How about this jazz newsletter: Leandro Bormalo gets ridiculed for tinkering with atmosphere, and Lauri Markkanen tackles the Eurostep. Plus Jordan Clarkson’s defense and his PBJ sandwich.
(Rick Egan | Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz shooting guard Leandro Bormalo answers questions during the Utah Jazz Media Day on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022.
Hello from Sacramento! Welcome to his final HBTJ newsletter for 2022.
One of my favorite parts of the job is getting a little look at the personalities of the team members. The Jazz’s just-completed trip to San Francisco offered several chances for the team to simply show off what they had fun in Tuesday’s holiday practice and Wednesday morning’s shootaround.
At practice Tuesday in the fourth-floor gymnasium of the William J. Latter Center on the Mission Bay campus of the University of California, San Francisco, the E-40, a Bay Area hip-hop icon named after the biochemist Mac Dre blasts from a room in the university building that houses a banquet hall, an aquatics complex, a Pilates studio, and, of course, the “Herbst Center for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Researchers.”
Leandro Bormalo finally took control of the music, interrupting the parade of rappers and starting spinning club music. Destiny’s House When his remix of Child’s hit “Survivor” was picked by Jack Buck (aka his DJ David Guetta in France), he was met with false glare and lighthearted boos.
On Wednesday (hours before they finally lost to the Warriors), some players and an assistant coach had a goofy shootaround at the Equinox Gym attached to the Four Seasons Hotel where they were staying. piecing together a bizarre sequence of eurostep and stutterstep movementsincluding 3-point attempts.
Lauri Markkanen appeared to be the mastermind, but Rudy Gay and a few assistants got on board as well.
During that time, I was able to have a little chat with Coach Will Hardy. In addition to mocking beat writer Tony Jones, boasting that his beloved Mets will win the World Series next season (Hardy grew up an Atlanta Braves fan, but he’s no longer an MLB fan). ), I finally got him to answer a question I’ve had since putting together his profile after he was hired. Why did he play intramural softball barefoot?
“orWhat questions would you like to ask me?!” he replied with a laugh.
After all, growing up in Virginia, he liked to play outside without shoes and enjoyed the feel of his bare feet. Williams in northwestern Massachusetts was cold for most of the year at his college, so when it was warm enough, he took off his shoes at every opportunity, usually during softball games.
Jordan Clarkson’s Challenging Matchups
In many cases, the interviews we give players are targeted towards specific games, outcomes or incidents. But sometimes it’s fun to ask useless questions just to get them into the conversation.
So that was when I asked Jordan Clarkson after Wednesday’s shootaround which defender in the league he found the most difficult to try and score. I thought about the question a bit before shouting.
Clarkson, however, turned it around and named a scorer who he found difficult to defend.
“But [someone for] “I really think he’s challenging, hard to guard, and fun to watch,” Jordan Poole said. I became one, especially [given] How they play, their style on the open floor — it’s just crazy to watch.
JC grinned when asked if there were any similarities between their playing styles.
“A little, a little. That’s why I said it!” he replied with a lively laugh.
PBJ’s very serious argument
This happened in the aftermath of a game against the Warriors, but it’s not about the Jazz per se.
Another fun part of the job is getting to know the beat writers who cover other teams and hearing different stories about their work. And on Wednesday night, every Warriors Beat writer in the Chase Center media workroom was discussing just her one topic. 20-year-old rookie Patrick Baldwin Jr. admitted in a post-game interview that he has never eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. before last week.
He plays for the team’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, and after a late afternoon practice he was told to go to San Francisco because Golden State was understaffed, arriving an hour before tip-off. and scored 11 points in 13 minutes. Janey McCauley, a spirited and kind writer for the Associated Press, kicked off his mother mode and asked if he at least had a road trip snack because he didn’t have the chance to get a “proper dinner.”
Then came the shocking revelation that a player nicknamed PBJ (his initials) didn’t have one until a week or so ago, leaving everyone wondering what was wrong with his parents. He was apparently hooked enough by now and had the two of them on board in the arena.
And since my mother insisted that my PBJ was on wheat bread, I thought it was bad.