FanPost

The Reason for the Slow Jazz Starts

Like every other Jazz fan, I have been wondering why the team consistently falls behind in the first quarter of games, not asserting themselves until the third and fourth quarters. Everyone has his or her own theory, and some are more popular than others. For instance, a lot of people believe it's a lack of effort.

I don't buy that for a second. This season, the Jazz have had multiple players diving for loose balls each possession, give everything they have in the critical third and fourth quarter of games, own a terrific road record, take care of the ball, and are one of the best shot-blocking teams in the league. Not only the statistical indicators, but more importantly, the evidence of my own eyes shows that the Jazz pour their hearts and souls into these games.

Many have pointed to the second unit as evidence there is something wrong with the starters. And in fact, they're absolutely correct...but it has nothing to do with "energy".

What is the true reason? I'll tell you; it's a lack of quickness and athleticism, especially in the starting unit.

In the first quarter of games, as teams are still feeling one another out, before they've adjusted to the opponent, it's all about individuals showcasing quickness and athleticism. Look at how Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan torched the Jazz in the first quarter of all three of our games against the Clippers, and how they did worse and worse as the game progressed.

That's because in the second half, the pace of the game slows, and it becomes much more about running solid plays and all-around team play, where the Jazz excel.

Just examine Utah's starting line-up from a quickness and athletic standpoint. Kirilenko has noticeably regressed, and is looking less quick and athletic all the time. Al Jefferson, while an exceptionally skilled player, and one of my favorite Jazzman, is notorious for being one of the slowest, least athletic bigs in the entire NBA. Raja Bell was never quick or athletic in his twenties, let alone now, at 34. Paul Millsap has decent athleticism, and not surprisingly, usually has the best start of anyone on the team.

As for Deron Williams, he is quick and athletic alright, but not to an elite level of a smaller point like Chris Paul or Russell Westbrook.

More importantly, he is simply getting exhausted this season. The tremendous load he is having to carry for the Jazz, playing 38 minutes a night (9th in the NBA, ahead of LeBron James, Amare Stoudemire, and many others), while being their primary ballhandler, creator, AND scorer is just wearing him down.

It's more than he has to do last year, and while he has hustled just as much in Utah's 2011 games, his speed is not the same, as opposing point guards are having a much easier time staying in front of him. And not surprisingly, with Deron slowing down a bit, that means the Jazz are even worse in the first quarter of games, having to rely too much on Paul Millsap, who isn't that athletic to begin with.

If you need further proof, compare this Jazz team to the one last year.

Young, speedy shooting guard Wesley Matthews was replaced by significantly slower Raja Bell. Boozer and Millsap are replaced by the slower combination of Jefferson and Millsap. Ronnie Brewer, by far the Jazz's most athletic player, and one of the most athletic guys in the entire NBA, has been traded. Deron is having to do more and has less energy to streak by opposing points in the first, settling for more jump shots. Kirilenko is a year older and slower, with an extra injury suffered during the play-offs.

As for the second unit, you have the ridiculously fast Ronnie Price, the speedy Earl Watson, and the athletic CJ Miles, among others. Even Gordon Hayward is pretty fast and can jump very high. Thus, is it any wonder that they do better early on, or that they typically do much better in the early 2nd quarter than they do in the early 4th?

Meanwhile, many of the losing teams that have beaten up the Jazz in the first, including the Clippers, Timberwolves, and Rockets, have a wealth of young, hyperathletic players, and thus, beat the Jazz early, even as they get beaten themselves late.

Hopefully, I have made a sufficiently convincing case, but the interesting question is what to make of this.

Well, on the bright side, it means the Jazz aren't suffering from some bizarre lack of effort. Unfortunately, it's a problem intrinsic to this group of players, and I don't see it changing a great deal with these starters.

The one solution I see is to try to play some of the more athletic second unit players instead of the less athletic of the starting 5. The most likely candidate would be either CJ Miles or Gordon Hayward in place of Raja Bell. At the same time, that's a difficult move to make, if only because of Bell's (deserved) veteran and leader status on this team.

But it's the only way I see to improve the bad starts, short of trading for someone like Andre Iguodala.

What do you guys think?

All comments are the opinion of the commenter and not necessarily that of SLC Dunk or SB Nation.