"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[smokymountainrain]

But like I said, based on what? You've already contradicted this paragraph in your first paragraph by citing how many minutes AK played in the first 14 -- that was with Boozer! We've already seen that he plays 35+ with Boozer in the lineup if he's playing well (12 times this season before Booz even went out), and without Boozer last year we didn't see a notable spike in his minutes by virtue of simple absence.

Don't get me wrong - Sloan can play AK 35 minutes a night with a healthy Boozer, Millsap and Okur, but when one of them is out, he is practically forced to play AK big minutes.

Of course I couldn't, because his play correlates to minutes. If he plays well, Sloan is going to leave him out there for a good chunk of time. If he's sucking, there's no way he's staying out there beyond 33 minutes. Cause and effect, not effect and cause.

Again, I disagree, because he did play well in those first 14 games, yet when he came back from injury, he didn't see another game of more than 30 minutes for a month. Why?

[MarkGrace]

Again, I disagree, because he did play well in those first 14 games, yet when he came back from injury, he didn't see another game of more than 30 minutes for a month. Why?

Because he was coming back from injury? Because he wasn't playing well? There are a number of valid possibilities.

[falafel]

I like.

Not to bag on your efforts, but I really hope they don't go with the lemon-lime yellow and green colors. I hope its closer to the kelly green and more of a golden yellow color.

[Donuthole]

This is a fun pissing match to follow, but ultimately you're both right and you're both wrong. Sloan has been justified in not giving AK more minutes at times, and at times not. It's an unsolveable chicken-egg scenario where both parties are at fault.

Sloan continues to refuse to deal with different personalities/egos, and despite that, AK has done his fair share of primadonna bitching and pouting.

[MarkGrace]

Dime of the night:

http://www.nba.com/jazz/video/2010/0...nba/index.html

[MarkGrace]

This is a fun pissing match to follow, but ultimately you're both right and you're both wrong. Sloan has been justified in not giving AK more minutes at times, and at times not. It's an unsolveable chicken-egg scenario where both parties are at fault.

Sloan continues to refuse to deal with different personalities/egos, and despite that, AK has done his fair share of primadonna bitching and pouting.

I pretty much agree with all of that, but that's not exactly on with the pissing match.

My position: there is no evidence to suggest that AK gets a significant boost in minutes when Boozer is out; AK's big minutes correlates to his own strong play

SMR's position: as long as Booz is out AK will play big minutes; by virtue of him playing big minutes he's going to play well

The latter of each of our positions is completely unprovable (a chicken and egg scenario). With the former I think there's pretty solid evidence that it is not the case.

[Blueintheface]

Dime of the night:

http://www.nba.com/jazz/video/2010/0...nba/index.html

Deron good. Deron very good.

[smokymountainrain]

This is a fun pissing match to follow, but ultimately you're both right and you're both wrong. Sloan has been justified in not giving AK more minutes at times, and at times not. It's an unsolveable chicken-egg scenario where both parties are at fault.

Sloan continues to refuse to deal with different personalities/egos, and despite that, AK has done his fair share of primadonna bitching and pouting.

I can agree with that. But I guess where I don't fault AK too much is that if put in the same situation - shots and minutes cut significantly - Deron, Boozer or any other star player in the league would bitch and pout about it too, if not more than AK has done.

Grace, your summation of my viewpoint is spot on - and reading it again in your words, I couldn't agree more with myself!

[MarkGrace]

Drinking the Kool-Aid

Jazz have a bright future ... and present
Charley Rosen

GAME TIME: Jazz 104, Mavericks 92

What’s up with the Utah Jazz? Even though Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer have been in and out of the lineup, their latest win Monday was their sixth in a row and also marks their 10th in their last 11 games.

Utah’s streak raises three significant questions:

1. How have they managed to scratch their way to the coveted fourth playoff seed in the West?

• With a radical upgrade in overall speed and quickness. Wesley Matthews, for example, can’t shoot, but the rookie never gives up on a play and leads the team in floor burns.

• Ronnie Brewer is another non-shooter who can run his way into easy scores.

• Andrei Kirilenko is thrilled to be back in the starting lineup and is playing with a passion that he hasn’t exhibited in several seasons. On Monday, he was forever hustling, ambushing passing lanes (four steals), hitting his shots (6-for-7) and most importantly, locking up Dirk Nowitzki in the fourth quarter to key the win.

• C.J. Miles didn’t shoot well (6-for-14 for 17 points) but was always active, aggressive, creative and looking to attack the rim.

• After an atrocious first quarter in which he forced a total of five passes/shots, missed a layup and committed an offensive foul, Deron Williams finally got his legs under him and controlled the offense. He wound up playing excellent defense against Jason Kidd and J.J. Barea, hit his jumpers (7-for-15), and kept the ball moving (15 assists).

When the Jazz played too fast, they made mistakes. And when they played too slowly, their offense stagnated.

But Williams always seemed to ensure that the team maintained the most advantageous tempo — running under control, lots of quick-hitting ball- and player-movement and forever looking to find the open man. Plus, whenever the Jazz desperately needed a score, they ran a 1-2-2 or 1-4 spread set and let Williams pull, go, or drive-and-kick.

• Paul Millsap had an All-Star performance.

• The only relatively inferior athlete who played significant minutes was Mehmet Okur. The guy is smart, can shoot from long range and has good hands, but he can’t run or defend and is very slow off his feet.

• Utah’s new-found quickness was most noticeable in its defense. Post-up players were circled and entry passes tipped. Millsap and Kirilenko executed speedy baseline rotations. Wing and reversal passes were challenged.

• The only real problem the Jazz had was their spotty defense of weak-side curls.

2. Is Millsap worth the lengthy, mega-bucks contract he signed during the off-season?

• ABSOLUTELY!!!

• He was 10-for-16 from the field and scored his 25 points in a variety of ways: Power layups. Face-up step-back jumpers. A flip and three free throws that were earned on the run. Popping off a weak-side screen, then nailing a 17-footer. Making several slashing dive cuts that led to easy layups and dunks.

• His single assist was a beauty. After getting his hands on a tough offensive rebound, Millsap make a nifty touch pass that Miles turned into a layup.

• On defense, he played Nowitzki aggressively and was hurt mostly when he had to help and left Nowitzki open to receive kick-out-passes and then bury jumpers. All told, Nowitzki tallied 16 of his 28 points against Millsap.

• On the other hand, Millsap shut down Drew Gooden and made several timely rotations (four blocks and several intimidations).

• He was also a mighty presence on the boards (a team-high nine rebounds) and set numerous sturdy screens.

3. Can the Jazz compete over the long haul without Boozer?

• POSITIVELY!

• There’s no doubt that Boozer is stronger than Millsap, has a better left hand, is a better position rebounder and owns a more refined post-up game. But Millsap is fast enough for the Jazz to run a four-man fast break. He’s also more athletic than Boozer, plays better defense, has greater mobility, is more effective without the ball and is both quicker off his feet and quicker with the ball in his hands.

• What aspects of Millsap’s game still need to be improved? His post-up moves. His ability to play defense without fouling. And his tendency to force shots — two airballs versus the Mavs — in heavy traffic. Also, it was clear that Millsap wasn’t used to playing 41 minutes, and to some degree, he wilted in the endgame.

• But Millsap is still days away from his 25th birthday and is only in his fourth NBA season. Boozer will undoubtedly be elsewhere next year, and Millsap is already on the verge of becoming Utah’s go-to big man.

• The young man is an All-Star in the making.

During their dismantling of Dallas, Utah’s future was on display. In Williams, Millsap, a rejuvenated Kirilenko, the continued improvement of Miles, the unabated hustle of Matthews, the opportunistic baseline game of Brewer ... Utah’s future is now.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/R...nalysis-013110

[MarkGrace]

Deron Williams and the Jazz know what they're doing
By Henry Abbott

There are a few things I try not to do. Among them:

* I try not to wake up my wife and kids when they're sleeping.
* I try not to call people who have little children late at night.
* Realizing I'm a journalist, not a coach, I try not to make statements that rely strictly on my own cobbled-together basketball judgment.
* I try not to curse.


Last night I came this close to breaking all those rules to dial David Thorpe (father of young twins) at midnight, screaming: "The Utah Jazz are f---ing amazing!"

For the second time in a couple of weeks, they were dispatching my Blazers in style. The game started out close. Players on both teams were making tough plays with gritty passion. It had the energy of a playoff game, but with more scoring (in the playoffs, extensive preparations help defenses more than offenses). A viewer's delight.

Through one quarter, both teams were making amazing plays. The story of the game was, in essence, that the Jazz simply never stopped, and won by 13.

Their attack was a pleasure to watch.

Of course, last night was no aberration for the Jazz, who have recently dispatched the Mavericks, Cavaliers, Spurs, Suns and Blazers twice, in winning 11 of 12. They are quickly climbing through the thicket of teams on the playoff bubble in the West, and are now just behind the Cavaliers, second overall, in John Hollinger's power rankings. (They're just ahead of the Lakers, who have already beaten the Jazz once this season, and are due in Salt Lake next Wednesday.)

What's remarkable about the Jazz last night was how the ball moved so quickly and delightfully to the open player, wherever he may be. High school coaches everywhere rejoice.

For instance, the Blazers have been playing without a center since before Christmas. That shortcoming has been evident now and again, but, amazingly, hardly devastating. Until last night.

The conventional recipe to beat a team without a center would be to force a smaller player to guard your best post player. But Portland's fill-in old-guy center, Juwan Howard, knows the secrets of post defense and has done a decent job spackling over that hole in the defense. The Jazz showed the better way to attack: With passing and layups. Move fast, ping the ball around, and find the dunks that a big help defender would usually frustrate. Exploiting the lack of size in the post is not nearly as effective as exploiting Portland's lack of shotblocking from the weak side.

Rumbling through the lane for dunks, layups and runners, Mehmet Okur made 11 of his 13 shots, to finish with 28 points. Andrei Kirilenko made eight of his nine shots, some of which were -- thanks to the pass-happy offense, wide open dunks. Kirilenko also finished with eight assists, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Filling in for Boozer, Millsap had nine rebounds, two blocks, twelve points and ... five assists. Meanwhile, had I reached Thorpe, the first player I would have mentioned would have been rookie Wesley Matthews, who didn't miss any of his six shots and was the Jazz's designated athlete on the night. If something athletic needed to be done -- a footrace, a jump, a squabble for position -- he was the man on the scene every time.

Notice the Jazz player I didn't single out for his stats in the paragraph above. Their one All-Star: Deron Williams.

Early in the game, he used his speed and strength to breeze into the paint again and again, but missed several layup attempts -- several were altered or blocked. He also threw an easy pass out of bounds on a miscommunication with Kirilenko, and missed a 3 near the end of the half. There were just 11 or so minutes left in the fourth quarter before he made his first field goal.

But Williams was brilliant.

He's an all-star point guard, with a track record of scoring in the lane and from long-range. None of the Blazer defenders could stay with him. Last night was an opportunity for him to prove that he's playing the best of any NBA point guard right now.

But he didn't make it about him. Williams had a team working nicely on offense, and he alternated between letting the machine run on its own (look how many assists his teammates had) and nudging it along when it needed help, finishing with 13 assists. At times he retreated almost to half-court, without the ball, to keep his defender from mucking with his teammates' offense. He managed the clock smartly at the end of quarters. And when the Blazers snuck within ten in the closing minutes, he calmly got to his spots and hit shots that are easy for him -- a free-throw line jumper off a screen, a catch-and-shoot 3, and ... when Portland was hanging around within nine with a minute-and-a-half left, he burned up the shot clock down to six seconds before beating Jerryd Bayless (and a helping LaMarcus Aldridge) with the layup that ended things.

A lot of point guards can score. Several can get 13 assists. A few can be All-Stars. But it takes a very special one to know it's OK sometimes to fade into the background and let your teammates do their thing.

If I had reached Thorpe, I would have told him that Williams was to the Jazz like Bill Clinton was to the economy. People will always argue about whether or not he was responsible for all that success. But one thing's certain: He could have screwed it up, and didn't.

Just like I could have done to the Thorpe and Abbott families' sleep patterns last night.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/pos...t-theyre-doing

[Donuthole]

Let's pretend AK plays this way (or close to it) for the remainder of this season and most of next season (minus the handful of games he'll sit out with a strained faux-hawk, of course).

What does he command on the market next offseason, and what should the Jazz offer to keep him?

[MarkGrace]

I know people rip on Rosen, but I like that he gives thoughtful analysis on the structural and x's and o's aspects of the game. His observations are not always right (at least in my opinion), but it's nice to read something from a completely different angle than, say, a Hollinger.

The one things that I do find a bit annoying about him is that he always makes such emphatic and conclusive observations based on one game rather than a body of work. For example:

Wesley Matthews, for example, can’t shoot, but the rookie never gives up on a play and leads the team in floor burns.

Wes goes 3/11 in the Dallas game so Rosen just out and declares that he can't shoot. I haven't checked the numbers in the last couple of days, but as of about a week ago he was 4th on the team in 3pt% and 3rd in efg% on jumpshots. The kid can clearly shoot it. But good comment from Abbott about him:

Meanwhile, had I reached Thorpe, the first player I would have mentioned would have been rookie Wesley Matthews, who didn't miss any of his six shots and was the Jazz's designated athlete on the night. If something athletic needed to be done -- a footrace, a jump, a squabble for position -- he was the man on the scene every time.

What a find. Kid can hit perimeter shots, finish around the hoop, and already at times looks like an ace defender. Lock this guy up after the season.

[MarkGrace]

Let's pretend AK plays this way (or close to it) for the remainder of this season and most of next season (minus the handful of games he'll sit out with a strained faux-hawk, of course).

What does he command on the market next offseason, and what should the Jazz offer to keep him?

I don't know, but I mentioned to HFN last night that I've had a feeling for a while now that he'll re-sign with the Jazz.

I think a great deal of what has happened with his play has been compounded by the weight of the contract he's carrying. He made those comments a year or so ago about giving all the money back if he could -- and I 100% believed him.

The guy likes Utah, he seems to have ironed out his issues with Sloan, and I think he almost has this guilt over his contract. My guess is he signs with the Jazz for a reduced rate over what he could get in the market. The only other real possibility is NJ with their new billionaire Russian owner.

[smokymountainrain]

Yeah, that about Matthews not being able to shoot stood out to me as well. Sure, his defense and hustle has been outstanding but he is in the league and was a star in college for one reason - because he can shoot the ball.

[MarkGrace]

Meanwhile, had I reached Thorpe, the first player I would have mentioned would have been rookie Wesley Matthews, who didn't miss any of his six shots and was the Jazz's designated athlete on the night. If something athletic needed to be done -- a footrace, a jump, a squabble for position -- he was the man on the scene every time.

Speaking of which, I hope he did get a hold of Thorpe to rave about Matthews. I've emailed Thorpe trying to get him to give Wes more love in his rookie rankings.