April « 2011 « Salt City Hoops

SCH Podcast – Kurt Kragthorpe

April 27th, 2011 by Salt City Hoops

The illustrious Kurt Kragthorpe of the Salt Lake Tribune was nice enough to join us on the Salt City Hoops podcast last night. Kurt is a man who needs no introduction among Jazz fans and has been covering Utah sports since the days of Frank Layden. He shares his thoughts on today’s Jazz and gives us a few anecdotes from back in the day.

You can read more from Kurt at sltrib.com and follow him on Twitter @tribkurt.

As usual, I was joined in the studio by Justin Davies (@jhjustin) from Jazz Hype. We cover a lot of ground, so let us know what you think in the comments.

A special thanks to the UVU Digital Media Department for providing the excellent studio space and to our producer Jonathan Knudtson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Reconstructive Jazz

April 27th, 2011 by Mychal

A lot has gone wrong during this season. You know that old joke you would tell your friends before every Jazz season? The one about how there are 3 things in life that will never change? Death, Taxes, and Jerry Sloan? Unfortunately all three of those things combined together to result in a highly overpaid, underachieving, and Sloan/Deron-less Utah Jazz squad.

The Jazz are currently in rebuilding mode no matter how Kevin O’Connor phrases it. But just because the Jazz are rebuilding does not mean the Utah franchise has left its fans out in the cold. Some fans out there are feeling hopeless. Today I want to show you the light at the end of the tunnel. Introducing The Steps of Rebuilding: OKC Edition.

Get Younger

Take a look at the best teams in the West by Age:

Lakers – 29.64

Mavericks – 29.26

Spurs – 27. 57

Denver – 26.57

Portland – 25.8

Thunder – 24.71

This day is coming soon....

Notice a trend? The best 3 teams are getting old. The next great team, OKC, is by far the youngest of the elite teams. The scary thought is they will just continue to improve. The Jazz are rebuilding their team around the OKC model: Accumulate a lot of draft picks in a 3 year span, trade them around for best value, get young fast, cut out expensive veteran salaries, and prepare for an extended playoff run in the twilight of the elite teams careers. The Jazz did not make these moves to be playoff ready for the Lakers, Spurs, and Mavericks this year. They made this move to be competitors to the Trailblazers, Nuggets, and Thunder in two years.

As it stands right now the Jazz have an average age of 27. Now in the 2011/2012 season if you take an average age of 21 years old for every rookie the Jazz draft (for the sake of this I’m only counting 1st round picks) and eliminate those whose contracts end after this year (Kirilenko, Elson, Watson, Price, Fesenko) the Jazz’s average age will be about 25.6. Then after that year in the 2012/2013 season the Jazz’s average age with two more 1st round picks (using an average age of 21 for each draft pick) and minus Okur will be about 23.23. In just two years the average of the Jazz will go from 27 to 23.23. Kevin O’Connor not only hastened the rebuilding process about a year early he shot it with a dose of steroids.

Get Good Draft Value

In the 2007 NBA draft the OKC Thunder hastened the rebuilding process by trading away Ray Allen. They received Boston’s lottery pick, #5, in addition to their own #2 pick. In that draft they selected Kevin Durant and Jeff Green.

Durant and Green drafted by the OK...er...Seattle Super...Thunder?....

The following year in 2008, they played their young players long and often giving them vital development time which resulted in the #5 pick in that draft. With that pick they selected Russell Westbrook, who by the way no one was billing as an elite PG, but the Thunder had other intentions and knew he would be something special. They also drafted Ibaka later in the first round with the Phoenix Suns’ pick (#24) and D.J. White with the 29th pick.

In 2009, the Thunder had the #2 pick as a result of their own record by playing their young guys and giving them precious development time. They drafted James Harden. A guy who would never become a star in this league but a guy who could be the Steve Kerr to the Thunder’s Westbrook/Durant.

Then in 2010 after playing their young guys all season long and accumulating development time over the past 2 years their young players turned the corner a year early. Westbrook became a budding star. Durant became a star. They made the playoffs and scared the Lakers. In that draft they decided they needed size down low. They traded up and picked Cole Aldrich with the #11 pick. Aldrich will never be a star in this league but the Thunder already have two. They just needed B.J. Armstrongs and Steve Kerrs.

Now flash forward to the present. The Jazz have two draft picks this year, #6 and #12. They also have a lot of assets to use for future draft picks whether they come this year or next year. Lots of teams will be trading picks around this year due to the weak draft. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. The Jazz could get good value in current draft if they play their cards right.

Next year they will have their own pick provided they land in the lottery. They also have Golden State’s pick next year in what should be a deep draft. If the Jazz follow the OKC model and play their young guys often then their own pick could be a lottery pick. I know what a lot of you just thought when you read that. Is he really saying the Jazz should tank? No, it is called development. What good would the Jazz be doing if they played guys who are not part of the Jazz’s future?

Part of the Future (Djamila Grossman | The Salt Lake Tribune)

I’m a proponent of development. If the Jazz were to acquire 6 lottery picks in 3 years that would trump anything OKC was able to pull off. The Jazz already have Favors and Hayward. They will have two lottery picks in 2011. Right now Draft Express has the Jazz selecting Bismack Biyombo at #6 and Alec Burks at #12. Not superstar talent but solid talent. If the Jazz can manage to get lucky enough to get into the top 2 and select Derrick Williams or Kyrie Irving they will have the opportunity to capitalize on a weak draft. If they develop their young guys they will have a chance for two lottery picks next year. Their own and a Golden State pick that’s protected 1-8. If they were to package those draft picks plus a known talent they could get a star-potential player. I know the draft is sometimes a crapshoot but having that many picks in the lottery is like idiot proofing your future. You can’t strike out that many times, well, unless your name is the Clippers.

Swiping Good Players

OKC used their cap space as a storage unit. They became a place to send old stuff (players) that teams didn’t use anymore because they had the room. But those rental units came at a price. A steep price. Look at this list:

Thabo Sefolosha

Eric Maynor

Nate Robinson

Kendrick Perkins

Nazr Mohammed

These players were sniped away from other teams needing to dump salary. Sefolosha was a defensive minded SG picked up from Chicago. Perfect compliment to Durant and Westbrook. Eric Maynor was traded from the Jazz in a cost cutting move that included Matt Harpring’s contract. Nate Robinson and Kendrick Perkins were taken on when Boston couldn’t afford to give Perkins his extension. The Thunder traded Jeff Green (who ironically Boston traded to the Thunder) back to Boston for a solid starting C with playoff experience. They threw in Nenad Krstic and called it a day. They then traded D.J. White for Nazr Mohammed as Charlotte was cutting salary.

For the Jazz to hasten the rebuilding process they have to get under the salary cap. Far below it. If they do they could make out like bandits with the upcoming CBA. There are talks of a hard salary cap. Even if that does not come to fruition the salary cap will be lowered. Teams will be trying to get below it not to pay a likely increase in luxury taxes. The Jazz if they cut salary now will be in a great position to play the OKC role and use their cap space to save teams from luxury taxes and be able to accrue some good assets: draft picks & players.

Stable Organization

The Thunder have not been successful solely because of their drafting and trade-making skills. They have a stable organization. Which is saying a lot. The fact that a team can come out of the Seattle mess and a few years later be seen as a dependable organization with a clear vision says a lot. It also gives hope to Utah fans.

We miss you Larry...

This past season has been one of the most tumultuous in recent memory. Jazz lost Jerry Sloan, Phil Johnson, and Deron Williams. That doesn’t even include the mass exodus of Jazz players to Chicago before the season began. Injuries ravaged this team. Fans were frustrated by the front office decision to trade Deron Williams. Even with all that the season ended on a good note with the Jazz’s future, Hayward and Favors, putting on a show in the season’s final game. The important thing is to have an organization underneath everything that is capable of riding out the storm and the Jazz organization is capable of that. The Jazz do with Kevin O’Connor and the Miller Family.

Get Lucky

Luck can turn silver into gold. If you take a look at the Thunder they have caught some serious breaks. The draft is an inexact science. No matter how much money is put into scouting, how “can’t miss” the prospect is, and how great your developmental coaching is a team is bound to find a few duds. But in a 3 year span the Thunder, for the most part, were able to draft solid talent and have players rise above their known potential. We sometimes credit a General Manager prematurely for their amazing drafting skills because of their luck when drafting. The Thunder didn’t strike gold when they drafted D.J. White. He was later traded for Nazr Mohammed. Cole Aldrich, #11 pick of 2010 draft, has spent most of his rookie year with the Tulsa 66ers. But their successful picks of Durant, Green, Westbrook, Harden, and Ibaka mask the mistakes.

In 2008, Scott Brooks took over midseason for P.J. Carlesimo as an interim coach. Who knew that Brooks would coach the Thunder to the playoffs the following year and receive the 2009-2010 Coach of the Year Award then? No one did. He was a good coach but under the right circumstances Brooks showed he could be a great coach. Oklahoma City got lucky. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than to be good.

The Jazz need some of that luck. They need that luck to go their way and win the lottery. They need that luck to go their way with Millsap making a transition from PF to SF. They need that luck to go their way with Hayward, Evans, and Favors continuing their development in a potentially long offseason. Most importantly, they need that luck to go their way with Corbin coming into his own as a head coach.

The most important thing the Jazz can do is set the stage for that luck to take effect. The Jazz have the draft picks, the assets, the coaching, and soon they will have the cap space to create the right conditions for something special to happen. With a little luck, the Jazz can out-OKC OKC.

I’d Rather Be a Loser than a Hostage

April 15th, 2011 by Jeff Lind

[Editor's Note: Guest writer Nick Smith joins Salt City Hoops to discuss the untimely departures of Jerry Sloan and Deron Williams. Is there any upside in what transpired last season?]

Last July the Jazz’ wild 2010-11 season unofficially began when Portland offered undrafted rookie Wes Matthews a massive contract. With the recent departure of Carlos Boozer, as well as the determination that the Jazz were not interested in retaining Kyle Korver, it was clear this season would bring some changes. Jazz General Manager Kevin O’Connor began working the phones to replace roster pieces they had lost in the offseason, and at the time, it seemed like he did a nice job filling major gaps with the additions of Al Jefferson, Raja Bell, and Gordon Hayward. After all, with Deron Williams’ contract in its final years, the Jazz had no time to waste in convincing him that Utah would be the place he could win a championship and where he should re-sign. But if the Jazz learned anything from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors last summer, it’s that there is a fine line between striving to make your organization one that will be attractive for big-time players and becoming a hostage to free agency by allowing a star player dictate how you manage your operations.

The Jazz began the season living up to their high expectations. However despite the great start, many of the Jazz players expressed that the team was not as good as their record indicated; they were right. The Jazz subsequently became the first team in NBA history not to qualify for the postseason after beginning the year with a 27-13 record. The monumental meltdown began sometime in mid-December and continued into the new year as it felt the Jazz were dropping game after game. Frustrations in the locker room began surfacing as the season progressed and the team struggled to find consistency. Add the mid-season resignation of head coach Jerry Sloan and long-time assistant Phil Johnson and suddenly this team was in even deeper trouble. With Deron Williams taking much of the heat for Sloan’s departure, his soon-to-be legacy of being the player that drove beloved coach Sloan out of town seemed to make Deron’s free agency decision a no brainer. The Jazz were doomed; the clock was slowly ticking toward the end of Deron’s contract while the Utah-bound shadow of the Cleveland Cavaliers drifted slowly across the plains.

Two weeks after Sloan’s retirement lightning struck again. A SportsCenter-delivered message shocked Deron Williams and the rest of Utah when learning that he had been traded to the New Jersey Nets. What did all of this mean for a Jazz fan? I struggled to find the positives in trading away your franchise player for unproven pieces until just two days later the New Jersey Nets held a press conference that began sorting everything out. At the press conference Deron said something that made it perfectly clear how Jazz fans should feel about the trade. In response to a reporter’s question about Williams’ future with the Nets, Deron said; “I can’t really give any assurances, or say that I’ll be here — I don’t know what the future holds, I look forward to the possibility of it… It all depends on how the next year goes.” Wow! How do you feel hearing this if you are a fan of the New Jersey Nets? The reality is, on the day of the trade the Jazz organization released themselves from Free Agency purgatory and were proactive in beginning to plan for the future. They stole three years from the inevitable rebuilding process by acquiring assets and draft picks that takes years for suffering teams to earn.

Deron has since expressed that he will consider an extension with the Nets and many still argue that the Jazz should not have traded him and should have tried to convince him to stay, Toronto Raptors style. New Orleans’ point guard Chris Paul was not shy expressing his thoughts concerning Utah’s move. The day after the trade, Paul tweeted:

What’s interesting about this comment is how I’ve never felt better about the Deron trade as I did while watching the Utah vs. New Orleans matchup earlier this week. Although New Orleans is set to make the postseason, their playoff stint is expected to be brief and Paul’s departure from New Orleans will likely follow as his contract ends as Williams’ does after next season. And therein lies the irony; one of Utah’s largest critics of the trade comes from the voice (twitter account) of the next superstar waiting to bounce out of the Big Easy via free agency and leave his team with nothing. The trade was all about the future, and the future for the Jazz is promising. What’s the future like for the New Orleans Hornets? Only time will tell, but in my opinion, see Cleveland’s and Toronto’s.

I understand the season was frustrating. The team began the year with hopes to win the Western Conference, now they hope to win the lottery. Looking in the rearview mirror is hard on the eyes; the Jazz lost their best player, they lost as the Mailman would put it “ two head coaches”, and they had a losing record for just the second time in 28 seasons. But for a season that could go down as the worst mid-season collapse in NBA history, the future is somehow still bright for the Jazz. Nothing went as planned for them, and yet, I have no reason to doubt that the next 10 years will be better than the last 10 because of what happened this season. Kudos to Kevin O’Connor and the Jazz front office for being resilient and making the hard, yet right decision of trading Deron Williams and positioning this team for years to come. The drag of missing the playoffs is fortunately something Jazz fans are not too familiar with, but at the end of the day, I would rather be a loser than a hostage.

Follow Nick on Twitter!

Vegas Preseason Win Total Summary: Let’s hope you didn’t bet on the Jazz

April 14th, 2011 by K.Malphurs

The 2010-2011 regular season is over, and out of curiosity I wanted to quantify this season’s biggest pleasant surprises and disappointments. In order to set a proper benchmark, I looked at the preseason over/under win total from bodog.com and compared that with the total games each team ended up winning. Without further ado below are the teams that exceeded expectations.

First on the list are the Chicago Bulls, who won 62 games compared to the preseason prediction of only 46.5 wins. There is a reason that Tom Thibodeau is projected to be the coach of the year according to espn.com. In fact all six of the coaches that received votes coached teams that are on the above list.

On the other side of the NBA are the most disappointing teams. It isn’t that surprising for Jazz fans that the Jazz are on the list and actually rank as the 2nd most disappointing team behind the Cavs and tied with the Bucks.

Jazz fans don’t need an excel grid to tell you this season has been a disappointment, but I wanted to quantify how disappointing this year has been, especially compared to other teams. The Jazz fell short of hitting the over on their win total by 11 games. It is clear from the above that only Cavs fans can claim to have had a worse year than the Jazz and even then I would make the argument that dropping from a playoff contender to a lottery team is worse than going from a lottery team to one of the worst two teams in the league.

Jazz Games of the Year

April 12th, 2011 by K.Malphurs

The fact that this year has been a bad year for Jazz fans should be undisputed. The team came into the year with an All-Star point guard, a Hall of Fame coach and postseason aspirations (this writer predicted 50 wins). The year is going to end with more questions (Millsap or Favors? Is Corbin a good coach? Can Gordon Hayward be a productive NBA player?) than answers. This season has been a huge disappointment.

Before we completely move on from the year and focus on the draft, I wanted to look back on those few games that brought some level of joy and satisfaction to this Jazz fan. Below are the top 5 games from the 2010-2011 season:

5. January 14th: Jazz 121 – Cavs 99

At the time: This game looked like a really good team beating up on a really bad team. It was a fun game with many highlight worthy plays and left the Jazz 14 games above .500 and tied with the Thunder for 1st place in the Northwest division. The description at the beginning of the AP recap sums up the state of the Jazz after that game:

The Utah Jazz have had bigger wins this season. They’ve had more lopsided ones, too. But maybe none were more fun than Friday night’s 121-99 victory over the hapless Cleveland Cavaliers.

In retrospect: This game was the pinnacle of the Jazz season as the Jazz never again were 14 games above .500. Since the game the Jazz have won close to 1 out of every 4th game. It turned out to be the beginning of the end.

4. February 25th: Jazz 95 – Pacers 84

At the time: This was the first game for the Jazz with Devin Harris and Derrick Favors, and also the first win since Jerry Sloan retired. Harris and Favors did enough in the game to provide Jazz fans hope that the trade wasn’t going to be a bust. At five games over .500 the Jazz still were in playoff contention and the thought was that the team still had enough talent to sneak into the postseason.

In retrospect: This game was just a minor break in the losing streak as the Jazz lost the next 3 games and continued on with their downward decent. The Jazz didn’t become a playoff team and Favors/Harris have only had average production for the team.

3. April 5th: Jazz 86 – Lakers 85

At the time: The Jazz broke a 16 straight game losing streak to the Lakers at the Staples Center, and Hayward gave us something to believe in. The game didn’t matter for the Jazz in terms of making the playoffs, but for a meaningless game (for the Jazz at least) it was very satisfying.

In retrospect: Nothing has changed from the above considering the game only happened a week ago.

2. February 4th: Jazz 113 – Nuggets 106

At the time: Here is the my fellow Salt City Hoops writer Jeff Lind after the Nuggets win: “Wow. I almost forgot what it felt like to go into a good team’s house and win. Turns out it feels pretty amazing.” Lind has some other good points from the game that left the Jazz a half game ahead of the Nuggets in the standings.

In retrospect: This was the last good win of the Deron Williams/Jerry Sloan era and ended up being one of the last games of the Carmelo Anthony era in Denver. In less than a week after the game, Jerry Sloan retired and the season as we had known it completely changed. What looked like a statement game (Jazz > Nuggets) ended up not meaning anything for either team. The Jazz went 8-22 after the game, and the Nuggets went 21-10.

1. November 9th: Jazz 116 – Heat 114

At the time: It was only the 7th game of what everyone thought would be a unique season as the Jazz tried to replace Boozer, Brewer and Korver’s production, while incorporating Jefferson, Bell and Hayward. This game had the dual benefit of giving Jazz fans hope, while also providing a glimpse into the talent of Paul Millsap. It really was a miracle, when you consider some of the facts from the game. One of the more amazing facts is that Millsap had more 3s in 28 seconds then he did in the previous 4 years combined. If you ever want to show someone a crazy end to a game, then send them this link from the play by play of the 4th quarter. For me, it was just one of those games that epitomizes why I enjoy sports. Here are some thoughts about the game for those interested:
The Undervalued Paul Millsap
Jazz 116 Heat 114: THE GREATEST GAME IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE
Morning After Drill: From Here We Go Sublime
Jazz, Pacers score improbable offensive feats – John Hollinger

In retrospect: The game was the definition of an outlier. The Jazz won a game that they shouldn’t have and the Heat lost a game they should have won. It was an amazing game on its own, and one that I will watch again if it ever is replayed on ESPN Classic or NBA TV, but over the course of an 82 game season it wasn’t a representative sample of anything. The Jazz weren’t better than the Heat. Millsap didn’t become a 3 point shooter. The game was a fun win that Jazz fans should remember because of its absurdity.

What’s Next for Paul Millsap?

April 8th, 2011 by Jeff Lind

Michael Brandy, Deseret News

[Editor's note: With the recent acquisition of D. Favors, the Jazz are suddenly flush with big men. Guest writer Nick Smith asks where Paul Millsap fits into the rebuilding Utah Jazz... or if he fits in at all.]

In 2006, the Jazz took a second round gamble with their 47^th pick and selected an undersized PF in Paul Millsap. Millsap had been, for the third consecutive year, the nation’s leading rebounder, but outside of his rebounding skills and high motor, Millsap came into the league with much to work on. However, in his 5 years with the Jazz, Millsap has done everything the organization has asked him to do and has been a complete pro. Paul made strides in his game every single year and has become one of the more offensively skilled bigs in the NBA. He possesses great guard skills, a nose for the ball, and has a Kevin-Garnett-smooth jumper that he can hit from virtually anywhere on the floor. But there is one thing Paul Millsap does not have and that’s size. You can’t stop the heart of a lion, but you can stop a power forward who stands only 6 feet 7 inches tall.

Millsap waited patiently for Carlos Boozer’s departure for his chance to be a starter, and this year he got that chance. Paul has missed only 6 games all year, and has played extremely hard. Still, evaluating the quality of this season for Paul is very difficult. Was this actually a good year for Millsap? Looking at the stats, this season looks like a staggering success. By most measures he had the type of production that nearly all teams hope for from their starting power forward. In 72 games, Paul averaged 34.3 MPG, 17.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 2.4 APG while shooting a very effective 53.1% from the field 33.3% from three. Still, Millsap’s lack of size was exposed on a nightly basis (see Demarcus Cousins’ performance from Sunday), and despite his significant increase in minutes, Paul still needs 5 additional offensive rebounds in Utah’s last three games to avoid his all-time career season low for that statistic. That’s a stunning fact for a man who’s mantra has always been to out-work anyone who stepped inside the paint.

Considering that Paul has been playing against the biggest and the best big men in the NBA, he has done a nice job (especially when you remember the lack of help from forever-ailing Mehmet Okur), but on February 23^rd everything changed for the Jazz. Jazz General Manager Kevin O’Connor shocked the NBA by silently pulling the trigger and dealing one of the league’s premier point guards from the Jazz and changing the entire face of the roster. O’Connor and the rest of the Jazz brass decided that they would not let their best player walk for no return. The Jazz had a generalist “big man” in Paul Millsap but with Williams departure, they suddenly had a specialist power forward in Derrick Favors. Standing at a legit 6’10 with a wingspan and vertical leap that puts even Bill Walton at a loss for words, Derrick Favors became the future of this organization. Just a few nights ago he stood toe to toe with the length of the Lakers, and for the first time in years, the Jazz could challenge LA in the paint. So, if Derrick is the future for this team, what do the Jazz do with Paul Millsap? That’s the (multi)million dollar question.

It’s no secret that the Jazz have already realized they have a logjam. The team has started talking about and playing Millsap at the small forward position. This seems to be a perfect scenario to make room for Derrick Favors while keeping Millsap’s production on the floor, but sorry Jazz fans, I just don’t see it happening. When I think of a small forward, I think of a shooter with range, a quick release on his shot, and an ability to beat other guards off the dribble. When I think of Paul Millsap’s game, I don’t think of any of these things. Why spend time trying to fit a round peg into a square hole if there are other options for Paul? Here are the options that face the Jazz:

Option 1: Express to Millsap that he is a leader of the team and the intangibles he brings are greatly needed, but he needs to go back to coming off of the bench. The Jazz need Millsap to be the third big, the Lamar Odom, the guy who comes in and dominates against other teams’ bench players inside the paint lines like he used to. Paul Millsap is an average starting power forward in this league, but he is one of the best, if not the best third big man in the NBA.

Option 2: If Millsap is not pleased with option one, the Jazz owe it to him to move him to a place where he will get what he wants. His trade value has never been higher and the Jazz could use this value to address other issues on their roster by building a deal centered on Millsap. Millsap, coupled with one or two of the many draft picks and young players the Jazz have, would likely be enough to reel in a dynamic wing player that the Jazz desperately need. Imagine a frontline of Al Jefferson and Derrick Favors that is complemented with a tantalizing wing player like Danny Granger, Andre Igoudala, or Jamal Crawford. Utah could then use one of their remaining future picks for a guy like Kenneth Faried or Tristan Thompson to replace (I hate that word) Millsap’s rebounding and energy in the paint to become the new third big. And for the really optimistic Jazz fan, one could even make an argument that between Memo’s return and the Jazz’s rights to the 7’2 Croatian Ante Tomic, the Jazz could have a high supply of serviceable bigs, even without Paul.

Paul Millsap embodies everything that’s good about the NBA. Off the court he’s a class act, and on the court he’s very tough, plays through injuries, and leaves it all on the table every night. Even though Coach Sloan isn’t with the team anymore, I still love to use the following term when describing players like Millsap; he’s a Jerry Sloan type guy. It’s no secret why the fans love him, why the organization loves him, and why the only Jazz jersey I own is #24. Hopefully the Jazz can manage this issue with a simple rotation change, but depending on how well that goes over with Paul, I’m here to warn you Jazz fans: Millsap’s days here in Utah may be numbered.

Let us know what you think in the comments, and follow Nick on Twitter!

Something to Believe In

April 6th, 2011 by Jeff Lind

In last night’s Jazz vs. Laker game, the Jazz were up only 1 point in the final seconds. It was crunch time, and Kobe called for the ball. He was ready to finish them off. Kobe entered Mamba mode, drove to the rim, lost his handle, and the Jazz scraped by with a win.

The Jazz left LA with a much needed (streak breaking) win, and we were left with this image of Kobe:

After seeing it, I could only think of one thing…

If you follow me on Twitter, you already saw this… but I had to share again. The dialog just works on so many levels (especially when you think of Gasol as the “stupid bat”). If only Sasha Vujacic was still here to play Atreyu.

Anyway, great win for the Jazz in an otherwise depressing season. Yes, we’re acting like the Jazz just won the finals, and if you’re critical, sorry. Give us a break… we finally have something to be excited about. It’s been a rough season, and the fanbase needed this. At this moment, I couldn’t be more excited to see what the Jazz can do with these pieces going forward (especially after the draft). Rebuilding is painful and we’re not used to it, but Hayward and that game gives us hope that the Jazz are in a better spot than most of us supposed. After all the wreckage fans have been through this season, we finally have a glimmer of hope.

I love this tweet from Spencer. It reflects the light we had from a happier time onto our near future:

At the moment, I couldn’t agree more.

Go Jazz.

Jazz – Lakers: It’s been a long time

April 6th, 2011 by K.Malphurs

The last time the Jazz beat the Lakers at the Staples Center, Keith McLeod was starting over Deron Williams, Robert Whaley was an NBA player and not a future inmate, and Gordon Giricek/Greg Ostertag were still playing meaningful minutes. They won by 4 points due in large part to Kobe Bryant’s absence because of a suspension. Only two of the players that played that day (Okur and AK) are even on the team anymore, and nobody from that Jazz team played a single minute in last night’s game. In other words it has been a long time since the Jazz beat the Lakers on their home court, which might be better said with fact that it has been 16 straight regular season and postseason home wins for the Lakers over the Jazz.

That is why last’s night win was very satisfying regardless of the context. It doesn’t matter that the Jazz are out of the playoff hunt or that the win really just pushes them closer to the 13th pick in the draft instead of the 12 pick. It doesn’t matter that the Jazz could have used this win 100 times more in any of the three playoff series. I am going to be happy today knowing that in a lost season, the Jazz at least beat the Lakers. Some thoughts from the game:

Gordon Hayward: Can he really be a productive NBA player? I still have my reservations, but there are some good things about his game that even the most negative Jazz fan has to recognize. He is young, athletic and has been improving his shooting, defense and passing. Last night, he was especially impressive driving to the middle of the paint and either scoring himself or throwing a great pass to one of the post players.
The 3 Headed Power Forwards: It might only be the matchups against the Lakers, but for one game playing Millsap, Favors and Jefferson at the same time actually worked.
Derrick Favors: I like his defense, rebounding and potential, but he needs to spend this offseason making 500 free throws a day. It was painful watching him go 2-8 from the line last night.
I will never get why NBA players complain about a call that is unquestionably obvious against them. Derek Fisher is one of the worst offenders of this. How could he complain so much about tapping the ball out of bounds or the no call when he pulled Watson down before Jefferson’s dunk?

Anyway, there will be a time to review all that has gone wrong with this season, but right now I am going to enjoy last night’s win.

A Reversal of Fortunes

April 4th, 2011 by K.Malphurs

Any casual Jazz fan has noticed the incredible nosedive this year’s team has taken since the middle of the season. John Hollinger wrote about it in his Friday column on ESPN:

It’s hard to remember now, but the Utah Jazz were once 14 games over .500 and pulled into midseason at 27-14; they have won only nine games since. The Playoff Odds peg them to finish with 38 wins, which would put them at 11-30 after the midpoint of the schedule. That’s quite a turnaround, eh? Utah would go from 13 games over .500 at the 41-game mark to 19-under afterward, a 32-game switcheroo.

If so, they’ll make history. According to Elias, the Jazz are approaching a rather depressing milestone — the biggest in-season U-turn since the NBA switched to an 82-game schedule in 1967-68 (see chart). With seven games remaining, the Jazz have already clinched a tie for third place on the list and will cement their status as the worst with losses in just three of their final seven contests. Given that six of their final seven are against likely playoff teams and four are on the road, I think we can start planning the ceremony.

What is interesting is when one compares last year with this year. Last year’s team started off slow and then ended the year very strong. This year’s team has followed the opposite path. I have broken down each season into half intervals below:

1st half of the 2009/2010 Season: 23-18: 56% Win Percentage
2nd half of the 2009/2010 Season: 30-11: 73% Win Percentage
1st half of the 2010/2011 Season: 27-14: 66% Win Percentage
2nd half of the 2010/2011 Season: 9-27: 25% Win Percentage

The crazy thing about that is over a year time period the Jazz were a 57 win team. The problem is that year was a combination of the 2nd half of last year with the 1st half of this year. To give you a point of reference, 57 wins would have tied the Lakers for 1st in the Western Conference last year. Now, they are winning only 25% of their games, which would put them at a rate consistent with the Washington Wizards.

Finally, I wanted to share with you a graph that shows how both last year’s team and this year’s team have had a complete reversal of fortunes. The graph’s line is simple in that it goes up a notch when the Jazz won and goes down when the Jazz lost. The line represents how many games above .500 the Jazz were at each point of the season through 77 games.

From the graph it is easy to see how depressing this 2nd half of the year has been compared to the way the Jazz had been playing. They have gone from being the Lakers to being the Wizards.

Salt City Hoops