The Downbeat - 10 March 2010 - #182 - The Raining Threes Edition

Man, if the Jazz keep shooting threes like this, my expectation for the playoffs just went way, way up.  Over the last 5 games, they're 49/98 (50%) from downtown.  Against the Clippers they were 4-15, a game which they lost of course.  If you throw out that game, they're shooting 54% in those other 4 games.

What have we been asking for?  An outside shooter.  Maybe they're not going to create their own shots, but if you have Matthews, Memo, Deron, CJ, and Korver hitting threes, that's bad news for other teams.  Very bad news.

Can they keep up their current pace? Probably not.  But they're becoming a three-point threat and that's going to let our bigs go wild.

Make sure to give some love to Ross Siler today.  I think he's one of the best beat writers in the league and Jazz fans are lucky to have him.  Make sure to hit him up on twitter or email him, rsiler@sltrib.com.

  Deron comes in at #5 on the top Illini athlete of the decade.  Maybe if he had worn #1, he would have had the #1 spot?  I'm not up on my Illini athletics, but I'd like to see who ranks ahead of him.  An excerpt,

Walk into a typical freshman athlete’s dorm, and you’ll most likely see clothes strewn about, empty Gatorade bottles on the floor and shoes laying everywhere. But if you walked into Deron Williams’ apartment during his college days, picked up a magazine and put it down in the wrong place, he would be looming behind you, just waiting to put it back in its correct spot.

Before basketball games, Williams’ shoes have to be tied the right way, his socks have to be on correctly and his jersey has to be tucked in the way he likes it.

And when he was on the court as an Illini from 2002-05, that perfectionist mentality, along with an endlessly competitive spirit, kept him striving to become the best at everything he did.

  Can I say that I have a theory about the Sundiata Gaines shot and jinxes?  I'm terrified to even mention it.  But if my theory is correct, talking about it wouldn't be a problem.  Okay, I've said too much.

  A little self-promotion.  March 7th was my three-year anniversary of blogging.  Three years in internet time equates to about 55 real years.  I'll spare you the link to my old, old blog.  But this has turned into something good for me and I have all of you to thank for it.  I'll shut up now and get writing.