was Azubuike, who continues to be an absolute monster down low. But Udoka Azubuike started to set better screens, the Jazz became a little bit more patient, and once they broke past the initial line of defense, the Jazz could score again.
#UTAH JAZZ SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTER HOW TO#
The Heat’s high perimeter defense was physcial and difficult to break down: guys like Jarrell Brantley and Elijah Hughes couldn’t really figure out how to get consistent separation. How’d they do it? They figured out the Heat’s defensive pressure.
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But in the second half, the Jazz stomped all over the Heat, 52-32. They won it through yet another slow, defensive first half, where both teams ended up scoring closer to 30 than 40 points. This was the first game, though, that I expected them to lose, and they won it.
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