Fantastic discussions yesterday. Whether it was in the Downbeat, a can of tuna (where Vromanite's trade machine 'shop was on BDL), or the beginning of the end, it was great to see everyone's opinions and discussion. Perhaps the best part was that it didn't regress into name calling, etc. We have an amazing group of posters, commenters, and lurkers. High quality stuff all around.
This was brought up in one of the discussions. But what would everyone think of a Boozer for Tyrus Thomas and Jerome James trade? Or also include Kyle Korver and John Salmons in the mix?
Everyone's deal, with the exception of Salmons, expires at the end of the year, so there's not a huge risk that way. Thomas has been disgruntled in Chicago because he believes he should be starting. Seems like both players could use a change of scenery.
However, if Thomas came here, he would likely be the backup as well to Millsap/Okur. He wouldn't start but I could see him getting huge minutes as he would come in for either one of them. What about a second unit of Price, Matthews, AK, Thomas, and Ronnie B? Does that work? Does acquiring him mean even less playing time for Fess and the KOOF?
From what I've read up on Thomas is that he's a great shot blocker, but not necessarily a good defender with help D and the like.
I think at this point, if the Jazz could land this deal, it would be a huge win given the current value of Boozer.
Late start again tonight against the Spurs. They've had a semit-easy start to the season as they've got to plan NOLA and Sacramento at home. Their lone loss came on the road against the Bulls.
And in a bit of a scheduling perk to give some of those old bones a rest, they haven't played for 5 days. So despite being on the road, they've had a mini vacation leading up to the game that will give them fresh legs and ample time to develop a game plan. Not good news.
Some of the biggest complaints from Jazz fans right now is the lack of hustle, lack of toughness, and seemingly lack of desire.
Has the bar been set too high for Jazz fans? Should be be comparing the current team to the Stockon and Malone days? We don't expect the same numbers necessarily that both of them put up on a consistent basis. They were once in a lifers.
I'm not going one way or the other with this issue, but is it fair to compare the two eras?
I just barely took a look at the stats from Dallas this morning. The Jazz were in the penalty with 9 minutes left in the game. The stats that stood out to me was that Deron AND Memo had 0 fouls to start the fourth quarter. They then are called for 5 fouls apiece and the Jazz as a team have 13 of their 24 fouls in that quarter alone. That resulted in Dallas going 18-18 from the free-throw line. Of course nobody could handle Dirk either. Unbelievable.
So, is that a result of fatigue? Home court advantage? They had more fouls called on them in the fourth than the previous three quarters combined.
It just seems weird that with the flip of a switch the Jazz would get tired at that point and start hacking at such a high rate.