Blogger Block

by Basketball John on Apr 21, 2009 11:21 AM MDT Comment 15 comments

[NOTE: This ran a lot longer than I thought so click through for the whole thing. ]

Sorry about not having a recap of game one. I had some serious blogger block.

Really, I couldn't think of another way to say we got buried early, made a couple of comebacks, but couldn't do anything to get over the hump because we lack the defense to do so.

I mentioned that in my exchange with the Lakers blog at the LA times. Not that they needed it, but it was as if Phil Jackson read over my "How to beat the Jazz" and ran with it.

You could have also added:

Find a role player on the bench and plug them in. They'll have a career game (Ariza AND Brown in this case).
Get the ball in down low and when help comes, kick it back out for wide-open three.
Make sure the ball in in AK's hands.
Let Ronnie B shoot jumpers. Seriously. This is killing us. I talked about it in this pre-season recap against the Lakers. I talked about it after last year's series. clarkpojo talked about it again. As much as I love Ronnie B, he's not a shooter. He's been working on it, but Kobe is figuratively giving Ronnie a Shaq-Ostertag-slap when he can camp out in the lane on D because Brewer can't shoot. I can't remember the last time I've ever seen a defender leave someone that wide-open on purpose. Kobe might as well be a rover on D and just permanently double-team whoever has the ball.

Locke was talking to Kevin O'Connor about this exact thing yesterday. Locke brought up how it looks like Ronnie's numbers were down this year despite him working on his shot. KOC basically said, "No, they're not." When Locke brought up some stats showing that it was, KOC stated, "We have different numbers." I'd like to see what he's looking at then.

Rita Mae Brown stated,

"Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results."

We're not doing anything different so why are we expecting to beat the Lakers? The question is though do we have anything to offer that's different from what we've been doing?

This series is going to turn out to be exactly like last year's.

We'll lose the first two at LA, win game three, and have a shaky game four where we may or may not win, and then get eliminated in game 5 or 6.

The team has to do something differently and I'm afraid it's too late with the crew that we have. My question is why didn't we do anything to shake things up at the deadline? We all knew that the Jazz were going to do what they always do and play it safe. There was probably good reason as once everyone was back healthy, we were supposed to see the team that should have been challenging for the 1 seed in the West all season.

The Jazz stuck with what they had and it worked for a while. They won 12-straight though most of those were at home. Still, no small feat.

Then after some colossal losses, things went downhill from there. There was talk about locker room issues. Even Marc Stein brought it up in his playoff preview:

"Rumblings in front-office circles around the league are growing louder that the uncertain futures of potential free-agent forwards Paul Millsap, Mehmet Okur and Boozer -- since it's unclear who's staying and who's going -- have caused tensions in the locker room that have seeped into Utah's play."

Do the Jazz really not know what their plan is for this summer? I respect KOC too much to think that they haven't got a plan. Maybe the tension has come from not telling the players what's going on. Really though, they can't just tell someone in February that they're not going to re-sign them, you know, like Morris Almond.

Regardless of what happens with Booze, Millsap, et al., the Jazz need to pursue through trade or free agency, a straight-up, filthy shooter that can create his own shot. I haven't done much in the way of researching who that should be, but it has to be a top priority. The Jazz need someone that can be a dagger-shooter - someone that can get the Jazz back in the game quickly if necessary and someone that can quell a comeback when the Jazz have a lead. Maybe it could have been Vince Carter? I don't know. I know Sloan is a shoot as close to the basket guy, but we need shooters.

Oh, and whether Millsap or Boozer go, they need to replace that slot with a defensive presence. That's not too much to ask, right?

The 25+ years of stability of the Jazz organization has been the hallmark of the franchise. Sloan, Stockton, Malone, and Larry H Miller have defined the Utah Jazz. For that I am grateful that we've been able to cheer on a competitive team for so long.

But it may have lulled us into a sense of complacency for not demanding more. The Jazz mantra has been to build a solid core and tweak the edges. It's brought a lot of success but not the ultimate prize. Maybe in a small market, the Jazz can't afford to shake things up, but I'm tired of our seasons ending like this:

Season	Lg	Team	W	L	W-L%	Finish	SRS	ORtg	DRtg	Playoffs	Coaches
2008-09	NBA	Utah Jazz*	48	34	.585	3	2.31	110.1	107.2	Playing Western Conference First Round	Sloan (48-34)
2007-08	NBA	Utah Jazz*	54	28	.659	1	6.87	113.8	106.5	Lost Western Conference Semifinals	Sloan (54-28)
2006-07	NBA	Utah Jazz*	51	31	.622	1	3.06	110.1	107.0	Lost Western Conference Finals	Sloan (51-31)
2005-06	NBA	Utah Jazz	41	41	.500	2	-2.49	104.1	107.0		Sloan (41-41)
2004-05	NBA	Utah Jazz	26	56	.317	5	-3.74	104.7	109.5		Sloan (26-56)
2003-04	NBA	Utah Jazz	42	40	.512	7	-0.53	101.9	103.3		Sloan (42-40)
2002-03	NBA	Utah Jazz*	47	35	.573	4	2.77	105.5	102.8	Lost Western Conference First Round	Sloan (47-35)
2001-02	NBA	Utah Jazz*	44	38	.537	4	1.20	105.5	104.6	Lost Western Conference First Round	Sloan (44-38)
2000-01	NBA	Utah Jazz*	53	29	.646	2	5.00	107.6	102.4	Lost Western Conference First Round	Sloan (53-29)
1999-00	NBA	Utah Jazz*	55	27	.671	1	4.52	107.3	102.3	Lost Western Conference Semifinals	Sloan (55-27)
1998-99	NBA	Utah Jazz*	37	13	.740	1	5.54	105.8	98.4	Lost Western Conference Semifinals	Sloan (37-13)
1997-98	NBA	Utah Jazz*	62	20	.756	1	5.73	112.7	105.4	Lost Finals	Sloan (62-20)
1996-97	NBA	Utah Jazz*	64	18	.780	1	7.97	113.6	104.0	Lost Finals	Sloan (64-18)
1995-96	NBA	Utah Jazz*	55	27	.671	2	6.24	113.3	106.1	Lost Western Conference Finals	Sloan (55-27)
1994-95	NBA	Utah Jazz*	60	22	.732	2	7.75	114.3	105.7	Lost Western Conference First Round	Sloan (60-22)
1993-94	NBA	Utah Jazz*	53	29	.646	3	4.10	108.6	104.1	Lost Western Conference Finals	Sloan (53-29)
1992-93	NBA	Utah Jazz*	47	35	.573	3	1.74	109.6	107.4	Lost Western Conference First Round	Sloan (47-35)
1991-92	NBA	Utah Jazz*	55	27	.671	1	5.70	112.2	105.6	Lost Western Conference Finals	Sloan (55-27)
1990-91	NBA	Utah Jazz*	54	28	.659	2	3.18	108.6	105.1	Lost Western Conference Semifinals	Sloan (54-28)
1989-90	NBA	Utah Jazz*	55	27	.671	2	4.82	110.3	105.4	Lost Western Conference First Round	Sloan (55-27)
1988-89	NBA	Utah Jazz*	51	31	.622	1	4.02	106.6	101.5	Lost Western Conference First Round	Layden (11-6), Sloan (40-25)
1987-88	NBA	Utah Jazz*	47	35	.573	3	2.96	106.8	103.1	Lost Western Conference Semifinals	Layden (47-35)
1986-87	NBA	Utah Jazz*	44	38	.537	2	0.05	104.1	103.7	Lost Western Conference First Round	Layden (44-38)
1985-86	NBA	Utah Jazz*	42	40	.512	4	-0.67	104.2	104.6	Lost Western Conference First Round	Layden (42-40)
1984-85	NBA	Utah Jazz*	41	41	.500	4	-0.32	103.3	103.4	Lost Western Conference Semifinals	Layden (41-41)
1983-84	NBA	Utah Jazz*	45	37	.549	1	0.81	109.0	108.0	Lost Western Conference Semifinals	Layden (45-37)

A few years of suckitude landed us Deron Williams. I would deal with a couple years more if it meant we could get a better shot at a championship. I would take 5 years of suckitude right now if it guaranteed a championship in the 6^th year.

Fans of some other teams might say, "Shut your pie hole. At least you have a winning team or have a team at all. Consider yourself lucky." Maybe it sounds ungrateful, but losing your last game of the year doesn't sit well with me.

So it's time to mix things up this summer with the team. I'm not advocating blowing things up, just zig a little when you would normally zag. We haven't won anything yet so far, what could it hurt? Whether the Jazz like it or not, their hand could be forced this off-season. Might as well be the aggressor instead of waiting for things to happen.

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I like this bit

I’m not advocating blowing things up, just zig a little when you would normally zag.

It’s the George Costanza disobey-every-first-instinct principle. I am curious to see what would result from this.

Uh, do you think you could draw me like a ninja?

by Shums on Apr 21, 2009 11:33 AM MDT reply actions

Exactly.

That post is coming by the way. I’ll probably hold it off until after the season.

SLCDunk.com, The Utah Jazz on SBNation

by Basketball John on Apr 21, 2009 11:34 AM MDT up reply actions

I feel like everyone is just going through the motions,

including us fans. Everyone is saying that the Jazz are just a pothole in the Laker’s road to the Finals and everyone seems to be accepting it. Maybe its the final stage in the grieving process. Well, I’m not there. I’m still at step two. I’m infuriated that they are just laying down and accepting the situation as their fate.

There is still a chance things could turn around. We’ll see tonight. If nothing else I want to see some life… some attempt to make progress as players.

I want DWill to be more assertive; Make a bigger name for himself.

I want Brewer to be fearless; Make Kobe respect him one way or another. If he’s going to be left open take the shot. Set it right in the game plan- if Brew is open he’s going to shoot, so everyone else get ready to rebound.

I want Millsap to get angry at the physical treatment he is forced to endure, without reprieve. Dish out the punishment he takes.

I want Boozer to read EVERY critical thing that has been written about his defense and change his attitude about it. Realize that its the one thing that is separating from the Elite players in the league.

I want AK to care again. I don’t care if he does cry, at least its emotion. He’s just a robot now.

Finally, I want Memo to get better… fast.

by prodigal punk on Apr 21, 2009 11:57 AM MDT reply actions

What happened to Brewer's mid-range game....

For a while there he looked like a young Rip Hamilton and suddenly nothing seems to drop.

by Patrick517 on Apr 21, 2009 12:01 PM MDT reply actions

I'm upset with all the 1st round losses too

but we shouldn’t be devastated by another one this year. We can still be fans of this team. After all, I pointed out that in my life as a Jazz fan Stockton and Malone got bounced in the 1st around 9 times. I’m sure Deron can handle at least one.

Expect changes this off-season. Losing to a very complete team in the playoffs is better than losing to a team we should beat. It better magnifies where we need to improve. And improve we shall.

by AllThatJazzBasketball on Apr 21, 2009 12:48 PM MDT reply actions 1 recs

Locke

Locke was talking to Kevin O’Connor about this exact thing yesterday. Locke brought up how it looks like Ronnie’s numbers were down this year despite him working on his shot. KOC basically said, “No, they’re not.” When Locke brought up some stats showing that it was, KOC stated, “We have different numbers.”

Locke is an idiot and I would trust KOC anytime over Locke, although in this case there is nothing to back KOC.

by P_Dizzle on Apr 21, 2009 1:38 PM MDT reply actions

Just a couple of thoughts.

I think Brewer needs to shoot it when he is that wide open. He is sort of streaky and I think he can hit some shots, if he hits his first couple. However, I don’t think he should become the offense by any means and I believe we need him defensively on the floor. Secondly, I am not telling you what to do, BBJ, but I am not going to address the offseason, until this team has been eliminated officially. I may be alone, but I am one of the people who think that the Jazz could make a miracle against the Lakers. Lots of things would have to happen in order to win, but out of respect for the team, I am only concentrating on this series.

With that said, I have thought a lot about the offseason and I will probably have a lengthy post up about possible moves the Jazz could make. Go Jazz and stuff.

The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.

by clarkpojo on Apr 21, 2009 3:06 PM MDT reply actions

I'm not giving up on them by any means

And this post just kind of meandered that way. I still think that something has to change for us to beat the Lakers though. What we’ve done the past 7 games hasn’t worked well. It took a huge game from everyone last time to beat them.

And we all remember this pounding that we gave the Lakers. That was pre-Gasol though. Take a look at our last win in LA. That was sans Kobe and Deron wasn’t even starting then.

Play Kouf and Fess who could not only provide some height and body but who are oblivious to what’s going on and wouldn’t play panicked. Maybe we take our lumps in LA, win at home, and hope for a miracle.

But what we’ve been doing, for the previous seasons and this series isn’t working. I don’t have any answers unfortunately so it sounds like complaining. But we’ve got to try something different.

SLCDunk.com, The Utah Jazz on SBNation

by Basketball John on Apr 21, 2009 3:31 PM MDT reply actions

You are absolutely right.

We HAVE to win in LA to win the series, obviously. And those wins will probably have to come in game 2 or 5. You know how I feel about Fes and Koof. With that said, Collins played pretty well defensively. And despite the comments by many dunkers, Boozer looked really good offensively and kept his man in front of him defensively. It was AK that looked like he didn’t care.

And while most people are talking about how the Lakers looked like they were on cruise control and have so many more levels to go to, no one mentions the fact that the Jazz just flat out missed shots. If Collins is going to be on the floor then Brewer, Korver, Miles, and Deron need to hit shots. No one other than Boozer made shots, so the Jazz offense has a long ways to go from here. Defensively, the Jazz played as well as I have seen them play, but for only about 20 seconds of the shot clock. Many points came off broken defensive plays at the end of the clock. And if we can play good offense, we will limit their fast break points.

And while I believe that +/- stats usually tell very little about the story of the game, I believe they shed some light on this game. Kirilenko was -21 and the closest Jazzman was only -8, which tells me that we were always outplayed when AK was on the floor, because he played with the first and the second unit. Also, Brevin Knight played only 3 minutes, but had a -5 on his box score. So if we get anything, and I mean ANYTHING from Brevin or AK in that game, we have a shot in the second half.

Bottom line: the Jazz just need to play better. Make open shots (that goes for everyone, not just Brewer), commit to defense for 4 seconds more a possession, and get some production from our bench (and hope Koufos sees the floor), then we will have a shot at not only winning this game, but the series. And I am dead serious, that we still have a shot. The fact that no one gives us a chance, including Jazz fans and beat writers, only makes me more confident.

The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.

by clarkpojo on Apr 21, 2009 4:15 PM MDT up reply actions

In our wins over LA, Deron has had HUGE games. He does need to make his shots. I give Brewer a lot of the blame because he’s the starting shooting guard. He has to have that shooting mentality and I don’t think he does. He’s thinking too much about how Kobe is going to play him. Not that he’s the answer, but Almond has that mentality.

It’s the cliche of cliches, but it starts with D. If we’re behind big, the pressure to make shots goes way up and every miss compounds it.

I wish they would play with the nothing to lose attitude since everyone has picked them not to win. That was the same attitude I saw from GS and Minny came to the ESA and beat the Jazz. They played loose and the Jazz played like they were trying to not lose.

SLCDunk.com, The Utah Jazz on SBNation

by Basketball John on Apr 21, 2009 4:47 PM MDT up reply actions

brewer as the starting 2 actually doesn't make any sense

even though the wings are interchangeable in jerry’s system, cj is really the one with the shooting mentality and ronnie b makes more sense as a forward. brewer’s never going to be a shooter, no matter how hard he works on his shot. but if his game is purely the slasher/cutter, he is and can be very effective.

by moni on Apr 21, 2009 6:45 PM MDT up reply actions

Brewer starting at the 2 makes perfect sense, when Okur is on the floor. It doesn't matter what positions the shooters are at, as long as there are shooters.

And Moni, several NBA players have improved their jumpshots over their careers, most from okay to great, but some from horrid to serviceable. If I thought about it for longer than 2 minutes, I am sure that I could come up with a long list of such players, but off the top of my head, I can think of Bruce Bowen and Clyde Drexler. Drexler was never a terriffic outside shooter, but he improved a lot over his career. And Bowen can only hit one outside shot, the corner 3, but he can sure hit it. Even if Brewer learned to shoot from one spot, he could really elevate his game.

The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.

by clarkpojo on Apr 21, 2009 7:30 PM MDT up reply actions

i think brewer can definitely improve

i’m just saying that i don’t think he will ever become the guy that can hit 3s consistently and occasionally get into the groove to the point where he’ll get 40 a night (you know, like all the guys that kill us)

by moni on Apr 22, 2009 3:08 AM MDT up reply actions

That loss

wasn’t as deflating as it’s made out to be. If you think of it as 2 halves, Utah was in the game if they didn’t face such a big deficit at halftime. Millsap played pretty well and had some cheap fouls called on him. Andrew Bynum looked like a damn rookie, playing 20 minutes due to getting way more fouls and turnovers than rebounds. Obviously they need to shoot better and could use a scorer. I assume Korver is being brought off the bench to score so why not let him shoot? He played 33 mins despite being unnoticable. AK just forgot how to score, he should be in solely for defense. The play where he got the steal and then failed on the fast break was a microcosm of his season. There were a lot worse blowouts in the playoffs so far, this game was just kind of boring to watch. Utah has a chance to win a few games, it wasn’t a complete domination like everyone on TV made it out to be.

by runningdonut on Apr 21, 2009 5:52 PM MDT reply actions

if we have to sacrifice seasons to get the championship

to get the championship, i’m not sure dwill will be around at the end of those years..

i can take losing if we play hard and play with heart and with the attitude that we have nothing to lose. the ‘03-’04 squad was the epitome of that. they might not have won as many guys as we liked, but they were much more fun to watch than the jazz of the past month.

by moni on Apr 21, 2009 6:42 PM MDT reply actions