David Locke here, the host of the daily Locked On Jazz podcast, with your daily Locked On Jazz newsletter. Each day we bring you the biggest stories about the Jazz and the NBA, including the hottest links to other stories you need to read. Plus, Josh Lloyd delivers daily fantasy notes to crush your league.
Locked On Jazz
EMPTYING THE NOGGIN - Clarkson hits Collins stuns Mavericks
· What a play. Jordan Clarkson had the ball at the top and he was let the clock wind down. I was getting nervous he wasn’t leaving himself much time. On the previous plays he had gone after Luka Doncic and gotten the switch and attacked. He wasn’t doing that and Luka wasn’t really guarding John Collins. In fact, on my play by play call I said Luka is kinda guarding John Collins. Then out of no where Jordan bullets a one hand pass through the defense to a wide open John Collins who had snuck behind Luka for the dunk and the lead with :06 left.
· On the previous possession the Mavericks got the switch they wanted with Kyle Filipowski on Luka Doncic (welcome to the NBA kid) and then when Lively rolled to the basket the Jazz started to execute perfectly and had John Collins bump onto Lively and Keyonte then goes back out to perimeter but with Clarkson shading to Luka to help Klay Thompson came up top and no one got him in time either Clarkson getting back to him or Keyonte getting out in time. In theory, Keyonte’s man was in the corner. Luka perfectly timed pass left Klay wide open for a game tying three.
· On the final possession the Jazz really play great defense. Sexton is guarding Luka. Luka gets into the paint and Keyonte face guards Klay Thompson not letting the pass get to him. John Collins stays between Derrick Lively and the basket and Jordan Clarkson shades off the 17% three point shooting Najee Marshall. I am stunned Luka makes the pass to Marshall. It is a 2 point game and he has Sexton on him. He should have been able to get a pretty good look to tie the game certaintly with a better chance than Marshall making the three.
· Really great effort by the Jazz. Things had gotten very squirrely in that 4th quarter and they Jazz were falling apart and they were able to bring it back together.
· Jazz were up 104-94 when Lauri Markkanen got hurt with 7:37 left. The Jazz scored on just 2 of their next 11 possessions.
· Maybe the biggest play of the night was with 8:08 left Jordan Clarkson threw up a three point prayer as the shot clock was going to go off and it went in. It was the Jazz only field goal for a 5 minute period of time.
· Jazz played their best third quarter all year. They had been outscored in every third quarter but one before tonight. The Jazz led going into the 4th quarter for just the 2nd tie all season .
· Kyle Filipowski started for the first time. He had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists. He made his only three he took. Defensively tonight he really held his own. Doncic went after him the entire 4th quarter and he was fine. No one is going to handle Doncic but his ability to guard Doncic is the most encouraging thing we have seen from him this year in regards to his future.
· The Jazz played in transition a lot in the first three quarters, almost 20% and were averaging 2 pts per transition opportunity
· Jazz took the ball out of Keyonte’s hand late after back to back turnovers. Clarkson and Sexton started the offense
· John Collins 28 points and 9 rebounds. He has always played well against the Mavericks and did it again.
· Jazz got 36% of all offensive rebounds
· Jazz had one of their best pick and roll games of the season. It was largely Keyonte George and John Collins and that is a pair that had not clicked together before tonight.
I held off on writing about the apparent rash, or rise, of early-season athlete injuries because there’s always some recency bias involved when the subject comes up. Are there really more injuries this year than any other? Do we have the data to support it? Is there a new, underlying cause? Or are injuries due to the same compounding mix of bad luck and the NBA’s 82-game schedule running into a long postseason, running into the offseason, running back into a brand new long regular season and the erosion of bodies this eventually leads to?
A report early this week showed early-season injuries were up 35%, and indeed ESPN’s list of injuries, at a glance, looks like a ferocious Christmas tree, lit up in blazing reds and yellows. A handful of teams (the Grizzlies, Pelicans, Raptors) are cobbling together rosters game-to-game depending on who’s still healthy. TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott ran a draft of the injured list this week and each team reads like an All-Star squad on steroids, and when Abbott printed out the league’s official injury report it was 10 pages long.
Injuries are definitely up — but why?
The Paris Olympics proved extra playing time for a few top-tier stars, but most of them remain healthy. The early season schedule hasn’t served up any more back-to-backs to longer road game stretches, which tend to be more gruelling on athletes, than usual. However, when everything appears to be normal and the bodily price is anything but, perhaps it’s time to examine that “normal”.
The NBA’s current schedule of 82 games was adopted in 1967. Already, I’m sure your brain is picturing black and white basketball, that’s good. When you picture that grainy, glitchy footage, how fast is it going? The reality is that the game used to be a lot slower. Not just in its mechanics (think of an offensive passing sequence, the ball flipping from set of hands to hands at a speed that can be hard to follow), but the athleticism too. Bodies were moving slower. The game was still physical — the trope of players from the 80s and 90s complaining about the “softness” of current athletes is a trope for a reason — but full tilt sprinting, cutting, complex rotations, these weren’t the norm. Given that, the bodily mechanics were different. Guys weren’t stopping on a dime, pivoting hard, having to force their ligaments and muscles and bones into exacting motions with all sorts of volatile force behind them.
Katie Heindl is a credentialed NBA and WNBA writer, her bylines have appeared with The New York Times Magazine, SLAM, The Athletic, Yahoo Sports, Dime, Rolling Stone, among others. She writes the bestselling Substack, Basketball Feelings and is working on a book of the same name.
Analysis John Collins is having his best season with the Jazz, showing impressive form and becoming a key player for the team. (Deseret News)
Fans The mountains are back. The Jazz unveiled their City Edition jerseys for this season. (NBA.com)
Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Replay: Navigating the injury bug
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) holds his leg after a hard following a play against the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter at Paycom Center.|Photo by Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
This week in the fantasy basketball world has been a rollercoaster of highs and lows. A major talking point has been Chet Holmgren’s unfortunate injury, which has fantasy managers scrambling for replacements as the Oklahoma City Thunder adjust with potential lineup changes. Keep an eye on players like Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace — who might see increased minutes — and consider them as temporary pickups in deeper leagues.
POSTCAST - Hot three point shooting overwhelmed by Giannis and turnovers
The Utah Jazz’s offensive execution shines with red-hot three-point shooting, yet turnovers against the Milwaukee Bucks lead to a 123-100 defeat. David Locke, radio voice of the Utah Jazz and Jazz NBA Insider, and Ron Boone dissect the game, noting the Jazz’s impressive first-half performance with 28 three-point attempts, a franchise milestone. Keyonte George and Jordan Clarkson provided sparks off the bench, but Lauri Markkanen’s struggles were evident, possibly due to lingering back issues. The Bucks’ pressure defense and the Jazz’s ball movement were pivotal, yet the turnovers, especially from veterans John Collins and Jordan Clarkson, proved costly.
Cody Williams emerging for Utah Jazz. Offensive changes. Milwaukee Bucks preview
Will Hardy’s offensive changes are giving Cody Williams a chance to shine, transforming his role from a corner shooter to an active playmaker. David Locke, radio voice of the Utah Jazz and Jazz NBA Insider, breaks down Williams’ recent performance against Chicago, highlighting his strengths in movement and athleticism. With insights into the Jazz’s strategic adjustments, Locke explores how these changes are impacting the team’s dynamics and Williams’ development. Can Williams overcome his shooting struggles and become a key player for the Jazz?
