SB Nation - Eric Maynor

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.

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.

It's Not Lame, It's the 10 Days of Christmas - On the second day of Christmas

Basketball John — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:00:20 -0000

m&m (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE/Getty Images & AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

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the Utah Jazz gave to me... Rookie contributions

It's very possible that Eric Maynor and Wesley Matthews might not have been members of the Jazz this season but for different reasons.

First, the Jazz were facing the salary tax for the first time in team history. Given that first-round picks have guaranteed contracts, that's additional money that the Jazz would have to pay. I would think that there had to be some discussion of trading the pick or even selling it. As it is, with the 3 PGs that Sloan likes to carry, the team drafted Maynor from VCU.

Next, can we say we're thankful for the injuries to C.J. Miles, Kyle Korver, and Ronnie Price? Matthews has to be given that he faced even tougher odds to make the team. First, he wasn't even drafted. Second, he was brought to a team that already had a gluttony of wings. And finally, the luxury tax was an issue as well given that if he was signed, the Jazz would be paying double what they normally would. That turned a cheap option of about $500k into almost $1M with the tax.

But he had the perfect storm of events. The Jazz were short on wing players due to injury. That was about the only thing that he couldn't control. There's no doubt that that played a big factor, but without Matthews' hard work and you know, skill, the Jazz likely would have gone out and got some journeyman to fill in until the regulars got back.

Think about that, a coach that has a reputation for not playing the rookies and for putting them in the doghouse for even one mental lapse, signed off on signing Matthews and not a vet.

As we can look back now, they've turned out to be fantastic signings for the Jazz.

Maynor struggled out of the gate early in limited PT. He got a huge chance though when Deron had to fly home to be with his sick daughter while the Jazz were on a road trip. He responded with games of 13 & 11 and 24 & 4 against Philly and Cleveland respectively. The Jazz were able to beat the 76ers and almost pulled out a win against the Cavs.

His shooting hasn't been anything to write home about but he has 3 to 1 turnover ratio and has a per 36 minutes average of 13 & 8. With Ronnie P missing time due to injury, Maynor has earned his keep.

First off, how can Wesley Matthews only be the second Matthews in NBA history? Second, he's another one of those "How could everyone have passed on him twice?" guys.

Wesley, as he prefers to be called apparently, has made quite a mark on the team. His three-point shooting has been down as of late, but he was hitting 40% in November which helped spread things for the Jazz. He also brings another slasher that can finish at the basket, a type that fits perfectly into the Sloan system. He's had some astonishing, acrobatic finishes at the rack that bring everyone out of their seats.

To say he's been a welcome addition to the team is a gross understatement.

Matthews will be a restricted free agent next year and let's hope the Jazz can find a way to bring him back. If not, he'll be gobbled up by another team given his play.

They both still have a lot to work on of course like consistent shooting and better D, but it will be great to see them progress this season and hopefully for seasons after this.

More 10 Days of Christmas

Lakers-Jazz Preview

DexterFishmore — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:00:17 -0000

The Los Angeles Lakers aren't the only team that hasn't been getting out of the house much. The Utah Jazz have played seven of their last eight at home. They've won six of those eight to get well after a 4-6 start to the season, but the competition has been squishy: Utah's eight most recent opponents have a combined winning percentage of 0.415. The Jazz tonight attempt a big step up in weight class, facing the Lakers for the first time since the teams' opening-round playoff series last April.

Strength of schedule aside, there's no debating whether Utah's on a good run. They are. Carlos Boozer, the world's second-most famous Alaskan, is putting up All-Star numbers, and his running mate Deron Williams is getting sharp again after missing a couple games to deal with a family medical issue. Center Mehmet Okur, who played little in the playoffs last year, is back as the third option. Wesley Matthews and Eric Maynor are intriguing rooks getting real minutes.

There are new friends and old, in other words. With seemingly half the Lakers' games so far coming against Phoenix, Houston or New Orleans, I look forward to seeing someone new come to town. Let's get to know them a little better.

First, a quick review of who's not playing. Forward Andrei Kirilenko (strained lower back) and backup center Kyrylo Fesenko (stomach virus) did not travel with the team to Los Angeles. So much, I guess, for ratings in the former Soviet Union. Shooting guards Kyle Korver (recovering from knee surgery) and Ronnie Price (foot injury) are out as well. Utah's playing thin, obvy.

Also absent tonight will be our boy Stu Lantz. Stu, it's been announced, will miss the next seven games while his wife Linda recovers from surgery. Hot Rod Hundley, former Laker and longtime Jazz announcer, will be filling in for tonight at least. All our best to Stu and Linda.

Utah's strength is its offense, which tactically hasn't changed in about three decades. They still run that deliberate, half-court pick-and-roll game that drives everyone nuts. Their Offensive Rating of 107.3 ranks seventh in the NBA, and they're top six in both Effective Field-Goal and True Shooting Percentage. You won't see them bomb away from three a whole bunch, and their team three-point accuracy of 35% is only middle of the pack, but Jazz shooters enter tonight's game on a hot streak. Over the past five games they've drained a stellar 41% of their long balls.

After a forgettable, injury-filled campaign last year, Boozer now looks like a man playing for a new contract, which not coincidentally he is. The guy is destroying people. Here are his numbers over the last eight games.

FGs	EFG%	FTs	FT%	TS%	PPG	RPG
82-125	66%	45-56	80%	70%	26.1	10.2

A look at Boozer's shot-location chart shows the engine of his improvement: the midrange game. Away from the rim and out to 15 feet, he's taking the same number of shots he did last year, about four per game. But whereas last season he made only 34% of his attempts, this year he's making 50%. The Laker bigs have the length and quickness to frustrate Boozer, but they'll have to be active and aggressive. If they kick it near the hoop and wait for Boozer to come from them, he'll feast all night on those little 12-foot J's.

Deron Williams, though he's been playing pretty well lately, doesn't seem quite himself this year. His turnovers are up, he's making only 72% of his free throws (after hitting about 80% over his first four seasons), and he's getting to the rim much less than he has in years past. He still presents a difficult matchup for the Lake Show. I'm of the view that Derek Fisher has been better on D than he was last year, but he just doesn't have the muscle to control Williams. With Kirilenko and Korver out of commission, Utah's wings aren't much of a threat, so it's likely we'll see both Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest try to body up Williams at some point.

Who are Utah's wings, you ask? Matthews has been starting at shooting guard, and Ronnie Brewer at small forward. An undrafted rookie out of Marquette, Matthews has been a surprise contributor. He's a low-volume, turnover-prone offensive player, but he's making 38% of his threes, so you can't totally forget about him, and he's been earning positive notices for his D. He'll likely get first crack at guarding Kobe - good luck with that, young buck.

For the second straight game, the Lakers face an opponent with a "stretch 5" - a center who enjoys chucking threes. Channing Frye didn't do much damage on Sunday, and now Okur and his 48% three-point shooting are the challenge. The Lakers are the best in the league at defending the money ball. Their zone-y defensive principles mean Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol don't have to chase guys like Okur all over the court, and there's enough size on the perimeter between Kobe, Artest and Lamar Odom to make drainable looks hard to come by even for the tallest gunners. It seems, therefore, the Laker D is well designed and equipp ed for this matchup.

Eric Maynor is a dude I'm excited to check out. A member of what appears to be an all-time great class of rookie point guards, he comes off the bench for 15 minutes a night. He hasn't found his shooting touch in the NBA yet, but his assist and turnover numbers are fantastic. He should have a long pro career as a backup point.

Also off the bench we'll see power forward Paul Millsap, at $8 million luxury-grade reserve. He hasn't been the same productive force he was last year - turnovers up, rebounds down - but is nonetheless a valuable part of the second unit. Small forward CJ Miles recently made his season debut and could get 15-20 minutes of run.

Not unlike the Suns team the Lakers just got done embarrassing, the Jazz undo a lot of their good work on offense with a pretty terrible D. They control the defensive glass well but are below average in everything else. They're coming off two particularly grim performances, allowing 1.19 points per possession to Minnesota and then 1.16 PPP to San Antonio. Fouling the hell out of their opponents, look a disreputable feature of the Utah D, is again emerging as a tendency. Their opponents have an FTA/FGA of 0.34 for the season, seventh highest in the NBA, and that number has been even higher (0.41) over the past five games.

A central problem with their defense is their starting big men: Boozer and Okur have been terrible at that end of the floor. Their advanced metrics coming into this season weren't bad, but they've both posted defensive plus-minus stats this year that are just putrid. Millsap has been better those guys, as has been Kirilenko. The Lakers catch a break by not having to deal with the latter.

Utah is a perfectly decent team, to be sure. Williams is always fun to watch, and if the Laker big men are sloppy on D, Boozer and Okur could get big numbers. Staples Center, though, has become where perfectly decent teams go to get pounded. Absent a bed-crapping reminiscent of the Miami game, a 10th straight victory for the Lake Show awaits.

	Lakers	Jazz
*RECORD*	16-3	12-8
*NET POINTS PER GAME*	+8.3 (2nd)	+3.3 (9th)
*PACE*	97.8 (5th)	93.6 (22nd)
*OFFENSIVE RATING*	105.6 (13th)	107.3 (7th)
Turnover Rate (Off.)	12.9% (5th)	14.0 (18th)
FTA/FGA (Off.)	0.27 (25th)	0.31 (16th)
Free-Throw %	75.5 (15th)	75.3 (16th)
Effective FG% (Off.)	50.3 (12th)	52.2 (5th)
True Shooting% (Off.)	54.0 (16th)	56.3 (6th)
Off Rebounding Rate	27.8% (10th)	26.8 (18th)
*DEFENSIVE RATING*	97.4 (3rd)	104.6 (19th)
Turnover Rate (Def.)	14.5% (12th)	13.6 (7th)
FTA/FGA (Def.)	0.27 (6th)	0.34 (24th)
Effective FG% (Def.)	46.0 (1st)	50.2 (20th)
True Shooting% (Def.)	50.5 (1st)	54.8 (20th)
Def Rebounding Rate	72.3 (21st)	75.3 (5th)

All statistical terms defined here. Parentheses indicate league rankings. Numbers are courtesy of Basketball Reference and HoopData and, except for record and net points per game, are through Monday night's action.

Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post Game Report - A Reoccurring Theme

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:44:48 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

All Triano could do was gaze in horror at the scoreboard in the fourth quarter of last night's affair.

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Toronto came out flat last night against the Utah Jazz and as Franchise notes in his recap, he's seen this movie a few times too many already this season...

8 and 4.

Should that be the Toronto Raptors' record right now?

With last night's 104 to 91 loss to the Utah Jazz, Toronto fell to 5 and 7 this young season, however as a fan, it's hard not to look back at a number of games already and say "what if?"

For instance, shouldn't the loss to Memphis been avoidable?

What about the letdown against an under-manned Spurs team?

And maybe the Phoenix loss was one you'd place in the "anyone's game" column and therefore not a "shouldahadit," but last night's loss to the Jazz was one in my books that definitely should not have ended with the L.

For those who missed it, Toronto again took nearly an entire first half to get into game-mode, and then even though they managed to nearly pull even with Utah after being down by as many as 18, they ran out of gas in the fourth quarter.

However I don't think you can hang this one simply on "running out of gas," or "being tired on a back-to-back, and the final game of a Western conference road swing." Pure and simple, players aren't playing up to par on offense, and this team still is borderline atrocious defensively. Last night the Dinos had no answer for the small-ball back-court of Deron Williams and rookie Eric Maynor and while these two caused havoc for Toronto defensively, at the other end, the Raps didn't exactly do themselves any favours in terms of their own shot selection and strategy.

No need for panic, I was after all expecting a 5 and 13 start, but we're 12 games in, and it's time for some call-outs and early observations.

1) The Jarrett Jack signing isn't looking so hot.

Here are the facts. Jack is shooting 36 per cent from the field so far this season, 32 per cent from long-range, averaging less than 7 points, and most telling, went into last night's game with an almost even assist to turnover ratio.

I'm pretty sure that's not what fans or management expected when they invested their mid-level exception in him this past summer.

So, as one poster put it last night in our live game-chat, "is Jack the new Fred Jones?"

It's only 12 games in so again, I'm not ready to jump ship yet, but it's certainly a concern. Outside of his statistical follies, he just hasn't looked like the aggressive defender I expected, nor has he attacked the rim with even the same zeal as he did in pre-season.

And worst of all in my books? His ball-handling and decision making. I threw this out there during the game-blog last night and I will again; it scares me to say this but I felt more comfortable with Roko Ukic handling the ball last year than I do with Jack.

2) Bosh needs more help.

Bosh is putting up MVP-type numbers so far this season. Last night he dropped 32 points and 17 rebounds on the Jazz, but didn't get much help outside of Marco Belinelli in terms of offence.

While Hedo Turkoglu and Andrea Bargnani at times have given him a boost on O, both of them, along with Jose Calderon have hardly been consistent. If this team is going to struggle as much as it has on D, then it needs a full spread of offense each and every night. This is particularly true if the team wants to keep trotting out DeMar DeRozan as a starter. I like that they're trying to ensure minutes for his development, but he's really not a factor the majority of the time on O. This is backed up by 82games.com which lists Toronto's best starting line-up in terms of percentage of time on the court ahead on the scoreboard (80%) as the Calderon-Belinelli-Turkoglu-Bosh-Bargs combination.

TSN.ca's Tim Chisholm noted this on Twitter last night and I completely agree; if this team wants to keep Bosh around, the players BC has brought in or held onto as starters need to start playing like ones each and every night.

3) The defense needs to improve.

I don't think anyone expected this club to be a lock-down type. However this is getting a bit ridiculous. Toronto now is allowing opponents on average to score almost 108 points per game this season, and is last in the league in terms of defensive efficiency. They're actually last by a good shot too, a full 3 points per game worse than both Memphis and Golden State.

Yes the Dinos rank atop the league in offensive efficiency, but considering their record, it speaks volumes as to how woeful their defense is.

4) Shot selection and offensive strategy need work.

Additionally, the team's offense is still far too reliant on hitting jump shots and 3-pointers. When things go cold, the club isn't attacking the rim, and of course defensively they aren't able to keep things close. This means that quarters like last night's fourth occur, something that's extremely frustrating to watch as a fan. No one goes to the basket yet the jump shots keep going up, and without a solid defensive scheme, the other team takes advantage and blows the game wide open.

It happened against Denver the previous night. It happened early against the Clippers, and Bulls, late against the Spurs, and for stretches against the Suns and Pistons. Last night the Dinos were 5 for 19 in the fourth and if you look back at the type of shots taken, you'll see that Toronto just kept jacking them up, attempting only four foul shots.

I understand that this team's strength is in shooting the J, but if they're not going down, TO desperately needs a plan B.

5) Where would this team be without Amir Johnson and Marco Belinelli?

I cringe to think of what would have happened had the Raps' front office not figured out that sign-and-trade option enabling them to grab Hedo AND the likes of Antoine Wright, Amir Johnson, Marco Belinelli and Sonny Weems.

Remember, BC wanted to sign Hedo outright regardless!

Johnson and Belinelli in particular have been huge for this club so far with Belinelli playing a mini-Ben Gordon role and Johnson giving Toronto a much-needed boost of defense, rebounding and shot-blocking off the pine. Wright has also been a nice piece and even Sonny Weems has looked good in limited minutes. The bench is making up for some of the starters' flaws at the moment and as mentioned earlier, this needs to be corrected.

After this weekend's matches against Miami and Orlando at home, the schedule eases up a bit so we may get a more true indication of this team's abilities during that time. The club still is a long way from gelling, especially at the defensive end of the court, but there have been some positives to take from most games.

The team desperately needs to build on those over the next while to avoid falling too far behind in the standings so early in the season.

Raptors' Rapid Recap - Utah 104 - Toronto 91

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:49:55 -0000

-Toronto ends its four-game Western Conference road trip with a 104 to 91 loss to the Utah Jazz tonight.

-Much like earlier in the week against the Clippers, the Raps got in a big hole early with some extremely lazy play at both ends. However again like the LA game, after being down big (18 points), Toronto charged back, getting as close as 3 points in the fourth quarter.

-Unfortunately that's as close as things got. The Dinos shooting went ice cold in the fourth quarter and they had no match for Utah's small back-court of Deron Williams and Eric Maynor.

-Bosh led the Raps with 32 and 17, and Marco Belinelli and Amir Johnson made huge contributions off the bench.

-For Utah, Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 18 rebounds, while Andrei Kirilenko pitched in a quiet 20 off the bench.

-Again, this game was another prime example of what happens when TO's jump-shots stop falling. The team shot only 37 per cent from the field, 24 per cent from long-range, and yet kept heaving them up.

-The club therefore finishes the roadie with a 1 and 3 record and drops two games under .500. And even though Toronto's next game is back at home, it's against a hot Miami team, and that's followed up by another tough home match against Orlando.

Recap - Utah Jazz @ Philadelphia 76ers - W - 112 - 90

Basketball John — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:01:47 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

We don't see this a lot

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I love it when a team comes together

Probably the best team performance we've seen all season. Even scoring, even rebounding, even assists... this is what we've been looking for all season. 22 of 24 free throws made. 32 assists. 6-11 from three. This is the ball moving and executing offense that we've come to know and expect. Compare those 32 assists to the just 18 the team had against Boston.

We had only 9 guys dressed for the game with only 7 of them playing for most of it. The biggest team effort of the year also resulted in some of the biggest individual performances of the year. Crazy how that works. Let's go through each of them.

Eric Maynor is used to stepping things up. In his first significant game of the season, he couldn't have done much more to fill in for Deron Williams. His biggest contribution was his 11 assists and only 2 turnovers. That's poise. He also added 13 points but that was icing on the cake. He got the Jazz into the offense and drove constantly into the lane.

Ronnie Brewer added 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists to go along with 2 steals. This has come to be the norm for him this year. The assists were a little higher than his average. But just shows how well the ball was moving around.

Memo was decent tonight. He had a couple of big baskets in the third. He had 15 & 4 and hit the only three he took.

I was surprised when I saw the Andrei only had 4 assists. I could have sworn he had twice that. He threw in 7 boards and 13 points. He thrives in this environment when he's one of the leaders of the team. I think we've seen that all year from him. There's no doubt that his contract is huge, but he's the glue right now for this team.

Millsap finished with 15 & 7 and would have brought the house down in the ESA with one of his plays in the second quarter. After he missed a little jumper, the rebound came down to two 76ers. One of them had the ball and Millsap just came in and ripped away from him and put it back in for an easy bucket. That's why he's Mansap.

Wesley Matthews did most of his damage in the first half. He was 3-4 from the arc and had 14 of his 16 points before the break. He also penetrated well and created a lot of opportunities for himself.

Most impressive about Maynor and Matthews' performances is that they haven't been intimidated. Their confident when they hit the floor and it shows.

I don't often, if at all, talk about Sloan's performance. His rotations were great tonight (except I was wanting to see at least Fesenko get in the game). He's down 5 players right now and used 7 guys to beat the 76ers on the road. Everyone bought into the system tonight and Sloan had a lot to do with that.

Don't think I forgot about Boozer. I'm so torn when he does well because it starts making me soften my stance on him and I start forgetting just what he's done in the past.

Here's the thing, he hasn't said a word since the season has started and after a nasty start, he's getting better. He's still nothing to brag about on defense, but when the team is winning, it's hard to say anything critical about him.

And what infuriates me the most is that I don't think anyone wanted to hate Boozer. He's a Jazz man and one of our own. We've all been frustrated with players before, but we didn't hate any of them.

I still think it's best to trade him but the reason for wanting that is shifting slightly. With each game that he plays better, it increases his value and the return we would get in a trade would be higher. Being able to get a scoring wing player would be huge for this team. And that's becoming my biggest reason to trade him now more than just wanting to get rid of him.

I have a huge internal struggle with the whole situation right now.

Back to the team though. We had hustle, multiple tip balls, and a lot of guys going for loose balls tonight. Boozer had active hands and had three steals. The team only had 15 fouls which has to be some sort of record or at least on the bottom end of the bell curve. They had just 3 turnovers in the first half. It was mass hysteria.

High fives were breaking out all over the place and you could tell the team was enjoying the game again.

Once again, once we see 4 games or so like this in a row, maybe I'll start to think that something has changed. But too many times have they had a game like this and then crapped the bed again.

Other notes

Boonerism of the night - While talking about Matthews' scoring, he said, "Each time he scores, it's a new career high." He didn't go so far as to say whether that was a new season high though.
After Millsap got a rebound, Samuel Dalembert came up from behind and fouled Paul. He then held on in a hug from behind for a little a lot too long. That led to this statement from Steve Brown speaking as Millsap, "You got more than just basketball."
Liberty Ballers
Ross Siler
Living and Dying (moni saw the game the same way I did)
The Cowhide Globe

Game Thread and Preview - Utah Jazz @ Philadelphia 76ers

Basketball John — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:16:27 -0000

As you're well aware by now, the Jazz will be without Deron Williams tonight (personal reasons) as well as Ronnie Price (big toe).

Sloan has chosen to bring AK off the bench for tonight's action so as to have a second ball handler on the court for the second team.

That means that rookie Wes Matthews will start alongside fellow rookie Eric Maynor. Yes, those two that must carry around pink backpacks at all times this season.

Maynor will get to show what he can do with significant minutes and while leading the first unit on the floor.

So we'll have Maynor and Brewer in the back-court with Matthews, Boozer, & Memo up front. 82games.com doesn't have any data on the 5-man unit, so that will be interesting to see how they do.

That's when things get funky. With those starters, we have AK, Millsap, Fess, and the KOOF on the bench. That's it. AK will likely come off the bench first. I don't know who will be the true point guard at that point but we could see any one of AK, Matthews, or Ronnie B bring the ball up the floor. Look out if Maynor gets into foul trouble early.

It's all part of the new element of surprise the Jazz will be employing to switch things up. The 76ers won't know what hit them. Little do they know that Fess will be breaking out his crossover tonight and taking it to the rack all night long.

Honestly though, it's a bit exciting to see just how things will go tonight with so many people out right now. Kind of feels like a new team albeit one without Deron.

So what of Philadelphia? Well, they've beaten the bad teams they've played (barely, though they do have a win against a decent-good Bucks team) and have lost to the good teams. That sounds eerily familiar.

They're not a good three-point shooting team, thank goodness. They're only hitting about 30% right now. But they have the potential to kill us inside with AI and Speights. Thaddeus Young could be out tonight.

But what do I know about the 76ers? Check these guys out

And the Jazz guys

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.

2009-2010 Season Preview - Utah Jazz

Basketball John — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:16:18 -0000

More photos » by Daniel Ochoa de Olza - AP

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First, thanks to Jeff at CelticsBlog for coordinating all this and setting it up.

Team Name: Utah Jazz

Last Year’s Record: 48-34

Key Losses: Golden State at home (4/11), Minnesota at home (4/3), Morris Almond, Jarron Collins (key?), and soon to be Matt Harpring

Key Additions: Eric Maynor (drafted), Wes Matthews(?), Deron Max + AK Max + Opt Ins + Portland Hosing = Luxury Tax

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

The Jazz were in wait-and-see mode all off-season. They had three players, Kyle Korver, Mehmet Okur, and Carlos Boozer that could have opted-out. In the end, all of them ended up opting in for various reasons.

Korver decided that the This is The Place Heritage Park reminded him of his home state of Iowa too much to leave.

Okur decided that launching threes in the thin mountain air while making $10M per wasn't such a bad proposition.

And of course Boozer, he who was opting out and getting a raise, regardless. Then, as young people who try to move out of their parents' house find out, things are not as easy financially as they seem. Having no suitors willing to give him a raise with a long-term deal, Boozer opted back in and then went on his nationwide tour of radio stations to drum up interest for a trade.

When that didn't pan out, Boozer headed back to Jazz camp and has so far kept quiet.

The Jazz also didn't make an offer up front for Paul Millsap, though he was their number one priority to re-sign over the summer. They were content to let the market set the price. Due to market conditions, the Jazz were poised to re-sign Millsap for much less than the $8-9M he was looking for. After OKC, one of the last teams with cap space, apparently dropped out of the bidding, it looked like the Jazz were home free. And they would have got a big break too if it hadn't been for those darn kids up north. Portland made a large front-loaded offer for Millsap that looks like it was designed more to adversely impact the Jazz than it was to sign Paul.

The Jazz made two draft picks with Eric Maynor in the first round from VCU and Goran Suton from Michigan State in the second.

Maynor projects to be a third-string backup to Deron Williams and Ronnie Price.

Suton probably would have been signed in any other year, but with the Jazz already over the luxury tax and having enough big men, he will probably not be offered a contract.

Should the Jazz sign anyone else, it would be either Wes Matthews or Ronald Dupree. With CJ Miles out the first 6 weeks or so and Matt Hapring already in the studio, the Jazz are in need of another wing player. Right now, Matthews is the favorite to get the job.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

The Jazz still have one of the best offenses in the league. Three seasons ago when they went to the WCF, they had the third-best offensive rating. The year after that they were first in that same category. And last season, with injuries littering the Salt Lake valley, they were still a respectable 8th.

While it comes at a very, very high cost (almost $50 M), the Jazz have one of the best front-courts in the league in Okur, Boozer, Millsap, and Andrei Kirilenko. That gives you three former All-stars and at least half of them play respectable D.

As for the logjam at PF, if and when Boozer gets traded, it looks like Sloan will find a way to play both him and Millsap 30+ minutes. There has been some experimentation with Paul at the SF in the pre-season. He won't play significant minutes in that spot, but in some matchups, he could be there. Also, Kirilenko can play SF, PF, and even some C. Millsap and Boozer playing together, mass hysteria.

What I think will be the biggest strength for the Jazz this year is the team chemistry. Most of these guys came into the league around the same time. They've all played with each other for around 3-4 years. They know each other. Whether it's only words, the team has said they've moved on from the Boozer distraction. While I don't have anything to back it up, I believe locker room conflicts was a big cause of the team's stumble down the stretch last season. What I'm hoping to see is the the familiarity and cohesiveness helps eliminate in part some of the team's weaknesses.

And Energy Solutions Arena will be a perennial stronghold for the Jazz

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

I'm not sure that they're any different from last year's preview.

Let's start with the defense again. The Jazz were actually a bit above average last year in defensive rating. Where the Jazz are bothered on defense is length on the inside. They'll clean the glass with the best of them, but most big men can get whatever shot they would like off down low. This comes as being a bit undersized against a lot of opponents This is where the development of Kosta Koufos and Kyrylo Fesenko, the two seven-footers, would be beneficial. The Jazz also have the propensity of not getting back on D quickly and giving up easy points after a made bucket or drive by one of the guards.

For what it's worth, every other word out of all the players' mouths so far this season has been "defense". It may not be lip service this year.

Second on the list is the inability to win on the road. This has been a problem the last three seasons. Just breaking even on the road the past couple of years would have earned them a two seed two years ago and 53 wins last season.

This is where the next weakness comes in. There was a lack of mental toughness or focus last year, particularly on the road. A good example of this was the Orlando game after a crushing 3 OT loss to Miami the night before. It wouldn't have mattered if the Orlando game was two days later, the blow from that loss, being on the road, and being the second game of a B2B, there was no way the Jazz were going to even compete in that game, let alone win.

They may not have won against a very good Orlando team anyway, but even if Vegas gave them 30 points, I still would have wagered against the Jazz. The late season collapse had more to do with a mental breakdown than anything else. Inexcusable losses at home to the Warriors NBDL team and to the Wolves sealed the team's fate as the 8th seed in the West.

With each of players a little older and hopefully more mature, perhaps we can expect a more focused team this season.

Finally, for the Jazz to be taken seriously, they need to acquire a two-guard that can hit a three and create his own shot. I think Ronnie Brewer is fantastic, but I don't know if his jumper will ever come around. He' would be a great three, but when Kobe can sag 10-15 feet from you, there are problems. The Jazz as a team don't shoot the three well. The top teams shot nearly 40% while the Jazz had just one player (Okur, 44.6%) shoot at least that. That should go up this season.

4. What are the goals for this team?

I'm glad that most previews have the Jazz finishing at the bottom of West this season. Last year they were supposedly the dark house and that didn't turn out so well. According to Hollinger in prior playoffs, they should have gone to the finals. Whenever the team has been counted out is when they've surprised people. So that bodes well.

This is a team that has won 51, 54, and 48 games the last three seasons. For the most part, it's been the same team each year. Last year I had projected that they would win 56 games prior to Deron Williams' injury. Who knew that his pre-season ankle sprain was merely a precursor to the injur-plagued season the Jazz would suffer. There's no doubt that all of the injuries contributed to at least 2-4 losses.

This is the same team that's been here the last three seasons. For good or bad, that's what it is. So when everyone is healthy, there's no reason that this team shouldn't win 50-55 games. Heaven help us (and the league) if they figure out how to win on the road.

Should the Jazz be able to trade Boozer for a true shooting guard and get some expiring deals as well, Kevin O'Connor could be Executive of the Year.

We should see the Jazz challenge the Nuggets and Trail Blazers for the Northwest Division title.

5. Does Andrei Kirilenko need a hair intervention?

I mean, how can he be Ivan Drago with the flat hair?

Projected Finish: 52-30

Check out TBJ's preview as well.