Retro Jazz: Karl Malone SportsCentury

Spencer Hall —  December 11, 2012 — Leave a comment

From 2005, here’s the ESPN SportsCentury episode featuring Karl Malone. You can read the accompanying story here.

It’s been nearly a decade since Karl Malone last played for the Jazz, amazingly. This clip looks back on his career shortly after his retirement following the 2003-04 season with the Lakers that I try to forget ever happened. As much as I don’t like the Lakers, I hated to see him get hurt in December of that season and never fully recover—even though he still basically carried that dysfunctional team until he finally couldn’t play in Game 5 of the Finals against the eventual-champion Pistons.

Re-watching this clip, I couldn’t help but feel lucky that I got the chance to follow Malone’s entire career. He gave Jazz fans more than our fair share of amazing moments and never took a game off. It’s absolutely amazing that he only missed 10 games in 18 years with the Jazz. Enjoy the clip and relive a remarkable career and life of a complicated man.

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Jazz 20-Game Pythagorean Update

Spencer Hall —  December 10, 2012 — 2 Comments

pythagorean-jazz

by Geoff Beckstrom, special to Salt City Hoops

After 22 games and essentially one-fourth of the way through the schedule, let’s take a look at total win projections—first from a pure numbers standpoint and then from a softer analytical approach:

At 10-10, before the nice wins against the Raptors and Lakers, the Jazz’ win percentage was .500, which projects to a final record of 41-41. However, we all know the Jazz have had a road-heavy schedule so far—with a road/home split of 12/8. The Jazz were 3-9 on the road and 7-1 at home. We can project a final win total from this by projecting final road and home records based on current winning percentage, which predicts final records of 10-31 Road and 36-5 Home, for a final record of 46-36.

Next we can use the Pythagorean Expectation to take point differential and project a final win percentage. After 22 games, the Jazz average 101.3 pts per game and give up 99.3 pts per game. Here’s the formula:

Pythagorean projection

Plugging in those numbers gives a .569 win percentage or a predicted record at 22 games of 12.5-9.5 and over 82 games of 46.6-35.4.

So the pure numbers give us an expected win range of 41-46.

Now for the more soft approach. Here’s a complete Google Doc spreadsheet for those interested.

Looking back at the first 20 games, there is a mixture of positive and negative news, as one would expect with a 10-10 record. It is hard to point to a really good win for the Jazz. Every quality team the Jazz beat comes with a bit of an asterisk. Dallas and Denver were both playing on the end of a back-to-back travelling into SLC. Even with fun wins over the Lakers, the Jazz still have 12 wins over mostly lottery-bound teams.

On the flip side, the Jazz do not have a single quality win on the road and a couple of really bad road losses in New Orleans and Sacramento—and have been blown out in Oklahoma City, Denver and San Antonio. Finally, this team has a number of near misses in Philadelphia, Boston, Memphis, and of course the game Bavetta gift-wrapped for the Clippers.

The key that I mentioned at the beginning of the year is to get to Game 39 as close to .500 as possible—having played 9 more road games than home games. A 20-19 record at that point would be a +10 Road Win to Home Loss differential, on pace for a 50-win season.

The problem is that the next 19 games will be more difficult than the first 20, including losable home games vs.:

  • San Antonio
  • Memphis
  • Clippers
  • Dallas

Also looming is a very tough road schedule including the upcoming East swing in Brooklyn, Indiana, Miami and Orlando over 6 days leading into Christmas. You could see this team at a 16-23 record and yet still be on pace for 40-44 wins and in contention for one of the final playoff seeds.

The first 20 games have been well-described by many as average—and even to a certain degree boring. Games 21 and 22 featured a team we hadn’t really seen this year, an exciting display of sharing the ball on the way to blowing out an inferior team at home and putting the foot to the throat on a struggling Laker team on the road in LA. Unless that team is here to stay, there are plenty of reasons to expect somewhere between 41 and 45 victories and a 7th or 8th seed in the playoffs. As a fan, I hope we’re seeing the team make the jump to a higher (and more entertaining) level of play and a realistic shot at a push towards 50 wins.

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The Early-Season Excellence of Randy Foye

Spencer Hall —  December 9, 2012 — Leave a comment

Randy Foye

by Sam Strong, special to Salt City Hoops

Don’t look now, but the Jazz are on a two-game winning streak after throttling the Raptors at Energy Solutions Arena on Friday, 131-99.

While the Jazz continue to hover around .500 – currently the sixth-best record in the Western Conference – the front office’s offseason moves are hard to ignore. An NBA scout said earlier this season that Utah made “the two best moves that nobody heard about” by stealing Mo Williams and Randy Foye away from the Clippers.

As a guy who watches more Clipper games than Jazz games, I’ve long been a fan of Foye’s. He’s the ultimate team guy who’s willing to step in and drain his silky 3-point shot whenever it’s needed. But in Los Angeles, that’s all he was, a role player.

As I watched the Clippers destroy the Mavericks from the nosebleeds at Staples Center on Wednesday, I saw a team that no longer needed Foye. With Jamal Crawford leading Lob City in scoring and Chauncey Billups coming back to an already crowded backcourt, Foye was the most expendable player.

At ESA just 48 hours later, I saw a team that depended on Foye, who finished with 13 points on Friday.

“This is a better place for me,” Foye said. “Last year, I was just a guy there. Mo and I used to share minutes there but here, I’m valuable. I helped the Clippers make history last year. I can’t say anything negative about them because they helped me get to where I am now.”

Coach Ty Corbin has started Foye in Utah’s last 11 games, a stretch that has seen the Jazz go 7-4. Foye says he doesn’t care whether he starts, adding that he’s “team-first with everything.”

Corbin had to agree.

“He’ll do whatever you need him to if it means getting a win,” he said. “He’s a great team guy in the locker room. Guys enjoy being around him. He’s a good person and he’s easy to be around because he loved to compete and he’s about the team, not the individual.”

Foye is averaging his highest point total (11.4) since his time in Minnesota (2008-2009). Not coincidentally, the Jazz are shooting their best percentage from beyond the arc (36.4) since 2009-2010, when some guy named Korver stole the hearts of every female Jazz fan in Salt Lake City. With Foye, the Jazz jumped from the league’s 27th best 3-point shooting team to the No. 9.

“He brings consistency,” former and current teammate Mo Williams said. “He’s just a solid basketball player, someone that every team needs.”

By no means is Foye an all star and he’s the first to admit he has his fair share of off nights – like Wednesday’s narrow win over Orlando when Foye was just 1-for-6 from 3-point range. But let’s not forget that his lone make on the night gave they Jazz a lead they would never relinquish.

Foye will also have nights like he did a week ago when he scored 20 points and handed out six assists in a loss to the Rockets. And who could forget when he hit three 3-pointers in less than two minutes on his way to scoring 17 points in a win over the Lakers earlier this season.

If you’ve followed the jazz for the past decade, you know about the two-guard paradox. Wing players are always complaining about minutes (paging Mr. Bell and Mr. Miles) but fans chirp back that they haven’t had a reliable shooting guard since Jeff Hornacek.

You won’t find Foye’s number hanging in the rafters anytime soon. He’s a short-term fix for now, but Jazz management might want to think about extending his contract, a one-year deal worth $2.5 million. He has added that long-range dimension that the Jazz have lacked in recent years by spreading the floor and not allowing opposing defenses to pack it in on the big men.

Typical of Foye, he’s not complacent.

“I can continue to grow,” he said. “I’m never satisfied until the last buzzer of the last game of the year.”

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Lindsanity – Utah Jazz Twitter Power Rankings v 2.0

Jeff Lind —  December 7, 2012 — Leave a comment

What a week! Since the last Lindsanity post, our (then) 9-7 Utah Jazz have dropped three of four (one being a brutal one point loss at the hands of the Clippers), and are now dead even in the W/L at 10-10. Hopefully this week’s awesome group of tweets will improve morale and give the team some additional luck going into a tough slate of games. And here they are: This week’s top 10 tweets from Jazz Nation.

10: @monilogue – From one of my favorite Jazz bloggers and fans, Moni knows the order of operations when it comes to Jazz fandom: 1) Jazz 2) Jerry Sloan 3) buttering me up (somehow my brother ended up sitting next to Jerry Sloan at the Jazz/Clips game… with no good stories to show for it).

9: @My_Lo - It was easy to pile on the refs after the Clippers loss, but blaming a giant blown lead on officiating is a bad look, and Mychal (who’s never scared of dishing out unpopular opinions) spat truth here.

8: @andyblarsen – SAYING THAT… Chauncey-freaking-flopping-Billups. Preach Andy:

7: @UTESnJAZZ – First timer to the list, Chris says it like it was/is… because SRSLY Bavetta: Chris, Howard Eisley, and I still haven’t forgiven you.

6: @5kl – Has anyone figured out the method to Corbin’s rotational madness? I haven’t, and with a Favors injury and back spasms on the Al front, I don’t know if we will any time soon.

5: @tribjazz - Most of the tweets on this list only made me laugh as a defense mechanism against all the Bavetta/Billups pain, but this gem had me cleaning soda off my screen after I read it, which is what vaulted Mr. Oram to the 5th spot as a first week entrant.

4: @SaltCityHoops (7) - Like I said last week, it’s all about the subtleties with SaltCityHoops. He knows the idiosyncracies of the Utah Jazz fanbase & organization, and keeps an eye out for interesting microcosms of our unique culture. You say it best when you say nothing at all, Spencer. #FisherLiedGirls

3: @AllThatAmar (5) – Witnessing a player go from a scorching FG% of .727 to a horrific .147 within a week can drive a man to drink.

2: @LostTacoVendor (4) – Because I’m still not over it, and I don’t think anyone could have put it into better words.

1: @DJJazzyJody (2) – And speaking of tweets regarding flops, taking over the top spot this week is Jody, who depresses me to no end with this:

 

FOLLOW JEFF ON TWITTER!

 

Dropped from the list: @CowhideGlobe (1), @Neildos (3), @JazzmanJoey (6), @lockedonsports (8), @Enes_Kanter (9), @clintonite33 (10)

Others receiving votes: @CowhideGlobe 109, @davidjsmith1232 89, @JazzHoops 32, @mharpring15 1

 

 

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If you can coach, you can coach: Natalie Nakase and Earl Watson

Spencer Hall —  December 3, 2012 — Leave a comment

Natalie Nakase

Natalie Nakase is an assistant film coordinator for the Los Angeles Clippers and former head coach of the Saitama Broncos, a men’s professional basketball team in Japan. You’d be forgiven for thinking that her résumé sounds a little backwards chronologically. The film coordinator intern isn’t usually a former professional head coach. But Nakase is a firm believer in putting in the work and paying her dues. She might be at the bottom of the org chart now, but she has her sights set on coaching in the NBA and was recently profiled in a great ESPN Outside The Lines piece by Kate Fagan and Shelley Smith.

Read that entire story, if you haven’t already, and then come back and join us.

As mentioned in the OTL story, Nakase is a close friend of Jazz point guard Earl Watson from their UCLA days. The two remain close and both share a similar mental approach to the game and to life. A conversation with either will often include references to books like Outliers, The Power of Now, and The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.

Her other primary NBA mentor is former Knicks, Pacers, Spurs, and Sonics coach Bob Hill, who took Nakase under his wing as the coach of the Tokyo Apache:

Hill’s mentorship continued after Nakase moved on to Saitama, with the two talking regularly. When Nakase returned to Los Angeles this past spring, she knew what she wanted to do next, and Hill encouraged her. If you want the NBA, he told her, don’t take your eyes off that goal. Never turn down an invitation to step foot inside an NBA facility.

Connections matter in the NBA, just like they do anywhere else. And with his lengthy résumé, 64-year-old Hill is just one degree removed from every decision-maker in the league. A quick phone call or email from Hill on Nakase’s behalf can go a long way toward making people pay attention. Just having him in her corner gives her huge confidence.

“He’s the reason I’m chasing this dream,” Nakase says of Hill. “I was so fascinated by his experiences. With him, basketball was 24/7, and I wanted to be a part of that. He opened my eyes to what basketball can be.”

The main hurdle for Nakase on her way to a spot on an NBA bench is simply the fact that it hasn’t happened before:

The NBA possesses more of a herdlike mentality than it cares to admit. Just look at the analytics revolution that is sweeping the league. A few teams — the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder — had success making decisions based on new statistical formulas, and the rest are now scurrying to catch up, hiring their own numbers guys. Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey says all NBA teams want to be ahead of the curve, but few can afford the risk. “It’s always easier when you have one example to point to, so when you take that idea to your owner, you can say, ‘See, it worked here.’ Nobody wants to be the first.”

This mentality is one reason women aren’t being hired as NBA coaches — because no team has done it yet. The league loves to recycle, with teams routinely installing coaches and general managers who’ve been hired and fired multiple times. But, as Morey puts it, “I find it hard to believe that all of the best and smartest thinkers in basketball just happen to share the same chromosome.”

I asked Earl for his response to the feature on Natalie and her path to coaching in the NBA:

Earl Watson: I think it’s disappointing to even talk about gender. I think it’s just stupid. If you have the skills, you have the skills. It’s very ignorant to even bring up her gender. It’s amazing what she does. She’s dedicated to what she does. It’s not a fad and it’s not a trend for her; she’s been focused on trying to achieve her goals since I met her when she was 17 or 18 years old at UCLA. So it’s not like she’s trendy or all of a sudden trying to create a movement–she’s been about it. She gets a lot of criticism–even from her own gender–for not wanting to coach women, so I guess it’s like reverse stereotypes. So her goal is to continue to push forward, to get better, to grow–and she’s good at what she does. She’s good.

She’ll continue to work hard. The league is evolving so quickly–beyond borders, beyond color, beyond gender now. But it’s going to happen soon and she doesn’t want it any other way–she wants to work for it.

Like any coach, you have to have success. Like any coach you have to put in the work, pay your dues, you have to learn the game, be a student of the game. More than anything, you have to be addicted. Addictions are good if they’re positive. For Natalie, basketball is her addiction. She’s growing. She’s a student of the game. She puts in the work. She can go out there and show you the drill. There are a lot of male coaches who can’t show you the drill. So it’s amazing how she brings a lot to the table–a lot more than what people see because she’s a female.

SRH: I think there’s a perception sometimes that they players aren’t open–that there’s a jock culture. My perception is that the players in this league don’t get as much credit as they deserve for being open-minded and accepting of different kinds of people. Where do you think the league stands?

EW: I think those are very old views. I think a lot of times we get so… put in a box as people; we observe and we view and we analyze, whatever, the situation is in life, and we go off what we heard or what we grew up watching. Life is constantly evolving. Evolution is constant. If you want a players attention? You have to really know the game. You have to really be a student of the game and really understand what you’re talking about–and communicate. Communication is key in anything you do–especially in this league. If you communicate and you teach things the right way, players immediately respect you. If you don’t know what you’re talking about? Players can sniff it out immediately.

—

Not mentioned in the OTL story is the success of Nancy Lieberman. One of the greatest players of all time, Lieberman recently coached the Texas Legends, the D-League team for the Dallas Mavericks. As a side note, Lieberman was a good friend of Frank Layden and once played for the Jazz on a summer league team. In an interview in 2011 for Yago Colas’ spectacular Cultures of Basketball class at the University of Michigan, I asked Lieberman to reflect on her experience coaching men:

Spencer Ryan Hall: I like the way you’ve responded to the questions about coaching in the D-League, saying that men are used to having women in their lives and it’s nothing new for a young man to receive advice from a woman.

Nancy Lieberman: Exactly. It’s no different than being the youngest coach in the NBA, for example. Coach Spoelstra with the Heat is up against some of the same challenges. The bottom line is whether you can do your job. It’s the same thing.

Imagine someone starting a new job or getting a new boss and saying ‘I can’t work for a women, she’s too emotional.’ Or ‘I can’t work for an African-American.’ It sounds ridiculous because it is. People have to be judged on whether they can do the job or not, and I’m glad we live in a world where people have opportunities to chase their dreams.

I’ve actually played in the minor leagues, I’ve coached and played in the WNBA, I’ve been a commentator with ESPN. I actually know a lot about the things these guys are going through.

If I were to give up on my dreams simply because people said I couldn’t do something, I would have quit a long time ago. We have a rule on the team that says “No excuses, no explanations, no deflections.” And that goes for me, too. I can’t make excuses for myself or ask for special treatment because I’m a woman. I have to get the job done.

While receiving an award from Niagara University recently, Lieberman noted that most of her biggest advocates have always been men:

“Every important job I’ve had in my life I’ve been championed by men,” Lieberman said. “I get grilled by people asking me, ‘Who did what to you? When you played how did they treat you in the locker room? They had to do something mean to you.’ … The men were so supportive of me ecause I was so supportive of them. There’s this trust and now I’m trying to bring that to women.

“My generation, the pie was so small that Cheryl Miller, Ann Meyers, myself all had such a big piece of the pie that there was a lot of envy or as I call it haterade,” Lieberman said. “Now there’s so much. We think we’ve come a long way. And we have. But we’re still in the baby stage.”

Here’s hoping we see Nakase on the sidelines sometime soon.

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A former walk-on reflects on the passing of Rick Majerus

Spencer Hall —  December 3, 2012 — Leave a comment

ncb_a_rick-majerus_mb_600
AP Photo/Jack Dempsey

—

by Tim Cannon, special to Salt City Hoops

The life lessons I remember the most from Coach Majerus were the ones he had the most difficulty following. During my one year as a walk-on in his program (1994-1995), I remember him having us sit in the first row of the Huntsman Center stands after one practice and talking to us about the importance of living a balanced life. That day, he told us not to drink soda (which from that day on I have barely touched), to eat healthy, and to find interests outside of basketball. The summer prior to that season, he had been an assistant coach for Dream Team II at the World Championships, and frequently rendered his opinion on the members of that team. He had a deep admiration for Joe Dumars, and spoke about him as a model for our lives on many occasions. Joe Dumars was a healthy eater, engaged in hobbies off of the basketball court (like tennis). It struck me at the time, that he was probably trying to motivate himself as much as us. After all, he struggled with weight, lived in a hotel, ate out every meal, and was consumed with basketball.

The narrative of his life, as far as public perception goes, seems to go like this: In the 90′s he was a lovable wizard of coaching, who charmed the media, routinely coached untalented players to Sweet 16s and beyond, and had a big heart. A decade later, more attention was given to the cantankerous and sometimes abusive coach who dropped scholarships of low performing players and tormented ones who did not live to their potential (the Lance Allred autobiography). My year with him left me the impression that all of the above were true except one (which I will get to later), but that he was a generous soul that left a positive mark on most people’s lives that crossed paths with his.

He recognized long before I did that I was not a very good player. He called me “Jersey” because I am from New Jersey, and rarely talked to me directly. When he needed me in a drill, he would yell to assistant coach Donny Daniels, “Donny, get me Jersey”…even if I was standing next to him. The handful of times I had private conversations with him away from the practice court, he always showed a keen interest in my well-being and my academic pursuits. He always remembered that I hoped to be a physician some day. I had seen all of his quips and jokes during interviews when I was high school and was surprised by how rarely he joked around the players. If I hadn’t been aware of his media persona, I would never have thought of him as remotely humorous (at least, not purposefully).

He had a great eye for talent (and unfortunately, lack of talent). I remember overhearing him tell assistant coaches how anxious he was for Andre Miller to become eligable, because he felt he was going to be a star. I had played pickup games with Andre throughout the preseason and was unimpressed. I really did not believe he was as good as Terry Preston, the starting point guard at the time. Of course, Andre Miller is now very wealthy and I was very wrong. When Garner Meads was a McDonald’s All-American finishing his senior season, my friend Tyler was sitting next to Rick Majerus on a plane. He told my friend that Garner Meads “is not a special player.” Once again, he proved prophetic.

He may have sold the story to the media, as most coaches do, that his teams were not that talented. I think that this is the biggest misperception of his coaching career. The 1997-1998 Utes were sold to the viewers of the NCAA tournament as a band of overachieving slow players that played basketball the right way. From my point of view, the Utes had a more talented roster than the Kentucky Wildcats (who they lost to in the NCAA finals). Four players on that team played in the NBA (Miller, Michael Doleac, Hanno Mottola, and Britton Johnson). Coach Majerus was an underrated recruiter. He was a great coach, but I certainly felt his coaching style had some flaws. The most serious being his micromanaging of offensive basketball. He would spend hours on seemingly insignificant details about attacking the zone, that would make his guards think so hard that they were rendered incapable of any instinctful basketball play (I watched the 2008 game where his Saint Louis team scored only 20 points). But when he had players that did not get bogged down in his details (like Miller), his teams could produce basketball in a way that was absolutely breathtaking. I will never forget watching them take apart Arizona to go to the final four in 1998. The cuts, the screens, the passing was as aesthetically pleasing as any basketball I have seen since. Of course, he was a great defensive coach as well.

He was a yeller, there was no doubt about it. Sometimes, he would get himself so worked up in practice, that he completely would get carried away in a non-sensical rant. The rants were full of obscenities and often quite funny (not purposefully). I tried to write some of these down but I don’t know where I put them. Keith Van Horn was the most common target that year. For me to assert that I know to what degree these were psychologically damaging, would not be fair, since he never really yelled at me (or any of the other walk-ons). Keith seemed to take it well. There are so many advantages to being a star Division 1 athlete that being berated during basketball practices does not seem to be one of the world’s great injustices.

He was a generous donor to causes such as the Huntsman Cancer Institute (which strikes a cord with me, now that I am an oncologist). He seemed incredibly loyal and generous to the players that stuck it out for four years, and was very invested in their success. He was a basketball genius, and a large figure in the college basketball world. He will be missed.

—

Dr. Tim Cannon played one year for Coach Rick Majerus at Utah during the heyday of the program and later for BYU.

Be sure to also read this (Gene Wojciechowski/ESPN), this (ESPN story roundup), this (Boston Globe), and this (Brad Rock).

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Lindsanity – Utah Jazz Twitter Power Rankings

Jeff Lind —  November 29, 2012 — 3 Comments

We’re starting a new column this week that turns the tables on Power Rankings. As fans, we spend a lot of time critiquing players, coaches, fan bases, front & back offices, and even the fandom of upper vs. lower decks. Frankly, it’s ridiculous… so why not take it to the next level? It’s time to rank YOU. There’s no method to this madness, except that I own executive privileged on voting. I’m going to be doing this every week for the rest of the season, so bring it.

10: @Clintonite33 – Rarely do you find a blogger that tweets and writes harder, longer, or more gratuitously than Clint. He’s a staple in the twitter Jazz community because no piece of basketball news, stat, or quote escapes his all-seeing gaze. Always up for a discussion, Clint is a good guy to have on your radar (unless you’re the type that easily gets baited into a flame war). An all around good dude that keeps Jazzdom’s collective knee-jerk in check… whether you like it or not.

9: @Enes_Kanter - The big man with the big personality. Enes is the kind of player that Jazz fans glom onto: a hard-working gym rat with a larger than life attitude, some real basketball skill, and a desire to overshare. This particular tweet is nothing special… except for the hashtag. That’s the kind of stuff that ensures you a lifetime supply of free diet cokes in the SLC valley.

8: Speaking of work, have you met @lockedonsports? Hard to call yourself a Jazz fan if you don’t follow the man, and there’s good reason for it. He’s always locked in (BOOM!), digging through stats and basketball jargon to give the fan a smarter experience. Mr. Locke is a consummate pro, and a media guy that actually cares about the team and presenting sports the right way.

7: @saltcityhoops - I know, I know… feels like I’m just kissing the ring here, but nobody serves up the subtleties of being in and around the Jazz locker room and organization better than Spencer. Always entertaining, always a pro, and always spot on in analysis (hey… one of these days I’ll need a raise). His timely observations are always appreciated.

6: @JazzmanJoey - If I mention Deron Williams in this intro, can we consider this tweet Jazz related enough to warrant a power spot? Oh, yes.

5: @AllThatAmar - Pretty sure that Amar spends half of his life in Twitter Jail, but when he’s out roaming the digital badlands, he delivers some gems. He’s a volume tweeter to be sure and he takes a lot of shots, but when he’s on, he’s on.

4: @LostTacoVendor – Full of snark, vinegar, and generally reporting from a strip club, the Vendor knows his audience. He hates all of you, and you love him back for it. Short on patience but long on his vitriol for front office bureaucracy & players who mail it in.

3: @Neildos - Because I can’t get enough second-hand Jerry Sloan folklore. Ever.

2: @DJJazzyJody - The Deseret News Jazz Beat Writer is always a darling of Jazz tweeters, and rightfully so. Not afraid to take a stand on fan-issues (booing cheerleaders?), he just gets twitter, how fans want to consume it, and what they want to hear from their locker-room reporters. Jody always delivers the news respectfully, but doesn’t take himself too seriously. It’s a good mix.

1: @CowhideGlobe (@lauremonoto with the bump/set) – Because sometimes people tweet rad things that are right on so many levels.

So that’s it for this week’s Twitter Power Rankings! What did you think? What did I miss? Who should I be following that I’m currently missing? Tweet me, DM me, hit me up… I’ll see you next week.

Follow Jeff on Twitter!

Others receiving votes: @SurlyMae 123, @5kl 105, @jazzhype 80, @mharpring15 1

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Jeremy Evans is still the best artist in the league

Spencer Hall —  November 27, 2012 — 3 Comments

jeremy-evans-salt-lake-temple

Besides being one of the nicest humans in history and reigning NBA Dunk Champion, Jeremy Evans is an impressive artist. Earl Watson posted the picture above that Evans said he drew sometime last summer. Evans said he was working on having prints available soon. Can’t wait.

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Jazz steal a wild one from the Nuggets, remain undefeated at home

Spencer Hall —  November 27, 2012 — 1 Comment

Jazz 105 – Nuggets 103
ESPN Recap | Box Score

Where to begin on one of the strangest Jazz home games in recent memory? To paraphrase Stefon, this game had everything: World-class matador defense giving up 65 points in the first half, a home crowd booing their team (and deservedly so) until midway through the third quarter, a star player (Denver’s Iguodala) getting ejected for talking to a referee disguised as Al Jefferson. Coach Ty Corbin getting a technical and being faux-restrained by owner Greg Miller (as seen in the clip above). The Manimal running wild on both ends of the floor. Jamaal Tinsley (15 points, 3-6 on 3s, 35 minutes) playing like it’s 2003. A terrible final play by the Nuggets that had Ty Lawson getting Randy Foye in the air and then inexplicably passing the ball out and running out of time without even getting a shot off. Standing ovations and a wild playoff atmosphere in the fourth quarter. Also, is that Robert Whaley in the crowd?

In the end, Al Jefferson somehow willed the Jazz to the inexplicable win. Jefferson’s team play and unselfishness is wildly underrated. Check out the clip below showing Al Jefferson taking himself out of the final play to give Derrick Favors a chance to defend:

It’s time Jefferson gets more credit for putting the success of the team ahead of his own interests. It’s a rare thing to see a guy in a contract year who goes out of his way to mentor the two guys (Favors and Enes Kanter) who are in position to take his job. In this game specifically, if not for a stellar Jefferson performance (28 points on 10-15 shooting), the Jazz might have been behind by 30 at some point.

The game was also notable for being the second straight game that Paul Millsap didn’t see the floor in the fourth quarter. It pains me to say it, but on this night it was the right choice. Millsap got abused all night long by the Manimal and finished with just 5 points and 5 rebounds. After the Jazz gave up roughly 7,000 points in the paint in the first half (actually 46, but still a ridiculous parade of dunks and layups), something had to change.

Speaking of change, what’s happened to Gordon Hayward? I make a lot of jokes about his performance always being directly tied to school breaks at Butler, so I’ll give him a few more post-Thanksgiving games before ringing the alarm on his disappearing act. 4 points in 28 minutes isn’t getting it done.

Derrick Favors, on the other hand, was a beast. His 19 points and 7 rebounds off the bench were a beautiful thing to watch, as was his battle with the aforementioned Manimal.

Also great to see a vintage performance by Jamaal Tinsley. The best part about watching an old man like Tinsley be successful is the way he plays to his strengths. The flaws in his game are obvious to anyone paying attention, but he’s disciplined enough to stick to the things he does well (limiting turnovers, getting guys easy baskets in transition, working hard to improve his outside shot, making a strong effort on defense even if he’s overmatched).

A great result despite the emotional roller coaster. All that matters is the W and somehow the Jazz are 8-7 and still undefeated at home. Up next this week: At New Orleans on Wednesday, at OKC on Friday, and at Houston on Saturday.

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Jazz 102 – Rockets 91: Player Grades

Spencer Hall —  November 19, 2012 — 2 Comments
Houston Rockets 91 Final

Recap | Box Score

 102 Utah Jazz
Paul Millsap, PF 26 MIN | 4-9 FG | 2-2 FT | 8 REB | 1 AST | 10 PTS | -1A solid/decent game from Paul, despite the slow start. Luckily, Omer Asik provided lots of room for the Jazz bigs to move around.
Derrick Favors, PF 23 MIN | 2-7 FG | 4-4 FT | 8 REB | 0 AST | 8 PTS | +10Favors- Not a great offensive play and needs to stay out of foul trouble early, but his defense was great; He blocked shots but there were many more contested shots that forced misses. A-
Al Jefferson, C 27 MIN | 4-12 FG | 6-7 FT | 16 REB | 2 AST | 14 PTS | 0Monstar [intended Space Jam spelling] game on the boards, which made up for an unimpressive offensive game.
Randy Foye, PG 24 MIN | 4-11 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 14 PTS | -5Foye has impeccable timing with is 3s and always keeps the team and the fans happy. The calls for Burks are quieting with every solid performance by Foye.
Mo Williams, PG 27 MIN | 4-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 7 AST | 8 PTS | -3Mo Williams is really fast.
Marvin Williams, PF 25 MIN | 4-9 FG | 1-2 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 12 PTS | +18Marvin gets an “A” for admitting to the media that he was in the bathroom at tip-off and was caught off guard when he had to replace Favors, who picked up two quick fouls in the first minute of the game.
Jeremy Evans, SF 5 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-1 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 2 PTS | -8“A” for getting in the game.
DeMarre Carroll, SF 13 MIN | 4-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 3 AST | 8 PTS | +11Another game where he is the highlight of the second team. His hustle D created turnovers and great fast breaks.
Enes Kanter, C 21 MIN | 3-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 8 REB | 3 AST | 6 PTS | +11Kanter deserves credit for an amazingly athletic alley-oop finish and it doesn’t matter what he did the rest of the game. Also gets points for being the best turk on the floor.
Jamaal Tinsley, PG 21 MIN | 1-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 11 AST | 3 PTS | +14The “Jamaal Tinsley hasn’t scored since…” meme was pretty funny, but I’m on board for the passing and stay for the playground handle. He’s not a shooter, but it’s a pleasure to watch a true pass-first point guard do his thing. It’s worth every turnover.
Alec Burks, PG 5 MIN | 0-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 PTS | -8“A” for getting in the game.
Kevin Murphy, SG 4 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 2 PTS | -8“A” for getting in the game.
Gordon Hayward, SG 19 MIN | 5-12 FG | 4-5 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 15 PTS | +24Let history remember this as the night Gordon Hayward threw down a spicy behind-the-head dunk. Some nice moments from G-Time leading the second unit after the first unit again came out flat.
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