Friday, December 12, 2008

Good win against Portland for the Jazz

Last night's win against Portland was the best win for the Jazz all season. They haven't played many tough games so far and Portland has been playing well of late. The Jazz really dominated this game for 4 quarters and it was never even that close in the second half. Their two wins against Portland are their only quality wins this season. The last couple home games haven't inspired confidence and fans are not used to having 3 home losses so early in the season.

The most impressive thing was how they ramped up their defense when Portland would make mini runs. Multiple times when the lead was cut to 8 or 10 the Jazz would respond with stops. They were much more active than usual and in the second half used some strong double teams forcing bad passes. What was also different was some strong double teams in the post which is unusal for Sloan. They also didn't let Portland get in the lane and get to the free throw line. TV announcers always talk about the Jazz's no lay up policy - or better put - just hack anyone that gets by you defense. I can't stand watching Mehmet Okur not trying to block a shot but just hack to stop a guy from getting a lay up. If you just played good defense, other teams wouldn't hit 70% of their lay ups in traffic as they hit 70% of their free throws. The Jazz haven't been hacking as much but it might have to do with Harpring and Boozer being injured as they are the some of the worst foul mongers.

Another nice wrinkle was having AK play Roy during the fourth quarter. Roy went crazy in the 3d and it looked like he was ready to take over the game. AK guarded him the rest of the way and really shut him down. He didn't have many touches and his 7 points came on a 3 where Kirilenko rotated off, a lay up where Kirilenko lost him and a meaningless lay up in the final minute. For some reason, Sloan has lost confidence in AK and has been playing him less and less minutes and not having him finish games. If you want AK to be a useless player by the end of the season, keep playing him 22 minutes a game and have him sit at the end of games. His handling of Andre will go down as his biggest mistake and possibly the reason why this current group never wins a championship.

I'm not worried about Williams as it will take some time for him to be at full strength. He looked good passing the ball last night with some great dishes after penetration but he still looks ordinary with this finishes. He gets a ton of his lay ups blocked and he had another bad shooting night. When he goes into the lane, I hope that that he passes because it is embarrassing how many time his shot gets thrown back at this face. I'm sure this will get better as he gets more explosive.

Milsap and Okur really have been playing excellent of late. You have Boozer go down and the new stars show up. I love Milsap's energy and hustle and he has developed some nice moves around the basket. He definitely is more than just a bruiser down and shows a nice touch around the basket. Of course he doesn't have the offensive skill of Boozer but if Boozer played with half the heart that Milsap plays with on defense then the Jazz would be set. Milsap still gets overmatched by bigger guys. He had a hard time with Aldridge last night but he gets blocks and steals that Boozer doesn't even try for.

As impressed as I am with Milsap's play, this team is really different with Boozer playing. Let's say that Milsap starts all season and averages 15 and 10. That would be impressive but Milsap gets his points in completely different ways than Boozer does. Boozer creates his own shot and commands a double team in the post giving other players open shots. When the Jazz need a crucial score, they can go to Boozer for a mid range jumper or go pick and roll. Milsap doesn't have the same automatic scoring. Automatic scoring is a premium in this league. Guys like Boozer get 15-10 on off nights. Scoring in the NBA is largely dependant getting double teams and forcing bad match ups. Boozer creates mismatches every night where as Milsap doesn't. That doesn't mean that Milsap integral to the team's success, in fact he might be the team's MVP so far this season. We will see what happens when he comes up for contract because if Boozer leaves, it would definitely soften the blow if Milsap is here to take his spot. Right now, they have the best of both worlds and Milsap coming off the bench for 25+ minutes will mean success for the Jazz.

It makes me sick every time Harpring comes in the game and the announcer states the obligatory "oh he is the toughest guy in the NBA." "He is more of a football player, he comes from a football family." " He is so tough, just a great guy to have on your bench." As you might have guessed, I really dislike Matt Harpring. He had has day as the star of the team 5 or so years ago and he did a nice job but those days are long past and so are his knees. For some reason, Sloan never gets mad at him for jacking up a shot every time he touches the ball. He plays for 8 minutes and takes 4 shots. He can't defend anyone and had 3 fouls during his limited duty. He is an awful passer and I'm surprised that there haven't been more injuries on the Jazz from him hitting people during practice. He is definitely the crazy white guy on the court that is running around like a mad man breathing really hard, can't control his momentum and knocks you in the nose with an elbow. Sloan has to stop playing this guy. If you are going to give 8 minutes to someone, why not give them to CJ miles or Morris Almond? Why not give them to Kirilenko who is getting less than 20 minutes a game? I know it is only 8 minutes but this team is deep and you have young guys that are developing and need time out there. Announcer should recognize that he is just a skillless brute and a huge liability on defense.

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