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Utah Jazz Preview 2010-2011

Jefferson — October 13, 2010 — 3 Comments

The Floor General and his Soldiers

In conjunction with the good folks over at Celtics Blog and 70 other NBA blogs, enjoy the following recap of off-season moves and story-lines to follow as the new season kicks off:

Team Name: Utah Jazz

Last Year’s Record: 53-29 (Second Northwest Division)

Key Losses: Wesley Matthews (Portland), Kyle Korver & Carlos Boozer (Chicago)

Key Additions: Al Jefferson (via trade with Minnesota), Raja Bell (free agency), Gordon Hayward (draft), Earl Watson (free agency)

1. What Significant Moves were made during the off-season?

This off-season was one of the most active in recent history for the Jazz. Not surprisingly, Carlos Boozer fulfilled his contract with Utah, only to be signed by Chicago (a broken hand has only added to his legacy as Mr. Glass in the NBA). Sharpshooter Kyle Korver also made his way to Chicago as a free agent. Undrafted rookie Wesley Matthews was lured away by Portland with a HUGE offer sheet that the Jazz were unwilling or unable to match. With the number 9 overall pick in the draft (acquired from the NY Knicks) the Jazz selected NCAA tournament stand-out Gordon Hayward from Butler – a skinny wingman that has tremendous upside. Kevin O’Connor and the organization pulled the trigger on a blockbuster trade to bring “Big” Al Jefferson to Utah in exchange for a couple of draft picks and perennial bench-warmer Kosta Koufus. Adding to the bevy of new talent, the Jazz brought in some veteran role players, including former Jazz-man Raja Bell and backup point guard Earl Watson. Another key addition? New Uniforms.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

Led by floor general Deron Williams (arguably the best point guard in the league), the Jazz will continue to run a disciplined offense that generates open looks and layups. Expect plenty of assists from D-Will and friends running Coach Sloan’s tested and perfected system. The team got longer in the off-season, so expect its rebounding dominance to continue. Home court advantage will, once again, have opponents dreading their trip to Salt Lake City, and not just for the lack of night life.

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

In a word: consistency. Although you’d expect a young team to have some mental lapses, this team has been consistent only in its inconsistency. It’s amazing that a team can compete with just about anyone in the league and then lose to a lowly opponent in the same week. The Jazz also need to improve on the road and on the second night of back-to-back games. Last year, the team tried to simply outscore its opponents – in order to complete with the elite, though, the team needs to commit to playing defense. Raja Bell (aka, the Kobe-killer) will help.

4. What are the goals for this team?

The Northwest division (at least on paper) is stacked. The traditional goals are to win the Northwest division and reach the Western Conference Finals. This team is certainly capable of meeting those goals (if they gel and commit to playing team defense); a more realistic goal, however, would be to aim for one of the top two spots in the division and reach the Conference Semi-Finals come Playoff time. Utah will be solid at Energy Solutions Arena, as usual – another attainable goal would be to take the “Energy” on the road and post a winning record away from home.

Beginning next Monday, check in at Salt City Hoops for a team-by-team preview series of how the Jazz stack up against all of the NBA contenders.

BLOGGER PREVIEWS after the jump…

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In NBA, Utah Jazz 2010-11 Schedule, jazz

by Jefferson W. Boswell

(Scott Sommerdorf/The Salt Lake Tribune)

If you didn’t look close, you might have missed it. Something was different Saturday night with Sundiata Gaines, he of Cavalier-Killer, Green-Team, Buzzer-Beater fame, when the Utah Jazz held their intra-squad scrimmage. In addition to the new logo, new court, and Gaines’ new position on the depth chart (fourth) – ‘Yata had switched uniform numbers….from 15 to 2.

Recall that a nifty financial move sent Matt Harpring’s limping contract to Oklahoma City for luxury tax relief last year. As part of that deal, however, promising rookie point guard Eric Maynor was sacrificed to a division rival that has only gotten better with the emergence of Kevin Durrant as a true superstar. To fill the void in Sloan’s point guard rotation, Utah went out and scooped up Sundiata Gaines from the Idaho Stampede. Most assumed he would find a spot at the end of the roster and end of the bench…instead, he calmly hit one of the biggest shots of the year for the Jazz. Peculiarly, he spent his first NBA season sporting number 15….only days removed from Harpring’s exit to OKC. [Note: Matty never donned a Thunder jersey – he failed to report and was later waived by OKC].

This year, Harpring will join the broadcast team for the Jazz as a color commentator, alongside Craig Bolerjack. Another key member of the Jazz TV crew? Jeff Hornacek.

I have always been impressed with Horny’s ability to excel in the Jazz system. Playing with John and Karl would have made almost anyone better [compare, however, Greg Ostertag]. Jeff Hornacek came into Utah and seemingly helped a good team get over the hump. With Horny’s help, the Jazz won back to back Western Conference Finals [damn you, Michael Jordan]. In essence, though, Hornacek was a role player that put in the work night in and night out. To thank him, the Jazz organization hired him as a broadcaster (and part-time shooting coach), and hung his number 14 in the rafters.

(George Frey/AFP/Getty Images)

Could the same fate be in the future for Matt Harpring? Number 15 is no longer occupied by Cav-Killer Gaines. Intrigued by the possibility, I took a closer look at the careers of these Jazzmen:

	Jeff Hornacek	Matt Harpring
Seasons in Utah	7	7
Total Games Played in Utah	477	474
Career Minutes/Game	31.5	26.4
Career Points/Game	14.5	11.5
Career Free Throw Percentage	87.7%	75.3%
Career Rebounds/Game	3.4	4.9
Career Assists/Game	4.9	1.4

Playoff Games in Utah	100	39

While Hornacek has the statistical advantage, there must be some allocation for the teams he played for. In the late 1990s, Utah was a perennial powerhouse in the Western Conference. Harpring played only one season with the Stockton-to-Malone dynamic duo. Interestingly, during the 2002-2003 campaign (the last stand of Stockton and Malone), he posted career numbers:

78 games

31.4 mins. per game

17.6 points per game

79.2% FT percentage

6.6 rebounds per game

1.7 assists per game

Following Stockton’s retirement and Malone’s foray into Laker-land, Matt Harpring was left as a solid role player, unexpectedly elevated to Team Captain by Jerry Sloan. Harpring provided veteran leadership to a young team and helped maneuver Utah through some of the leanest years in the current era. He surely played a key role in bringing Coach Sloan’s ethos of fundamental and hard nosed basketball to life. I recall watching Matt Harpring drive to the hoop with more zeal than most fullbacks. Hampered by injuries and the additions of Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and D-Will, Harpring’s on-court role with the team diminished, but his character seemed contagious: blue-collar Jazz basketball lived on…if starring new talent.

Matt Harpring’s attitude and effort will hopefully be echoed by the current roster. As fans, we will have the opportunity to observe him calling out poor decisions and wasted effort as a color-commentator. I’m not sure that Sundiata Gaines uniform number change was in honor of Matt Harpring. I’m not even sure that Harpring is or was as valuable to the team as Jeff Hornacek. I am sure, however, that Matt Harpring epitomized the very reason I cheer for the Utah Jazz. He is an aggressive defender that played hard every time he stepped onto the court – he played the way we wish all of our favorite players would play. Perhaps his name and number in the rafters will influence a new generation of hard work and making the most of each opportunity.

Contact Jefferson at jeffersonboz AT gmail DOT com

NBA Playoffs Round 2: Lakers at Jazz Game 4 Preview

Spencer Hall — May 10, 2010 — 9 Comments

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Game Details:
Coverage: TNT
8:30 PM MDT, May 10, 2010
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT

ESPN Preview

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By now you all know the details. You’ve come down off the ledge after Saturday’s instant-classic-with-the-wrong-ending. So what do you think about tonight? I think the Jazz come out flat but end up fighting back and eventually win the game on pride alone. There is no empirical basis for that prediction, only one man’s wish to not have to watch a sweep.

In the meantime, let’s talk Derek Fisher for a minute. All the reports of the game are going crazy about Jazz fans booing Fish, which is clearly a euphemism for the nasty, personal, taunting things that are hurled his way every time he plays in SLC, post-Jazz. The booing alone is no reason for people to be upset; Carmelo was booed, Kobe gets booed, Dirk gets booed, even the Red Panda would get booed if she came out to perform wearing a Lakers jersey.

As someone in attendance during the game, I can honestly say it didn’t seem like Fisher was getting booed any worse than any of the other visiting players. Arash Markazi heard some things that he described thusly: “To say their taunts are personal and crossing the line would be a massive understatement.”

I have my opinions on the circumstances surrounding Fisher’s departure from Utah a few years ago, but it seems irrelevant anyway. I can’t, and won’t, defend the actions of the fans who choose to yell personal insults at the players, no matter the back story. It’s always unnerving, in any arena, to watch a fan scream at a player with the kind of venom that reveals nasty things about our society. Pardon the metaphor, but it’s like watching a 14-year old kid shaking cages in a pet store. He’s always tough when they can’t bite back.

I’d like to see the day when the whole “____ sucks” chant is completely forgotten. It’s just embarrassing and isn’t even original. Any chanting that happens should be original at least, and funny at best. Good fan work is exactly that: it’s work. The geniuses sitting behind the basket in Game 3 wearing the same clothes as Kobe from his exotic East India pictures for the LA Times Magazine? Perfect.

Personally, I just want to be entertained. AND ARE WE NOT ENTERTAINED? Fisher may have ripped out the hearts of Jazz fans with his performance in Game 3, but it wasn’t long ago that he gave us one of the greatest moments in Jazz history when he checked into the game straight from the airport and hit a huge 3 to push the Jazz to victory. Few players in the history of the game have had as many big moments in the playoffs as Fisher, and I appreciate it. All I want from a game, or a movie, or a concert, is to be entertained, and Fisher has done more that his fair share of that over the years.

Anyway, let’s bring the noise tonight and keep it interesting and funny. And obviously cancer- and kid-free, sheesh. We probably shouldn’t even have to set that as a baseline. As an olive branch to Fisher, here’s a clip from his website offering some insight into what was going on when he was released from his contract with the Jazz by the late owner Larry Miller.

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If you’d like a little pick-me-up, check out the nice post by nice post by JL Cauvin on why we follow the Jazz. There are a few factual errors, but it’s the sentiment I enjoy.

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Follow the game on the ESPN Daily Dime Live Chat. I’ll be taking questions and posting your comments. Stop in and say what’s on your mind.

In NBA, Utah Jazz Game 4, jazz, Lakers, NBA Playoffs, Round 2