Recap - Portland Trail Blazers @ Utah Jazz - OK, Call it a comeback

by Basketball John on Nov 6, 2008 1:45 PM MST in Game Recaps Comment 12 comments

Another game, another comeback.

Man, these are great if you win. But I don't know why the Jazz keep putting the fans through this.

Despite shooting 53% in the first half, the Jazz found themselves down 7 at the break. Portland rained threes down from all over the court. And when their other shots didn't fall, they were getting seemingly every offensive board for anther shot.

Once again, the Jazz methodically plugged away in the third, led by Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer. And in the fourth, every time the Jazz would start to put the game away, Portland would answer back with another three or a Brandon Roy drive to the hoop. The drama finally ended when pretty boy Rudy Fernandez clanked a potential game-tying three from the corner. The Jazz corralled the rebound and all that was left were the free throws.

Speaking of free throws, you would look at the finally tally and see Portland had a slight edge, 27-22. But the Jazz had only 5 FT attempts through the third quarter. The Jazz were getting pounded on the inside and could not get a call. Boozer's layup at the end of the game that pushed the Jazz lead to 3 was a flip on the glass with his left hand as he was being pushed under the basket on the right side. I don't think it was a shot that any other PF in the league could have made given Boozer's ambedextric moves around the hoop.

via d.yimg.com

But when the Jazz started going to the free throw line, they made them count. Only AK missed at the line all night, and he was still 7-8. The Jazz are now shooting nearly 78% as a team from the stripe so far. Without that, the Jazz are probably 2-2 right now.

Memo might be finally feeling it. He was 9-14 including his first three-pointer of the year. He finished with 22 & 9 to go along with Boozer's 20 & 8.

Ronnie Brewere continues his early-season dominance shooting 6/12 for 16 & 6. The two plays that stood out for RonnieB was his baseline reverse jam and posting up Blake for a layup and a three-point play. I love seeing him post up. We'll see how he does against the likes of Kobe and other defensive two-guards. But that extra muslcle he's put on has been the biggest reason for his improvement this year.

via d.yimg.com

And what a treat it's been to have Brevin Knight in the fold. Suddenly the guy can shoot in addition to handling the ball. While RonnieP has struggles to find the bottom of the net (24%), Knight has been a valuable insurance policy with Deron out. I think RonnieP will right the ship once Deron returns and he goes back to his normal role, but don't think for a second that Sloan would hesitate putting Knight in over Price.

I don't know what more can be said about AK's play so far this year. He's arguably on his way to having the best season of his career. Check out his per 36. His blocks are down, but his stats are nearly the same as his heyday. I don't know what his win share is or anything like that, but his role now has had to have accounted for at couple of the wins so far.

The ESA has always been a tough place to play. And I'm sure there are a lot of factors including the fans, the altitude, etc. I'm not sure what to make of the Jazz second-half comebacks. Are the opponents really that tired or winded from being in the higher altitude? I would like to think that the Jazz have finally turned a corner and have finally figured out how to close out opponents. They did the same on the road against the Clippers. We'll find out a lot more once the Jazz hit their eastern road swing next week.

Speaking of the high altitude, aren't there simulators for this? Couldn't all teams practice in them all the time? Then it wouldn't matter where they played at.

I would love to see a commercial or marketing campaign from the Jazz that shows an opponent fearing coming to play in the SLC. Something to do with the crowd noise, suddenly not being able to breathe, and entering a Mad Max type arena when he walked onto the floor. That's better than the life off, game on commercials, right?

Other notes

Deron looks a little too comfy on the sidelines in a suit.
#999 for Sloan with one team. Could get 1,000 on Friday.
I want to see what these teams do to each other with everyone full strength.

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Comments

Brewer

no mention of the defensive lapse late that gave Rudy an open look at a 3 (luckily he missed) late that would’ve tied it?

At that point, Brewer has to stick to his man like glue… even if Roy drives in for an easy 2. Yes, the Jazz got lucky he missed. But you don’t even give him that shot.

The Utah Jazz

by UtesFan89 on Nov 6, 2008 2:29 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

I gotta say that . . .

Brewer had a great game offensively for us (50% shooting, made all this threes and fts), but his man defense wasn’t so hot. repeatidly brandon roy got a step on him and caused trouble. i’m not saying that it’s an easy job, it’s not, but he’s not quite lockdown on d yet. when andrei was on roy, he caused turn overs and fouls on the other team. I think that brewer will get better, but brevin played a more rounded offensive/defensive game tonight in my opinion.

by AllThatJazzBasketball on Nov 6, 2008 3:07 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

re: early season dominance

isn’t brewer a few days shy of going 1-9 fg? he’s a nice young player who has improved, but he hasn’t been dominating by my books.

by AllThatJazzBasketball on Nov 6, 2008 3:10 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I conveniently forgot that game

He was 1-8 against the Clippers. I was going mainly with my overall impression. I think he’s sparked quite a few of these comebacks. So “dominance” was probably a little unjustified. But I have big hopes for RonnieB this year.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/fc/pgl.cgi?player=brewero02&year=2009

SLCDunk.com, The Utah Jazz on SBNation

by Basketball John on Nov 6, 2008 4:25 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

nice win

a lot of jazz fans had their doubts after what blazers did to us last year, but I knew we would have a shot to win and we hung in their and got the win. nice win for the jazz

by utahmanami on Nov 6, 2008 2:42 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

I love Deron Williams

In the third video: “Shock the world! AAAAAAAAH!”

by Vromanite on Nov 6, 2008 3:02 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

i know ak and ronnieb have worked on their shooting a great deal...

but i still don’t want to see either launching long shots.

by moni on Nov 6, 2008 5:18 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

p.s. as always, thanks for the video

lol…ronnie’s first word was “definitely”

by moni on Nov 6, 2008 5:23 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Definitely

No problem.

SLCDunk.com, The Utah Jazz on SBNation

by Basketball John on Nov 6, 2008 6:31 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Oh Most definitely.

Haha.

BBJ, you made one slight misttake… Jerry getting #1,000 on Friday is not a maybe thing. It is an oh most definite thing. We play OKC. If the unthinkable happens, I vow that I will not talk about my love for KK for like a whole week.

by DaniellelovesKK on Nov 6, 2008 6:55 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs