The Jazz's road ahead... any little Dutch boys?

A little down? Don't be!

Sloan and D-Will... Two guys who did a lot for the Jazz. So much to say about Jerry I think it's insulting to even try. Derron, Good luck. As one of the most talented players Utah has ever seen, you gave a lot to Utah. For that- Thank You.

Was the trade a good idea? Yes. I wont waste my time arguing that point.

Was Sloan pushed out by Williams? NO! Jerry said so, that's why. Respect the man enough to take him for his word. (It's true by the way. Ask me in person or e-mail me and I'll tell you what I know.)

That is all I really want to say about that.


Now, the new look Jazz!

First off:

It is what it is... and it will be good!

Devin Harris and Derrick Favors are now Jazz men. Wow, what a cool thought! Even though it's tough to see change, sometimes it's at least exciting. The unknown leaves that hint of "what if" in the air.

What if....

... Devin Harris becomes an All-Star... again (was in 08-09 season)

... Favors takes that next leap and challenges Millsap next year for the starting spot---> that's called a good problem!

... the new guys gel much quicker than expected, Jazz finish winning 20 games to close in on the playoffs, make a deep playoff run, and Ty and Jerry share "Coach of the year"! (It's a 'what if'', not an 'I predict')

The starting line-up & depth

Position: Starter, Reserve(s)

PG: Devin Harris, Watson

Devin is not Derron... he's Devin. He's an All-star, he's the fastest man alive with a basketball (Guinness book of records), and will be a great PG in Corbin's system. What gave this trade added wheels was Watson. He is by far one of the best back-up PG's the Jazz have had, and loves his role as a back-up!

SG/Wing: Raja Bell, C.J.

This is the weakest link on this roster, and it really isn't too weak. Raja is a Jazz fit: he works hard, fouls hard, and plays with emotion. He's also 34. That's a big deal. I think Bell can be Bell, but for 20 minutes a night, not 30+.
C.J. is the back-up at the 2 and the 3. That doesn't work. Hayward needs to be that other back up. He needs to be the guy that gives the Jazz that unexpected spark... the only problem is now it's expected. Play the minutes Ty gives you big. Play big 9th pick. Play big.

SF/Wing: A.K., C.J. (again)

AK is in his contract season, and he is for the most part living up to the "contract year" stereotype; a player plays much better when he is on line for a new contract next year.
He has had his injuries, but while on the floor AK seems to be channeling the 2004 AK... All-Star A.K.
As much as I like AK's game and hope we re-sign him to a much less contract, I feel this and the SG position is the true need for the Jazz future.

PF: Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors

This is a strong position with a future and depth. The skill set that Paul was forced to develop being undersized and the limitless raw talent and build of Favors... wow! This tandem will wear down even some of the deepest PF teams.
Now, the Jazz just need to make good on a request from Karl Malone... bring him in as a big man's coach. The greatest TRUE power forward to ever play the game wants to coach... the Jazz have a new, young power forward that has an endless well of ultra raw talent and limitless athleticism just wanting to be molded into something fine tuned and amazing! Karl would do it, he just needs to be home by Friday (I really hope you heard his in game interview with Craig and Matt)!

C: Al Jefferson, ? , Fes

Al Jefferson has come on strong as of late, and is showing something amazing; the willingness to re-train and re-build his skill set to better fit the Jazz system... Folks, that just does not happen to a 6 year veteran in the NBA. He is putting up stellar #'s right now, competing for a team that is going through a lot of turmoil, learning a new system, playing at the 5 when he is a true 4, giving up and now re-taking the role of the go to guy, all while making adjustments to deep rooted fundamentals such as how he plays defense, how he uses his body for positioning, how he uses his outside shot, and most of all his pick and roll/screen play.
I am super impressed with Al, and consider him the best center the Jazz have had since Mark.
As for who is backing him up... uh... well... yup.
Fes has shown flashes, but has also shown such a lag that it is ridiculous. I am usually an apologist for fes, but I am just sick of him not being consistent. If he wants to be a true big in this league, he needs to do 3 things in my opinion: make at least 65% of his FT's, NEVER leave his feet on D (he's taller than almost everyone in the league!! no need to big guy), become a rebounding expert.
If he can figure these things out, he will be a great option for the Jazz, and will get good minutes tied to a good contract with Utah. If not, good luck where ever you land next year big guy!

Utah has been given one, maybe two chances, to find a little Dutch boy.

With the Williams trade Utah got NJ's first round pick this draft. THAT PICK WILL BE A LOTTO PICK. NJ will not make the playoffs. That is a given.
the 2nd chance is the pick Utah might create for themselves by not making the playoffs. Now I for one really hope they make the playoffs, and I think they will. But if they don't, the pick they sent to the T-Wolves is protected and the Jazz get to use it! That's a lotto pick.
I believe the needed Dutch boy to plug the hole in the Jazz dam is somewhere in that draft class. Let's look at a few likely options.

Harrison Barnes:  A 6-7 wing player that was compared to Kobe in high school! He has disappointed at North Carolina as a freshman, but is still considered to be at least a strong asset at the wing.

Jordan Hamilton: A "score first, score now" wing player that in his second year is running the Jazz system! Texas coaches came to Utah to learn the flex from the team that runs it better than anyone, the Jazz. That has to be a big gold star to Jazz executives looking for a guy that can help right away.

Terrence Jones: This guy is for real! Unless the Jazz can get a top 5 in the lotto, this guy will be gone. He is a do everything guy. He rebounds, scores, and has a NBA ready body.
at 6-8 he is a good sized 3 that can play the 4. Has some long ball skills as well.

The Jimmer: The hometown favorite. One of the most exciting players ever in college basketball-- can it translate to the league? Above amazing shooter with reach that is unheard of! Suspect D, and average speed are a big question, but if he can hold close to the same shooting percentages in the NBA that he is putting up in college, he could be one of the best floor spacing tools in the league.

Kawhi Leonard: Instantly creates miss-match issues, much like AK and Gerald Wallace do in the NBA. I really like his game, and think his skill set and basketball IQ will translate well into the NBA. He has a consistency that is usually reserved for pros, and in his sophomore year (huge plus in my mind when a player stays for at least two years in college) has improved in just about every category!

With the trade, the new players, the coaching change, the draft picks, and the looming lock-out, this truly is turning into a new era of the Utah Jazz.

"What if", "Just maybe", "I hope", and "Wow!"... perhaps the new Jazz slogan.

Thoughts on Williams, the Millers, and why a lock-out is needed.

Jerry is now on his farm. He will be missed by the NBA and can never be replaced.

Ty is going to be a great coach not only because he has vision and patience, but more so because he has the Millers as his owners. The millers trust to the point of blood as long as a reason isn't given to them to distrust. Ty has been loyal, and will be loyal. The Millers will do the same, and over time we will see a transition from the Sloan era to the Ty era... they will have resemblances, but will also have clear differences.

Williams is in New Jersey. He gave a lot, and was given a lot while in Utah. The Millers and Kevin O'C. made a decision to separate Williams from themselves before they were forced to. Williams has an idea of what he wants. He wants to win, and expects an owner to buy what he needs to help him get that win. The Millers want to win too. They expect to do it a little differently. The Millers will spend money (maybe not as much as Williams wanted them to), but only on pieces and players that meet three criteria: 1) Do they want to be here? 2) Do they fit the coaches system (was Sloan's, now Ty's... this is why Utah really is a great place to coach; they give the head coach a lot of say on who comes in)? 3) Are they over achievers who work hard as close to 100% of the time as possible?

Williams fit that criteria while he was in Utah because he was under contract to do so. I can respect that. He committed to do what was asked as long as he was being paid to. The problem was this: Williams would no longer meet that criteria after the 2011-2012 season. He would be out from his contract, and would not then feel obligated to live by those same terms he was brought in on. Again, I can respect that. He is a man of his word that respects the hand that feeds him. Unfortunately he was not going to be taking food from the Millers after 2012, so he might of bite (perhaps unintentionally) the Millers and the Jazz by holding hostage his talents for a much larger payroll with much bigger stars to surround him. The Millers might have the means to commit the kind of money Williams wanted to see spent on the Jazz. In fact I would say they do have that money. But that is not the way they do things. That does not fall into those three criteria. That is not 'the Jazz".

That might be frustrating at times. The Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, Heat, Mavericks and others have shown that success in the NBA can be bought. You can have a parade in L.A. when the Lakers win championships, but don't applaud Kobe. Don't look up to Gasol as the guy that brought L.A. the title again. The addition of Mr. Kardashian and Bynum didn't put the Lake-Show in the driver's seat. It wasn't guts and glory, sweat and blood, or just plain old hard work either. It was a 77 year old fan with a checkbook. It was Jerry Buss. Or Jerry Buss's money.

That seems to be the way things are done right now in the NBA, bye the title for a few years, then let someone else pay for it while you save a few bucks for a few seasons.

Is this what Utahans wants to see happen to the Jazz? Pay the money, get the title? I hope not. I hope they will take the frustration of losing to L.A. 9 years out of 10 in the playoffs so that when that one season happens, the ones like the 97' & 98', Jazz fans can hold their heads high knowing they are fans of a team that does it the way it was meant to be done. When that basket was first hung by Naismith well over a hundred years ago, was a winner intended to be decided by old men with deep pockets, or by young athletes leaving everything they have on the court?

So to the Millers, as a fan, I want to thank you. Not just for bringing the Jazz to a community that had no business hosting a professional franchise at the time, but for playing by the rules in a time when it seems the norm is to pay for top talent without any regard to fair play or respect for the game. Thank you for not bastardizing a team game with a super-star first mentality, and for not fully manipulating true competition with an inflated "super team".

I would rather never see a championship com to Utah in my lifetime, than to see a sweaty wad of money leading the parade down John Stockton Avenue.

Jazz Trades: Williams today, Harris tomorrow? ...A.K. all week.

As I sat surrounded by what seemed to be the visitor’s section for Golden State, I witnessed something that has not happened in my lifetime; the Jazz completed their worst home court losing streak since 1982.

If it hadn’t of been for the dry humor of my wife trying to convince me to steal the recently purchased Jazz ball from the pre-teen next to me, and then giving it to her to hurl at someone’s head, I might not of made it through the historic lose.

With a cool head from my wife’s humor, a good night’s sleep, and a much needed break ahead, I can calmly present what I will be using as therapy for the next 7 days… ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine.

1st trade: We found him, let’s get him back! (Submitted by: Ice-Man)

This is the trade to get Wes Mathews back! Giving up two pieces for “the one that got away” seems like a lofty price… until we saw Wes’s first game as a Blazer.

So consider this the Sportscave crew standing outside of Mathew’s house in the rain holding a boom-box blasting “In your Eye’s”.

2nd trade: Half the fat, twice the taste!

I have already presented this one… but I still like it. Especially when you look at the $ saved! Hill is an up & coming guy that hasn’t really had a fair shake in the league yet… put him in our rotation, shake the hell out of him, and see what comes out!


Lee is the most under rated, under used, under paid wing I can think of… If he is on this Jazz team, he shows his value and we have a good problem in a few years; Utah will have to pay him the big bucks to keep him!



3rd trade: “The big boy reset button” trade.

This is the one. This one hit’s the reset button on your old, grey Nintendo. You have gotten pretty far with this group, but you just can’t beat the last few levels… sometimes frustration kicks in, and in a haste you hit the reset button… S@#T! Mario would roll over in his grave.


After the despair drifts away, a slight amount of hope, excitement, and vision begins to seep in your sleep deprived & over carbonated brain as you see what could be… how you’ll do things differently this time around.

By giving up the talent of D-Will (hard to even think), the pieces that come back are REALLY exciting. Taking back Outlaw convinces N.J. to take A.K., and Harris is a top 10 PG now who could be even a little better in a few years with this team. The key to this is Watson, who let’s you do this because he is such a good back-up.

Kevin Martin is a scorer. End of story. He is average at everything else, but right now, for this team, that works. I think Patterson and Hill speak for themselves. Both will be productive, defensive minded bigs who can chip in a good night of scoring every once in a while as well.

It may take a while for this one to sink in, but I think it is an interesting thought.

So until Feb. 24th, look for me hoping for a trade... maybe.

Williams "Motors" the Jazz in Denver... can he do it against the Thunder

The sun is out, the birds are singing, children are playing, and all is right in SLC.

Oh what a difference a win makes.

Oh what a difference D-Will makes.

By beating the Nuggets in Denver, the Jazz have turned around a massive slump and have reminded Jazz fans what it feels like to have a team that could beat anyone, anytime. 

They may not be favorites, but they can be a long way from long shots. 

"He is the motor." sad a dejected coach Karl, speaking of Williams, after Utah made a statement game out of his Nuggets. That is exactly what it looked like. Williams not only reminded Jazz fans and ESPN what he brings to this team, he reminded Al, Earl, Raja, and the rest of this little band of over achievers of what can happen when you  make sure you are running on all 8 cylinders and then add in an all-star fuel additive. Super charged!

OK, no more car puns.

The Jazz minus Williams, AK, and Okur did everything they could to beat Houston on Wednesday. They came up a few mistakes too many, and one point too short. Dejected and depressed, The Jazz men felt the sting of playing at or close to 100% and still losing. 

Had Mr. Williams not played in Denver, a similar outcome might of happened. Guys played there guts out. Al had a huge night, and still, the Jazz had to have Williams explode with points, assists, and leadership in order for this team to win. Guess what; that's what All-Stars do. The great ones make others play better, lead by example, and are an extension of a coach on the floor. That is what Deron was last night...

 ...inspiration in Nike's. 

Can Utah do it again tonight against OKC

Against Durrant and Westbrook, Utah needs to be at near perfect. That is easier said than done faced up with those two.  

Durrant does almost everything well above average... that's actually the good news. The bad news is he  averages over 12 shots at the line against Utah this year... while connecting on a stupidly accurate 96%. He will spend a lot of time there tonight, especially if AK doesn't play. My advice: run him ragged and beat him up. the man he picks up on "D" needs to never stop moving. With Evans showing a lot of promise the Jazz have a pretty good group that can rotate in to work him up and down the court, making your fouls count and get in his head (for more instruction on how to get in a player's head, please see Harpering or Raja)!!

In my opinion, Durrant is in a fierce competition for "MVP on the Thunder" with Westbrook. Durrant has a slight lead and will probably clam that more often than not, but Westbrook will still a few each night.

He scores like Williams by getting into the paint, and has yet to miss a free throw against Utah this year. Freaky good. His speed and field goal percentage (57% against Utah this year) make him almost un-guardable  when he drives. Fes, Al, and Milsap; let him FEEL you all night. He will shoot a lot at the line... make him wince when he does.

Both are shoot first guys, so expect to see a lot of shots from them. Westbrook doesn't shoot the 3 well or often... Durrant does and does. I would like to see anyone else score but these two. Westbrook hasn't "earned" the double team respect yet like D-Will. Give him the "respect" he deserves! Jump out on him and make him get rid of the ball... just not to Durrant.

Utah seems to have "it" back.  With Earl getting a good helping of PG minutes while Williams is on the court, Al continuing to speed up his offensive decision making, C.J. working Durrant on both ends, and everyone fouling hard (not more), "this" Utah team can win tonight. 

Utah Jazz 2011 season: Grow it out, or shave it off?

In a fit of Jazz Depression, I once...

Kids, it's time to have a little talk.  All the crying, yelling, kicking, and screaming has got to stop.  The hours spent standing in the corner, trying to calm down, has put a kink in my spine and a new schizophrenic voice named GiGi in my head.  


That reminds me, her and I have a police car to tip later.


Before GiGi and myself are hauled off to the big house of West Bountiful, I sat down (via the world wide net) with the world traveler; Soren Jespersen, and a fellow depressed Caver; Iceman (Tyler Higgins).






Soren Jespersen   Tyler Higgins(Iceman)  Kelly Jewkes(Dignan)  






Question 1: What do you do with the starting five (two part question); Keep the same,  Bring up a bench player to start (who for who?),  Trade for a new (realistic) starter (who for who?),  Trade for a new bench player (who for who?).   WHY?


 I don't understand why Jerry is so averse, or hesitant, to experiment with the starting line-up. We are a .500 team since the start of December. Switching out CJ for Kirilenko, for example. Or CJ for Bell for just a couple of games and then to assess the results is the kind of experimentation this team needs. Not to mention that energy and focus have been one of our biggest weaknesses. Last I checked there is nothing better to incentivize increased focus and drive than the threat of losing your job or having your role reduced. But, and this sounds contrary to my first point but it really isn't, Sloan needs to begin to narrow down his bench and give more DNP-CDs. When guys like Fesenko, Price, Hayward, etc. are getting 2 mins one game, 14 the next, and a DNP on the third, it is really hard for the team to get in a rhythm. Popovich and Jackson use 8 or 9 guys religiously and everyone knows their roles...not so on the ol' Jazz. 

David Locke had a great article showing the most successful and least successful line-ups statistically this year… Interesting findings. Especially about the current starting line-up (Williams, Bell, AK, Millsap, Jefferson)… one of the poorest statistically rated starting line-ups in the NBA.
There may not be “one answer” as far as the line-up goes, but I think Locke’s findings make the current line-up pretty tough to swallow as our starting line-up.
At this time, I would start C.J. over Raja, with the intent to pull him if he is not on in 3-5 mins into the 1st.  If he is on, he stays in and pushes the lead.  If not… no harm, no foul.  Raja or Price sneak in and clean up for a few minutes, and then you can transition into your 2nd team late in the 1st/beg of the 2nd.
One of my biggest worries is Paul Millsap… his funk that he is in right now has been eye opening.  He has a skill set that is incredible, a work ethic that is unmatched, and court vision to go with it… similar to Charles Barkley!
What he doesn't have is height.  It has shown up like a poke in the eye against bigger 4’s.
So I guess the big hairy question is this; Is Paul the guy that needs to be traded for a “taller” big, sliding Al to the 4?  
He might be.
Would you pull the trigger on Paul if a 7-2  Roy Hibbert (12pts. 8rbs. 1.8blks. in 27 minutes) were on the other end?

One may say that we need to start C.J. For Raja but we learned that last year he could not start, he is a much better player off the bench...although he averages 4 points, 1 board and a better 3pt percentage than Raja. C.J. Needs to try to become 6th man of the year. We need his spark off the bench. When we picked up Raja in the off season I was so excited for his 3pt capabilities and tenacious defense, but I have yet to see either. We cannot start our spark plug in Ronnie Price because he is to small to guard a shooting guard, and if you move Deron to the 2 spot on defense he will get tired way to fast. We need to trade but we don¹t have any players good enough to trade in the 3,4,5 depth charts (shown below) nor do we have any additional money available...so they say.

My proposal is since Utah has the most season ticket holders of any team this year as well as the most successful merchandise sales in the league, we need to do two things. 1-Figure what's going on in the locker room and in the front office as well. Our drive to be a top tier team is no where close to where it needs to be. I know that we have done everything possible to beat L.A., but that doesn't mean we have to look like the L.A.
Losers. 2- Let's use that additional money (which we supposedly don't have) that we are pulling in for a player incentive given for player development. For every point you average different from today to the end of the year each player gets an additional $15,000 and the same goes for rebounds, steals and assists. An additional $50,000 will be given if the player plays in every game for the rest of the season. If you combine the totals and if the player raises his points by 4, rebounds by 2, steals by 1, and assists by 2, that is a player incentive of an additional $185,000. This is how the league needs to format their player contracts anyway, we are just going to be the trend setters. If every player qualifies for the incentive the Jazz would be out $2.4 million but would be way cheaper than
an additional player and we would be a complete team playing as one unit.

Question 2: Rank the roster from most important to this team, to least important.

1-Deron Williams
2-Paul Millsap
3-Al Jefferson
4-Andrei Kirilenko
5-Raja Bell
6-C.J. Miles
7-Ronnie Price
8-Gordon Hayward
9-Memo Okur
10-Francisco Elson
11-Earl Watson
12-Kyrylo Fesenko
13-Jeremy Evans

Deron is obviously the leader of the pack, but where we struggle is in the 4 and 5 rankings. We peak again with 6-8. You may be surprised that I have Memo at #9 but he is a 10 point man tops. His injury may be healed but he
will not be back until next season. 10-13 are fillers to spell the starters. For the first time in years we are not a deep Jazz team...actually we only have arguably 3 top tier players.


 I think CJ Miles is the most important player on this team this year. Not the MVP of the team, just the most important player. If Miles could get the minutes and improve his consistency, he'd open up the court for Jefferson and Milsap, while taking pressure off DWill in the back court. The Jazz should change their name to the Utah WeNeverHaveAShootingGuardThatCanActuallyShoots, because, well, other than Griffith and Hornacek, we've never had one. And getting one that can shoot AND can drive to the lane and finish, would be key to our emergence from upper-mediocrity. I think CJ could be an All Star someday, but maybe only after he gets out of Sloan's doghouse.

I took this question as “importance” not “best”.  Who’s absence would hurt Utah the most if he wasn’t here this year?

1. Williams
2. Jefferson
3. Paul
4. CJ
5. Watson
6. AK
7. Memo
8. Raja
9. Price
10. Fesenko
11. Hayward
12. Francisco
13. Evens

Question 3: Are any of Utah’s starting five one of the five best in the league at their position?  If so, list that position’s top 5.  (ex: Top 5 point guards:  1. Williams  2. Rose  3.  Paul  4.  Westbrook  5. Rondo)

The above example is my top 5 for guards.  That might look different by April.
I really thought this question was interesting, because it made me list the “best” in each position until I hit a starter for the Jazz… Raja fell the farthest.
Don’t know if that just means he is in a position that presents a lot of talent (yes!), or if Raja really is the starting line-up’s weakest link (Yes!).
One thing is for sure, W. Mathews was barely outside my top 5….

Deron is the one, but you can't rank the top point guards in this year's NBA. There are just too many great guards and they all do many things well.


PG: 1-Deron Williams 2-Derrick Rose 3-Rajon Rondo 4-Russell Westbrook 5-Chris Paul


PF: 1-Blake Griffin 2-Amar'e Stoudemire 3-Pau Gasol 4-Kevin Garnett 5-Paul Millsap