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SALT LAKE CITY â An incredible turnaround is complete.
The Utah Jazz clinched an NBA playoff spot with two regular-season games left after beating the Los Angeles Lakers 112-97 on Sunday. It caps an unforeseen rise after the Jazz (47-33) were nine games below .500 in mid-January with a 19-28 record.
âWhat this group of guys has done â as far as being nine games below .500 and dealing with a lot of adversity and change â Iâm really proud of their effort over the course of the season Satchel Paige Jersey ,â Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters on Sunday.
Now the question remaining is how far can Utah rise?
The Jazz still have plenty at stake when they host Golden State on Tuesday night. Not only can Utah claim the season series with the Warriors with another victory, they can keep hopes for claiming the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference alive. Portland currently leads the Jazz by a game in the race for that seed and the two division rivals face off on Wednesday.
In a real sense, every game still counts for Utah. And the Jazz donât want to coast into the postseason.
âWe want to stay right where we are at, if not, keep going higher,â Donovan Mitchell told reporters on Thursday. âWe want to keep working and keep doing what weâve been doing. If we keep playing like this weâll be in good shape.â
Since Rudy Gobert returned to the lineup in January after missing 26 games with knee injuries, Utah has turned into a tough customer on both ends of the court. The Jazz rank 13th in the NBA in offensive efficiency (108.5) and lead the league in defensive efficiency (97.9) since mid-January.
Mitchell Adidas Nico Hischier Jersey , who tallied 28 points, nine rebounds and eight assists against the Lakers, has led the way on offense. He is just the fifth NBA rookie to lead his team to the playoffs as the teamâs leading scorer, joining Carmelo Anthony (Denver, 2003-04), David Robinson (San Antonio, 1989-90) Adidas Sergei Bobrovsky Jersey , Chuck Person (Indiana, 1986-87) and Michael Jordan (Chicago, 1984-85).
No one needs to remind Golden State how dangerous the Jazz have become as the regular season winds down. The Warriors (58-23) have suffered two straight lopsided losses to Utah and they fell 129-99 to the Jazz in their other visit to Salt Lake City on Jan. 27.
Golden State has limped a bit into the postseason compared to previous years. The Warriors snapped a two-game losing streak with a 117-100 win over Phoenix on Sunday behind 34 points from Klay Thompson. Overall, Golden State has lost nine of its last 16 games and defense has been a primary factor behind the slump.
The Warriors allowed 126 points in back-to-back losses to Indiana and New Orleans. Both opponents lit up Golden State from the field. The Pelicans shot 56 percent, while the Pacers shot 54 percent â including 52 percent from 3-point range.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr publicly criticized his teamâs defensive effort after the loss to Indiana and reiterated on Sunday that defense needs to be an area of focus and improvement heading into the playoffs.
âMy main message is weâve got to defend,â Kerr told reporters before Sundayâs win over the Suns. âWeâve got to get back to being a top-five defensive team. I probably chose my words poorly in Indianapolis. When I said they didnât care, that didnât mean that they didnât âcare.â What that meant to me was they didnât box out. They didnât get in the passing lanes. They didnât compete at a high level.â
Defense has been questionable in Golden Stateâs last two losses against Utah.
In Januaryâs loss to the Jazz Lukas Dostal Ducks Jersey , for example, Utah shot 50 percent from 3-point range and 58 percent from the field overall. All five Jazz starters have averaged double figures in their last two games against the Warriors â with Mitchell leading the way at 20.5 points to go with 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals.
Jacksonville Jaguars All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey will miss the start of training camp after becoming a new father.
Ramsey announced Wednesday on his Twitter page that he would remain in Tennessee with his girlfriend, Bre, and newborn daughter, Breelyn, while the team opens camp Thursday.
Over a picture from Disney's "The Lion King," Ramsey wrote "for me Youth Jaleel Scott Jersey , family is among the most important things in my life, along with my faith and football. Today starts a new chapter in my life, as Bre and I are blessed to welcome our baby into this world."
He adds "as soon as I'm comfortable knowing my family is healthy and happy, I'll return to Jacksonville to rejoin my teammates on our quest to handle some unfinished business."
Coach Doug Marrone says Ramsey let coaches know about the potential conflict months ago.
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| Beitrag vom 30.08.2018 - 04:00 |
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