SB Nation User Blog: clarkpojo

GAME PREVIEW @ THE MAGICAL KINGDOM- Fox and the Hound edition

clarkpojo — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:02:23 -0000

I had forgottten that Tayshaun Prince was on the olympic team. Apparently, so did Boozer, Howard and Bosh.

Yesterday I was reading my latest dose of tweets when i came across this: D_Will_8_4real In Orlando on the way to the mall with @CJMiles34, Sap, Brew and Hancock aka Wes Mathews!

In twitter language that means that CJ Miles, Deron Williams, Paul Millsap, Ronnie Brewer, and Wes Matthews went to the mall together. Other tweets report that some of the same crew went to see Avatar and that Deron and CJ really liked the movie. But I didn't want to know about the movie as much as, "where was the rest of the team?" and more importantly, "where was Carlos Boozer?" As much as the team talks about chemistry, all of the players hang out with one another to some degree, but it seems Carlos Boozer has been missing from a lot of team get togethers. Might mean nothing. But then I realized that Carlos was probably just hanging with his best buddy in the NBA, Dwight Howard.

From Ross Siler's blog:

"Boozer dropped into one of his postgame answers Saturday that he would be hanging out with Magic center Dwight Howard at Howard’s home in Orlando on Sunday. The two played together on the 2008 Olympic team.

'I know me and Dwight will be going at it a lot," Boozer said, looking ahead to Monday’s game. "We’re really good friends, so we’ll be talking about it tomorrow at his house.'"

And apparently the feeling is mutual. From Dwight Howard's blog:

"Heeeeeeyyyyyy Wooorrrrrrrrrld!!! We've got a really tough back-2-back against my man Carlos Boozer and then Phoenix on Thursday Friday."

Cute. Now cue the "best of friends" song by that owl lady when the fox and the hound are playing together and enjoy the rest of the preview.

Carlos Boozer added Dwight Howard to his long list of stars he would love to play with sometime. And how couldn't Boozer want to play alongside D12? Howard would immediately take away every flaw in Boozer's defensive game by giving him a safety net. Average looking girls in high school immediately became hot when they started hanging out with the prettiest girls in school. Admit it, we have all fallen for that not very cute girl that we thought was hot, because she hung out with the real hotties. And admit it, we have all made out with that not cute girl. I haven't, personally, but I thought I should just mention this hypothetical fact because this is a sports blog and that's what guys do on sports blogs. High fives all around.

Anyways, Howard would make Boozer's defense much hotter than it currently is. Boozer-Howard would make a good tandem in the NBA. It would also make a good name for a character in any of the Grand Theft Auto games.

Back onto the game preview at hand. Orlando is going to use Dwight Howard to defend the paint and then they are going to shoot a buttload of three pointers. The Jazz in turn are not going to defend the paint and shoot a peck of three pointers. I'm not sure how small a peck is, but I am guessing it's small. I've seen Willow.

The winner will be the team who does the best at what they are trying to do. And that is your key to the game from Ron Boone. Here are some other keys to tonight's game brought to you by other key analysts of the game:

Doug Collins:

"The Jazz are down 8 with two minutes to go in the first half, but if they had've been able to hit those 3 shots back at the end of the first quarter and stopped that 3 point shot by Orlando, you are talking about a 9 point swing. If the Jazz can just find a way to get a couple of stops and hit a couple of shots, then the Jazz could be looking at a 22 point lead right now.

Hubie Brown:

"Now. If you are the Jazz, then you have to feel good about yourself right now. You are on the road in Orlando against a very good team and you have given up 58% shooting and you are only down 13 points at halftime. We all know that Carlos Boozer can't play much worse than he is right now. He is usually good for 20 points and 12, 13 rebounds and terriffic defense in the paint. He is one of the best young players in this league and the Jazz can expect him to pick up his game, so they have that going for them. And then they have this guy Devin Williams who is really just one of the young stars in this league who averages, let me look at my sheet, more than 20 points and 11 assists in the last 3 games. And we all know he's not flashy, but he's also not going to make a lot of mistakes. So the Jazz have that going for them."

David Locke:

"The Orlando Magic use 42% of their possessions on three point shots for the last 6 minutes of the third quarter for the season. From 9:24 left in the 2nd quarter to 3:46 in third quarter the Jazz are averaging 13 turnovers on the road. Utah Jazz key to the game will therefore be to get Carlos Boozer touches in the paint. The Jazz are 13-1 when Carlos Boozer touches the ball 14 times in the first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter."

Coach Stan Van Gundy:

"We've played like garbage this game. No energy, no emotion, and not getting the ball where it needs to go on offense. We have had some breaks, mostly Utah has missed some open looks, so we are winning, but we just aren't playing well, right now. And it's going to need to change if we want to win this game, let alone the championship or even make the playoffs. We won't playing like this."

Coach Jerry Sloan:

"Well you've gotta come to play. You've gotta compete. Orlando has come out and punched us in the mouth and we've sort of cowered in the corner and felt sorry for ourselves for the first half of this game. But I've always said that feeling sorry for yourself is only going to get you not very far in this league. We'll see if we can pick it up in the second half, get on top of the basket instead of just giving the Magic the space to do what they want on the offensive end. We've got to get up and play them. Be physical."

My take on the Jazz and the game:

The Jazz are now 10-1 in games after a loss. That's great and all, but you could win all of your games after a loss and only go 41-41 for the season. Learning from your losses is great only when you can string significant win streaks together. Having a short memory is good in this league, but not when you are supposedly trying to learn from your losses. What would really impress me is if the Jazz were able to win in Orlando and in Miami and go 4-1 on this road trip. I would even be impressed by one win and one very competitive game in these next two games. But history would tell us that this game is a recipe for disaster for the Jazz. They have struggled against Orlando recently other than 10 days or so ago when the Jazz beat them in SLC. The Magic obliterated the Jazz last season in Orlando. You have to play well and disciplined against good teams on the road and the Jazz haven't done that for the last two seasons. It was a huge win, but you can't even call the San Antonio team the Jazz beat in Texas this year, "a good team." So tonight gives the Jazz a chance to make a mark on this season. Beating a good Orlando team on the road could be a highlight and a catalyst for good things to happen in the future. And right now, I have no idea what type of team is going to show up for the Jazz tonight. Will it be the team that got pummeled by Atlanta, or the team that nearly knocked off the Cavs and handled a hot-at-home Bobcats team? As long as we are asking these types of questions, the Jazz can't be considered a serious contender for anything other than most puzzling team. Because truly good teams give you a good, consistent effort at least 90% of the time. I would say the Jazz are batting about .545 for "good games" played right now.

Let's hope the good team shows up tonight.

GAME PREVIEW IN QUEEN CITY- gotta be better than last night, right?

clarkpojo — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:10:11 -0000

via theantifan.files.wordpress.com

Where's your bellybutton, Stephen? Oh, that's close. Try Again.

"We have to play better at the beginning of games. We always start slow and use all our energy to get back into the game. You can't do that on the road against any team."

Sound like a Jazzman? It's actually a quote by Charlotte Bobcat Forward Stephen Jackson after they dropped a tough loss to Indiana on Wednesday night. The Bobcats are actually a respectable 10-14 and playing much better basketball since the trade to acquire Jackson. But like the Jazz, the Bobcats are horrible on the road at 1-11. But that means that they are 9-3 at home and have won 6 of 7 at Time Warner Arena.

So what seems like a good chance at a W for the Jazz, may not be. You know it's bad when ESPN accuscore projections have the Jazz winning only 27 % of the 1000, simulated games between Utah and Charlotte tonight.

The Bobcats are a version of Larry Brown's classic teams minus a great scorer. They are 3rd from the bottom in offensive efficiency and third in defensive efficiency. Brown traded offense for defense when he shipped Jason Richardson, Vlad Radmonivich, and Omeka Okafor for Stephen Jackson, Boris Diaw, and Tyson Chandler. If he had a dynamic scorer like Allen Iverson, he might be onto something.

Gerald Wallace- I don't personally think Wallace is good enough of a player to be the team's best player, but he is very talented and plays with great energy. At 6-7, he is second in the league in rebounds per game at 12, only behind numero 12, Dwight Howard. He scores 17 points a game, mostly off of turnovers and driving to the basket. If the Jazz get turnover happy, Wallace is going to have a field day. I love his game actually. I think he has been a fan-trade favorite for Jazz fans for a few seasons now.

& Company- If Stephen Jackson found out that I put him in the "& company" group, he would probably fire his gun in the air in anger. But while Jackson is an incredibly versatile player, he also hasn't proven to be anything better than a gifted role player. And he is trigger happy which has always hurt his offensive game, pun intended. Fifth year point guard Ray Felton is the Sam Bowie of his draft class. He is not a bad player and is having himself a nice career, but he isn't Hakeem, MJ, or Malone...I mean, Chris Paul or Deron Williams. DJ Augustin is a quick, scorer off the bench and the Bobcats have some other players (Ronald Murray, Boris Diaw) who can get hot against the Jazz and make it a loooong night.

This Bobcats team isn't as bad as previous years. So if they beat the Jazz, it won't be as bad as the previous several times they have beat us in Charlotte. They would actually be pretty good if they weren't the worst drafting team in the NBA. I live in North Carolina and no one really supports the Bobcats. There is a history of reasons there, but mostly they don't put together a good team. They draft fan favorites from local colleges in hopes of selling tickets, even if there are better players to be had. Welcome home, Ray Felton, Sean May, and Gerald Henderson. But maybe the biggest problem is that the GM of the team is too busy filming homoerotic underwear commercials with Charlie Sheen and Kevin Bacon to really care.

The Bobcats only score 91 points a game. That's abysmal. You can write them in for at least 101 in tonight's game, though. Welcome to Charlotte, the Utah Jazz.

So how do the Jazz win? By scoring at least 102 points. I'm not going to write anything else, because everything I wrote yesterday, the Jazz did the opposite.

But at least the Jazz starters should be well rested since they didn't have to play the last quarter and a half of last night's game. Let's go fresh legs. It's gotta be better than last night.

THE FRIENDLY ENEMY

Rufus on Fire

More Randolph trade suggestions- What do you expect?

clarkpojo — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:20:24 -0000

Hey Warrior fans,

You have heard all of the offers pitched. The Warriors management is obviously looking for a power forward, but I don't know that you are going to find one much better than David West and you are going to have a hard time convincing guys like amare or Chris Bosh to sign extensions.

Anyways, I have always thought that Andrei Kirilenko just belonged on the Golden State Warriors and I have thought that there was a trade to be made between the Jazz and Golden State. In fact, I think AK47 for Anthony Randolph is a funny trade, because I see AK as a more mature version of Anthony Randolph; a veteran if you will.

So my proposed trade is Andrei Kirilenko and Ronnie Brewer, for Anthony Randolph, Corey Maggette, and Raja Bell's expiring contract.

It obviously adds about $3 million to your payroll this year and $6-10 million next year, but it also takes $21 million of Corey Maggette's contract off the books in 2011-2013. I don't know if the Jazz management is willing to make a big trade right now, but I think this would benefit both teams. AK has only one year left after this one, so his contract isn't as bad any longer and I really think he would thrive in your system if he was turned loose again. He's only 28 years old.

Let me know what you think.

GAME PREVIEW @ ATL- These aren't your papa's Hawks

clarkpojo — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:47:43 -0000

via assets.espn.go.com

No offense to the human highlight, but this might be the best Hawks team in the last 30 years.

As good as Orlando and Miami have been at times this season, I am going to just say that tonight's game is the most loseable of the road trip. The Atlanta Hawks are very good. As recently as last year, the Hawks were very good with an asterisk, that if they realized their potential, they could be very, very good. They have started realizing their potential. If you haven't seen the Hawks play, you are missing out on a very exciting team. They have athletes, they have shooters, they have guys who run the floor and they have the second best overall record and best home record in the Eastern Conference. They are good. Let's break down what you need to know about the Hawks:

The Hawks are the best team in the NBA in offensive efficiency- They don't shoot lights out and they don't have overpowering low post scorers, but they turn the ball over very rarely and they are a top 3 team in offensive rebounding. So they score on more of their possessions than most teams. And they have this guy named Joe Johnson.

Joe Johnson- Why the Suns let this guy go in the name of fiscal responsibility is beyond me. They ended up giving out horrible contracts to guys like Marcus Banks in order to see Johnson walk away and he has been a borderline superstar out in Atlanta since he left. I would put him in the tier of players right below the top tier. He is with guys like Deron Williams, Amare Stoudemire, Kevin Martin, etc. But like Deron Williams, Johnson is making a push to join the elite players. Hey I am not saying Deron isn't a superstar, but he is just starting to prove his worth statistically. You can't argue that. But keeping Johnson in check is going to be a big key in slowing down the Hawks.

& Company- Josh Smith has always had the skills to be a breakout player in the league. He is a longer, more athletic version of Andrei Kirilenko back in his best days and that is saying something. But Smith has always held his team and his game back by getting stupid technicals, whining and having a horrible shot selection...until this year. In fact, I believe most of the Hawks rise in the Eastern Conference should be attributed to his smarter game. He has vowed not to shoot as many three pointers and he has lived up to it. The last three seasons he has averaged just over 1 3PA per game. This season he has shot 3...total. There are other factors. The Hawks added Jamal Crawford in the offseason who provides a great scorer off the bench. Crawford has put up 50 + points for three different teams and I believe he would set a record if he put up 50+ for the Hawks. No better chance to do it than against the Jazz, right? The rest of the lineup is filled with average to good players who are probably somewhat underrated and who know their role. Joe Smith and Zaza Pachulia do the dirty work down low. Al Horford is an underrated PF/C who goes unnoticed mostly due to his size. But he is crafty and plays solid defense. And Maurice Evans has scored 17 points a game for the last 4 games. When they get that kind of production from role players, the Hawks are tough to beat. They haven't just won 6 of 7, they have been killing opponents: 146-115 over Toronto. 118-83 over Chicago, 130-107 over NJ, you get the picture.

How the Jazz win:

1. Punish the Hawks downlow- I am speaking of both sides of the ball, but mostly on offense. The Hawks don't have shot blockers down low. Josh Smith does most of his damage off the ball and hopefullyhe guards Memo on the perimeter. Boozer and Millsap should be able to work on Pachulia and Horford and Joe Smith without getting blocked too often. And on defense, the Jazz HAVE to keep the Hawks off the offensive rebounds. This stat will be key.

2. Limit Turnovers- I know asking the Jazz to limit turnovers is like asking your 17 year old to not drive past the speed limit when they borrow your car. But there are turnovers you can live with and ones you can't. The Hawks don't run fast breaks often, but they can get out if you let Josh Smith block a shot back to halfcourt, or if you commit "the bad" turnovers. Three in the key, charging, throwing the ball out of bounds= not good, but okay. The rest of the turnovers are absolute no-nos tonight.

3. Keep the game close- If you do steps one and two, you will most likely get three. But the Jazz can't come back on this Hawks team like they did three years ago. This team feeds on leads and they feed of the crowd who feeds on leads. Run the offense, don't turn it over, attack the rim and then steal one in the late stages of the game. Even if the Jazz play great, this isn't going to be an easy win, like in NJ. So play hard, buckle up (now you can't use it Boler), and let's get a W.

HAWK'S EYE VIEW:

Peach Tree Hoops

I HAVE FOUND OUR SECOND ROUND DRAFT PICK THIS YEAR

clarkpojo — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:07:23 -0000

via grfx.cstv.com

Do you recognize this player for the UAB Blazers?

I had completely forgot about this guy but he seems like an obvious pick for the Jazz if he forgoes his Senior year. Unless other teams go after him, thanks to his older brother. He's an athletic swingman who is leading the 25th ranked team in college basketball in scoring and rebounding. I wouldn't mind the Jazz using a second round pick on him, even if he didn't make the team. He is also not currently listed on any top 100 draft watch boards that I can see, so maybe he will slip under the radar.

GAME PREVIEW- @ the New Jersey Nyets

clarkpojo — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:16:54 -0000

Jay Z is probably the most interesting thing about the Nets right now.

via www.mzeus.com

Well tonight begins the start of the Jazz's annual pre-Christmas road trip. We talked about the last week's schedule being a "Hell Week" but historically this upcoming trip has been the real hell week. The Jazz have had a winning record on this trip only once in the last 5 years and have been 8-16 on the trip over that time period. As Carlos Boozer mentioned, this road trip will give the Jazz a chance to "get our swag back," and by swag, Boozer must mean their dignity after losing to Minny at home.

But the Jazz have no excuse for losing tonight. The Nets are 2-23. Let me repeat: TWO AND TWENTY THREE. They have only beaten the Bobcats at home and the Bulls in Chicago. And at the time the Bulls looked like the worst team in the NBA. The Nets create some matchup problems for the Jazz. But if they were really matchups that were hard to overcome, then the Nets would have won more than 2 games in 25 tries. The truth is hard sometimes, but jinxing aside, if the Jazz lose, it will be due to a poor effort or gameplan. More about the matchups:

Devin Harris- He is one of the fastest point guards in the league and Deron Williams struggles defending speedy guards one on one. The good news is that almost all point guards have a hard time defending Devin Harris. So most other teams negate his speed by running effective double teams and showing hard on ball screens. The bad news: our bigs have a really hard time showing effectively on screens AND getting back into low post position. So don't be surprised if Devin Harris scores 25+ in this game.

Brook Lopez- Probably the best sophomore in the league as of right now. Lopez has a very nice offensive game in the post and plays very good defense. At 7 feet tall, Lopez is averaging 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. If you put this guy alongside a productive power forward, it could be one of the best frontcourts in the league. Carlos Boozer would actually fit really nicely with Lopez. But Lopez is going to give Boozer and Okur fits defensively and block some shots.

The Rest of the Nets- They aren't very good. Courtney Lee and Chris Douglas-Roberts are the only other guys on the team who you could call starters in the league. But Lee is shooting 37% from the field and 22% from the 3 point line this season. Chris Douglas Roberts is having a career year, but he doesn't have a very versatile game. At any time the Nets will have 2-3 players who don't know how to score in some combination of Trenton Hassell, Josh Boone, Jarvis Hayes, and Sean Williams.

So what do the Jazz do to win? Three things:

1. Play with energy and effort- Any team in the NBA can beat any team if one team doesn't play hard. But even if both teams play hard, the better team will win almost every time. I know it sounds stupid and simple, but it's true.

2. Run the offense- No jumpers unless they come from quick ball movement and penetration, please. Attack the basket and keep the pressure on this Nets team to play defense.

3. Make the Rest of the Nets beat you- If Harris goes off for 25 points, the Jazz can still win handily. If Harris goes off for 25 and Lopez scores 20 and gets 14 boards, the Jazz can still win in difficult fashion. But if Harris scores 25, Lopez gets 20-14, AND CDR or Lee hit 4 threes and get 15-20 points, it's curtains for the Jazz. So just take one or two of those options away. Hound Harris all night and make other guys beat you. Or else double Lopez and get him frustrated. But don't let them all get going, please.

I know I have jinxed the Jazz a lot this post, but at this point, I don't care about jinxing. I think the Jazz's super crappy road record is one big jinx enough that the Jazz are going to have to overcome by beating bad teams on the road. I didn't jinx them the last 5 years when they lost to New Jersey every season. Let's start what will hopefully be a winning record on this road trip tonight. See you at 7:30pm.

THANKS GOLDEN STATE! : Let the trade season begin

clarkpojo — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:55:22 -0000

via cdn.bleacherreport.com

I say we trade for this guy.

December 15th, the first day that most offseason free agent signings can legally be traded, came and went without a single trade. But even more important to a frenzied trade season was this report by yahoo sports Adrian Wojnarowski. Other sources have confirmed Wojnarowski's report that no one on the Warriors' payroll is untouchable now and this surely will get GM's calling the Golden State constantly making offers for Warrior players, because no team has young talent that is currently being misused like the Warriors have.

I haven't been able to find this anywhere else, but ESPN insider says "Carlos Boozer, Caron Butler, Tyrus Thomas and David West were all mentioned by league executives as potential trade targets for the Warriors."

Seriously? The Warriors would have interest in Carlos Boozer? Well where do we sign? There are some hiccups to making a deal with the Golden State Warriors, but it appears that right now is the right time to strike a deal, while the iron is hot and the GS front office is scrambling. But take a look at Golden State's payroll via hoopshype.com.

The main problem is that the young players like Anthony Randolph and Anthony Morrow are in their rookie pay scales, so it is hard to match up with their circa million dollar contracts. But the Warriors also have Andris Biedrins and his $9 million contract to throw into a deal. It is well documented that Biedrins is expendable, since he has been rumored in several deals the last two offseasons.

The other problem is that the Warriors would want to bring back not only a good player, but a player who is likely to stick around after this season, so trading for a player who becomes a free agent next season is a very risky move for the Ws.

But you have to think that the Jazz could be players in this type of a deal if they wanted to be, and I emphasize the term, 'if they wanted to be." I can't imagine that the Warriors wouldn't be interested to some degree in Carlos Boozer, Andrei Kirilenko or any one of our shooting guards, especially defensive-minded Ronnie Brewer.

So let your imaginations run wild. Come up with your best trade offer. I would trade Carlos Boozer for Anthony Randolph and Andris Biedrins in a heartbeat. If that wasn't enough, how about Carlos Boozer and Ronnie Brewer for Biedrins, Randolph, and Speedy Claxton's expiring contract? I am currently salivating. If we traded with the Warriors we could get better now and for the future. Leave your thoughts.

FROM 60 TO 0 IN 3.5 SECONDS

clarkpojo — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:12:42 -0000

via media.rd.com

The Jazz needed more of this type of defense against the Wolves. (This picture will never get old.)

Nothing like a loss in Minnesota to bring the Jazz back down to earth. The Jazz have been playing fantastic ball lately, which has made Jazz fans all abuzz with accolades about Wesley Matthews being the answer at shooting guard and about how Kevin O'Connor is a genius for not trading Carlos Boozer and I think for the most part, Jazz fans have failed to realize that:

A. The Jazz were just re-establishing their dominance at home

B. The Jazz didn't beat one good team during their recent 6-1 spurt (Blazers aren't a good team right now)

All of the sudden this jazz team is looking awfully reminiscent of the past few years' jazz teams that lost to too many cellar dwellers in the league to be considered a legitimate threat come playoff time.

Here is the deal with the Jazz: They aren't good enough to beat bad NBA teams without giving it their best effort. The good news is that only 2 or 3 teams in the league are. But even teams like Boston have dropped games on the road to bad teams like the Pacers. Orlando got pummeled in OKC. Denver lost at the Clippers of all teams. And if the Lakers played any road games, then I am sure they would drop one here and there. But you just have to play harder than the Jazz played tonight in order to win on the road, even against the 2-17 teams. That is the truth in the NBA.

But what the Jazz get in the habit of doing, and they have done it too often already this season, is playing with little to no urgency until they are down by 6 or 7 points in the 4th quarter. Then they play hard, but by that time the other team is confident enough that they can win the game, no matter what their record is. Do you want to know the litmus test for whether the Jazz are playing hard or not? There are two indicators:

1- Are the Jazz getting layups and dunks, or are they shooting jumpshots? And if they are shooting jumpshots, are they open jumpshots after penetration and a kickout, or self-created jumpshots or jumpshots off a pass from the perimeter?

2- Are the Jazz moving in general? Are they closing out on jumpshooters with a purpose? Are they moving on offense without the ball? Are they moving their feet and rotating on defense?

To illustrate my point: one of the offensive sets the Jazz run is an isolation at the top of the key. In this set the shooting guard stands on the weakside wing and sort of waits to shoot a three pointer if the post player is doubled with the ball or the point guard is able to penetrate the lane and draw an extra defender. I understand that it is the shooting guards job to just wait there. But there is a right way and a wrong way to wait for a play to develop. One way is to be alert and on the balls of your feet ready to go after a ball if it is deflected or ready to follow an offensive rebounding opportunity. The other way is to stand still with your feet flat on the floor and your hands down at your side. Wesley Matthews is the best wing at being energetic even when the play calls for "waiting," but even he got caught flat footed a couple times against the Wolves. Next time you watch a Jazz game watch the players without the ball for a whole quarter or so and see what they are doing.

Energy and effort are skills, just like shooting, or jumping, or making free throws. They require practice and repetition to be mastered. That is why players like Udonis Haslem, Charles Oakley, Matt Harpring and Joakim Noah can be good players in this league without a jumpshot, a lowpost move to speak of, or even knees. And the Jazz need to learn, or even trick themselves into playing with effort and energy more consistently. Here are a couple suggestions for the team.

- Talk about road games against crappy teams as if you haven't beaten this team on the road in a decade- It worked against the Spurs this season, which is the only real signature win that is different from the disappointing team from last year. The Jazz didn't play perfectly in San Antonio, but they played focused and with effort for almost all of the game. Treat every game like you are trying to end a decade long skid and make that next game your focus from the second the previous game ends and talk about nothing else.

-Tell each other during a game that you are down no matter what the score is; make it an inside joke on the team- The Jazz have been breaking huddles this season with a "defense" cheer, rather than "Jazz" in hopes of making defense a priority. Do the same with the score. Don't look at the score. Instead, ask the team in the huddle, "what are we going to do to get this lead back?" and "we can't catch up if we exchange baskets; we need stops." This will confuse Fesenko and Okur for a couple of games, but they will catch on. Jazz players should trick themselves into generating energy by believing they are up against the wall.

Whatever they do, losses like this one need to stop. Immediately. Because the 4th quarter is too late to start playing your hardest. And entering the playoffs as a # 6 seed is way to late to wonder "what if we had won 3 more games that we should have won in November or December or January?"

In the word's of Poor Richard: "One ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Let's see if they can gather themselves before they enter the gauntlet that is the December schedule.

LET'S PLAY UTAH JAZZ GM

clarkpojo — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:12:08 -0000

I've been doing the math in my head and playing out scenarios, but if you were Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor, what would you do about the logjam at the wing position with Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, Wesley Matthews, and CJ Miles? The easy answer is just to keep all four and let things wait out, but here is why that isn't likely:

1. One or two of those guys are going to have their feelings hurt. Each one of them deserves at least 10-15 minutes of playing time a game and that won't be possible when the team is fully healthy. Potential chemistry issues could arise.

2. The bigger reason is that the Jazz will be having $1.2-11 million sitting on the bench doing nothing other than cheering. The Jazz probably can't afford to do that.

So here are your options:

a. Waive Wesley Matthews before his contract becomes fully guaranteed

b. Trade either Brewer, Korver, or Miles for a second round draft pick or cash considerations to a team that can absorb the contract and not have to give a player back in return.

I'm interested to see what you all will say.

Poll

What do you do if you are the Jazz GM:

Waive Wesley Matthews

4 votes

Trade Ronnie Brewer

9 votes

Trade Kyle Korver

61 votes

Trade CJ Miles

41 votes

Nothing. It is worth the extra money to have some insurance.

25 votes

140 votes | Poll has closed

Iverson not signing with the Knicks

clarkpojo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:14:41 -0000

According to Howard Beck of the New York Times, the Knicks have "dropped their pursuit" of Allen Iverson.

"Although team officials were highly intrigued by Iverson, a four-time scoring champion, they finally decided that he posed too great a risk because of his long history of problems on and off the court," Beck writes.

For the time being, Chris Duhon is still the Knicks' point guard, with Toney Douglas provided some relief here and there.

Yesterday it was reported Miami was "hot" after Iverson, and there still might be a chance the Bobcats, with Larry Brown at the helm, could take a chance on Iverson.

But his best chance at returning to the NBA appears to have walked out the door.

If the Knicks make no trades for a point guard this season, the draft might bring them Kentucky's John Wall, as their current 2-9 record gives them a shot at a high lottery pick. So a scoring point guard could still be in their future.

I copied and pasted this from an insider article. Did you see that the Knicks aren't going to sign Allen Iverson? But funnier still, did you see how the author of this article thinks that the Knicks still have their pick for 2010. A cbssports.com columnist made the same mistake yesterday. It is really sad for Knicks fans.