Utah Jazz Basketball- A time to be grateful

by clarkpojo on Nov 27, 2008 11:36 PM MST Comment 3 comments

Most of us spent yesterday stuffing our bellies with turkey buffets and experiencing imaginary effects of tryptophan. Sorry guys, but your sleepiness is most likely attributed to pure laziness. But no doubt, we also spent a good portion of the day feeling grateful and giving thanks and pondering all of the great things in life. I for one, considered the somewhat mediocre start to the Utah Jazz season, thus far. But in hopes of continuing the great Thanksgiving spirit, I have compiled a list of 6 things Jazz fans should be grateful for.

1. We have a winning record, a share of the division lead and a top five spot in the West while missing many key starters all season. - The Jazz have essentially stayed even with anointed contenders New Orleans and Houston and although both teams have battled minor injuries, the Jazz have probably looked the strongest and have the most excuses of any of the three teams. I hate to say it, but even without the injuries we probably wouldn't be good enough to beat the Lakers for the top seed. But taking one of the top 3 seeds is essential and we are in as good a position as anyone to claim the second spot, despite injuries.

2. There are some Jazz players that are playing surprisingly well- I don't know who has been the most surprising between CJ Miles, Kosta Koufos, and Brevin Knight. Miles is playing average defense, but his confidence and ability in his offensive game has grown by leaps and bounds during this early season. Koufos has quickly become what I hoped Fesenko would be: a guy who is able to rebound and block shots and not try to do too much offensively. And Knight's veteran leadership has already made itself manifest on the second unit and has helped win games we wouldn't have won without him. Whoever you think has been the biggest surprise, they have all helped make an already deep team that much deeper.

3. No one mentions Andrei Kirilenko as one of the worst contracts in the league anymore- Andrei Kirilenko has been a bit of everything this season and it's all good. He has been the glue guy, the energy guy, the go-to guy, the clutch shooter, the lockdown defender, and 6th man of the league. He has embraced the role of coming off the bench and he looks like the player we overpaid (but not as badly now) 4 seasons ago. He is close to those epic 5 by 5 statlines every game. My fantasy team thanks him.

4. The Knicks are well on their way to being a lottery team in 2010- Jazz fans got a scare when the Knicks started off the season with some effort and wins. But although D'antoni will keep them competitive and more fun to watch, winning is secondary in New York to obtaining certain free agents in 2010. That can only bode well for the draft pick that the Jazz own.

5. Deron Williams seems to be back for good- He's not 100%, but he is healthy enough to change games in the Jazz's favor. He runs the team, he plays the best perimeter defense on the team and most importantly, he gets easy buckets for everyone else on the team. His ankle is probably going to keep him from having the MVP-type stats I imagined he would have before his injury, but I expect the Jazz to start making a run at the best record in the league and to start turning heads.

6. The Jazz have the chance to make Bill Simmons eat a bit of crow- For the record, Simmons is a believer in the Jazz as a team. His tiff with Jazz fans is pretty well documented and most notably he doesn't think Williams holds a candle to fellow 4th year player Chris Paul. That's fine. In his latest piece, Simmons lists the Jazz as one of 6 contenders in the NBA, but you will also notice that he tries to put the Williams/Paul debate to rest with crappy evidence. Utesfan89 talks about this very thing in his blog, but he also said that he wouldn't personally email Simmons and call him out on it. I couldn't make the same promise. Here is the email that I sent Bill Simmons yesterday. FYI- I like Simmons' writing and my accolades are sincere.

Bill,

I like your writing, Sports Guy. I think you are incredibly witty and you have a great mind for sports and an eye for details that often goes unacknowledged. I think it would have been a great thing for basketball if you had been named the general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks. I’m also a big Jazz fan and this is probably the first time a Jazz fan has reached out to you and said kind words. Because I like you and there is still hope, I’m here to show you the error of your ways. No I am not going to tell you why Deron Williams is better than Chris Paul. You have already made up your mind on that one and I don’t think there is anything Deron could do or that Chris could not do to change your mind. And to be honest, some of your arguments on the topic are well thought out and convincing. If any Jazz fan tries to win the argument by appealing to individual statistics alone, they are probably kidding themselves. Paul simply outplays Williams in most statistical categories. And since Jazz fans can’t win the appeal with individual numbers, that is why they revert to Williams and Paul’s head-to-head matchups. But most Jazz fans see the subjective information in deciding Williams is better. They believe, as I do, that with similar talent around them, Williams will be the first player to lead his team to the finals and/or championship. This is due to Williams' superior ability to shine in pressure situations and also his underrated defense and toughness. Paul is incredible, but you even have to admit that he is a defensive liability at times. Although he is a leader in steals, he is too small often to match up with the opposing team’s point guard. You saw this first hand last week when Paul was slotted to guard Eric Gordon, due to Baron Davis’ size, when the Hornets played the Clippers. And what happened? Eric Gordon went for a career high 25 and consistently bullied Paul down low. That would never happen with Williams. He is big enough to play tough defense and quick enough to stay in front of his man. Who is Paul going to guard if he has to play the Jazz or the Nuggets or even Portland in the playoffs? But I digress.

You wrote a really fine article on seasoned NBA teams thus far and your observations on player-coach interactions was spot on and insightful. But the problem, and you have to know where I am going with this, is this paragraph:

9. Is there a dumber argument in sports than "Chris Paul or Deron Williams"?

I argued before the season, passionately, that Paul was in a different league and earned myself a few death threats from the Salt Lake City area. (You stay classy, Utah.) Check out their 2009 stats through four weeks:

• Paul: 20.5 PPG, 12.2 APG, 2.9 steals, 52.3% FG, 85.6% FT.
• Williams: 7.5 PPG, 8.0 APG, 0.0 steals, 26.7% FG, 66.7% FT.

I mean, that's a landslide! Come on! Can we all agree to stop arguing about this?

You should know better than using this sample size of games to win your argument, sports guy. This was a really low move for you and one of the only things that I have thought was really stupid writing of yours. But c’mon. Williams plays 60 total minutes in two games at about 50% with a bum ankle and that makes him inferior to Paul? Two games! I’ve got some stats for you, Bill: During the week of Thanksgiving of ’07:

Deron Williams: 24.3 pts, 10 asts, 4 rbds, 56 % FG, 50% 3pt

Chris Paul: 17 pts, 9.1 asts, 1.8 rbds, 43% FG, 36% 3 pt

How about this? In games this year where they played all 4 quarters, Williams has a winning percentage of 100% and Chris Paul only 62%.

Now that’s a landslide Bill. Clearly, Williams is a far superior point guard to Paul. No question.

And just for you, Williams put in 11 points and 15 assists in 28 minutes of game time Wednesday. Jazz fans will be glad to accept your apology in the near future when we are playing for the Larry O’Brien trophy. I’ll even buy you a watered-down beer at one of the ball games. Keep up the good writing and witty self-banter, but please stay away from statistical manipulation and small sample sizes.

Clark S.

Durham, North Carolina

All comments are the opinion of the commenter and not necessarily that of SLC Dunk or SB Nation.

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Comments

That was an awesome letter Clark.

You made the case a lot better than I ever could have.

Grammar is not a time of waste

by Patrick517 on Nov 28, 2008 2:08 PM MST reply actions

Very nice.

by rxmike12 on Nov 28, 2008 7:30 PM MST reply actions

Interesting stuff

I agree with Jazz fans myself that I would rather have Deron Williams over Chris Paul (In a heartbeat but whatever). I’ve always thought the Jason Kidd comparisons were stupid for one major reason: Deron can shoot. (I"m not a fan of Kidd either, but whatever.) Just wanted to say I enjoyed reading this Clark, although I’m not thrilled with the pasting the Kings received last night.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on Nov 29, 2008 9:30 AM MST reply actions