Latest / The Sean O'Connell Show / Gordie Chiesa on the Utah Jazz's blowout loss in the season opener, Walker Kessler's great Laker debut + more

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Gordie Chiesa on the Utah Jazz's blowout loss in the season opener, Walker Kessler's great Laker debut + more · The Sean O'Connell Show

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Peace out.
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: Let's get the latest on the Utah Jazz with former
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  Speaker 2: Jazz assistant coach Gordy Chiesa. He's forgotten more about the
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  Speaker 2: NBA than any of us will ever know. Let's not
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  Speaker 2: get crazy. Come for the Hoops Talk. Stay for his
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  Speaker 2: list of the day.
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  Speaker 1: My list today.
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  Speaker 2: Here's OC with basketball savant Gordy Chiesa on the Sean
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  Speaker 2: O'Connell Show.
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  Speaker 3: Oh, courtesy of Aladdin Industries, we get a chance to
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  Speaker 3: catch up with Gordie Chiesa here on a Thursday. Happens
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  Speaker 3: to be the day after the Utah Jazz, a remade roster,
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  Speaker 3: rounding out of a several-season-long tanking ex-escapade. They had their
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  Speaker 3: first game on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies. Not
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  Speaker 3: the result that the most optimistic Utah Jazz fans were
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  Speaker 3: looking for.
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  Speaker 1: 103-123 loss, Memphis Grizzlies.
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  Speaker 4: Outscoring the Jazz by 20 points. And we'll get to
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  Speaker 4: the bottom of the how and why with Gordy Chiesa
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  Speaker 4: right now. Hi, Gordy. How are you?
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  Speaker 1: Sean, I'm doing well. Thank you. The first thing is
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  Speaker 1: let's not panic about the Jazz. It's only one game. However,
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  Speaker 1: so far in the one game with how they played,
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  Speaker 1: they were surprised that the Grizzlies played so hard defensively.
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  Speaker 1: And that's the one thing, Sean, whether it's preseason in
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  Speaker 1: the NFL or preseason in the NBA, you could never
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  Speaker 1: assimilate the intensity of a real game. Even though you
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  Speaker 1: play some practice games, it's not the same. And the
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  Speaker 1: Jets have to understand that this is serious as far
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  Speaker 1: as the physicality of it. All right, Ty Jerome. Most
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  Speaker 1: people never heard of Ty Jerome. And all of us
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  Speaker 1: in basketball, yes, we have. He was a first-round pick
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  Speaker 1: in the as far as back in 2019 out of Virginia,
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  Speaker 1: and they were NCAA champions. And so he has a
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  Speaker 1: background as far as winning. His problem has been he's
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  Speaker 1: been on situations where the team is always rebuilding. He's
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  Speaker 1: always out there. He got injured. And the last point about,
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  Speaker 1: before I say statistics, is that, Sean, do you realize
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  Speaker 1: he's an alumni of the G League? Twice. He played
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  Speaker 1: for the Northern Arizona Suns, meaning the Phoenix Suns, and
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  Speaker 1: the OKC Blue, meaning the Thunder. So let's fast forward it.
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  Speaker 1: So now he gets a chance in Grizzlies. He was
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  Speaker 1: hurt last year. He gets 45 points last night, but
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  Speaker 1: it's how he gets them. It's what we call a
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  Speaker 1: guy that has dribble integrity, where he doesn't over-dribble. He
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  Speaker 1: knows what he's doing. He has command of the ball,
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  Speaker 1: and he plays at a certain pace, and the Jazz
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  Speaker 1: last night couldn't speed him up.
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  Speaker 4: So when you look at a poor performance in this
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  Speaker 4: one game sample size with 81 more to go before
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  Speaker 4: we really have a fully clear idea of exactly what
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  Speaker 4: this Utah jazz team is going to be with Darren Peterson,
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  Speaker 4: you know, and Ace Bailey and hopefully not long-term Jackson
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  Speaker 4: Hayes situation. How do you, how do you manage it
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  Speaker 4: in the locker room and how do you manage it
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  Speaker 4: internally and your coaching staff and say, all right, guys,
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  Speaker 4: We didn't think it was going to be a 20-point loss,
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  Speaker 4: but we knew some of this. We knew that we
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  Speaker 4: were down a center or a couple of centers that
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  Speaker 4: could have helped us in an effort like this one.
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  Speaker 4: You don't want to overreact to anything, but you don't
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  Speaker 4: want to accept that this is the result because that's
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  Speaker 4: not what this year is supposed to be. From a
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  Speaker 4: game-to-game standpoint, how do you handle it?
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  Speaker 1: Where you challenge the players. For example, Larry Markin and
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  Speaker 1: Jaron Jackson and Jackson Hayes had a total of one
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  Speaker 1: offensive rebound the whole game. So, Sean, our beloved former colleague, frankly,
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  Speaker 1: you just say to me all the time, you know, Gordy,
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  Speaker 1: a dead man can get a rebound because the ball
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  Speaker 1: might bounce through his grave site. And that just shows
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  Speaker 1: you that the lack of effort on the boards. The
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  Speaker 1: Jazz had a rebound by 17 last night. And so
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  Speaker 1: those guys got to come to challenge where they have
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  Speaker 1: to go to the boards to play. The second part
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  Speaker 1: of it is that they have to be more engaged defensively.
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  Speaker 1: This has been Achilles' heel for the Jazz. They've got
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  Speaker 1: to get after it. So I would take it personal
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  Speaker 1: if I'm a Jazz permanent player and Tyrone Jerome got
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  Speaker 1: all those baskets against me, I would definitely be ready
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  Speaker 1: to play tomorrow night.
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  Speaker 4: Darren Peterson relatively quiet in his regular season debut. What
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  Speaker 4: did you see from him that you liked, and what
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  Speaker 4: did you see that you know he's going to be
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  Speaker 4: working on?
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  Speaker 1: Well, I didn't like it at all. He only took
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  Speaker 1: one shot in the second half last night. Sean, that
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  Speaker 1: can't happen. He had 9.3 assists. That guy's got talent,
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  Speaker 1: even though he's young. So he has to be able
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  Speaker 1: to get the ball in space and also play. not over-dribble.
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  Speaker 1: And last night, again, as I mentioned about Ty Jerome
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  Speaker 1: not over-dribbling, the Jets, historically, they did last night. So
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  Speaker 1: Darren Pease has to be more involved. So does Ace Bailey.
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  Speaker 1: And the way to do that is to run the
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  Speaker 1: floor offensively, sprint into offense, and be catch-ready. When you
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  Speaker 1: make that catch, make a quick decision. Pass, drive, or shoot.
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  Speaker 1: Don't pass and hold. So what I like about Darren
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  Speaker 1: Pease in one is talent. And it's only his first game.
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  Speaker 1: He's a young fella. He's got to be able to
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  Speaker 1: get more involved. And also his teammates have to help him.
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  Speaker 1: So he's a young guy, which means that your other
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  Speaker 1: teammates that are much more experienced, that they have to
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  Speaker 1: be an encourager of get the ball to him in
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  Speaker 1: the open floor to let him showcase his natural ability,
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  Speaker 1: both him and Ace Bailey, because they're the future right now.
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  Speaker 1: But Larry Mark has played better. So does Jaron Jackson.
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  Speaker 1: He struggled last night where, besides no offensive rebounds, he
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  Speaker 1: has five turnovers. He returned home to Beale Street, meaning Memphis.
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  Speaker 1: But he didn't come to really be aggressive on the
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  Speaker 1: board or in the game right now. So they'll learn
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  Speaker 1: from this, even though it's painful.
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  Speaker 4: Lowry won for seven from three. Darren Peterson was 0
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  Speaker 4: for 1 from three. Bryce Sensabaugh 0-2, Kyle Filipowski 0-1.
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  Speaker 4: The team overall shot 34%, and we've had some form
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  Speaker 4: of this conversation many, many times over the years, Gordy.
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  Speaker 4: What is the appropriate role for the three-point shot in
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  Speaker 4: this Jazz offense, knowing the personnel that you've got?
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  Speaker 1: Well, the role should be swing, swing, pass. So in
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  Speaker 1: other words, you want to shoot when the ball is
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  Speaker 1: moving towards you versus what? dribbling into a three-point shot.
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  Speaker 1: And so that's absolutely critical where you're shooting more with fluidity,
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  Speaker 1: in team rhythm, and that when the ball does miss
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  Speaker 1: on a three-point shot, the rebounders can be able to
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  Speaker 1: chase down the ball on a long miss and get
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  Speaker 1: a second-chance opportunity. And that's why it was so alarming
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  Speaker 1: that the Jets are missing from three and that they
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  Speaker 1: still didn't get a rebound on a long shot. errant shot.
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  Speaker 1: And so what you probably would be is to shoot
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  Speaker 1: more at a rhythm. But the Jazz last night's struggle,
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  Speaker 1: it was defensively and on the boards, just the nature
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  Speaker 1: of physicality. It's hard to assimilate in an NBA game
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  Speaker 1: the intensity of it. It was the first game. Both
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  Speaker 1: teams had anxiety, but the Grizzlies, me being at home,
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  Speaker 1: they performed much better. And let's not forget about Cam Boozer.
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  Speaker 1: Cam Boozer, again, a rookie like Darren Peterson, Cam was
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  Speaker 1: the third pick, down with the second pick of the
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  Speaker 1: draft last year. He had anxiety also. Boosie goes from
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  Speaker 1: the floor, 2 for 15, probably his worst shooting night
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  Speaker 1: of his life, 0 for 6 from threes, but he
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  Speaker 1: did contribute 11 rebounds and 5 dimes. And so this
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  Speaker 1: is a whole different deal as far as when you're
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  Speaker 1: a young player in the NBA, you can't imagine.
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  Speaker 1: How hard it is for these young guys to play
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  Speaker 1: through physicality. And often in a game, they shoot backwards
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  Speaker 1: instead of forward. And that's where you've got to learn
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  Speaker 1: how to do is you've got to be aggressor, but
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  Speaker 1: you can't be out of control. And so it's a
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  Speaker 1: learning experience. It's often painful. Don't make it fatal.
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  Speaker 4: Gordy Chiesa is our guest here talking Utah Jazz basketball
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  Speaker 4: as they start the season with a 103-123 loss to
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  Speaker 4: the Memphis Grizzlies. on the road last night. And then,
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  Speaker 4: you know, they come back tomorrow night. They'll be at home,
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  Speaker 4: the home debut against the Pelicans team that I think
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  Speaker 4: is vulnerable. Do you expect the Utah jazz to have
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  Speaker 4: a bounce back and get their first win of the
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  Speaker 4: season tomorrow night?
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  Speaker 1: Yes, very much. Very much. If you had to respond
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  Speaker 1: to the challenge, being at home. And speaking of, you know,
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  Speaker 1: the Pelicans, they lost last night in the big easy
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  Speaker 1: to the Pacers. They're winning the whole game. And the
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  Speaker 1: fourth quarter Pacers had a 15 free momentum run and
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  Speaker 1: it turned it around the same players for the Pacers.
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  Speaker 1: Now are out there. I mean, Tyler Burton did a
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  Speaker 1: good job as far as in that comeback. From the
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  Speaker 1: Pelicans' point of view, DeShante Murray's still there, so is
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  Speaker 1: Zion Williamson. So Zion Williamson, we know he's a major jumper,
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  Speaker 1: only gets three rebounds last night. And so I'm making
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  Speaker 1: this point about all these big guys, you know, where
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  Speaker 1: they play outside, but you want to respect your teammates
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  Speaker 1: by crashing the boards. And so the Pelicans are in
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  Speaker 1: a rebuild. The Jazz are not. And so we'll see
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  Speaker 1: what they do tomorrow night. at the Delta Center. You know,
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  Speaker 1: before I forget, is that the Jazz is going to
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  Speaker 1: do over, though, against the Grizzlies. They play them real
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  Speaker 1: soon again. They play the Grizzlies at the Delta Center
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  Speaker 1: next Monday night. So they're going to see Ty Jerome
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  Speaker 1: and the fellas right away here. The Jazz is starting
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  Speaker 1: tomorrow night a five-game homestand. So hopefully the Jazz can
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  Speaker 1: get some wins at home, which they should, and it
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  Speaker 1: should be tomorrow night. How do you beat the Pelicans? One,
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  Speaker 1: by moving the ball. Two, by running the floor. Three,
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  Speaker 1: by getting after the perimeter guys offensively. I mean, Deshante
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  Speaker 1: Murray and Jordan Poole and all the other players they have,
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  Speaker 1: but also be able to play offensively. with force without over-fouling.
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  Speaker 1: So it should be a good game tomorrow night at
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  Speaker 1: the Delta Center. Before I forget, it's a 7.30 start
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  Speaker 1: versus 7 o'clock tomorrow night.
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  Speaker 4: Gordy, around the NBA, we saw on opening night, we
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  Speaker 4: saw the Philadelphia 76ers debut for LeBron James. Going to
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  Speaker 4: be 42 in a couple of months and still formidable.
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  Speaker 4: Even when you ask him to play the five, what
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  Speaker 4: do you think of him at center?
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  Speaker 1: I think it's wonderful. They played as five. They went
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  Speaker 1: small during the game to take out Joel Embiid. LeBron's
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  Speaker 1: playing five. And at age 42, it's almost better being
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  Speaker 1: a five-boy. There's less running as a five-man, just generally speaking,
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  Speaker 1: because you're more in the lane. You're part of a
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  Speaker 1: defensive rotation. But it's not as much as you would
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  Speaker 1: be on perimeter where you keep flying around to try
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  Speaker 1: to challenge shots. So LeBron at five, also offensively, that
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  Speaker 1: creates such a great mismatch because most people can't guard
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  Speaker 1: him anyway. But as a five-man trying to guard him,
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  Speaker 1: it makes the other team have to match down small
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  Speaker 1: or LeBron can take absolutely advantage of it. So it's
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  Speaker 1: smart by them. Sean, I want to mention about four
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  Speaker 1: minutes because the Jazz played them on Sunday. The Jazz
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  Speaker 1: played tomorrow night. the Pelicans, the Delta Center, and have
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  Speaker 1: a wonderful game at 3 o'clock on Sunday. Sean, during
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  Speaker 1: the NFL, they're playing 3 o'clock Sunday versus guess who?
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  Speaker 1: The Lakers. So Walker Kessler had his first game in
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  Speaker 1: a Laker uniform, and he scored 26 points, 9 rebounds,
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  Speaker 1: 2 blocks, but he shot 12 for 12 from the field. Obviously,
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  Speaker 1: they're all mostly law passes from Luka Doncic, And he
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  Speaker 1: responded perfectly. And the second best ever as far as
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  Speaker 1: single game percentage of Laker history, second only to Will
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  Speaker 1: Chamberlain when Will had 14 for 14 field goals back
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  Speaker 1: in March 1969. So he had a great debut, Walker Kessler.
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  Speaker 1: Let's hope in Jazz's point of view that they slow
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  Speaker 1: him down at the rim on a Sunday afternoon when
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  Speaker 1: the Jazz play the Lakers here in Salt Lake City.
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  Speaker 4: James just put this in the notes. Most dunks by
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  Speaker 4: a Laker since 2003. And that was Shaquille O'Neal. So
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  Speaker 4: Walker Kessler, one game numbers right up there next to Shaq.
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  Speaker 4: And you just said Wilt.
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  Speaker 2: So pretty good.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Wilt. Yeah, Wilt was 14 for 14 back in
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  Speaker 1: March 69. And Sean, in case you weren't here, I
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  Speaker 1: know you played in 1983. But 1969, that's called the
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  Speaker 1: age of Aquarius.
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  Speaker 4: It's a great song.
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  Speaker 1: Back in 69.
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  Speaker 4: What's that song called? Is it called the.
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  Speaker 1: That's exactly right. That's right. By Fifth Dimension, Adrian Viquarius.
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  Speaker 1: There you go. That's where it's from. And that's the
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  Speaker 1: last time Will did it back in 69 in March.
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  Speaker 1: So Walker Kessler. And in that game also against the
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  Speaker 1: Golden State Warriors, both teams are shorthanded. Luka Doncic was talking, Sean,
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  Speaker 1: Slovenian trash at the rookie Axel Lindenberg of the Warriors.
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  Speaker 1: And so they're going back and forth. And let's say
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  Speaker 1: the least that Luca got the advantage of it. He
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  Speaker 1: played a great game with his points totally and also
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  Speaker 1: eight rebounds and seven assists. So again, the plot thickens
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: in the NBA. NBA basketball, there's nothing like it. There's
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  Speaker 1: so many drama before the game, during the game, and
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  Speaker 1: after the game. And that makes it so interesting. Gordy,
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  Speaker 1: what's your list today? Okay, I'm going to list today,
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: and you talk about LeBron James, and he's on this list.
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  Speaker 1: This list today is the most career by NBA players
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  Speaker 1: career-wise registering 20-plus points and 10 assists in the same game.
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  Speaker 1: So 20 and 10 in the same game career-wise. Quickly, attributes. One,
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  Speaker 1: you need ball skills. Two, you have to be a goodwill,
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  Speaker 1: eyeful passer. Three, range shooter. Four, physical driver and finisher.
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  Speaker 1: And five, frequent free throw maker. 20 and 10 as
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  Speaker 1: far as games. 12th all time. Steve Nash did it
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  Speaker 1: 152 times. Tied for 10. Kevin Johnson and Tim Hardaway Sr.,
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  Speaker 1: they did it 170 times. Number nine, John Stockton did
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  Speaker 1: it 184 times. 20 points and 10 assists in an
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  Speaker 1: NBA game. All right, number eight. Eight, this will change
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  Speaker 1: every single game. It seems like Nikolai Jokic is eighth
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  Speaker 1: all-time as a point center. He's done it 187 times,
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  Speaker 1: 20 and 10. Number seven, he did it last night
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  Speaker 1: with the Washington Wizards to help Anthony Davis have a
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: great game. Trey Young has done it 196 times, 20
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  Speaker 1: and 10 games. Number six. Isaiah Thomas, done it 209.
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  Speaker 1: Number five, Chris Paul, 229 times. Number four, Matthew Johnson
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  Speaker 1: is tied with Russell Westbrook, both three and four all time.
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  Speaker 1: They've both done it 263 times. The second greatest player
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  Speaker 1: as far as 20 and 10 games is James Harden.
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  Speaker 1: with 266, and LeBron James, number one, as a point forward,
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  Speaker 1: and you're calling him, Sean, as a point center. Point center.
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  Speaker 1: He was for the Sixers. He's done it 299 times.
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  Speaker 1: So LeBron might do it tonight, get his 300th time,
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  Speaker 1: where he has a 20-10 game. Let's put it in
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  Speaker 1: just context in jazz basketball. the degree of difficulty of
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: doing this. Keontae George is in his fourth year, and
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: he's a good player for the Jazz. Keontae George has
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: only had one game of scoring 20 points and 10
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: dimes in an NBA game. That's how hard it is,
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: and his list is really of guys that are really
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  Speaker 1: so talented and know how to play offense, both scoring
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  Speaker 1: and passing. Sean, this is my list of today.
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  Speaker 4: Oh, Gordy, we love a good list, and we've got many,
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  Speaker 4: many more days of them as NBA season is officially back.
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  Speaker 4: Utah Jazz start off 0-1, but plenty, 81 more regular
• 17:15
  Speaker 4: season games to play.
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  Speaker 2: All right.
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  Speaker 4: I didn't do a good job of asking you this.
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  Speaker 4: We've seen the projections for the Utah Jazz. This will
• 17:22
  Speaker 4: be the last thing, Gordy. Anywhere from play-in team to
• 17:27
  Speaker 4: the highest I think I've seen in a publication is
• 17:29
  Speaker 4: a potential seven seed. in the upcoming playoffs. Where does
• 17:34
  Speaker 4: Gordie Chiesa put the ceiling for this Utah Jazz roster?
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: I think they're going to be a play-in team. So
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  Speaker 1: I would say either seven or eight. And that'd be
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  Speaker 1: great for the Jazz. If they get in a play-in tournament,
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: get some wins, you just never know. So I would
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  Speaker 1: say they're definitely a play-in team. They have talent, offensive.
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  Speaker 1: They can score the ball, and yet they're able to
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  Speaker 1: guard consistently.
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  Speaker 4: Gordy, thanks for your time. Always appreciate you, my friend.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks, Sean. Peace out. Stay well.
• 18:05
  Speaker 4: Gordy Chiesa brought to you by our friends at Aladdin Industries.