SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz, it seems, got precisely what they needed when it came to this year’s NBA All-Star selections.
Gordon Hayward, their seventh-year forward, received the coveted opportunity to play in the All-Star Game, while Rudy Gobert, the fourth-year center whose career trajectory has taken an incredible upswing over the past two years, did not.
For the Jazz, it’s essentially a best-of-both-worlds situation, and here’s why.
Hayward, Utah’s leading scorer and best all-around player, was voted in by the coaches to be a reserve for the Western Conference All-Star squad that will face their Eastern Conference counterparts on Feb. 19 in New Orleans.
For a player averaging 21.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game like Hayward is, an All-Star bid seems like a no-brainer.
Still, for a guy who’s approaching free agency this summer, to be chosen for his first All-Star appearance should serve as one more reason why Hayward, when it’s all said and done, will wind up staying in Utah.
After all, there was some speculation that Hayward might be left off the All-Star squad again this year, perhaps giving credence to the theory that it’d be difficult for anybody from Utah, which hadn’t had an All-Star selection since 2011, to make the cut anymore.
Instead, Hayward did indeed earn the honor and will represent the Jazz in the All-Star Weekend’s annual grand finale next month.
And now he realizes that playing in Utah is not detrimental to receiving the kind of recognition that he has yearned for and, when it comes time for him to choose where he wants to continue his career, getting the All-Star nod might be one more factor in his decision to stay put.
The fact that the Jazz can pay him more money for more years than anybody else, along with the team’s resurgence as a factor in the Western Conference playoff race and the highly likable group of players and coaches they’ve assembled together, are likely the most important reasons Hayward might decide he wants to continue playing in Utah.
But finally getting to the All-Star Game for the first time certainly can’t hurt, either.
As for Gobert, whose superb performance this season would definitely warrant an All-Star selection of his own, being left off the team will only serve to further motivate the big Frenchman.
Even though his steady improvement on both ends of the court has been nothing short of incredible over the past two years, the All-Star snub, if you want to call it that, will simply enlarge that giant-sized chip that Gobert’s always had on his shoulder ever since being taken by the Denver Nuggets with the No. 27 selection in the 2013 NBA draft.
Why do you think Gobert wears jersey No. 27? To remind himself, and everyone else, that he was the 27th pick in the draft — and to prove to us all that for him to go that late in the draft was a huge mistake.
With the way he’s played and improved the past two seasons, nobody would argue with that assessment now.
It didn’t always look that way, of course. After being traded to the Jazz in a draft-day deal, Gobert spent some time playing for Utah’s D-League affiliate as recently as a couple of years ago.
But when the Jazz eventually decided to make Gobert their starting center ahead of lottery pick Enes Kanter, and subsequently shipped the disgruntled Kanter off to Oklahoma City in a February 2015 trade, Gobert’s career path has continued to be mighty darned impressive.
This season, he’s averaging 12.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and an NBA-best 2.6 blocked shots per game. Gobert ranks fifth in the league in rebounding, second in field goal percentage, and has the fourth-most double-doubles in the league — not bad for a guy who was once thought of as a long-term project.
But Gobert’s work ethic, determination and self-confidence has served him well, transforming him into one of the NBA’s best centers and arguably the best rim protector in the league today.
Little more than a week ago, he put up a 27-point/25-rebound performance in a win over Dallas, and he had a stretch of 30 consecutive games with at least 10 rebounds — a mark that only four other NBA players have achieved since the 1997-98 season.
Perhaps an All-Star selection would’ve made Gobert feel like he had indeed «arrived» as an NBA star, that all his hard work had paid off and perhaps he could let up a little bit now.
But Utah coach Quin Snyder said he knows Gobert will definitely not back off. Instead, with Gobert’s «I’ll show you» attitude fueled even further by this year’s All-Star snub, the Jazz coach is sure Gobert will handle the All-Star selection process in the most productive way possible by continuing to work his tail off in his unyielding quest to improve and keep proving the doubters wrong.
«I just control what I can control and keep getting better and make sure it’s not an option (to leave him off the All-Star team) in the future,» Gobert said. «… That’s the kind of thing that probably will make me better. »
Wow, a Gobert who’s even better than this one? That’s gotta be a mighty scary predicament for NBA opponents.

Similarity rank: 2.1

Sentiment rank: 1.5

© Source: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865672086/Randy-Hollis-All-Star-selections-turned-out-just-the-right-way-for-Jazz.html?pg=all
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Posted 4:54 p.m. today
Updated 4:57 p.m. today
By STEVEN WINE, AP Sports Writer
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — North Carolina coach Roy Williams’ team trailed by double figures in the second half against Miami when there was a scramble for a rebound.
Like the game, it wasn’t much of a contest.
«The ball was lying on the floor, and we didn’t have anybody dive for it,» Williams said. «They got it and made a 3. That was a big play. »
So it went for the No. 9-ranked Tar Heels, who were outhustled and outscored by Miami. Freshman Bruce Brown needed only 11 shots to score a career-high 30 points, and the Hurricanes deployed a swarming zone defense Saturday to upset the Tar Heels 77-62, ending their seven-game winning streak.
«It was a big-time kicking of our rear ends,» Williams said. «They were more aggressive in everything they did. »
The Tar Heels’ point total was a season low and 27 below their average, and they shot only 35 percent. The Hurricanes repeatedly got their hands on the ball against the taller Tar Heels, especially in the lane.
Miami also had a 41-36 edge in rebounding against the Tar Heels, who lead the nation in that category.
North Carolina (19-4, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which had climbed atop the league standings with its winning streak, was playing for the second time in less than 48 hours and looked it.
«It’s not like this loss counts as 20,» forward Kennedy Meeks said. «We’ve got a lot of season left. »
Miami (14-6, 4-4) beat a ranked team for the first time this season.
«We’re one of the best teams in the country,» guard Ja’Quan Newton said. «We’ve just got to get a couple more wins like this. »
The Tar Heels had scored at least 85 points in a school-record seven consecutive league games, but that streak was doomed by a season-low first-half point total. They missed 18 of their final 19 shots and trailed 39-22 at halftime.
Williams subbed for his entire lineup at one point in the second half, but no combination worked. The Tar Heels played without injured swingman Theo Pinson.
Brown’s point total was the highest by a Hurricanes freshman since they joined the ACC. He had 23 points before he missed a shot, and finished 8 for 11, including four 3-pointers. He also had five assists and two of Miami’s eight steals.
«Brown was tremendous,» Williams said. «We couldn’t keep him from getting to the basket, and when we backed off, he made 3s. »
Newton added 18 points and seven rebounds for the Hurricanes, whose biggest lead was 55-33. The Tar Heels were never closer than 11 after that.
North Carolina went 7 for 24 from 3-point range after sinking a season-high 14 baskets from beyond the arc in Thursday’s win over Virginia Tech .
Justin Jackson led the Tar Heels with 21 points. Guard Joel Berry II failed to shoot the Hurricanes out of their zone, going 0 for 8 and scoring two points, 13 below his average.
«They got back into their zone quick, and I don’t think we did a good job of attacking them,» Berry said.
The zone was a surprise, even to the Hurricanes. It wasn’t in their game plan, but coach Jim Larranaga switched to it after his team fell behind 11-2.
Larranaga was amused to hear his players claim they work on the zone a lot.
«They say we practice it every day,» he said. «We practice it once every two weeks. »
It worked anyway. Miami outscored North Carolina 20-2 during a 12-minute span, and the Tar Heels went the final 8:36 of the first half without a basket.
INJURY REPORT
Pinson sat out after injuring his right ankle in Thursday’s win over Virginia Tech. He wore a boot Saturday, and no timetable for his return has been disclosed.
TECHNICALITY
North Carolina’s frustration boiled over when guard Berry received a technical foul. «I’m better than that,» he said. «I let my team down. It won’t happen again. »
Williams said he believes the technical was the first on one of his players since at least 2012.
«Not acceptable,» he said.
BIG PICTURE
North Carolina: The Tar Heels fell to 8-3 against the Hurricanes in Miami.
Miami: The Hurricanes improved to 5-4 against North Carolina under Larranaga. The win was the fifth for the Hurricanes against a Top Ten ACC team under Larranaga.
GUEST SPEAKER
NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, who played for the Hurricanes, spoke to the crowd at halftime.
«I always consider my favorite place — and always will — the University of Miami,» Kelly said.
UP NEXT
North Carolina will try to bounce back at home against Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Miami plays host to another top 10 team — No. 6 Florida State — on Wednesday. Larranaga is hoping for another big crowd.
«I don’t want to tell the students who have night class to cut,» he said, «but maybe they can come for the second half. »
___
More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org

Similarity rank: 1.1

Sentiment rank: -1.1

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