SB Nation - Deron Williams

It's Safe to Say That J.J. Redick is Figuring Things Out in the NBA

erivera7 — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:05:23 -0000

More photos » by Phelan M. Ebenhack - AP

There's one player on the Orlando Magic roster who's been turning heads lately - no, not Dwight Howard - and his name is J.J. Redick. Last night against the Utah Jazz, Redick came off the bench and torched Jerry Sloan's defense to the tune of 20 points. And Redick did it in an extremely efficient manner (7-9 FG, 2-2 3PT, 4-4 FT). Efficiency is the name of the game in the NBA and for Redick, he provided a textbook example of how to not waste possessions on offense. Nearly every time Redick attempted a shot in yesterday's contest, he put points on the scoreboard. Thing is, Redick has been doing this all season - he leads the Magic with an Offensive Rating of 125.2 (3rd in the Association and ranked better than some guy named Steve Nash). That's excellent.

Against the Jazz, Redick scored in a variety of ways (via Hoopdata):

	FGM-A	AFGM*	eFG%
At Rim	3-3	1	100.0%
10-15 Feet	1-1	0	100.0%
16-23 Feet	1-3	0	33.3%
Threes	2-2	2	150.0%

*Assisted Field Goals Made

In the second quarter, Redick got things going with a jumper off the dribble after Utah's rookie Wesley Matthews, the player defending him, gave him too much space to work with. A few possessions later, and with the shot clock winding down, Redick made a very difficult, off-balance three to beat the buzzer after the Jazz played perfect team defense for 23 seconds. Can't be too surprised that Redick made the shot, given that he's been on a shooting tear lately. With the period winding down, Redick once again operated off the dribble and was able to penetrate into the lane for a layup. What's interesting about this particular play is the fact that Redick was clearly looking to pass before he, at the very last minute, decided to put up the attempt. Whatever works.

Redick didn't re-enter the game until the start of the fourth quarter and it didn't take him too long to score again, as he was able to make a jumpshot off the dribble along the baseline after being set up by a screen from Dwight Howard. A 2/5 pick & roll, in other words. After a few minutes, Redick was able to make another layup off the dribble after being aggressive and attacking the basket. Redick followed that with a three in the corner off a pass from Anthony Johnson on the fast break.

Confidence.

That's the word that perfectly explains why Redick has been playing so well on offense since the start of the regular season. Redick is developing some swagger, too.

There's one more play that epitomizes the confidence Redick has been displaying on offense. For the first time since I've been writing at Orlando Pinstriped Post, I'm going to go breakdown this possession frame-by-frame.

FRAME 1: Orlando sets up in a 4-out/1-in offensive set. With Howard posted up, Utah decides to double-team him with Mehmet Okur and Deron Williams. There's a few things to notice in this screenshot. Despite being double-teamed, Howard has an unobstructed angle to potentially pass to Redick and they both know that (look at Redick's posture; he's getting ready to make a move). C.J. Miles, at the same time, is looking directly at Howard and not keeping an eye on either Redick or Johnson in the corner.

FRAME 2: Howard passes the ball. As such, Miles gambles and sprints to Johnson but makes the wrong decision. Miles realizes, albeit a little too late, that Redick is cutting to the basket.

FRAME 3: Redick is left unimpeded in the lane ...

FRAME 4: ... and scores.

If there's one thing to take away from the Magic's game against the Jazz, it's that Redick is proving to be more than a spot-up shooter. Redick can score off the dribble and opposing defenses are going to have to start realizing that.

Orlando Magic 104, Utah Jazz 99

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

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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."

The bad losses start adding up... (Nuggets/Grizzlies recap)

Andrew Feinstein — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:11:41 -0000

The Nuggets are off to one of their best starts in NBA franchise history. But you wouldn't know it by watching their last two games...

All of the NBA's elite teams would be in serious trouble if their top players/alpha dogs went down due to injury. If the Lakers lost Kobe Bryant, they'd be finished. The Spurs sans Tim Duncan? Season over. The Cavaliers minus LeBron? Roll out the white flags. The Mavericks Dirk-less? Ditto.

But while I'd include our Nuggets among the NBA's elite, one thing seems to separate us from the rest of the pack: without one of our top four or five players in the game, the Nuggets stink. Ever since the Nuggets finished a respectable 5-2 out of the gate sans J.R. Smith (arguably the Nuggets fourth or fifth-best player), they can't win a game when one of their top-five guys goes down. Especially one of their two defensive stalwarts, Kenyon Martin and Chauncey Billups. And today's matinee loss at Memphis (even though the Nuggets had a full day of rest prior) was further proof of this.

In three games without K-Mart and now two games without Billups, the Nuggets are 0-5. Comparatively, the Lakers were 8-3 when their second-best player, Pau Gasol, opened the season in a suit and loafers. The Spurs managed to go 2-2 without the services of star guard Tony Parker. While Rashard Lewis served a drug suspension, the Magic finished 7-3. Since Greg Oden went down with a season-ending injury, the Blazers have hung in at 3-4. And minus Josh Howard, the Mavericks are 13-6 on the season. Even the Jazz managed to play .500 basketball in the two games Deron Williams, their best player, missed.

And yet the Nuggets can't seem to reel off victories unless all five star players - Carmelo Anthony, Billups, J.R., K-Mart and Nene - are on the floor. If the Nuggets couldn't beat the hapless Pistons, Bobcats and (admittedly improved) Grizzlies while missing one of their top-five guys, I cringe to think what happens when the Nuggets face a real NBA team without one of their best players on the floor.

Let's call the Nuggets inability to put a game together without both Billups and K-Mart in the game "Problem #1." And we'll call their woeful rebounding and porous interior defense "Problem #2." The Grizzlies put in 27 second-chance points and grabbed 18 more rebounds than the Nuggets today. Last time I checked, that's not Chauncey's department in the first place.

The two problems point to one glaring need: the Nuggets need an extra big man. Marc Gasol may not be walking through the door in a Nuggets uniform anytime soon, but any competent big will do at this point. Perhaps we should convert my summer wish list for a big man into a Christmas wish list...

Stiffs of the Game

-J.R. Smith, Ty Lawson and Kenyon Martin: J.R. built off his great game at New Orleans by shooting 12 shots and making just two of them. He also had three careless turnovers and no assists. Meanwhile, Lawson rewarded Nuggets head coach George Karl for anointing him as starting point guard by dishing out just two assists and missing all three of his shot attempts. And K-Mart was assigned to guard Zach Randolph who...

Non-Stiff of the Game

-Zach Randolph: ...lit up K-Mart and the Nuggets for 32 points and a stunningly high 24 rebounds (nine offensive). Z-Bo was so dominant over K-Mart that K-Mart's +/- at game's end was -20. Ewww. Last time I checked, Randolph is out of shape and can't jump. So how the @#$% did he grab 24 rebounds? (In fairness to K-Mart, a current NBA assistant coach once told me that no one is smarter at using his body to score and grab caroms than Randolph.)

Opposition's Recap: Straight Outta Vancouver

Photo courtesy of AP Photos: Nikki Boertman

UPDATE - Denton: Jameer Nelson to Play Limited Minutes on Monday

Ben Q Rock — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:07:41 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

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It appears as though Jameer Nelson's return to the Orlando Magic from left knee surgery will come earlier than expected. According to John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com, Nelson will play "limited minutes" tomorrow night against the Utah Jazz.

At shootaround yesterday, Nelson and coach Stan Van Gundy said Nelson could return Wednesday, against the Houston Rockets, at the earliest.

Nelson has missed the Magic's last 16 games. Orlando went 12-4 in that stretch, with Jason Williams taking Nelson's starting role.

UPDATE: Denton expands upon the news in this story for the team's website. An excerpt:

Part of the reason the Magic want to get Nelson back on the court is because of what [Deron] Williams did to them two weeks ago in Utah. He repeatedly battered the Magic in pick-and-roll sets, going for 32 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds in a 120-111 Jazz victory.

If Nelson does return Monday, he could be in for a week of facing Williams, Houston speedster Aaron Brooks and Boston’s Rajon Rondo. But that is of no concern to the Magic’s 6-foot point guard.

"They will also have to guard me, too," Nelson said brazenly. "I’m not trying to be cocky or anything. It wasn’t like I was in practice not being aggressive. I’m trying to be aggressive and make plays."

That's the sort of attitude that I imagine the Magic love to see from their co-captain... and that other teams (and their fans) may not appreciate.

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.

Recap: Utah Jazz @ Atlanta Hawks -- The Least Interesting Game In The World

Shums — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:21:58 -0000

More photos » by John Amis - AP

Deron Williams does his Louis Armstrong impression. Actually, that would've been a lot more entertaining than this game.

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So I’m sitting on my couch and someone knocks at the door. Not the main door to my apartment. The door that leads out to my front deck. The front deck that is situated about fifteen feet above the ground floor. HOW DID SOMEONE GET TO MY FRONT DECK AND KNOCK ON MY DOOR.

… then I realized that the deck connects to the other side of my duplex. Turns out this dude came over to visit my roommate but entered the wrong side of the house, thus showing up on my front deck.

This incredibly boring story is brought to you purely to underscore how UTTERLY AWFUL this game was. By comparison, that story was friggin' Shakespeare.

Seriously, there was nothing to see here after about the first quarter. The Jazz opened the game poorly, with bad spacing, lazy ball movement, careless passes (Boozer had three turnovers in the first quarter alone) and settling for long jumpers -- again. While the Hawks started hot and quickly cooled off, the four-point lead at the end of the first would be all they needed.

From then on, it was a comedy of errors on the part of the boys in blue, culminating in a dismal 37-17 third quarter that had the Hawks up by 30 points. Josh Smith led the way with a Kirilenko-esque* stat line of 16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks.

*By "Kirilenko-esque" I am here referring to the times when Kirilenko was, you know, a good basketball player.

One night after appearing on national television and hearing Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley call him the best point guard in the NBA. Deron Williams put up this line: 2 points on 1-8 shooting, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and a +/- rating of -36 in 21 minutes. If he's ever had a worse game as a professional, I can't remember it.

The fourth quarter was probably the most entertaining part of the game for Jazz fans, as a lineup of Eric Maynor, Wesley Matthews, Ronnie Price, Andrei Kirilenko and Kyrylo Fesenko looked like the only players with "Utah" on their chests who gave a crap.

Of course, by then, the conversation in the Game Thread had turned away from the basketball game and onto such thrilling topics as "Peanuts: Not Actually Nuts At All" and "I Have Too Many Vowels On My Scrabble Rack."

Honestly, there may be other insights to glean from this game, but I don't have the energy to try right now. I'm serious. I had observations in the first half. At least I think I did. I mean, there they are in the Game Thread, with my name beneath them and everything, but the rest of the game was so boringly depressingly terrible that I think it deprived me of my ability to remember things I actually said.

The good news: we can bounce back tomorrow night in Charlotte. In the words of Wesley: You have until midnight. Then it's time to get over it and move on.

Peachtree Hoops

D-Will gets grilled on 'Inside the NBA'

Shums — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:05:22 -0000

Since the Jazz are in Atlanta to play the Hawks tonight, Deron Williams made an appearance on the TNT broadcast of "Inside the NBA" with Ernie, Kenny and Chuck. And they didn't cut him any slack. Observe:

Wow. Is it just me, or did it seem like, after unanimously proclaiming him the best point guard in the league (even specifying "better than Chris Paul"), they all really went after Deron and the Jazz? And our ninja did NOT look comfortable. In fact, he starts getting a little feisty with Barkley, who keeps insisting (as he did during the Laker game last week) that there is "tension in y'all's locker room" and that "you KNOW what's going to happen [at the end of the season when Boozer is not re-signed]."

Deron dutifully gives the party line, that there are no chemistry problems now and that no one really knows what's going to happen next offseason. But as each of the hosts repeats essentially the same question -- "Why isn't this team better than it is, or as good as it could be?" -- D-Will has to just keep shaking his head, and you can sense his frustration growing as he admits "...I wish I knew" after an awkward pause.

Consider also Deron's Tweet after his appearance:

@d_will_8_4real: Segment is going to Air on the post game show! Kenny and Charles didn't let me off the hook at all! Had a good time

Deron's never really been one to hold back his emotions. If he's annoyed, you can usually tell, even if the words themselves don't show it. He was annoyed tonight.

So I'm left wondering what to read into this. Is he just sick of having the same questions fired at him and being expected to give the golden answer? Or is this indicative of the very internal "tension" that Barkley suspects and Deron denies? (Or am I overreacting? Because that sounds like something I would do.)

Final point: We know Deron (or his representation) is pushing more publicly to make the All-Star Game this year. (And again, you can tell in his voice when Ernie asks him about it that it would mean an awful lot to him, more than he wants to let on.) Kenny says that his goal shouldn't even be set there, but rather as a first- or second-team All-NBA selection -- a goal he accomplished as a second-teamer in 07-08. I think it's interesting that people around the league seem to have such respect for D-Will... at least to his face. But when it gets right down to it, he still hasn't made an All-Star team, and he still isn't recognized for his game by the public at large.

Lots of interesting things in that five-minute interview to parse out. Let's hear what you all thought about it.

The Downbeat - 17 December 2009 - #124 - The Five Minute Edition

Basketball John — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:56:21 -0000

Read the game thread from last night. Glad to see we're back on track. As far as the Rain Man pic, I'm an idiot. I got my Jazz player catch phrases mixed up in my head. I was going with "definitely" but that is Ronnie Brewer's.

For some reason, when I was thinking of "regardless" to associate Boozer and his return to NJ, I got "definitely." Don't ask me how.

Too bad the Jazz did themselves a huge disservice last night by beating the Nets. They'll be feeling that one when NJ ends up with a better pick than us :).

This spot might be a permanent reminder to vote for Deron every day. So click on the box at the right if you haven't already and vote. Then proceed.

In case you're not following me on twitter or using twitter at all, Deron is going to be on TNT tonight in studio with Ernie, Charles, and Kenny per @lockedonsports. Make sure to catch that.

And to finish out this cheapened Downbeat, since Deron's 7-turnover game against OKC, he's averaging 11.2 assists and only 2.45 turnovers while averaging 38 minutes a game. And in 3 of the last 5 games, he's had exactly one TO while averaging 12 assists. Ninja.

Recap - Minnesota Timberwolves @ Utah Jazz

Basketball John — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:43:27 -0000

More photos » by Melissa Majchrzak - NBAE/Getty Images

Hello, my name is Jonny Flynn, I'll be driving by you this evening.

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And that, is why the Jazz are not a top tier team yet. There's no way one of the top teams in the league come off a week beating teams like SA, LA, and Orlando and then give up 110 points to one of the worst teams in the league. Matchups, smatchups. Cannot happen.

Despite how poorly the Jazz played, they came alive with 4 minutes to go in the game. Millsap had three of the biggest blocks I've seen this season in addition to the one he had against the Lakers. The team got a couple of steals late. They finally tied it up with about 16 seconds to go after Memo missed a three, followed by Millsap getting the offensive rebound, kicking it back out to Deron, who ninja-whipped it into AK for the game-tying dunk. Unfortunately, that gave Minnesota a last possession.

Jonny Flynn had little resistance as the clock wound down and he drove into the lane for the layup. The Jazz then got the ball back with three seconds left but a Deron Williams three was off.

I joked in the game thread that as long as we had a fifth quarter that we would be fine. We almost got one but it never should have come to that. There were a bunch of reasons for the loss, let's look at a few,

Free Throws. 21/37 isn't going to cut it in church ball let alone the NBA. Even with as bad as the Jazz played on D, if they made their season average of 75%, they win this game.
Not bringing the same focus as they did against the Lakers

Seems to be a classic Jazz trap. Play well against the big teams and take the little teams for granted. By the time they finally got things going late in the fourth, it was too late.
Too little Booze? He got 15 shots, but like above, he didn't get things until the fourth quarter and didn't really impact the game like he has over the past few weeks.
Defensive rebounding on both ends. The Jazz gave up 14 offensive boards while getting only 7 for themselves. They got a couple of stops down the stretch but couldn't get a defensive board. Jazz got worked on the boards overall 48-36
Jonny Flynn got any shot that he wanted and nailed them. He started out 4-4 from three and drove at will. Part of that was getting by DWill and the other part is that there was nobody inside to stop him. He got most of his in the first half which kept the momentum going for the TWolves. He finished with 28 & 5 including that game-winner.
As mentioned in the game thread, the rotation probably had something to do with it. Korver and AK both saw action tonight. For Korver it was the first of the year and AK had been out for a while. Both never got in the flow of things. They needed to be worked back in at some point of course but they definitely impacted the rotation that the Jazz had going on.

Also CJ wasn't on the bench for a lot of the game as he was apparently sick. Kobe had the last laugh so it seems.
I said matchups, smatchups. And that is still true. But for whatever reason, the Jazz haven't matched up well with Minnesota. Probably the biggest reason being rebounds. Jefferson and Love are some of the best in the league and the Jazz just don't see that often.

And still this is a game that the Jazz needed to win (you know as opposed to the others that they're okay to lose :)). This loss is a huge stomach punch as they head out on the road with their first stop in NJ. And now your worst fears are that they're going to lose back to back games to the two worst teams in the league.

What sucks most of all is that all of the great things that we saw in this game were for naught.

Deron Williams continued his amazing run by putting up 38 & 13 with just one turnover. 19 of those points came in the second quarter but the Jazz were only up 4 at the half. Pathetic waste.

It's a waste that I wasn't able to say how Millsap's monster blocks were a turning point in the game.

We're so close right now and I don't see how we can take the next step. We have problems with quick, penetrating guards because we're not slowing them on the perimeter when there is a pick and roll or some other type of screen. Once they're past that first line of defense it's a jailbreak.

One thing that I was going to mention about the Laker game, which I kind of did in the game thread, was that their bigs were killing us. Gasol and Bynum had their way inside and if Kobe had become a passer instead of a shooter in that game, they could have won that.

Because we're so close, the Jazz need to pull the trigger on something to get some interior D. Amazingly, I think we have the shooters right now in Brewer (mid-range J has been good) and Wesley Matthews. With CJ returning there's now the odd man out with Korver. I don't know who he can be packaged with or for whom. But we'd need a Gasol-like steal trade-wise to become a true contender.

As for now we have a team that will give us 7-3 but 1 or 2 of those losses are against the bottom teams in the league and come playoff time the interior "defense" will be exposed. We need some help. Great quote from clarkpojo on the subject,

Mostly our defense is so bad. But mostly our defensive execution. We fail to run special defenses to gameplan against other teams. It’s frustrating.

Hand it to the TWolves though. They exploited the Jazz again on offense and for the most part got the shots that they wanted and knocked them down. They've seemed to have figured out that if you can get to the Jazz early, they're not going to be able to slow you down easily.

On a lighter note, we now how Harprisms. I used to keep track of Boonerisms but I got used to them and tuned them out. Every once in a while he will still say something that sticks out. But don't worry, we have Matt Harpring to the rescue. He gives some insight on some things, but others are just, well, Matty. Here's just a few namely because I couldn't keep up with him,

He asked why nobody whacked Kobe's hand in the Laker game when they knew that he had a broken finger. Not really a Harpism, but he was confirming something that I thought players might do, but never really knew for sure or not.
"There should be a stat for playing hard."
On the TWolves, "They're playing to win." As opposed to other nights when they're trying to create a vortex of suck.
What were some that I missed? Too bad he won't be around after tonight.

Other blogs,