Lightning struck twice last tuesday night as my beloved Minnesota Twins won in Yankee Stadium, and my beloved Utah Jazz won in the Staples Center against the Lakers. The Utah win was even more impressive as it was the first time in 17 tries and the Lakers were playing for playoff positioning. The real highlight of the game was the outstanding play of the Utah Jazz rookies. Gordon Hayward went for 22 points against the World Champions, and Derrick Favors went for 14 points and 11 rebounds. The game was pretty ugly in the first half, but in the fourth quarter, Gordon Hayward starting to show why he was picked # 9 in last year's draft. He did a great job of penetrating and attacking the basket, finding the open man, etc. His 3 point shot was going well for him as well. As for Favors, he showed why he was the 3rd pick in last years draft, playing great interior defense, getting rebounds, and scoring inside. If Favors continues to develop, the Jazz should have really good depth at the Power Forward position, and if Hayward does the same, the Jazz could have the shooting guard that they've been needing to contend for a championship. What the Jazz really showed Tuesday night was that they have the pieces to be very very good in the coming years. The third rookie that I didn't mention was Jeremy Evans. Evans didn't have much of a game in terms of scoring, since he only had 2 points, but he shows promise in his ability to rebound, play defense, and elevate. Nobody on the Utah Jazz jumps higher than Jeremy Evans, and he has earned the nickname as the "Human Pogo Stick" for good reason. With him and Favors working together, the Jazz show signs of what could be a very active defense in the middle. Combine that with a healthy Kirilenko, and you have a very pesky defense to go against.
As far as the game itself went, the game ended on Hayward hitting a free throw to give Utah a 1 point lead with 6 seconds to go. The Lakers got the ball to Kobe to finish off the game, and the ball slipped out of Kobe's hands as Hayward defended him. It was a great moment to see Hayward stop Kobe Bryant and lead the Jazz to their first win against the Lakers in the Staples Center in 17 tries. Even though the Jazz aren't going to the playoffs beating the Lakers on the road has to give them confidence going into next season. The Jazz showed why they are going to be very good in the coming years. Perhaps the most impressive part of the win was that they did it without Okur, Kirilenko, and Harris who were all sidlined with various injuries. Earl Watson started at PG and had a very good performance with 11 points. Al Jefferson had only 11 points, and seemed to have a real struggle against the Lakers front court. What made the win so impressive was it was the young guys who carried the team and brought the win for the team. Gordon Hayward looked like the shooting guard that everybody hoped he would be. The left handed slam down the middle was the exclamation point of Hayward's night, and as a whole the Jazz should use this win as positive motivation in the Summer. Go Jazz!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Jazz Season In Review: The After Math Of A Very Strange Year
The Jazz are about to face their first losing season in 5 years, and only their second since the dismal 1982-1983 campaign. Since then they've only had a losing season in the year 2004-2005 when they went 26-56. This year will likely be their second losing season as they are 36-41 with 5 games to go. But what has made this year so bizarre is that they started off 15-5, showed all the signs of a strong competitive team, only to fizzle out like an open can of soda. The strangest thing about this season doesn't involve the on court problems as it does the off-court issues which affected the court.
First off, the resignation of long time coach Jerry Sloan who had been aboard the Jazz team as their coach for the last 23 seasons. The news of this was like an earthquake that shook Salt Lake City, and the entire NBA nation. Then, like some sort of after math of everything, the Jazz then trade their star PG Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets for Devin Harris and Derrick Favors. A good trade for the Jazz, but one that would shake the team even more. The question on everybody's mind is what is there to take from this horrid/weird season.
In my mind, the Jazz have a future that shouldn't be of concern. Al Jefferson has showed the people in Utah that he can not only play, but that he's a better player than Carlos Boozer. So that's number one. Number two, the Jazz have a lot of youth. Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, and Jeremy Evans are all promising young rookies, and with 2 lottery picks plus the third that they will get for missing the playoffs, the Jazz have the chance to really build through the draft and get more pieces to put together a competitive team. The key question entering this season have been answered already, which concerned Al Jefferson replacing Boozer.
The biggest problem this year in my opinion was health. Mehmet Okur was never healthy and Andrei Kirilenko wasn't really able to keep things together either. Not to mention the problems surrounding Raja Bell and Ronnie Price. The Jazz bench turned into a hospital with Mehmet Okur representing a patient with a deadly disease. His Achilles injury never healed and the constant pushing back of his return distracted the team. He played only in a handful of games and never established a rhythm. Even Paul Millsap got hurt for a little bit as did Devin Harris. By this point the whole team was hurt basically. The only rock for the Jazz this year was Big Al Jefferson who shouldn't take any blame for how the Jazz season has gone. He's been the only real solid player for them this year along with Paul Millsap.
But what makes this season so weird is the polarizing aspects of it. On the one side is all this negativity and confusion, and on the other are those great comebacks against Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, and Charlotte all in the same road trip. They looked really tough and started to show that they could play on the road. Which was really neat because the Jazz have never been a good road team. But they also started to lose uncharacteristic games at home. It was as if they forgot their identity. They stopped playing any sort of defense. And slowly crumbled into oblivion and appeared to totally give up on their season over them month of march. It has been a strange and saddening season.
What the Jazz really need is to regroup, go into the off season as a unit and stay constant. Not only that, but they need to get rid of Andrei Kirilenko, or sign him to a lot less money. I'm okay having him on the team, but he can't be eating away at Utah's checkbook either. The highest paid player for the Jazz in Andrei Kirilenko and he only plays half the games at best. The draft will be key for Utah. Will they draft Jimmer Fredette? I personally think it's possible since they'll have a couple of picks to use. They may want to take a gamble on Jimmer and see if he can mold himself into a good point guard. It could be a wasted pick or the pick of the decade. It's a hard call. They have their big man in Favors who's young, but they still need a reliable center. In my mind, the Jazz should get rid of Okur and find a new Center. Also, they should consider dealing Fesenko. He's not been good enough offensively to be reliable, and his defense isn't great either. I like his potential, but if they can get a good offer for him, they should take it. Gordon Hayward is the shooting guard of the future and I expect him to be fine in a couple of years. If they draft Jimmer and he pans out, they can deal Devin Harris. Overall, the Jazz need to find a Center and Shooting Guard to be contenders. If Hayward evolves into a Jeff Hornacek type, they will have the Shooting Guard position covered to an extent. They still need a swingman that did what Bryon Russell did for them. A guy that can hit the 3, attack the hole, and play defense. The Jazz need to build around the pieces that they have and fill in the holes that they don't have. #1 being a Center and #2 being a Shooting Guard. CJ Miles has shown flashes of being that guy, but not enough to really convince me that they can rely on him.
Overall, the Jazz need to get back to what they've always done, which is play defense. They need to be a defense first type team. Find guys that d it up and go from their. If they do that, they'll be fine. They are offensively fine, but defensively an utter joke. I hope the Jazz get things going on the right track for next season, because this year was a disappointment.
First off, the resignation of long time coach Jerry Sloan who had been aboard the Jazz team as their coach for the last 23 seasons. The news of this was like an earthquake that shook Salt Lake City, and the entire NBA nation. Then, like some sort of after math of everything, the Jazz then trade their star PG Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets for Devin Harris and Derrick Favors. A good trade for the Jazz, but one that would shake the team even more. The question on everybody's mind is what is there to take from this horrid/weird season.
In my mind, the Jazz have a future that shouldn't be of concern. Al Jefferson has showed the people in Utah that he can not only play, but that he's a better player than Carlos Boozer. So that's number one. Number two, the Jazz have a lot of youth. Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, and Jeremy Evans are all promising young rookies, and with 2 lottery picks plus the third that they will get for missing the playoffs, the Jazz have the chance to really build through the draft and get more pieces to put together a competitive team. The key question entering this season have been answered already, which concerned Al Jefferson replacing Boozer.
The biggest problem this year in my opinion was health. Mehmet Okur was never healthy and Andrei Kirilenko wasn't really able to keep things together either. Not to mention the problems surrounding Raja Bell and Ronnie Price. The Jazz bench turned into a hospital with Mehmet Okur representing a patient with a deadly disease. His Achilles injury never healed and the constant pushing back of his return distracted the team. He played only in a handful of games and never established a rhythm. Even Paul Millsap got hurt for a little bit as did Devin Harris. By this point the whole team was hurt basically. The only rock for the Jazz this year was Big Al Jefferson who shouldn't take any blame for how the Jazz season has gone. He's been the only real solid player for them this year along with Paul Millsap.
But what makes this season so weird is the polarizing aspects of it. On the one side is all this negativity and confusion, and on the other are those great comebacks against Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, and Charlotte all in the same road trip. They looked really tough and started to show that they could play on the road. Which was really neat because the Jazz have never been a good road team. But they also started to lose uncharacteristic games at home. It was as if they forgot their identity. They stopped playing any sort of defense. And slowly crumbled into oblivion and appeared to totally give up on their season over them month of march. It has been a strange and saddening season.
What the Jazz really need is to regroup, go into the off season as a unit and stay constant. Not only that, but they need to get rid of Andrei Kirilenko, or sign him to a lot less money. I'm okay having him on the team, but he can't be eating away at Utah's checkbook either. The highest paid player for the Jazz in Andrei Kirilenko and he only plays half the games at best. The draft will be key for Utah. Will they draft Jimmer Fredette? I personally think it's possible since they'll have a couple of picks to use. They may want to take a gamble on Jimmer and see if he can mold himself into a good point guard. It could be a wasted pick or the pick of the decade. It's a hard call. They have their big man in Favors who's young, but they still need a reliable center. In my mind, the Jazz should get rid of Okur and find a new Center. Also, they should consider dealing Fesenko. He's not been good enough offensively to be reliable, and his defense isn't great either. I like his potential, but if they can get a good offer for him, they should take it. Gordon Hayward is the shooting guard of the future and I expect him to be fine in a couple of years. If they draft Jimmer and he pans out, they can deal Devin Harris. Overall, the Jazz need to find a Center and Shooting Guard to be contenders. If Hayward evolves into a Jeff Hornacek type, they will have the Shooting Guard position covered to an extent. They still need a swingman that did what Bryon Russell did for them. A guy that can hit the 3, attack the hole, and play defense. The Jazz need to build around the pieces that they have and fill in the holes that they don't have. #1 being a Center and #2 being a Shooting Guard. CJ Miles has shown flashes of being that guy, but not enough to really convince me that they can rely on him.
Overall, the Jazz need to get back to what they've always done, which is play defense. They need to be a defense first type team. Find guys that d it up and go from their. If they do that, they'll be fine. They are offensively fine, but defensively an utter joke. I hope the Jazz get things going on the right track for next season, because this year was a disappointment.
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