Archives For Preseason

JazzRank 10: DeMarre Carroll

Evan Hall —  October 25, 2012 — 2 Comments

As we move into the top 10 of JazzRank, we start to see the biases of bloggers show forth. If bloggers are simultaneously fans and writers who make no effort to distinguish between those two roles, then we have a right to eschew objectivity and praise the good name of DeMarre Carroll to our hearts content. After all, if there’s one skill you can see every time you turn on a basketball game, it’s drive, and Carroll has that in spades. As the man himself says, hard work is a talent, and at least in that department, there may not be a more talented player on the Jazz roster.

Offseason Accomplishments: Jazz chose to retain him; shattered the records for most tweets from an NBA player with the hashtags #staypositive and #blessed (an impressive feat); started his own T-shirt line (even using the #blessed hashtag on some of those T-shirts); lost the title for most entertaining Jazz-related twitter feed to Enes Kanter, but still maintains a vice grip on the number two position;

Patronus: Junkyard Dog. He chose this one. Not us. I know this probably isn’t what DeMarre had in mind, but I couldn’t help myself.

Stat to Watch: True Shooting Percentage. Frankly, DeMarre Carroll’s straight field goal percentage was mediocre at best last season, but even when accounting for threes and free throws as True Shooting Percentage does, it was still wallowing in the Josh Howard dungeon. Shockingly, that’s actually unfair to Josh Howard. In order to deserve an increase in minutes, Carroll cannot be such an offensive liability. To play the three, Carroll will have to either get to the line more, hone his jump-shooting, or preferably do both. I love DeMarre Carroll if for no other reason than he always cares more than every other player on the floor, but Rudy only played one throwaway series at the end of a blow-out, and unless Carroll wants to get the same kind of playing time for the Jazz that Rudy got for the Irish, he will need more than pure effort. He will need an improved offensive skill set.

Three Outcomes for the Season

1. Carroll improves his perimeter defense and his shooting enough to warrant legitimate playing time at the three and at the four in small line-ups. The best part about this scenario is that it might warrant some re-examination and editing on his typo-ridden ESPN profile that can be found here.

2. Carroll plays himself out of the NBA. This is a real possibility, considering how little interest he garnered at the beginning of the lockout-shortened season. He has played hard and well in limited minutes with the Jazz, and there’s no reason he couldn’t do the same on another team, but players like Carroll get aced out of positions on NBA rosters all the time. Just ask Jordan Farmar. And sadly, Blake Ahearn.

3. Carroll continues to play well enough to warrant a roster spot but remains an end-of-the-bench, wave-the-towel player. This would not be so bad. As a Jazz fan, I feel better just knowing that a player who works as hard as Carroll is in every practice. In fact, I think more teams should consider signing on guys like DeMarre, just to amp up the intensity of the practices and make sure the starts don’t get complacent. Can somebody please find a roster spot for Blake Ahearn?

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Preseason Game 5: Clippers 96 – Jazz 94

Spencer Hall —  October 18, 2012 — 2 Comments

No grades from this game, even though I was thoroughly entertained. The only thing that needs to be remembered for posterity is the Jeremy Evans Block/Dunk/Steal end-to-end-to-end play shown above.

The boxscore shows that the Jazz missed a lot of free throws (20-31) and missed a lot of open shots (33-81) and probably only stayed in the game due to hitting eight threes (shoutout to John Hollinger). Randy Foye lead the team in scoring with with 17 in his return to Staples, and Enes Kanter again lead the team in rebounds with nine. Check the nice writeup by Kevin Arnovitz.

Even though the Clippers were fresh off a big trip to China, it looked like the Jazz were the jet-lagged team. Lots of fumbled catches, poor passes, silly turnovers, and defensive lapses. In other words, it was a very preseasony preseason game from an execution standpoint. What I liked, however, was the chippy vibe. It may have been a meaningless exhibition, but I liked the way Blake Griffin and Paul Millsap were going at each other like it was a playoff game. I’ve been saying for a minute that the Clippers are more unlikable than the Lakers, and Wednesday’s game seemed to show that the Jazz players feel similarly. With all the Griffin faces and complaining and whining, it’s remarkable that no one just walks up and slaps him, just to tell him to snap out of it.

That’s not to say I don’t enjoy watching Griffin and Chris Paul do their thing–I just don’t think anyone wants to watch Griffin transform his on-court persona into a horrible amalgamation of the worst parts of Tim Duncan’s incredulous stare, Kevin Garnett’s intimidation tactics and bullying, and Chris Paul’s victim playing and flopping. Come on, Blake. You’re better than this.

The only upside to his nonsense is the budding rivalry between the two teams. Luckily for us, the two teams meet again on Saturday in Salt Lake. Can’t wait.

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Preseason Game 4: Jazz 114 – Lakers 80

Spencer Hall —  October 17, 2012 — 1 Comment

I loved everything about this game. I don’t even care that it’s the preseason. Anytime the Jazz can win by 34 points and the home fans still get to watch a vintage Kobe performance, everybody wins. It was a great night to have Karl Malone visiting the NBA TV studio, too.

These grades are admittedly ridiculous, but with 11 players scoring at least 8 points, it was a rare exhibition of near perfection for the last three quarters from the Jazz. The new up-tempo style looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch, if this game is any indication. With such a deep bench, the fast speed might be the key to getting more players involved. The Jazz may not have a superstar, but they have a ton of players waiting to get some run. I’m hoping for some breakneck speed and five-man line changes.

Utah Jazz 114 Final
Recap | Box Score		 80 Los Angeles Lakers
Marvin Williams, F 22 MIN | 3-8 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 10 PTS | +17

Beautiful
Paul Millsap, F 22 MIN | 3-8 FG | 2-2 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 8 PTS | +11

Amazing
Gordon Hayward, F 19 MIN | 4-8 FG | 3-3 FT | 1 REB | 3 AST | 13 PTS | +10

Brilliant
Al Jefferson, C 22 MIN | 3-6 FG | 6-6 FT | 7 REB | 2 AST | 12 PTS | +14

Spectacular
Jamaal Tinsley, G 22 MIN | 3-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 8 PTS | +14

Awesome
Derrick Favors, F 22 MIN | 3-3 FG | 4-5 FT | 5 REB | 4 AST | 10 PTS | +24

Fantastic
DeMarre Carroll, F 17 MIN | 4-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 4 AST | 8 PTS | +21

Beautiful
Enes Kanter, C 19 MIN | 4-5 FG | 2-3 FT | 6 REB | 1 AST | 10 PTS | +25

Beautiful
Alec Burks, G 23 MIN | 4-4 FG | 3-6 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 12 PTS | +20

Genius
Kevin Murphy, G 12 MIN | 3-4 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 8 PTS | +1

Awesome
Randy Foye, G 18 MIN | 4-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 10 PTS | +25

Awesome
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Preseason Game 3: Jazz at Lakers

Spencer Hall —  October 13, 2012 — 12 Comments

JAZZvsLAL-preseason-G03

UTAH JAZZ (1-1) vs. LOS ANGELES LAKERS (0-2)
Preseason Game #3 • AWAY Game #2 • STAPLES Center • Los Angeles
October 13, 2012 • 8:30 p.m. (MT) • TV: None
RADIO: 1280 AM/97.5 FM

Coming off a nice win at home last night against Kevin Durant and the OKC Thunder, the Jazz get their first look at the new Laker superteam. Kobe is questionable for the game with a shoulder injury and Dwight Howard is still recovering from back surgery and won’t play. The two teams will play again on Tuesday in Anaheim.

Once again Paul Millsap will be away from the team while he is with his family following the death of his grandmother. All our best to him and his family. Earl Watson is still out while he rehaps his left knee. Jamaal Tinsley is back with the team after missing Friday’s game for personal reasons.

The Lakers are winless in the preseason, with losses to Golden State and Portland. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the third quarter is the LA achilles heel:

Leading by seven at halftime of their first preseason contest against Golden State and tied with Portland through two quarters in their second preseason outing, the Lakers were outscored 37-10 by the Warriors and 29-18 by the Trail Blazers in the third quarter; a 66-28 overall total for the two third quarters combined (38 point margin). For sake of comparison, during the 2011-12 season, the Lakers also outscored their opponent in the opening half 48.9 to 47.7 points on average but were also outscored in the third quarter, albeit by a quite slimmer margin (23.6 points for the Lakers to 23.7 points for all opponents).

Not that you care, but the Lakers and Jazz have played each other 14 times in the preseason, with games also played in Provo, Honolulu, Ogden, Anaheim and Fresno.

Some interesting stuff about Coach Corbin in the game notes:

With a basketball career spanning 30 years, Corbin has both played and coached under some of basketball’s best. In addition to seven seasons working as an assistant under Jerry Sloan and another three seasons playing for him, Corbin also played for Rick Adelman, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Pat Riley and Lenny Wilkens over 16 seasons as a player. In fact, Corbin is tied for the second-most NBA playing experience among all current NBA head coaches, trailing only Golden State’s Mark Jackson (17 seasons) by one season.

The game won’t be televised, sadly. In the meantime, here are some highlights of Gordon Hayward’s great performance against the Lakers in April of 2011, just for fun:

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Preseason Game 2: Jazz 97 – Thunder 81

Spencer Hall —  October 13, 2012 — Leave a comment

Oklahoma City Thunder 81 Final
Recap | Box Score		 97 Utah Jazz
Marvin Williams, F 23 MIN | 3-6 FG | 3-4 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 10 PTS | +13

A nice, if unremarkable showing in his home debut.
Gordon Hayward, F 21 MIN | 3-10 FG | 7-8 FT | 7 REB | 2 AST | 13 PTS | +12

Poor shooting again from Hayward, but it’s clear
Derrick Favors, F 18 MIN | 0-5 FG | 1-2 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 1 PTS | +5

Favors posted his second straight disappearing act. One possible explanation for Favors’ struggles? Maybe his confidence has been shot by seeing Enes’ abs every day in the locker room.
Al Jefferson, C 21 MIN | 6-10 FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 3 AST | 12 PTS | +12

Jefferson looks much quicker on his feet than I’ve ever seen. His strong baseline dunk was a beautiful change from the man who once said dunking wasn’t his game.

Mo Williams, G 23 MIN | 6-7 FG | 1-2 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 15 PTS | +13

A nice little showing in Mo’s home return.

Jeremy Evans, F 16 MIN | 1-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 2 PTS | -5

It’s hard to come up with a scenario that opens up more playing time for Evans. In the meantime, he’s going to have to take advantage of the lobs and out-of-bounds set plays that give him chances to use his freaky athleticism.

Enes Kanter, C 18 MIN | 5-9 FG | 2-2 FT | 12 REB | 1 AST | 12 PTS | +8

The nasty baseline dunk shown above was all I needed to see to finally go all-in on the new Kanter Era. He’s still awkward at times, but he gobbles up rebounds and plays with infectious energy. He’s also showing off some new range with that little 15-ft jumper. I like what I’m seeing from Kanter.

Alec Burks, G 18 MIN | 4-6 FG | 3-7 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 11 PTS | +7

It looks like Burks and Randy Foye will probably share a lot of time at the backup point guard spot. Burks makes things happen whenever he’s on the floor, so it’ll be interesting to see how the coaches find time for him to shine.

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Undefeated Preseason: Jazz beat Kings 82-71, prepare to go 82-0

Spencer Hall —  October 22, 2010 — 2 Comments

Fesenko was surprisingly nimble. Rik Smits 2.0. Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)

There was no ginger ale celebration in the locker room after the Jazz finished off the first undefeated preseason in club history. Instead, the predictably cautionary voice of coach Jerry Sloan reminded the press that everything changes after tonight. The 82-71 victory over the Sacramento Kings moved the Jazz to 8-0 as they wrapped up the preseason, but Sloan was quick to point out the many areas the team needs to improve (defense, defense, defense). When asked what he liked most about the preseason, his response was classic: “I liked the players we had to let go.”

In Sloan-ese, the sharpest criticism is often the highest compliment. The day-old roster cuts of Jeffers, Nichols, Gaines, and Thompson were clearly felt, and Sloan used their strong contributions as a genius opportunity to offer a compliment to the departed and a reality check to those who made the team. The preseason record may not mean anything in June, but the camaraderie and chemistry is clearly forming. With Deron Williams sitting out due to personal reasons, the Jazz relied on solid, if unspectacular, play from backup point guards Earl Watson (who started) and Ronnie Price. After the game, Price commented on the team chemistry: “We had a solid training camp. Everyone picked up the offense quickly, even the rookies and new guys. Everyone has fit into their spot from Day One. You expect the veterans to come in and know the NBA game, but for a rookie to come in and have a change of tempo, a change of lifestyle, have so many things thrown at him so fast, really shows a lot of character. It shows what kind of guys we have on this team.”

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Notes:

Everything that comes out of Al Jefferson’s mouth is prefaced with “The Matrix.” It’s inexplicable. He uses it as an expression of amazement, as emphasis, to show surprise. It just isn’t as catchy as a simple Whatupdoe?

Speaking of CJ, Miles left the game with sprained right ankle that seemed to give out as he attacked the basket in the second quarter. He’s officially listed as day-to-day but wasn’t in the locker room after the game.

Kyrylo Fesenko put on a show with a variety of post moves that left the crowd stunned at his display of agility and aggressiveness. On two consecutive plays in the fourth quarter he simply made his defender look silly as he bullied his way to the middle for a jump hook the first time and spun baseline for a reverse layup on the second. (As soon in the picture above.)

Tweet of the night:

Ross Siler with a quick primer on more Sloan-ese:

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ESPN AP Recap | Boxscore

Next game: Season opener, Wednesday, October 27, 2010 at Denver, 7:00 pm

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Preseason Game F: Jazz 99 – Lakers 94: The Gordon Hayward Game

Spencer Hall —  October 18, 2010 — 1 Comment

by Fareed Taghvaee
Special to Salt City Hoops
Follow @tag_fareed

Hayward’s Big Night leads Jazz to rare win in Staples

The Utah Jazz remain unbeaten in the preseason with a 99-94 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. All you need to know about the game is this: Gordon Hayward had a breakout performance with 26 points and 5 rebounds and Kobe Bryant showed he is still a beast by putting on a vintage performance in the third quarter. CJ Miles, Al Jefferson and Andrei Kirilenko added 15, 14, and 13 points respectively. These same teams go at it again Tuesday in Anaheim, and yours truly will likely be in attendance.

Hayward Breaks Out

The rookie out of Butler had a big time game against the reigning champs. Let’s repeat that line again: 26 points and 5 rebounds in a win against the Lakers at Staples. Hayward had his best offensive night, but did it in the most impressive way. He got points coming off baseline screens, jumpers from the elbow, wide open shots and baskets in transition. He had what I thought to be the play of the game with the baseline fake on Devin Ebanks, which lead to an acrobatic layup.

Hayward should get at least ten minutes a game early in the season. Jerry Sloan clearly appreciates what Hayward brings to the game. We haven’t seen many Jazz rookies this smart, this early. Tonight Hayward showed a glimpse of the player he could turn into. He may never be a consistent 20 ppg scorer, but he could thrive in this offense. His ability to hit jumpers, get to the basket and pass could turn him into a 13-16 ppg scorer. And while he showed his potential tonight, consistency will be his his biggest challenge this season. His other challenge will be managing the boarding passes for the Gordon Hayward Bandwagon. It’s filling up fast.

Rotations Set?

Jerry Sloan played 11 players tonight, and the remaining spots in the rotation will be decided by as the winner of the backup point guard battle. Ronnie Price plays hard and makes energy plays, but his inconsistency and predictable poor decisions hurt his momentum. Earl Watson has been steady, but unspectacular. Watson had the unfortunate task of guarding Kobe Bryant in the 3rd quarter and had and excellent view as Kobe poured in 19 points before mercifully sitting out for the fourth quarter. To Watson’s credit, he maintained composure on the offensive end of the court and kick started the Jazz rally that carried into the fourth quarter.

Andrei Kirilenko has been energetic and solid. His mini stat lines look similar to the AK of the past. His consistency in the preseason is impressive and bodes well for the Jazz this season. A happy AK is a productive AK and he seems to be both happy and healthy. The energy he provides is best served from the bench, in my opinion. I think a strong week from Hayward could land him starting at three alongside Raja Bell.

Mr. Whatupdoe? himself has really played himself out of the starting lineup, but in a good way. CJ Miles’ ability to be a scoring punch and spark off the bench may have landed him a role on the bench. It is worth noting that CJ had a very sneaky stat line (15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals). A second unit featuring AK and CJ Miles would be very strong.

Technically speaking

The new technical foul rules continue to muddy the game. Laker rookie Devin Ebanks was the latest victim. His late technical for a demonstrative gesture after being called for a foul all but sealed the game for the Jazz. Prior to his “outburst” there were veterans on both teams with similar reactions. Not to mention Lamar Odom hanging on the rim with no repercussions. Now I know that Kevin Garnett did get kicked out of a game because of the rule, but will there be a veteran exception? Will the rule even last? Read Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski’s screed against the new rules.

Tweet of the Night

“Big Fez tells LA crowd about elbow to Odom, ‘if he dies, he dies’.” – @1BIGVIC

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ESPN AP Recap | Boxscore

Next game:
Jazz at Lakers, Tuesday, October 19, 2010.
The Pond at Anaheim at 8pm Mountain Time.

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Preseason Game D: Jazz 108 – Suns 97: Still Undefeated

Spencer Hall —  October 15, 2010 — 3 Comments

by Fareed Taghvaee
Special to Salt City Hoops
Follow @tag_fareed

Al Jefferson continues his strong play as the Utah Jazz defeated the Phoenix Suns 108-97, remaining undefeated in the preseason. The Jazz trailed the Suns at the half, but Jefferson had 12 points in the third to put the Jazz in the lead for good. Deron Williams added 11 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. This is the first time the Utah Jazz are 4-0 in the preseason since 1975-1976.

This is why Jeremy Evans is fun to watch. Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE/Getty Images)

Touch the Sky:

It is hard not to like Jeremy Evans. He is humble, a great artist and can jump out of the gym. He went from a guy trying to make the roster, to a guy fighting for minutes. Evans continued his impressive preseason with a 12-point (5-5 FG 2-2 FT), 4 rebound, 3-steal night. The way he runs the slip screen and back cut for the alley-oop dunk looks just like a young Tyson Chandler. It will be interesting to see if Evans can crack the rotation. If he can play his tail off for 10 minutes a game he could be a major asset for this team.

Jerry’s Poker Face:

Jerry Sloan is incredibly hard to read. Just when you think you have figured him out he throws a monkey wrench at you (sometimes literally). Obviously Deron, Millsap and Al are locked in. AK appears destined to be the sixth man. Raja Bell has played three consecutive games as the second unit shooting guard. He, Fesenko and AK have played as a unit for three straight games as well. The interesting twist tonight was Earl Watson playing with the above mentioned bench players. So who does Sloan start? Gordon Hayward is struggling with finishing, but can start offensively for the Jazz today. Whether he can defend and score is another question that needs to be answered soon. The conundrum is whether to start CJ or Raja? It would make more sense to pair a veteran with a youngster (CJ/AK, Hayward/Raja). Clearly Sloan has started to figure out who will play this season. It’s up to Hayward, Evans and Price to make their case for the rest of the minutes. It would be nice to see Al with Fes and more of Millsap and AK.

Battle Ground:

There are four players fighting for one spot on this team, and while all of them have shown flashes, none of them have taken the lead. Demetris Nichols seems to be on the outside. He has nice size, is a streak shooter, but hasn’t offered much else much more than shooting on the offensive end.  His previous experience in the league also means he is set to make roughly $850,000, and with tax uncertainty the Jazz might prefer to save money by going with a rookie.

Othyus Jeffers still seems to be in the lead, but his limitations showed tonight. He has the heart of a warrior, but is just to small and struggles with his shot.

Sundiata Gaines went from not playing to getting good time in the game against the Suns. Would the Jazz consider keeping him as the third PG and move Price to combo guard, with minutes at the two?

Ryan Thompson is a nice player, but does he have a standout moment? The best thing going for him right now is his salary and age. He has a week to make this roster. If he can’t make it, hopefully he decides to play for the Utah Flash and stay close to the team.

Randomness:

Al Jefferson doesn’t appear to get assisted on baskets as much as Carlos Boozer, who benefited big time from Deron Williams. Will Jefferson’s ability to create in the post mean fewer assists for Deron Williams? Millsap can run the pick and pop game with Williams, but Al is probably not going to shoot off the screen like Boozer did.

CJ Miles seems to really struggle when he plays with the second unit. He got his easiest shots with the starters and has always benefited playing with Deron. This kind of leads me to believe he will start, but can the Jazz start CJ and Hayward together?

Best of the Rest:

Deron Williams had a solid stat line tonight. I could see his assists coming down some this season, but an increase in rebounds and points.

Paul Millsap is struggling to find his place in this new cast. The answer might be featuring him in the second unit, or simply running the pick and pop game with him. One thing is for sure, Paul is a stud. He managed to impact the game in other areas without scoring a lot of points.

Earl Watson was excellent tonight. He had no turnovers, set up people nicely, and took shots within the flow of the offense. If he can put up performances like that consistently he will be a welcomed addition to the backcourt. The comments that have been made by the players during camp leads me to believe that Watson is the guy.

Hopefully Big Fes’ injury is not too serious. The official word was sprained wrist, day to day. His play of late has likely distanced him some from the injured Fransisco Elson, but this injury could catapult Elson back into the competition. [Editor's note: Fes was in good spirits after the game despite a huge ice wrap covering his whole hand. The immobilized hand made for a funny scene as Fesenko clowned for the press while trying to put his clothes on one-handed.]

Tweet of the Night:

“Big Al, Big Third Quarter: 12 points, 4 rebounds, unquantifiable amounts of sweat.” @DJJazzyJody

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ESPN AP Recap | Box Score | Next Game: Saturday, October 16 vs LA Clippers at Staples Center. 5:30pm

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Preseason Game C: Jazz 105 – Suns 100: Othyus Jeffers doin’ work

Spencer Hall —  October 13, 2010 — 1 Comment

This is what 3-0 looks like. It's similar to what 0-3 looks like. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

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By Fareed Taghvaee
Special to Salt City Hoops
Follow @tag_fareed

Despite a late rally by the Phoenix Suns, the Utah Jazz held on in Arizona to beat the Phoenix Suns 105-100 in preseason action. The Jazz were paced by Al Jefferson with 16 points and 5 rebounds, CJ Miles scored 13, and Othyus Jeffers added 12. The two teams meet again on Thursday at Energy Solutions Arena….and on TV, no less! (FSN Utah at 7:00 local time).

Who makes the Roster?

Although Jeremy Evans is clearly a fan favorite, and Ryan Thompson has the family pedigree,  I am going out on a limb and predicting that Othyus Jeffers will make this team. The reason Wesley Matthews made the Jazz last season as an undrafted rookie (aside from the injuries) was he accepted his role, was cool, calm, collected and did what he needed to do to make the roster. Though he’s clearly no Matthews, there is only one Jazz player playing this way thus far, and it is Jeffers. He’s the guard version of Houston’s Chuck Hayes. He is under-sized, cannot shoot, but is all hustle; he is Rudy personified. He busts his butt when he is in the game and gets all of his points and stats through the flow of the offense. Thus far he is the only wing that is actually moving without the ball and cutting to the basket. There is a lot of time left, but I am calling my shot that Jeffers makes this team. One gigantic factor will be the contract issue. He stands to make roughly $600,000 more than Ryan Thompson this season.

Just when I thought you couldn’t possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like this… and totally redeem yourself!

Last night I was ready to totally write off Demetris Nichols (and in fact I did), but he shook off his poor night and came to play in his first opportunity with extended minutes. He played some great help defense and hit some big shots while Utah made a rally in the second and tried to hold onto their lead in the fourth.

Gordon Hayward is a gamer. He struggled again with foul trouble and his offensive game, but managed to make a positive impact with his intangibles. His playmaking abilities in the Jazz half court sets are going to make him a great asset for this team. If he can learn to score within the offense (Harpring curl, Korver spot up) he will be a beast. A white, cherubic, beast.

Kosta Koufos is relegated to vocal exercise for Tas and Skeets and hoping for garbage time in Minnesota, but Jeremy Evans will bear the torch for fans of Boom Beaches [sic] everywhere. He scored 6 points (off 2 dunks) and snagged an offensive rebound in less than two minutes. [Editor's note: That comparison should in no way be interpreted to mean that Koufos was some kind of offensive microwave.]

Color me unimpressed with Ryan Thompson. He seems like a solid player, but he doesn’t stand out in anyway.

Best of the Rest:

Deron Williams and Paul Millsap were under the radar, and some could voice concern over Millsap’s back-to-back quiet nights. It’s early in the preseason, Millsap has struggled while Jefferson seems to be finding his place after a slow start. Part of that has to do with foul trouble, but the Millsap Paradox seems to be on display.

AK continues his steady play having 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block. It is worth noting that Fes, AK and Raja Bell were in the second unit for the second straight night.

Raja Bell could quietly have a big year. If he can defend and hit his shots he could easily have a 12 ppg season.

Fes impressed tonight because he played through adversity and had a good night for a backup. Fes needs to buy into a role. If he does nothing more than simply rebound, defend, and slam home the ball on offense it will be a huge win for the Jazz. He was trying to be too cute tonight, which might be his basketball epitaph if he doesn’t counter with beastly play on the court.

Backup Battle:

The battle at point guard between Ronnie Price and Earl Watson is interesting to say the least. Sloan doesn’t care about playing a certain player first or last. In the past he has played the veteran PG later in the game. In fact, Ronnie Price played the similar role last season. Price was great tonight. His unit was by the far the most efficient for the Jazz and brought them back from a sluggish start to finish the half up. He finished the game with 5 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists (all in the second quarter). Earl Watson has been steady, but with no sizzle.

What up Doe?

CJ Miles again has a Jekyll and Hyde first and second halves. M.I.A. in one half and explode in the second. Inconsistency and CJ Miles go hand in hand. Once again are bound for another season marred by inconsistency and faux hope? Hopefully Miles builds on his excellent playoff series and does not revert to his previous self.

Tweet of the Night:

In reference to @tribjazz ’s tweet that Millsap has been having quiet performances on back to back nights…

“Do you think Millsap is distracted by news of the Chilean miners?” @LostTacoVendor

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Preseason Game B: Jazz 109 – Blazers 100: Big Fes has a big time game in Jazz win

Spencer Hall —  October 12, 2010 — 1 Comment

By Fareed Taghvaee
Special to Salt City Hoops
Follow @tag_fareed

Fesenko gets his Rik Smits on (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

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After an impressive home debut, the Jazz and Blazers went at it again, this time in Portland.  Much like Thursday’s game against the same team, the Jazz came out to a strong start.  Deron Williams took control of the Jazz attack and had 8 points in the first quarter.  However, the story of the game has to be the play of Kyrylo Fesenko, who finished with 18 pts and 7 rebs in the Jazz 109-100 win over the Blazers.

Fesenko seemed to get the message from Coach Sloan after some immaturity and inconsistency in the first game.  Fes has really been pushing for a spot in the rotation with an injury sidelining Mehmet Okur.  A Fes and AK 5/4 combination could be very intriguing.

Tale of Two Halves:

Ryan Thompson, making his first career start had some good moments in the first half.  Jazz Analyst, Ron Boone noted some solid footwork on the defensive end for the rookie.  He seemed to be involved and active throughout the quarter.  However, he was completely non-existent in the second half.

On the flipside CJ Miles, making his first start was a black hole in the first quarter.  In fact, Raja Bell (the first guy off the bench) replaced him over Ryan Thompson.  CJ did redeem himself with an explosive thrid quarter.  He scored 14 points in the second half.

Lessons Learned:

After solid debuts for Jeremy Evans and Gordan Hayward both seemed to struggle some tonight.  Hayward was frustrated after picking up two offensive fouls in the second quarter and be relegated to the bench.  While he had an inconsistent offensives night, Hayward found ways to be involved in the game.  He definitely had a “rookie” kind of night.  A telling sign will be how he responds tonight in Phoenix.  Evans was solid again.  He finished with 3 points and 5 rebounds.

Best of the Rest:

Al Jefferson had more of a standout game for the Jazz.  He struggled offensively in the first half, but came out strong in the second half, going 4-6 from the field and finsihing with 14 points and 6 rebounds.  Jefferson did seem to be out of place a lot in the first quarter on the offensive end, but over time he should be able to blend in better.

Paul Millsap was his usual consistent self.  He did have some problems with LaMarcus Aldridge on the defensive end.  When he gives up good position to long players they seem to score with ease.

The player nobody will talk about was Andrei Kirilenko.  He sparked a big run for the Jazz second unit and had 4 points and 5 rebounds in 7 minutes.  AK has looked very good at the 4 and his versatility and passing are way too valuable for the second unit.  AK will start the season as the 6th man, in my opinion.

Bubble Warriors:

To much surprise Sundiata Gaines started the second quarter for the Jazz, and played the entire quarter.  Gaines showed some good signs of leadership, but still was not a smooth floor general.  His unit had 6 turnovers in their quarter.  Right now Othyus Jeffers seems to be in the lead.  He has energy, plays hard and continues to impress in limited minutes.  Demetrius Nicholos effectively got himself cut with his performance in the second quarter.  He has a long way to go.

Interesting Note:

Sloan went with a D-League type lineup of Fesenko, Evans, Nicholos, Jeffers and Gaines for the last 5 minutes of the second quarter.  Matched up against mostly Blazers starters, they did surprisingly well and kept the Jazz in the lead going into half time.

Tweet of the Night:

“D-Will just hustled off bench to catch a full-court buzzer-beater attempt by #blazers. He then spiked it as if it were a TD reception.” – @DJJazzyJody

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ESPN.com AP Recap | Box Score

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