Rage was my first reaction when I got an email from @diggitbrother letting me know that Paul Millsap isn't on the All-star ballot that's to be released today. How else is he supposed to be snubbed by voting if he isn't already on the ballot? What caused the issue is that they have AK and Jefferson listed at the F spot and Memo at C. Since each team gets just 1 spot for C, Jefferson got bumped to F.
Now I love Memo as much as any Jazz fan, but he shouldn't have been on the ballot this season. Everyone knows that he's not coming back until December at the earliest. He might not even get 15 games in before the All-star game. The powers that be should have put Jefferson at C, since that's where he was going to play given the Memo injury, and Millsap and AK at F. Simple as that.
So now he'll only be available to vote for via "write-in", which is actually a drop-down box at the bottom. That means he will get on only via the coach's vote. He would have had a hard time getting voted in even with his name on the ballot, but his name should have been on there.
Do the people that put these together even know what's going on in the NBA?
Congratulations to Mark Eaton and Tom Chambers who were inducted into the Utah Hall of Fame. Eaton of course was a huge part of the success of the Jazz in the 80s and into the 90s. If only he had come along 3-4 years later and we might have got a title. In my interview with him a couple of years ago, he stated the same thing.
Chambers of course grew up in Ogden, went to school at the U, and had a successful NBA career with two season here in Utah at the end.
Ron Boone is also a member. However John and Karl are not.
Just a weird box score from last night.
- All of the Jazz starters had at least 15 points while each of the reserves had exactly 2. How the reserves got theirs was even weirder. Hayward's came on that nice dunk. CJ was 1-7 before leaving the game with a sore back. Just one made shot apiece.
- None of the reserves attempted a free throw while the starters had a huge night at the line, getting 37 attempts.
- The Jazz get blasted on the boards, 57-43, including 16 offensive rebounds for the Nets and still get the 10-point victory.
- The Nets should have just closed their eye while the Jazz shot threes last night so that they didn't pick up any bad habits. Apparently they didn't because one of the best three-point shooting teams made just 4 of 21 (19%) on the night while the Jazz managed just half that percentage "nailing" 1 of 12.
The Jazz now are 2nd in the league in 3P% allowed at just over 30%. That's pretty impressive. - I guess the numbers don't lie, but last night's game seemed to crawl despite the 95 possessions. There weren't a lot of fouls and turnovers. Maybe it was just the horrid offensive output from both teams.
I mentioned this in the game thread last night when the news broke that Oden was going to have microfracture surgery again though not on the same knee. I feel bad for Oden and for their fans though I think the Blazers fans have put Oden behind them by now. However, I don't feel bad at all for their franchise. I guess that's a bit weird since that affects their fans.
It's not just that they have tried to stick it to the Jazz the past couple of off-seasons in free agency. It also includes the letter they sent out years prior threatening to sue any franchise that employed Darius Miles which would cause them to lose the injury/retirement exception they would lose should he play more than 10 games (he played 34 for Memphis). My general impressions from their front office was a smugness as they traded for and drafted talent and almost expected winning and praise to be handed to them.
So it doesn't make me feel sorry for the franchise in the least as they suffer misfortune and get humbled a bit. It's just too bad that it has to come at the expense of injuries to Oden and Roy. I hope they both make full recoveries and I hope that Oden can go somewhere else and become a dominant center for years to come and the Blazers miss out on it.
Thursday open poll... Would you take a flier on Greg Oden who becomes a restricted FA next season?