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Great Weekend for the Utah Jazz
Posted by: David J. Smith on December 10th, 2012
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.These are the kind of weekends that Jazz fans love. Not only did Utah win twice, but one of the victories came against the Los Angeles Lakers. First, here is my Deseret News write-up for the latter.
Some observations from the last few games:
- DeMarre Carroll has been an absolute highlight this year. He was an unexpected spark last season, especially leading up to the Playoffs. That said, I will admit questioning whether or not he can be a viable rotational player. And now I publicly admit my error. DMC has been fantastic, with Sunday being one of his best efforts. He was everywhere, making smart decisions on both ends of the court. He is making a difference, a definite impact. In the 13 games since he reentered the rotation, he is averaging 7.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.23 spg, and 0.77 bpg in 20.4 mpg.
- Enes Kanter continues to shine. After a slow start, following his stellar preseason, he is showing an adept offensive game and an ability to body up on defense. He was not afraid to be physical with Dwight Howard. His improvement is exciting to watch. Moreover, in one of his tweets, he wrote “JazzMan4LifeBABY!” That is music to Jazz fans’ ears.
- There has to be concern about Derrick Favors’ plantar fascitis, especially after his pregame workout caused it to flare up. Let’s see what developments occur this year. We need Derrick and his incredible defense.
- The Lakers are a mess. Dwight Howard is still dominant defensively and on the boards, but in the LA offense, he appears lost and his deficiencies stick out more. But a lot of judgement should be reserved until Steve Nash enters the picture. The same should be applied to Pau Gasol.
- It was nice for Linas Kleiza to have a non-Jazz killer game. But Jordan Hill looked like he wanted on that list.
- Jamaal Tinsley seems to be back in the primary back-up PG slot. It’s a conundrum, with both he and Earl Watson bringing strengths and weaknesses to the table.
- Mo Williams continues to impress as a playmaker. He now is eighth in the NBA with 7.2 apg. He’s picked it up since he returned from his injury. And his one missed free throw against the Lakers moved him to second at 94.6%.
- Randy Foye is seventh in the NBA in three-pointers made per game, at 2.4 per. He’s added a whole new dynamic to our team.
Replies: 5
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5 Responses
DeMarre embodies what true Jazz basketbakl is. Pkus he’s a better shooter than you expect. He’s been impressive and has definitely earned his spot.
I love Carrol!!! He just plays so hard… Every rebound he is out running, every defensive possession he is playing hard nosed, body up defense. He rebounds, he passes, he steals, he can score without plays drawn up for him. He is just playing fantastic. I love him! @KCJones, you’re right, his shooting is a lot better than I have expected. Earlier in the season he would shoot and I would cringe until he dropped it in with a swish. He’s been very, very consistent!!! I love it!!!
How about Jamaal’s shooting? After going 0 for 9,123 on 3s, he’s been hitting that 3 point set shot! I cringe every time he takes it, but he’s been hitting it.
Who’d a’ thunk it?
JD is just fun to isolate and watch him play off the ball.
Love beating the HATED Lakers!
Jazzaholic
Im a little biased towards Jaamal, I really think he got screwed early in his career when the Pacers fell apart mostly due to formerly Ron Artest. He has amazing vision and assists come with that and ball handling. High BBall IQ and keeps defenders guessing while setting up the team. I think hes our best PG. I would like to see Mo play at the same time with him at the 2 spot when teams go small.
Enes and DMC are the players are really enjoy watching all the time.
Enes is a diamond in the rough – a huge diamond. While everybody dreams of Favors, I am amazed at what huge steps forward the young turk is doing: In his second year, without even playing college basketball, he is fearless and brings a huge effort. He still makes the occasional mistake, but subjectively that has improved manifold since last year.
DMC not only hustles just like we love it, in my mind he inspires his team mates (even the more hustle-resistant Mo and Al) to step up a little bit.
Earl first the same mold. We are starting to see a real Jazz team there!