The Downbeat - 5 August 2010 - #287 - The Doldrums Edition
by Basketball John on Aug 5, 2010 9:42 AM MDT
in The Downbeat
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Not surprisingly, Jerry Sloan is nowhere to be found on this list of coaches whose job could be on the line. In fact, if the list included all 30 coaches, he would be number 30 on that list.
Short of committing a felony, what would it take to get the Jazz to fire Sloan? I'm not asking for it of course but I can't think of anything basketball-related where the front office would dismiss him.
It's hard to even think about how poor the team would have to play for even the thought of letting Jerry go enter into the mind of Greg Miller. This team, not matter if they're underachieving, would ever be such a poor team under Sloan that he would get the boot. Even if the team went on a 10-game losing streak, there might be some fans calling for someone's head but would it be enough for the team to start thinking about making a change?
It's easy to argue that Sloan has the most job security in all of the major pro sports in the US. That's a testament to how hard he works and how much he gets out of his players.
NBA TV has been showing the Thunder/Jazz game from last season. That game still makes me nervous even though I know the ending. Here's an excerpt from my recap of that game,
Durant's 45 points were just short of his career high. His line shows just how dominant he was yet it doesn't show where those shots were coming from. He was nailing shots from everywhere. What's scary was how effortless he can put up 30-footers. He's got a unique set of arms that lets him coil up and let it fly with just a little power. He had a turnaround 40-footer at the end of regulation that he took falling backwards and off his back foot and it bounced off the back of the rim. Take that in. It wasn't short, it was long and almost in.
I'm looking forward to that Halloween game against OKC. I'll have to DVR that one as well as 5 p.m. local is a prime Trick or Treating time. I might have to think of a Jazz/Thunder-centric costume.
Almost forgot that they're going to be inducting the 1992 Dream Team into the HOF. From the Jazz,
Can I just say how anxious I am for the NBA this season? I'm not just talking about the Jazz, that's a given. There's so much going on in the league right now, even if the league is moving towards becoming the WWE. If this photo and this one don't scream professional wrestling, I don't know what does. The sooner you come to grips with this, the better. I remember when I didn't want to believe that wrestling is faked either.
Say what you want about about the Heat, you're going to watch to at least root against them. You're also going to get force-fed heavy doses of DwyaLeBrosh whether you like it or not.
On the flip side of that, you have the Northwest Division which is arguably the best in the league. The Jazz, Thunder, Blazers, and the Nuggets should all be in the playoffs. I want the teams in the division to do well so long as the Jazz are a couple games ahead of them come the end of the season. It kind of has a college conference feel to it. It's not the same thing but wins are a bit sweeter when you take out good teams. The Jazz of course haven't had problems beating the good teams, it's been showing up for the likes of the Timberwolves that's been the problem. It looks like we took care of two birds with the Al trade.
Thank goodness football is almost here to bridge the gap to basketball. For the first time in a long time, I'm looking forward not to just the Jazz, but basketball overall.
Thursday poll,
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Hmmm
Maybe the dumbest poll of all time? Even in lop-sided contests there’s a few votes for one. I haven’t seen anyone’s predictions though.
by Basketball John on Aug 5, 2010 10:22 AM MDT reply actions
hah. I voted for AJ based on previous stats.
But I like to be pleasantly surprised when millsap proves us all wrong.
My prediction:
AJ: 23ppg
Sap: 18 ppg.
That kind of production would be sweet
Maybe a better poll quesion: Who will average more rebounds or blocks.
Who's gonig to get more touches?
I guess my basis behind the question was that if Al is playing center alongside Millsap @ the 4, wouldn’t they be getting about the same amount of looks?
Granted, we’ve never had a center like Al. Memo, Ostertag, and Eaton have different games than Al. So we could and should start running more for Al but will Millsap not be getting the same opportunity?
by Basketball John on Aug 5, 2010 11:10 AM MDT up reply actions
I think AL's game is more centered on scoring
So I think the Jazz will end up running the offense more through AL than millsap since sap is a beast at cleanup duty. But still, I am excited with millsap’s improvements on the pick and roll. In my opinion millsap was much better at the P & R than boozer ever was.
I agree and this is partly why they will work so well together. Their games are very complimentary.
The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.
4.
I am sure most of you have seen this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7xlzLOZH5c
I usually don’t wish an injury on anyone but seriously, I can’t wait for Dwade to get injured, and then lebron has to do the exact same thing in Miami as he did in Cleveland which is singlehandedly win games. Bosh is overrated in my opinion.
I'll be delighted
if Al and Millsap both average 15 and 10. I think Jefferson will end up scoring more and Millsap will get more of the defensive rebounds. I see Jefferson getting something like 24 and 8.5, and Millsap getting 16 and 11.
Uh, do you think you could draw me like a ninja?
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Greetings form Croatia
As far as lurkers on this blog go I’m (was now I guess) a seasoned vet with 2+ years of experience.
1. Big respect for Jerry.
2. Looking forward to seeing how Durant does in the World championships, especially against certain European teams. Can’t say I wish him the best.
3. Wish I could have watched the Jazz on the Internet back then. Not just those few games on national TV during the regular season. Well, at least I got to see all the finals games.
4. It will be very good to watch the Jazz without all those bad/mixed/whatever feelings related to Carlos Boozer. And hope the Heat experiment fails of course. I wonder how Melo’s rejecting the extension will affect the Nuggets.
5. 20 for Al & 16 for Paul.
džezer
Welcome... uh.. out of the closet
I have thought the same thing about the Nuggets’ situation. They didn’t get any better and they just up and canned one of the best GM’s in the league. I don’t know very much about Mark Warkenstein’s relationship with Melo, but I will be watching intently to see if he is hired by NY. Either way, on a team full of immature nut jobs, with only the two headed monster of George Karl and Chauncey Billups able to keep them in control, a small seed of doubt in Melo’s commitment could be disastrous.
by prodigal punk on Aug 5, 2010 12:45 PM MDT up reply actions
Yeah. Welcome. Always fun to have Jazz fans with a different perspective internationally.
The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.
so being from croatia...
What do you think about Tomic? A lot of us on here have high hopes for him next season in a Jazz uniform.
Working on a post about Tomić.
Patience please.
džezer
1. Jerry would have to…. I dunno but he would have to do something bad.
2. I missed the middle of that game, where KD hit all those shots. That is the one game that I would love to watch again.
8. At work, can’t watch.
4. lol, great comparison of the WWE and the Heat. Never thought of it before, but you are exactly right.
5. 23 for Al
17 for Mansap.
Poll Question
If you need a poll question for tomorrow, here are a couple ideas:
If you could punch one NBA superstar in the face, who would it be?
Who is more likely to have Garth Brooks on their ipod, Fessenko or Big Al?
The initial decision would be between Kobe and Lebron.
However, after quickly thinking about it. I think everyone would still pick Kobe. The image of hitting him in the face, him falling to his knees sobbing as his hands cover his face is so much more satisfying to think about. Plus, hitting Lebron would probably just piss him off and end in a beating…
Follow me on twitter @JD23UT
I would
uppercut kobe’s face into Gasol’s face and have them both land on Sasha.
For the Love of the Game
Stockton to Malone- The perfect combination!!
"I think he just said, 'Oh my Gosh,' or whatever they say in Provo."- ESPN talking about QB. Max Hall after BYU defeated third ranked Oklahoma (2009).
MonSTARZ forever!
Fes
fouled out at the beginning of the 4th quarter against Bosnia. 4 pts, 5 reb, 3 ass.
džezer
How many more of these until the season starts? I am getting antsy.
1. Jerry will leave when Jerry wants to leave. But I am afraid that unsatisfied fans who don’t know any better will drive him to call it quits.
2- Durant is going to have an MVP like season, but they aren’t sneaking up on anybody this season. I think they will hit a proverbial wall in their ascension to the NBA elite.
8- You do realize that that means Christian Laettner will be in the HOF right?
4- As much as Wade and Lebron have become complete idiots since signing together, it’s better for the whole league when there is a villian.
5. Jefferson 21 and 12, Millsap 16.5 and 9
The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.
Millsap/Jefferson #s
I see Millsap’s numbers being in the range of 16 ppg, 10 rpg (he averaged ~11, ~7 last year; this year he’ll be the full starting PF, more mins per game than the ~27 he averaged last year)
Last year, Jefferson’s avgs were ~17,~9. This was coming off an injury, and it seems he had a diminished role with Min last year than in other years. Year before that he was averaging ~23, ~11.
The 08-09 stats are probably closer to what Jefferson will get here, if not higher. He will thrive in the Jazz offense, but he will also have more reliable teammates that can score. For him, I predict points somewhere in the 20-24 range, and rebounds in the 10-12 range
I know I'm the minority
But I don’t want to see 24 and 16 points for Al and Millsap respectively. If that actually happens, I don’t think the team is clicking and playing up to its potential.
Here’s why:
To date Al, despite all the low post moves, has been a pretty ineffecient scorer. Surprisingly low FG%. Alarmingly low FT attempts. He’s also been, to date, a mediocre at best passer. He’s also, apparently, not very good at either setting screens or playing the screen and roll. He’s also been fairly slow since the knee injury
Millsap shoots with a higher FG%, is a much better passer, and gets to the line more frequently. He’s great at the screen & roll. He knows the Jazz offense, makes the right back-door screens and cuts, etc. Plus Millsap is very fast and quick—faster and quicker than most PF’s. And Millsap has pretty good post moves and footwork himself. Though Millsap doesn’t draw traditional double teams like Al will, Millsap does draw help defenders with his S & R’s and quick post moves. And the result is the same—somebody’s going to be open because Millsap’s defender will be pondering his navel while someone else has to cover for him.
If the Jazz make Al such a huge focus on offense then they’ll be ignoring a lot of the advantages Millsap brings to the team. It means they aren’t using their best S & R guy, they’re not getting as many transition baskets, they’re not making the extra pass to the cutter, they’re not getting to the line as much, they’re focusing more on volume shots than effective shots, they’re ignoring the speed/quickness advantage Millsap will have over most of his defenders, etc. Plus it would mean that effective, but lesser-volume, scorers like AK and (hopefully) Gordon are pushed aside more than they ought.
If both guys are in the 17-20 range (and AK’s in the 14-16 range), then I think the team is maximizing its potential. I think then they’ll be playing as a team, hitting the open guys, shooting only effective shots, etc.
If Sloan’s game plan and coaching combined with passing by Deron, AK and Co. help Al increase his effectiveness, then sure he’ll probably score more than Millsap. But I’m thinking the ideal is more like 20 vs. 18 rather than 24 vs. 16.
I got the crap beat out of me in Provo one time
About that OKC game
My wife had given birth earlier that day and she sent me out to get her something to eat because she doesn’t like hospital food. I was good with that cause I knew I could catch the score on the radio. So I caught the very end and the jazz were up and everything was good and then disaster. And at this point I’ve picked up the food and am driving back and it goes to overtime! So they’re killing me at this point. I’m convinced that I’m the reason the game went to overtime cause I needed to be back at the hospital. Yeah so I pretty much sat there in the hospital parking lot and listened to overtime while my “just had a baby” wife’s food was getting cold. I’m not proud. Thank goodness the jazz won so I happiness a great mood when I finally showed up with the food.
by tyrantking on Aug 6, 2010 2:04 AM MDT via mobile reply actions
is it totally wrong
that i find your actions understandable and i want to praise your devotion to the jazz?
What your wife don't know,
Can’t hurt her!
For the Love of the Game
Stockton to Malone- The perfect combination!!
"I think he just said, 'Oh my Gosh,' or whatever they say in Provo."- ESPN talking about QB. Max Hall after BYU defeated third ranked Oklahoma (2009).
MonSTARZ forever!
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