Jazz drop in SBN Power Rankings
by Basketball John on Jan 5, 2010 4:17 PM MST
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PrintNo shocker here given their recent play. They barely scrape into the
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN MEDIOCRE AND NOT MEDIOCRE category.
Mike Prada joins the "time to get rid of Sloan" team,
16. Utah Jazz: 18-16 overall, 1-3 last week
SBN Blog: SLC Dunk
Last week: 13.
Tangent time!
(Step away from the computer and pour yourself a beer. Done? Okay, let's continue).
The Utah Jazz have been in a pretty ridiculous malaise ever since last March. They closed the year terribly last year and have been totally uninspiring this year. Their roster is healthy and not too different from the one that made the Western Conference Finals in 2007. I suppose they have a built-in excuse with the roster uncertainty right now -- Utah is way up against the luxury tax, have several guys (cough Carlos Boozer cough) who are clearly goners after this year and are potentially making some big roster moves soon. At the same time, can you really excuse them for their recent play? A home loss to a Nuggets team missing both Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups? Inexcusable. A third-quarter collapse that turned a certain win over New Orleans on Monday into a loss? Unacceptable. There's talent on this roster and they're all healthy, so why is this happening?
It makes me want to ask this question: If their coach was anyone other than Jerry Sloan, would they still be coaching this team?
I say hell no. Sloan clearly isn't getting through to this bunch, because if he was the real coaching legend that he is, they wouldn't be underachieving this much. This is not to say Jerry Sloan is a bad coach, nor is it to say he's exclusively to blame for Utah's problems. But is it possible that Sloan, like all non-elite NBA coaches after a while, has been tuned out by his players? Absolutely. He's been doing this for a long time and is a coaching legend, but even legends get tuned out eventually. Has that time come for Sloan? I think it has.
Utah's never firing the guy, so this conversation is moot. He means as much to Utah as Gary Williams means for Maryland, so both have lifetime contracts even if they've both slipped from being elite coaches to merely being good ones. But I think it's high time to start assigning some blame to Sloan for Utah's struggles.
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Start assigning blame?
I must be leading a silent warrior army of 1.
This opinion seems to fit my thoughts right on the mark.
Great or not… slow is losing his touch. Players aren’t listening.
Sure, we can keep cycling players in and out. But eventually you have to realize that no one is listening to the coach.
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Unless we're okay
with finding a team of Matt Harprings/Jarron Collins that’ll play hard day-in, day-out but never finish in the top-10 in the West
Free Koufosenko!
RIP Nick Adenhart. 4/9/09
True Blue Jazz
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i agree that there are some (some=many to utesfan) things that sloan could do differently
but i think this team’s problems are way more severe than the possibility of players tuning him out. there’s a problem with the players, a lack of player leadership, locker room problems and perhaps too many individual agendas elbowing their way onto the court that a coaching change wouldn’t change.
Hey, I'm not saying the guy is incompetent
He’s not.
But shouldn’t a coach be able to overcome such things?
—> The players… that’s on the GM, not the coach. Fine. But part of it is the coach not adapting to the players he has… he expects them to play his style. Which isn’t happening, obviously—> Leadership… well, you’d hope someone would’ve taken over that given the team has been together for 3 years. That’s on the players.
—> Locker room… Again, the GM. If things are wrong, people have to go/things have to change. It’s not happening.→ Individual agendas… we’ve been using primarily like an 8 man rotation. That leaves as many as 7 other players that could be on the roster playing. Slow could make it clear… if you’re not playing for the team, you’re not playing.
-
Instead…
—> he’s got thing where some players rarely see the bench no matter how bad they’re doing (Okur, Booze, AK) while others will be benched for times on end after 1 bad game or something (CJ, Brewer, Matthews, Koufos, Fesenko, etc.). No one learns from sitting on the bench, as much as you’d hope they might.→ He refuses to play guys that could help right now & with experience to improve/develop will help in the future.
-
—> I saw a quote where Sloan said he can’t make guys make lay-ups. At this stage, they’re being paid to make them. Why not have lay-up drills every now and then? They might not like it, but given how badly they do sometimes… Oh, and same with FTs.→ His rotations never really change. Even when things aren’t working. He emphasizes D, but continues to play guys who have no idea (it seems) what’s going on.
-
The GM…
—> He seems to blow an unproportionally high number of mid-1st round picks, no? I mean, I know it’s a crapshoot. But seriously… we draft guys that sit on the bench for 3 years and then just disappear (Almond) or who are let go in the expansion draft 1 year (!) after being drafted (Pavlovic) or the entire Snyder/Humphris/Podkolzin draft (only good thing… the pick we got from Dallas ended up turning into part of the ‘acquire Deron’ package), etc.→ Personnel moves. He signs guy that don’t mesh with Sloan’s system. We see competent guys leave (Raja Bell, Mo Williams) while other guys keep coming in and sucking (Jason Hart… who couldn’t beat out Ronnie P in Sacto but still got the job here somehow, etc.).
-
—→ The team has now spent 3 seasons (almost) together and has regressed every year. Shouldn’t that be a sign?
Free Koufosenko!
RIP Nick Adenhart. 4/9/09
True Blue Jazz
I'm on Twitter
Wow... what happened there?
He’s not (incompetent, that is)
But shouldn’t a coach be able to overcome such things?
→ The players… that’s on the GM, not the coach. Fine. But part of it is the coach not adapting to the players he has… he expects them to play his style. Which isn’t happening, obviously
→ Leadership… well, you’d hope someone would’ve taken over that given the team has been together for 3 years. That’s on the players.
→ Locker room… Again, the GM. If things are wrong, people have to go/things have to change. It’s not happening.
→ Individual agendas… we’ve been using primarily like an 8 man rotation. That leaves as many as 7 other players that could be on the roster playing. Slow could make it clear… if you’re not playing for the team, you’re not playing.
Instead…
→ he’s got thing where some players rarely see the bench no matter how bad they’re doing (Okur, Booze, AK) while others will be benched for times on end after 1 bad game or something (CJ, Brewer, Matthews, Koufos, Fesenko, etc.). No one learns from sitting on the bench, as much as you’d hope they might.
→ He refuses to play guys that could help right now & with experience to improve/develop will help in the future.
→ I saw a quote where Sloan said he can’t make guys make lay-ups. At this stage, they’re being paid to make them. Why not have lay-up drills every now and then? They might not like it, but given how badly they do sometimes… Oh, and same with FTs.
→ His rotations never really change. Even when things aren’t working. He emphasizes D, but continues to play guys who have no idea (it seems) what’s going on.
The GM…
→ He seems to blow an unproportionally high number of mid-1st round picks, no? I mean, I know it’s a crapshoot. But seriously… we draft guys that sit on the bench for 3 years and then just disappear (Almond) or who are let go in the expansion draft 1 year (!) after being drafted (Pavlovic) or the entire Snyder/Humphris/Podkolzin draft (only good thing… the pick we got from Dallas ended up turning into part of the ‘acquire Deron’ package), etc.
→ Personnel moves. He signs guy that don’t mesh with Sloan’s system. We see competent guys leave (Raja Bell, Mo Williams) while other guys keep coming in and sucking (Jason Hart… who couldn’t beat out Ronnie P in Sacto but still got the job here somehow, etc.).
→ The team has now spent 3 seasons (almost) together and has regressed every year. Shouldn’t that be a sign?
Free Koufosenko!
RIP Nick Adenhart. 4/9/09
True Blue Jazz
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The team has now spent 3 seasons (almost) together and has regressed every year. Shouldn’t that be a sign?
This is my point exactly. This same roster has been together 4-5 years and once reached the conference finals. They know the system, they know each other. Under this system and coach, they once looked like they had a shot at contending. That part hasn’t changed. That shows me the players are the problem, not the coach.
We don’t know whether they’re running layup and FT drills in practice. I can’t see them not doing that.
I do, however, agree with you that Sloan can and should shake up the rotation and bench guys that aren’t getting the job done.
True
but other teams improve, and they adapt.
Keeping the same team doesn’t work given that.
Especially if you’re not willing to change things (play other players and let them improve & change things up a bit?)
Free Koufosenko!
RIP Nick Adenhart. 4/9/09
True Blue Jazz
I'm on Twitter
If their coach was anyone other than Jerry Sloan, would they still be coaching this team?
I say hell no.
He’s got a point there, one that I’ve wondered myself, and answered the same thing. I’m not saying the answer is to get rid of Sloan, as I think the firing of coaches in all modern professional sports has gotten out of control.
It is something to think about though. Any other team would be considering this, and sometimes a change of scenery helps. I don’t know, but I just think it should be considered. And I have my doubts that it is.
"Liberal is to the media what the 2008 San Francisco Giants are to good baseball."
-My Father.
Sorry, but I just don't see Sloan as THE problem ...
Would a different coach make Boozer any less a mercenary?
Would a different coach turn Memo into a defensive juggernaut that defends the paint like it was his palace?
Would a different coach turn Ronnie B. into a 3-point-shot assassin?
Would a different coach be able to teach Boozer how to add a few moves to his “Memo, Help!” defense?
The problem is the players. They just don’t make a team. They didn’t last year. They didn’t when this season started. They still don’t. The REAL problem is that the FO is convinced that they’re this close to suddenly turning the corner and becoming a serious contender.
I got the crap beat out of me in Provo one time
by Yucca Man on Jan 5, 2010 7:19 PM MST reply actions 1 recs
The problem is the players. They just don’t make a team. They didn’t last year. They didn’t when this season started. They still don’t. The REAL problem is that the FO is convinced that they’re this close to suddenly turning the corner and becoming a serious contender.
+1
+1, like moni said
the FO is delusional.
Free Koufosenko!
RIP Nick Adenhart. 4/9/09
True Blue Jazz
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+1
Uh, do you think you could draw me like a ninja?
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