SB Nation - Paul Millsap

It's Not Lame, it's the 10 Days of Christmas - On the 8th day of Christmas...

Basketball John — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:00:05 -0000

...the Utah Jazz gave to me... Millsap's "toxic" contract

The Jazz made it very clear that they were going to re-sign Millsap no matter if it would cause them to go into luxury tax territory. What should have been a relatively easy process turned into somewhat of a soap opera.

A lot of that drama came because of third parties.

The first source came when Millsap's uncle and agent, DeAngelo Simmon, took on a partner in Ara Vartanian. There were claims that the Jazz weren't offering Millsap a "fair" deal. The two sides couldn't get a deal worked out. So being a restricted free agent, the Jazz decided to let the market set his price.

And what may be a glimpse into what Kevin O'Connor and the rest of the FO might have had to deal with, we had this quote from Vartanian about Millsap,

"Paul Millsap has got more game than anyone knows,'' said agent Ara Vartanian, who represents Millsap. "People just haven't seen it because he played in a structured offense (in Utah). But he can shoot, and I'm talking (range from) NBA three.''

I know it's the agent's responsibility to get the most value for their client, and we all love Millsap, but saying that he has NBA three-point range is absurd.

Though Millsap's agents were contacted by many teams, not many had the cap room to sign him. Those that did have cap room weren't rumored to have been making an offer. There was some rumblings that the Thunder might use their cap space to sign Millsap. But once the Thunder stated that they had no interest in signing him, it looked like the Jazz were going to be able to get Paul on the cheap.

That's where the second round of drama comes in. See, the Blazers had gobs of cap space, not to mention a salary cap exception.

They were on the verge of signing Hedo Turkoglu when he backed out at the last minute and ended up signing with the Raptors instead.

That left a little egg on the Blazer's face. Feeling like they had to do something with the cap room, they turned their focus to Paul.

They promised to offer a "toxic" contract offer to Millsap, one that would hurt the Jazz financially should they match. It became apparent that the Blazers didn't want so much to land Millsap as they wanted to strong-arm Utah into a three-way trade with Chicago or another team that would have landed Portland a point guard.

So regardless of what happened, the Blazers would benefit by either getting Millsap, getting a PG, or at the least, doing some financial damage to a division rival.

When the Jazz didn't give in to that, the Blazers made their "toxic" offer to Millsap which included a front-loaded max bonus of $10M. As has been stated here before, the remainder of Millsap's 4-year, $32M deal is actually pretty reasonable.

What's hypocritical about that whole situation is that just earlier this year, Portland got worked up about someone signing Darius Miles just to stick it to Portland. You see, they had a salary exception because they had Miles retire due to injury. But if he played in 10 games, that $9M they were saving would be put back on their salary total. They threatened to sue anyone:

The Portland Trail Blazers are aware that certain teams may be contemplating signing Darius Miles to a contract for the purpose of adversely impacting the Portland Trail Blazers Salary Cap and tax positions. Such conduct from a team would violate its fiduciary duty as an NBA joint venturer. In addition, persons or entities involved in such conduct may be individually liable to the Portland Trail Blazers for tortuously interfering with the Portland Trail Blazers' contract rights and perspective economic opportunities.

In fact, after the Jazz matched, Ross Siler reported that Millsap never had contact with the Blazers,

From what we learned Saturday, though, Millsap never visited Portland, never spoke on the phone with GM Kevin Pritchard or coach Nate McMillan and didn't get a July 1 call, raising the question of just how interested Portland was in actually having him.

Doesn't sound like they really ever wanted Paul.

What's done is done though and Millsap is still a Jazz man. He's still having to play behind Boozer this season. He's having a career year in FG% and FT% but is 0-2 from three-point land. Shocking.

Orlando Magic 104, Utah Jazz 99

Ben Q Rock — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:12:26 -0000

More photos » by Phelan M. Ebenhack - AP

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Propelled by Dwight Howard's lockdown defense and J.J. Redick's explosive scoring, the Orlando Magic gutted out another tough win at home, this time over the Utah Jazz by a 104-99 score. Howard's 5 blocked shots go "hand-in-hand" in limiting Utah to 28 points in the paint and 40.4% overall shooting, said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. Redick poured in 20 points off the bench, second on the team only to Howard, who scored 21, primarily at the foul line. This neck-and-neck game saw 19 lead changes and 18 ties, and Orlando only gained control for good after Rashard Lewis and Redick sank consecutive three-pointers with less than 5 minutes to play.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Jazz	105	93.9	44.4%	22.5	18.2	16.1
Magic	91	114.0	55.3%	47.0	14.3	17.5
Green denotes a stat better than the team's season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's season average.

As exciting as the game was in the end, it got off to an uneven start as both teams looked sluggish in the first half. Sure, it had its moments, like Redick's deep, off-balance three-pointer to beat the shot-clock buzzer halfway through the second period, but by and large both teams just felt each other out in a dull way. Orlando out-shot the Jazz handily, but Utah's 8 extra possessions helped it muster a 40-all tie at the half.

No, the fireworks didn't begin until the third period, which saw referee Sean Corbin eject Magic point guard Jason Williams on two quick techincal fouls during what appeared to be a reasoned enough conversation, as Williams pled his case after Corbin whistled him for fouling Utah's Deron Williams. Deron Williams' shot counted, and he drained both technical foul shots as well as the and-one, giving the Jazz a rare five-point possession. The quick ejection fired up the Amway Arena crowd, which stirred in the first half when the 6'04" Redick was called for a loose-ball foul trying to box out the Jazz's 6'11" Mehmet Okur, who leaned on Redick and nearly forced him to the ground. Mickael Pietrus, who hardly registered in the first half, drilled a three-pointer and got an easy dunk off a great feed from the double-teamed Howard. Both plays gave the Magic a one-point lead. The Magic also forced Utah to commit 7 turnovers in that quarter, after forcing just 6 in the entire first half. Van Gundy didn't think his team did anything differently, though, and said, "we're not really forcing turnovers, quite honestly. Teams are turning the ball over because we're more compact and trying to hold down field goal percentage and rebound the ball." He also said he thought the Magic are last in the league in forcing turnovers (they are, naturally; no detail escapes Van Gundy) because "it's not an emphasis of ours."

Redick didn't play in the third period, but started the fourth, joining Anthony Johnson--who did not appear in the first three quarters--in the backcourt. Redick's 11 points in the 4th were key, and it got to the point that Van Gundy left him in the game and subbed starting shooting guard Vince Carter at small forward because, said Van Gundy, "there was no way I was taking J.J. out." It was a risky move on his part because it left Carter guarding Andrei Kirilenko, to whom Carter yields 3 inches. Kirilenko made three three-pointers in the fourth quarter, two of them with Carter in the game. But Van Gundy's gambit ultimately paid off. Redick scored enough to compensate for whatever Carter gave up to Kirilenko on the other end. Plus, Carter drew the defense and assisted on the aforementioned Lewis three-pointer that broke the 86-all tie. He drove from the right side and found Lewis wide-open in the left corner. Ronnie Brewer, who was guarding Redick on the left wing at the time, tried to close hard on Lewis, but he couldn't get there quickly enough. There was a time early in his Magic career when Lewis would have seen Brewer charging at him and made the extra pass to Redick for the shot, but firing away himself was the proper move in this instance. There's no need to exchange one wide-open look for another. Lewis, by the way, scored 18 points. Let's see how many times this year he plays a key role and I manage to bury his contributions in the nether portions of the recap, shall we?

Orlando's offensive display in the fourth quarter, in which it scored 34 points, demonstrated how dangerous it can be when its shots drop and when it plays great defense. Sure, Utah scored 31 points of its own. However, 3 of those came on a meaningless, uncontested trey by C.J. Miles at the final horn, and the Magic can live with Kirilenko, who sports a career 30.9% three-point mark, teeing off from deep. What Van Gundy was most pleased with was, again, his players' ability to control the paint. Deron Williams was hardly able to get into the lane, which shut down Utah's drive-and-kick game and instead forced the Jazz into taking mid-range jumpers. Generally, it's the least efficient shot in basketball, but power forwards Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap have it in their arsenal, which makes it a good--but not great--option for the Jazz every so often. Incidentally, Millsap led all scorers with 23 points in just 26 minutes, shooting 9-of-12 from the field. Public address announcer Paul Porter became audibly more disgusted with each successive Millsap bucket.

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, though, must have been beside himself with each Redick basket. Redick said after the game "I'm not a guy who can afford to fall behind" in terms of game conditioning, so he must compensate by working hard and playing smart. He did so tonight. What's impressed me is his ability to create for himself off the dribble. One of the knocks on him coming out of college, and a criticism that persisted through last season, is that he's neither tall enough nor athletic enough to get shots off against NBA-caliber athletes and defenders. He's slowly but surely been able to convince me otherwise. Twice tonight he ran a pick-and-roll with Howard and got open shots for himself as a result, just by using some well-timed hesitation dribbles to fool his defender into thinking he was ready to pass to Howard on the roll. He displayed his awareness again at the 3:17 mark of the fourth quarter, when he cut hard from the right wing to the basket once his man left him to double Howard, who had the ball in the left mid-post. Howard found Redick, who laid it in softly for a 5-point Magic lead. He's shown tremendous confidence in the last several games, and throughout the whole season, really. He attributed the confidence boost to some good all-around performances in last year's playoffs, which carried over into his offseason workouts and preparation. Van Gundy said Redick "is playing with great confidence, and with good reason," later adding that "we have great confidence in him." I don't think anyone saw Redick's emergence coming, save for perhaps Redick himself.

When Van Gundy said, "If we continue to play with this kind of focus and intensity, then we're going to be in pretty good shape," he was probably right. Carter shot just 5-of-15 for 18 points (though Van Gundy praised his decision-making in crunch time), Jameer Nelson missed all 6 of his shots in his first 14 minutes of playing time in 5 weeks, and neither backup power forwards Ryan Anderson or Brandon Bass tallied a field goal. However, Orlando came through with a great showing on both sides of the ball. The Magic just might be turning the corner here on this homestand.

My thoughts on Nelson? He played a decent game, and looked excellent running two fast-breaks with Bass late in the third quarter. Johnson got the call at point guard over Nelson in the fourth quarter because, according to Van Gundy, Nelson's "decisions on when to shoot and when to pass were not real good, and that's to be expected." He said Nelson played "pretty well" overall and displayed "good quickness."

Bobcats Lose to Jazz 110-102

David Arnott — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 02:48:57 -0000

More photos » by Chuck Burton - AP

Raymond looks personally hurt by the tech called on him.

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The Bobcats lost to the Jazz 110-102 Saturday night. Coach Larry Brown pulled the starters with more than six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, save Gerald Wallace, probably figuring the game was headed for garbage time. However, the reserves mounted a comeback, led by D.J. Augustin, getting within six. There just weren't enough possessions, though, and Utah's crunch time lineup managed to hold on for the victory.

Highlights and lowlights after the jump.

BAD

-- There has to be a certain point after which we can't just disagree with the decision to play Stephen Graham, but try to do something concrete about it. LB played him about 10 minutes before garbage time. Graham has proven this season that he's completely useless to this team, and this game was no different. If he's just going to be filler on the wing while Stephen Jackson takes a breather, why can't Gerald Henderson do it, if only to put the NBA game and its speed in front of him? I've never said Henderson would certainly be a difference maker for the Bobcats, but I'd like to find out if he might be, yet we know hardly anything about what he can do because LB refuses to play him in favor of the proven mediocrity.

Henderson hit a three pointer and played unembarrassing defense in garbage time, which happened to be against the Jazz starters. He should get some of Stephen Graham's minutes. Derrick Brown got a DNP-CD. He should get some of Stephen Graham's minutes. Graham played the bulk of those early 10 minutes after Boris Diaw got his fourth foul in the third quarter, and LB went with a lineup of Felton, Jackson, Graham, Wallace, Chandler. That seems like the perfect situation to play either of the rookies, but apparently Stephen Graham is the coach's son, or something.

Graham in 2009: .154 3P% (2-13). 11.1 Pts/36. 5.0 Reb/36. 1.5 Ast/36. 8.7 PER. This is insane. That I'm highlighting this and we're already a quarter of the way through the season is insane. If I took over player personnel decisions, the first thing I'd do is cut Graham and bring back Dontell Jefferson or another D-League swingman. Make it stop. I beg you, Coach Brown.

-- I was happy to see Tyson Chandler spending most of his time on Carlos Boozer or Paul Millsap instead of Mehmet Okur, but Boozer and Millsap torched the Cats, and Chandler couldn't get anything going on offense. He didn't rebound, either, ending up with 2 points, both free throws, and only 5 rebounds in 32 minutes.

-- Boris Diaw scored 8 points in the first quarter, and then not at all the rest of the game. He did get 5 assists, but he also only managed 3 rebounds. I'm leaning more and more to the point of view that Jax makes Diaw's uniqueness less an advantage than a liability. We'd probably be better off on the first unit with an more traditional power forward than we are with Boris's reverse skill set. Here's an idea: when Augustin is in, he makes an ideal front court partner because they have similar skill sets, and that redundancy from those positions might be particularly difficult to address.

GOOD

-- Gerald Wallace played 45 minutes and was a game changer the entire time. Take your pick of highlights: 30 points on 16 attempts from the field (10-13 from the line), or 13 rebounds, or his ridiculous block on Ronnie Brewer's fast break layup attempt, or the ridiculous block he made on a Deron Williams shot that was ruled a goaltend (I wasn't sure from my upper deck angle). In all respects, Wallace looked like the best player on the floor, right there with Boozer and Williams, All Stars through and through.

-- D.J. Augustin was handed the keys to the offense in a low-stakes situation, and he made the most of it. In the first three quarters, most of his minutes were against Jazz backup point guard, Eric Maynor, but in the fourth, when Augustin did most of his damage, he played against Williams, a far bigger, stronger, guard. D.J. finished with 16 points on only 6 attempts from the field, thanks to a three pointer and going 9-10 from the line. He only got 1 assist, but that's who he is. He's a good scorer in the Damon Stoudemire mold, and when he's at his best, he's also got a little of Devin Harris in him, driving the lane to create contact. When he's allowed to be himself, this is the kind of game that can happen.

Gameday Preview Charlotte Bobcats vs. Utah Jazz

David Arnott — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:50:22 -0000

Pump Up Music: Rise Against -- "Give It All"

The Big Picture: The Utah Jazz have been a mixed bag this year. While they still have Deron Williams to lead the way, with Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap, and Mehmet Okur a fantastic big man rotation, some of their key cogs have missed time and they simply haven't put it all together. The way they've been playing recently, they don't look like a championship contender, but this same cast of characters was a nominal title contender each of the past couple years.

It remains to be seen if their young players, Wes Matthews and Eric Maynor, can be difference makers, but Matthews is starting (and getting starter's minutes!), while Maynor has settled in as the second unit's point guard.

Last night, in Atlanta, Jerry Sloan benched his starters as they were getting blown out by the Hawks in the third quarter, and no starter played more than 24 minutes, so they won't be as worn down as most teams are on the second half of a back to back.

Key to Victory: The Jazz have a couple of fire hydrants in Boozer and Millsap, short-ish, solid, guys who can't easily be moved off their spots. The Bobcats don't have anyone who's made a living by muscling in the post, and I worry that our decided lack of bulk will be a problem in the half court offense when the Jazz work the ball to their big men at the elbows.

Watch how Boozer, especially, gets the ball there with his back to the basket, and then guards and wing players streak past him to the goal, using him as a screen. His defender can either stick with Boozer and let the other guy dive to the basket unimpeded, allowing Boozer to pass him the ball for an easy layup. Or the defender can back off and help on the cutter, allowing Boozer to turn around and either shoot an elbow jumper, pass to another cutter, put the ball on the floor and drive the lane, or kick it back out to start all over again. If Boris Diaw won't be steamrolled by his heftier opponents, and he causes problems for the power forwards as they make decisions in the high post, the Jazz will have to play a different kind of offensive game that isn't necessarily suited to their personnel.

Detail That May Interest .08% of You: Carlos Boozer is one of three NBA players in history to have attended high school in Alaska. The other two? Mario Chalmers and fellow Dukie Trajan Langdon.

Let's Make Deron Williams An All-Star

aramnath — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:55:23 -0000

More photos » by George Frey - AP

Even though he's a top-3 point guard in the NBA, Deron Williams still hasn't made it to the All-Star Game. Let's change that. (AP Photo/George Frey)

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I know the man plays in Salt Lake City, but it's time to show Deron Williams some love. The guy has been an absolute beast the past three seasons. Him and Chris Paul are the only 2 point guards in the NBA to average double digits in points and assists over the past three years. Steve Nash would be there, but there was that whole Shaq thing that happened in Phoenix.

Superstars are supposed to elevate the level of play of their teammates around them and there are few that do it better than Deron. This is a guy who's helped turn Carlos Boozer into a 20-10 machine since he's been in Utah. Then when Boozer was injured for much of last year he transformed 2nd round pick Paul Millsap into a 15-8 player. Millsap's good, but you better believe Deron makes him look that much better.

In a league where you need stars to win, no team has less lottery picks on their roster than the Utah Jazz who have two, Deron and the legendary Ronnie Brewer.

The Jazz have no ability to spread the floor, hitting a collective 33.6% of their three point attempts for the season. Still Williams penetrates into a congested lane (that's what she said?) and drops dimes to Boozer, Okur and the rest of his underwhelming supporting cast. Just imagine if they had anybody capable of scoring from outside of 15 feet other than Okur who doubles as their major three point threat.

The real reason Deron hasn't been voted as an All-Star, other than being stuck in the heart of Morman territory, is that he doesn't have a good nickname. D-Will is not a good nick name, I mean you can do that with anybody's name. David Lee's nickname is D-Lee it's just not very creative. Plus you can't just call him Williams because it's the most common name in the NBA.

In my push to get Deron voted to the All-Star game I've decided it's my duty to come up with a nickname for him. Here are a few I thought of . The Mormon Mack Daddy, Ill Will, Dub Weezy and the Shah of Utah. I could use some help.

Vote For Deron Here

Poll

Which nickname do you like the best for Deron Williams

Game 19 Preview: Blazers vs. Jazz

Dave — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:23:10 -0000

Game Time: 6:00 p.m. Pacific TV: KGW

The Utah Jazz come into this contest 8-7 and indeed, they're having an 8-7-ish year. Their story is pretty basic. They've beaten most of the bad and mediocre teams they've faced. They've lost to every upper echelon team they've faced. The combination of the 2-3 mediocre team losses plus the elite guys balances out the wins against lesser opponents. And there you are.

The Jazz do a few things pretty well. They share the ball, spread the scoring, and shoot well from mid-range and in. This isn't the devastating offense of a couple of years ago but they can still score. 6 of their 8 wins have come when they topped 100. They also happen to be 6-2 when scoring 100 or more. The Jazz are decent rebounders and their bench is underrated.

Utah has also displayed several shortcomings in the early season. The most glaring one has been a disturbing lack of energy. They slough off their defensive responsibilities. They settle for obvious offense. That makes for some bad nights. Their main players turn the ball over too much. Outside of Mehmet Okur they don't have a good distance attack. They don't have shot blockers. They don't have a lot of team speed. In order to win consistently they have to play Jerry Sloan basketball and they're not always doing it.

Even with all that, the top six guys on this team can be as dangerous as anybody in the league. Carlos Boozer is a scoring machine, hitting 54% of his shots and scoring almost 20 per game plus 10 rebounds. Deron Williams is flirting with a double-double average also, scoring just above 19 and dishing almost 10 assists. Mehmet Okur is not providing All-Star level play but he is shooting 43% from the three-point arc. Andre Kirilenko has good games and bad but he can still defend and he's always been a nuisance to the Blazers. Ronnie Brewer brings athleticism to the two-spot and Paul Millsap scores and rebounds off of the bench plus his all-around game is improving. You don't have to give these guys much of a crack before they'll pound the door down. Their home turf isn't as friendly as it once was (they're 5-3 on the season at home) but it's always been a difficult place for Portland to play. No matter how the two teams are doing currently this is a tough matchup for Portland.

At many positions the strengths of the two teams clash. Deron Williams is a strong, bullish point guard who can score in droves. The Blazers field finesse guys. Okur is a distance-shooting center while the Blazer pivots prefer to camp in the lane. Kirilenko is a rangy, disruptive, defensive small forward while Martell Webster is more of a smooth scorer. Portland's bench plays flashy and tends towards skill players. The Jazz bench is more lunch-bucket. The two positions where you see mirrors are power forward and shooting guard. Aldridge and Boozer are both scorers, though Carlos is more experienced and by far the better rebounder. Roy and Brewer are both all-around guards, though Roy is far superior in talent and effect. Both teams also sport hard-line coaches with definite ideas about how the game should be played. It's just a nice mesh and clash of styles when these squads get together. You can never take anything for granted other than it's probably going to be a grind-out affair.

Pivotal Points of the Game

1. This game will be a real test of Portland's new-found defensive prowess. The Blazers like to shut down the interior. The Jazz love to score inside. Somebody is going to enforce their will on the other. That team will have a huge advantage. If Portland's defense is going to mean something it has to mean something in games like this. Last night's contest was not a positive sign. The Blazers need to turn it around defensively tonight.

2. Listen...please. The Jazz have problems getting back in transition. Repeat, the Jazz have problems getting back in transition. This game could be a clash between proficient halfcourt offenses. In that case you can probably flip a coin. But the Blazers could slip underneath the guard and deliver some stunning jabs simply by running. You can happily grind to a 60-60 standstill in the halfcourt if you finish ahead 20-10 on the break.

3. Can Aldridge stay close to Boozer's production? Will the Blazers let him try?

4. You have to worry about Okur on the perimeter. Somebody has to get a hand in his face. But that somebody doesn't necessarily have to be Greg Oden. It's time for the perimeter guys to help the Big Fella the way he's been helping them all year. Meanwhile what's Okur going to do trying to contain Oden on the other end? For that matter what could Boozer do? Or any of the Jazz big men? The Blazers ought to feed Oden early and often in this one. Draw fouls. Dunk. Get mean.

5. I'm not as frightened of Williams as I probably should be because I think the Blazers' interior defenders can help shut down whatever he does to the point guards. He might be able to post up Blake or Miller, for instance, but we can help with that. Guys like Brewer and Kirilenko scare me though. If they get hot, especially with the jumper, that opens up more possibilities for the Jazz to move the ball as the Blazer defense compensates. The Jazz moving the ball for free scores is probably their best shot at winning easily. I'm not sure the Jazz finish ahead on the strength of their top three alone, but if they bust out with #4 or #5 it could be a long night for Portland.

Final Thoughts and Links

Check out what the Utah folks are thinking about this matchup at slcdunk.com

Enter the Jersey Contest form for this game here. Our Jersey Contest Master says the Minnesota glitch will be fixed by the time the weekend is over so we'll have to wait to see who won this month's contest until then. But a new jersey is up for grabs in December, so play along!

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Recap - LA Clippers @ Utah Jazz - W - 111 - 98 - A tail of two fourths

Basketball John — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:26:51 -0000

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So what was the difference between last night's fourth quarter performance and the disaster at Denver? For starters, the backcourt in Denver to start the fourth was Eric Maynor and Ronnie Price. Last night feature Ronnie Price and Ronnie Brewer while Deron was on the bench.

So instead of of coming back in down 9, Deron got 4 minutes of rest and came back to a 93-85 lead. That lead came in no small part to Ronnie Brewer and Paul Millsap.

Denver got momentum to close out the third quarter when Deron fouled Billups on a last-second three point heave. This time around the Jazz were able gain the momentum when after a Ronnie Brewer shot, Millsap was able to get the rebound in the air and shoot all in one motion drawing the foul and getting the basket.

Millsap would start the fourth quarter scoring 12 of the team's first 14 points on layups and jumpers. He would go on to score 14 of his 23 in that quarter which led the Jazz over the Clippers. He also added 9 rebounds and two blocks on the night. Oh, and all of that came in 25 minutes.

Ronnie Brewer was a consistent force all night with even scoring throughout the game. He finished with 17 on 8/11 shooting. He didn't hit from the wing but did make some jumpers from near the top of the key,

The bad news about his good play is that if he's putting up these numbers all season, he could be priced out of Utah when he hits the free agent market next summer. If his jumper does start falling on a consistent basis, that's good news for this year and bad news for next.

Lot's of good play last night and I haven't even got to Deron yet.

I have to say I was wrong about the KOOF passing the Fess on the depth chart. The KOOF hasn't been playing poorly, but Fesenko has been killing it in the first two games of the season. He is still making a few mistakes like when he didn't switch to Boozer's man on an in-bounds play. Baron Davis was in-bounding the ball and it caused Deron to have to go cover Butler. That left the Beard alone under the hoop for an easy bucket.

If he had received more playing time the past couple of seasons, maybe he'd be a little further along in that area. But he's been huge on offense so far this season. He had 10 points alst night on 5/6 shooting and has 16 points on the season already. Doesn't seem like a lot until you consider that he had all of 14 points in his rookie season and 49 total last season. What it looks like is that he has started to learn how to use that big body of his when he's around the basket. He's 8/9 this season and per 36 minutes would put him at 19 points a game. His fouls per 36 are also way down. That pace can't be expected for the entire season but if he's contributing even 1/4 of that, I think we'll all take it.

AK had an off shooting night finishing just 1/7. I think AK is normally hot or cold when it comes to his offensive game. Seems like he's either 1 for something or he's shooting 75%. So you'll have to take those. While he was on the floor though, the Jazz were +15 and he tied for second on the team with 7 assists.

Speaking of 7 assists, Boozer had that along with 20 & 12. His jumper still isn't falling very well. He needed 22 shots to score those 20. But it was an improvement over Denver that's for sure.

The KOOF was effective on the glass while he was in. He had 8 last night and is now averaging

22 REBOUNDS A GAME!!!!!!*

*(per 36)

Again, it looked like Deron was going to have to do all of the scoring for the team just to keep them in this one. He had 17 & 7 at the half. (votederon.com for the rest on Deron) Yet the Jazz were still tied at 60 as they couldn't stop anything.

But as the game wore on, the Jazz started clamping down on D. The Clippers had quarters of 32, 28, 24, and 14 points. In the fourth when the Jazz pulled away, LA went just 3/11 from the field. There seemed to be a lot more challenged shots and deflections.

The Clippers had just 38 points in the second half after scoring 60 in the first.

Let's hope the fourth quarter effort this time carries in to Monday.

Links

ClipsNation:

Paul Millsap is unstoppable.

The real question is, why did no one pay this guy more than 4/$32M this summer? I mean, I'm being a little facetious, but against the Clippers over the past two seasons, he has been, without exaggeration, the best player on the court, by a pretty wide margin. He's been an all pro against the Clippers. His follow shot and-one with a second to go in the third was the turning point tonight. The Clippers' lead had been four - he cut it to one, and then made the first basket of the fourth quarter as the Jazz took the lead, never to trail again.

Living and Dying:

Quarter 1 to Quarter 3:
UTAH SUCKS!! UTAH SUCKS!!! And it freaking sucks to be me. What is this @#$%#$%#$^%?

Quarter 4:
Ah…sweet, sweet Sap.
Ross Siler:

"First of all, I thought Fes had a terrific game for us," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said to open his postgame remarks. "He has shown a lot of those things in the practice, but he got an opportunity to play and I thought he did a great job.

"He went a long ways [16 1-2 minutes] in that second half. They only scored 38 points in the second half and his presence had to have something to do with it."
@D_Will_8_4real:

Not a pretty win but I'll take it!!! Fes, Booz, Sap and Brew played great! Lookin forward to Halloween tomorrow everyone enjoy it!!!!!
- The fact that Ronnie Price's putback jam wasn't in the NBA's Top Ten goes to show that not even the league watches the Jazz.
- MoTab singing the national anthem last night.

The Downbeat - 29 October 2009 - #89 - The Don't Do Lobs Edition

Basketball John — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:31:21 -0000

Thanks for all those that stopped by for the game thread last night. At last count there were 555 comments with roughly 80% of them talking about some sort of sucking or crapping.

I'm hoping by the end of the regular season to be pushing the 1,000 mark and have to start a new game thread. So for those lurkers, jump in on Friday.

Late, late last night I flipped the switch on VoteDeron.com. The movement has started. I'll get a post on this by itself later today, but make sure to follow @votederon and add it to your reader.

In my recap I wrote about giving things a little time with Boozer. However, thinking about that some more, I don't think we have that much time. You look at what Denver did when they traded Iverson the first week in November. They got Billups here early in the season and it paid huge dividends. Had they waited until the break, I don't know if that trade works out the same way.

If the Jazz are going to move Boozer, it should be quickly. I know the Jazz aren't going to dump Boozer for nothing, but the closer we get to the trade deadline, the more leverage the Jazz lose. Of course there could be some teams that are so far out of it and they just want a salary to come off the books, the might do it. There might be a contender that loses someone to injury that might get desperate. What will end up happening is that the front office will be content to just stick with Boozer and at the worst, let his salary come off the books.

The problem with that is that we've now just wasted another year of Deron Williams. That would leave only two years left (plus a player option) on his contract.

This team could contend, last night notwithstanding. But we know the Jazz won't go far in the playoffs again unless we have a scorer. Ronnie Brewer looked like he might be coming along with his pre-season and his shooting last night. But I want to move from contender into a favorite. Moving Boozer for a wing scorer would change that.

If you're planning on the future, it's now. We know Boozer isn't going to be back next season. If that's the case, the keys to the PF position should be handed over to Millsap yesterday.

Getting a scorer now also allow him to gel with the team for the entire season and get to know the offense.

I'm not saying this just because I'm tired of the Jazz not doing anything. I'm just tired of the Jazz reacting instead of being proactive. Make things happen instead of waiting for the right situation.

That was a little bit longer than I normally write for the Downbeat, but it just kind of kept going.

They have PSAs and other videos to discourage kids from taking drugs and other harmful activities. Paul Millsap needs to create a campaign on avoiding the worst outlet pass in the entire history of the NBA. "When making an outlet pass, make sure to not practice your jump ball throwing skills lest you have the ball come back in your face."

Can I ask a question. When players are going up for blocks, why are they using their right hand? Shouldn't they be using their left hand to block as it's on the side of the body where the ball is? Shouldn't they only go up for the block with their right hand if it's a lefty? Not that it would have made much difference in this case.

Maybe some of the calls last night were retribution for the excerpts leaked yesterday from Donaghy's book that he's trying to get published? A 5-second call on Deron? A double lane violation? One involved the Jazz when they were playing Denver while Iverson was on the team.

And then there was the ongoing feud between Javie and 76ers superstar Allen Iverson. The rift was so bad that Philadelphia general manager Billy King often called the league office to complain about Javie's treatment of Iverson during a game.

Iverson was eventually traded to Denver, and in his first game against his former team, he was tossed after two technicals. Afterward, Iverson implied Javie had a grudge against him, saying, "I thought I got fouled on that play, and I said I thought that he was calling the game personal, and he threw me out. His fuse is real short anyway, and I should have known that I couldn't say anything anyway. It's been something personal with me and him since I got in the league. This was just the perfect game for him to try and make me look bad." The league fined Iverson $25,000 for his comments, but most of the league referees thought the punishment was too lenient and were upset he wasn't suspended. As a result, we collectively decided to dispense a little justice of our own, sticking it to Iverson whenever we could.

Shortly after the Javie-Iverson incident, I worked a Jazz-Nuggets contest in Denver on January 6, 2007. During the pregame meeting, my fellow referees Bernie Fryer and Gary Zielinski agreed that we were going to strictly enforce the palming rule against Iverson. Palming the ball was something Iverson loved to do, but if he so much as came close to a palm, we were going to blow the whistle. Obviously, our actions were in direct retaliation for Iverson's rant against Javie. True to form, I immediately excused myself and made an important phone call.

Sticking to our pregame pledge, each of us whistled Iverson for palming in the first quarter-we all wanted in on the fun. The violations seemed to affect Iverson's rhythm and he played terribly that night, shooting 5-for-19 with five turnovers. After getting repeatedly whistled all night long, Iverson approached me in an act of submission.

"How long am I going to be punished for Javie?" he quietly inquired.

Scary to think that the refs are really that unprofessional. Seems that they're just the muscle behind the NBA mafia. The whole thing is damning if true. I'm more inclined to believe him for the fact that Jose Canseco was discredited when he published his tell-all. But everything he said has come turned out to be true. Not one person he named sued him. Isn't that the tell?

Apparently though the NBA threatened to sue the publisher into oblivion and it was dropped. I have to tell you, it shook my faith in the NBA.

The Downbeat - 26 October 2009 - #86 - The KOOF Is No Longer a Rookie Edition

Basketball John — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:36:12 -0000

If you're keeping score at home, the Jazz won 3 road games during the pre-season or roughly three times the number they won all of last year on the road.

They're still a young team, but most of them have been in the league several years now. So as far as having maturity and experience on the road, there are really no more excuses.

We'll see right off if the pre-season success carries over into the regular season when the Jazz open the season at Denver. The Jazz have had relative success there splitting the last 8 games.

With two of our shooters out in Korver and Miles, Deron Williams and Memo are really our only three-point threats. Wes Matthews could be there as well should he stay with the team. He shot 44% from the arc.

Jerry probably won't miss threes being put up as often as he would prefer to get all of the points in the paint. Of course teams can just pack the inside now so somebody is going to have to hit those.

Speaking of Matthews, this station in Madison, WI is reporting that he has officially made the roster,

Former Madison Memorial and Marquette basketball star Wesley Matthews tells WKOW-TV he is officially on the Utah Jazz regular season roster. Matthews wasn't even drafted out of college, but he beat out forward Ronald Dupree and guard Paul Harris to make the roster.

From the interview, they were just talking about surviving the cuts. I don't think anything is official yet and I didn't hear Matthews say anything about officially making the roster.

So how did everyone do during the pre-season? I'll group them into great, good, meh, and bad. II didn't include those that aren't with the team any more or are out with injuries. Let's get the bad out of the way.

BAD: The KOOF and Fess. They're still young, I get that. They both still looked young though. Both had a chance to step it up this pre-season and were disappointing. The KOOF couldn't hit a shot and Fess couldn't stop hacking. Maybe this is more disappointment because I was expecting more out of these two. Still early though.

Also bad, the Jazz getting balls rejected like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.

MEH: Couldn't really find anyone to put in this category. Ronnie Price could have been here, but 3 games doesn't really give us a good sample size. With his injury, I couldn't really make a fair assessment.

GOOD: Paul Millsap, Ronnie Brewer, AK, Eric Maynor, road victories, and the Jazz D.

Millsap could have moved up to great, but he had a couple of games where he didn't play well.

Ronnie B was on the verge of great. He made some mid-range jumpers but didn't shoot the three well. GIven that's what we're going to need shortly, it knocks him down a bit. I'd like to see him knock some shots down consistently. I could be persuaded to move him up, but right now he was at expectations.

Maynor didn't shoot well but was 50% from downtown. He gets a good because he came in and performed above what most were expecting. Handled the ball and the games well.

GREAT: Deron Williams, Mehmet Okur, and Carlos Boozer.

First up, DWill. Averaged 19 & 6 in 28 minutes. He's also shooting 94% from the FT line. Would like to see the three-point percentage up a bit and the turnovers come down though. He's ready to go.

Memo has been on fire. He's shooting 50% and nailing 2/3rds of his 3PA. Can't wait for Money to start the season.

As has been said many times here, no one has ever doubted Boozer's basketball skills (well, maybe come playoff time). He's been a monster this pre-season and has kept his mouth shut. Have to give credit where credit is due. Let's hope this is what we see for the next 8 months.

The fact that this wasn't caught on video sorely disappoints me. With Deron being a Twitter/Iphone expert, I expect more.

Portland Trail Blazers Previews

Jeff Clark — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:49:04 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Will Oden finally live up to the hype?

Browse more photos »

Consider this an understatement: Portland fans are over the top passionate about their team. The bloggers are no different. When the C's play the Blazers, our comments blow up because the Portland fans stop by to chat. They typically don't cause trouble, but they just descend upon the blog like a swam of bees. Not a complaint, just an observation. Anyway, here's the preview links (a couple days late).

Blog Season Preview - Blazersedge

It was a relatively quiet offseason for Kevin Pritchard, quieter than many fans had hoped for. No splashy draft day trades, unless you count the Sergio Rodriguez dump to Sacramento. The true excitement came in a trio of moves and non-moves: the failed courtship of Hedo Turkoglu, the cap-busting toxic offering of Paul Millsap, and the rebound relationship scoop up of Andre Miller.

Portland Trail Blazers Season Preview 2009-10 | Blaze of Love

Last season, Portland was one of, if not the most, efficient teams in the NBA. This season, they should be as efficient plus even more explosive. Andre Miller adds something the team has been lacking for years and that's a point guard who is a match-up nightmare for the opposition. And with Oden showing mass improvements in preseason contests and a lack of proven centers in the west, the Blazers should find buckets coming even easier.

RCP Blazers 2009-10 Season Preview | Rip City Project | A Portland Trailblazers blog

If you haven’t heard, Oden is having a fantastic preseason. He’s in good shape, staying on the floor, displayed better offensive skills and playing more mobile defense. The consensus is that he looks like a completely different player.

NBA 2009/10 Season Preview : Portland Trail Blazers

As with many teams on the rise, some of the Blazers' biggest strengths are also their biggest weaknesses. Unhappiness with lack of minutes may become an issue as the season wears on. This all comes down to how well coach McMillan can manage his players and their expectations. He has a bevy of fine young players who all want to win, but who will also have one eye on their future careers, whilst the other eye is on the road to the title. The key areas for concern: Rudy Fernandez and Travis Outlaw.

Portland Trail Blazers Preview 2009-10

The most significant move of the off-season had to be the acquisition of Andre Miller. The Blazers needed a pass first point guard with experience and Andre Miller provides that. Portland also signed him to a relatively short term deal (two years with a third year option). At 33 years old, Miller is reaching the decline of his career but he hasn't shown any signs of declining numbers yet. His impact will be more than just numbers though, it's his ability to run a team and contribute to an already stacked roster. Andre comes in with a ton of experience on a team dominated by youth.

NBA Blog Preview: Portland Trail Blazers - Trail Post

What are the team’s biggest weaknesses? Youth and inexperience. This has been the main weakness for the last half of the decade (aside from that 20-win team, whose weakness was probably just sucking really, really bad), and it continues going forward. Our season depends on the development of guys like Aldridge and Greg Oden. Sure, Oden’s been tearing it up in the preseason, but we still have to see if he’ll do it when it counts. We just don’t know what we’re going to get. If Oden doesn’t play like we hope he can, we’ll be a continual good-but-not-great team, much like the Utah Jazz.