The Downbeat - 11 March 2010 - #183 - The Jazz MVP Edition

by Basketball John on Mar 11, 2010 9:47 AM MST in The Downbeat

This should probably be the mailing it in edition. Here's my top 5 MVP candidates for the Jazz with no explanation. Discuss

Deron - Ninja

Andrei Kirilenko - If you watch the Jazz, you just know.

Carlos Boozer - Huge, consistent season

Wesley Matthews - Definition of diamond in the rough

Kyle Korver - He's so hot right now.

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Duh

The Jazz are barely a playoff team without D-Will. You can drop any one of those guys off the team, and we will be worse for sure. And sure, when Deron is injured, you’ll get extra energy from everyone else. But, just like Houston has shown, you can’t keep that up for the entire season.

The combination of those fellas makes us ridiculously good, but Deron has the leadership, drive, and talent to keep everyone together. It’s just not even close in my opinion.

by chamont on Mar 11, 2010 10:35 AM MST reply actions

Agreed

by P_Dizzle on Mar 11, 2010 11:04 AM MST reply actions

NINJA

NINJA!
NINJA!!
NINJA!!!

KWITYERBITCHN

by savagechickens on Mar 11, 2010 11:17 AM MST reply actions

Where's the love for Paul?

Yes, he’s had stronger numbers in the past but do we have any replacement for him? He’s been solid off the bench. Perhaps if Paul had an OMSW or Korgasm equivalent this list may have come out differently ;)

"We were sitting like snipers in waiting." - AK47. Um, AK will save/snipe us all?

by Alexandria VA on Mar 11, 2010 11:24 AM MST reply actions

we call him mansap

by moni on Mar 11, 2010 5:03 PM MST up reply actions

lol

That’s pretty good.

by John Robert on Mar 11, 2010 5:12 PM MST up reply actions

Agree

by iLoveBooks100per on Mar 11, 2010 11:54 AM MST reply actions

It's in the Mail

Mailing my comment in.

by Taivo on Mar 11, 2010 1:11 PM MST reply actions

Which one

I vote Deron id its the Deron that played against Chicago. I vote Ak if its the Deron that played Sac town.
We all had talked about leadership on this team the last while. It’s so amazing how the other players feed off of DWILL when he’s tearing it up. Is it because they are young? Or do they just not have the ambition and know how to be good players on their own?

by neds on Mar 11, 2010 1:42 PM MST reply actions

Seriously?

AK ahead of Boozer?

by sherbs on Mar 11, 2010 3:12 PM MST reply actions

yes

AK does things that Booz can’t do. He’s athletic, blocks shots, and changes momentum. He still rebounds and can run the offense. I would have like to seen this team with AK’s rebirth when we lost to San Antonio a few years ago. I honestly think he has been the difference maker this year and during the wins lately.

by neds on Mar 11, 2010 4:04 PM MST up reply actions

Don’t get me wrong I have loved watching Booz play this year. He has been a beast. Once he got focused he has been unstoppable. But If Paul was starting the last 2 years we would have the same thing i think.

by neds on Mar 11, 2010 4:06 PM MST up reply actions

in my opinion, AK goes ahead of boozer

because when we win AND lose games when boozer plays well, but when AK is on, we don’t lose.

by moni on Mar 11, 2010 5:05 PM MST up reply actions

I very much agree. There is a reason Russia has him carry their flag at the olympics.

by neds on Mar 11, 2010 5:19 PM MST up reply actions

Did Boozer even play in the olympics?

by neds on Mar 11, 2010 8:46 PM MST up reply actions

I'd also put AK over Boozer as the team MVP

Andrei’s play changed the Jazz from a gunky team to one of the elite. But then, I’ve already written about why AK-47 rocks:

I know it can get annoying to talk about “little things”. But here’s an example: in a recent game (I think it was the Chicago game, but it may have been the Clippers last Saturday), AK was guarding his guy in 3-point land. Suddenly, AK bopped the ball, and it flew about 20 feet straight up in the air. Then AK faked a jump for the loose ball, sending his man into the air WAY too early to reach it, then the ball came down, hit the guy’s knee, and the ball went squirting out of bounds, only to have Deron save the ball through his legs back to AK for the fast break.

In the box score, Deron get’s credit for the steal when really, nothing would have happened without AK. He:

1 – made the deflection
2 – messed with his opponent’s head, causing the dude to totally misread when to jump for the loose ball
3- got into position for a pass (even though the ball seemed destined to go out of bounds) as Deron went after the loose ball
4- got the fast break started

AK just fills the game with moments like this — and all those little things, combined with the traditional stats (scoring, rebounding, blocking shots, stealing, etc.) have changed everything about this Jazz team.

I got the crap beat out of me in Provo one time

by Yucca Man on Mar 11, 2010 8:55 PM MST up reply actions

and all those little things, combined with the traditional stats (scoring, rebounding, blocking shots, stealing, etc.) have changed everything about this Jazz team.

it changed us from a .500 team to a winning team.

i know it’s easy to draw conclusions from box scores, but there’s so much that doesn’t make it into the box score. ak’s understanding of the game and his ability to read plays/opponents/nuances is underrated and/or ignored. we might remember the time his fancy pass resulted in a turnover more than, for example, things like the sequence you mentioned, but i can’t say enough about his impact on the team.

by moni on Mar 12, 2010 3:15 AM MST up reply actions

Jazz MVP's

Deron for sure, especially considering the inconsistant play of his backups, pretty surprised when Jerry pulled both Gaines and Fes at the end of the Detroit game. AS far as Korver, depending on your definition of hot, he has been very hot all season, especially when he was sitting on the bench in a three-piece suit for a couple of months.

by fingersone on Mar 11, 2010 5:57 PM MST reply actions