Meet
3 Questions Facing The Jazz This Upcoming Season…
Posted by: Ryan Walker on December 5th, 2011
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.Christmas for me, as i’m sure was the case with many of you came about a month early this year. With the lockout mess over and done with, and comfortably in our rear view mirror (for at least 6 years) it’s time to get back to basketball. On a small side note i’d like to shout out to all the kids in my 2nd grade class that made fun of me for believing in Santa Claus… looks like i was right all along, he is real!
I just wanted to take a quick look at three questions facing the Jazz this season.
1. Can the Jazz have a successful season, while giving sufficient time to develop their younger core of players?
Other than the older teams in the NBA with a “Win Now” mentality, I felt teams like the Jazz had the most to lose by missing an entire season. With young and unpolished players, albeit with tons of potential and very high ceilings, it’s imperative that they get real game experience as often as they can. For proof, look no further than our very own Gordon Hayward. I think most of us like to remember his 22pt 6reb 5ast 2stl outing against the mighty Lakers in LA, where Hayward led the Jazz to a huge win in the Staples Center. Or his brilliant season ending performance against Denver at home where he poured in 34 points on 12-17 fg and a blistering 5-6 from beyond the arc. Let’s not forget though, early on in the season when Gordy looked very uncomfortable on the court, at one point almost getting his head taken off by some high and tight chin music thrown by a frustrated D-Will. Going from the College game to the NBA can be a tough and unforgiving transition, and even the most skilled players need time to learn and grow to feel comfortable with the pace of the game. While the Jazz do enjoy the “problem” of having three top-10 picks, and a #12 pick all within the first two seasons of their NBA careers, we also have experienced and proven veterans that know how to win. This isn’t a complete re-building year, nor should it be, because there is no better way to groom young players than to surround them with proven winners. With players like Devin Harris, Paul Millsap, Big Al, Raja, CJ, and possibly A.k. along with our young stars, i believe that the Jazz can easily be a .500 team or better this year with probably a 5-1 chance of grabbing that 8th seed out West.
2. Will this be the year that C.J. contributes and plays at a high level on a consistent basis?
I’ve always been a C.J. fan and believe he can be a very good player in this league. While i’m not naive enough to discount the fact that he has been very inconsistent over the years, he has shown flashes of brilliance that lead me to believe he is due for a breakout year. We can’t forget that while he has been in the league for 6 years, he is only 24 years old! At his best he is a guy with a dynamic skill set- he is big and strong, can shoot the ball at a high level (at times), can create his own shot, and plays above the rim. I’ve always felt like with C.J. that it is more of a mental block that keeps him from reaching his full potential, and not necessarily that that is the kind of player he is. I’m predicting a big year for C.J. especially since he has Hayward and Burks vying for minutes at the wing.
3. Which young player will make the biggest impact this year?
We haven’t seen enough of Kanter to really know what we’ve got exactly, and i think with him more than anyone else it will probably be a work in progress. Although Hayward and Favors are easy picks here, I think that most Jazz fans will expect them to play at a high level and contribute right from the start. I believe that Alec Burks will be the draft’s biggest surprise and will make the biggest impact for the Jazz. Although he shot very poorly from the 3 pt line in college, and most scouts pointed to shooting the ball as his weakness, Burks is going to prove a lot of people wrong. I had the opportunity to watch him at the Jazz charity game at SLCC a month or two ago, and while i understand that it was an exhibition game. Burks stole the show. He shot a ridiculous 12-13 or something close to that from the field and five of those were from beyond the arc. He is a natural slasher/scorer, but i think he is a much better shooter than people give him credit for and if he fulfills his potential, I think he has an even higher ceiling than Wes Matthews does. While he is still unproven that is just my opinion and gut feeling, the kid is going to be special. His coach at Colorado had this to say about him-
“He’s a better shooter than people give him credit for; I see it in practice every day. He’s so good with the ball going to the basket, virtually anytime he wants. Because of that, he doesn’t shoot a lot of jump shots. He scores a lot of his points at the free-throw line because he gets to the rim so often.”
While there are many more questions to be answered with the start of the NBA season, those were just a few that were on my mind. I think as Jazz fans we should all be very excited not only about this season, but the future in general of our young and upcoming team. GO JAZZ!!!
Replies: 17
Views: 1158
17 Responses
It will be interesting to see what happens. We still have some roster spots to fill, and come Friday things are sure to get crazy. Players waived. Teams trying to keep their best players, while dumping their overpaid players.
Where does that leave us? Until we see who is out there, and who is left who really knows. KOC can maybe pull another rabbit or two out of his hat, but who knows.
Questions 2 and 3 are still up in the air until we see who we bring in, and what everyone brings in the first few weeks.
As far as CJ is concerned, like the kid as a person, love him when he is on. That being said, we have a few new players who seem to have more upside than he does. Hayward in my opinion already has taken CJ’s starting role and CJ needs to earn it back or get used to coming off the bench. Burks is one that I am hoping to come in like Wesley Mathews and tears it up never looking back. If both Burks and Hayward come in both barrels open, and we find a solid bench piece or two, who knows what this year will bring, but I am excited to get it going..
Great questions. My opinion:
1. Can they? Yes. Will they? Who knows. There are too many variables, including coaching, injuries, and of course player performance. Last year was one of the worst seasons in years where we barely missed the playoffs after trading away our franchise superstar player and losing our hall of fame coach midseason. To some teams, our worst ones are their better or average seasons. And if you read the Chad Ford interview pt. 2 you will see why. Management and coaching has really kept us successful.
I personally think it’s possible for us to make the playoffs this year. But the Jazz have some serious decisions to make on the young guys vs. veterans. We have a line of veterans that can contribute right now. And a line of young guys with a ton of potential. It will be interesting to see what happens. I think the hardest decisions will surround the Millsap and Favors situation. But we need to keep in mind that we have a compressed schedule and the Jazz actually might be in a great position to do both this year.
2. CJ will be a solid contributor if he gets the minutes. But will he and should he over the young Hayward and Burks? Who knows. I think CJ has improved to some degree year by year and is a good player. But personally, I think it might be time to move on. But he has said he wants to prove himself to be a starter this year. Prove me wrong CJ. Please.
3. Favors is the easy answer. But if you don’t count him and Hayward, tough call. Probably Burks, if he can hit the NBA 3. If Kanter gets enough playing time he could be, but I don’t see the minutes for him this year unless Okur or Jefferson gets hurt or traded. But I do think he will contribute and help us in the compressed season. The nice thing for the young guys this year is with the compressed schedule, the Jazz will need their young legs on those back to backs. And I would imagine the probability for injury goes up greatly, especially for the veterans, which equals time for the young guns.
Will Ty give the kids the PT they need?
Jerry was a very much “win now, and play a vet over a rookie”, even if they had a similar skill sets. Jerry was a so very much, “you have to earn it!” coach.
If you lose a few more games because of rookie mistakes, so be it!
Greg and Kevin are going to have to be supportive and push for development, so Ty feels comfortable enough to play the kids.
Jazzaholic
The kids won’t have to fight to hard for for minutes. They already saw what Hayward could do and Favors so you don’t have to talk the coach into playing them. We also saw what Evans could do with his monster kangaroo jumping and 70% dunk shooting. These new guys will be the same. They’ll get into the mix and play hard. You can’t not use Kanter with his size, strength and skills. Burks will be an automatic relief to have since Bell couldn’t hit the brod side of a BELL with his shooting and lack of impressive defense. This is easy to figure out. We’re going to see the new guys get their minutes.
I agree a 4 question: WTF is going on with Jefferson.
I can answer just number 2: Dear friend: CJ sucks! this year 3 years ago and 5 years later.
Jake:
I like your script.
My biggest worry is Raja stealing PT.
Jazzaholic
I loved the CJ interview that is on the sltrib website. He seems more confindent and ready to be a leader on this team. It almost seems like now that Deron is gone CJ is more motivated to be a starter, solid contributor, and leader on this team. I know it is one interview but with his new swagger and him being in such good shape i have a good feeling about CJ this season. Before when Deron was here he had to come off the bench and score on nights when Deron was not doing so hot. Now he has the pressure to be consistent every night. We will see how he handles it.
Jazzaholic, any thoughts on whether the Jazz should exercise their amnesty waiver on Raja?
The way Raja played last year, it would be nice to ZAP him off the roster, but it ain’t a gonna happen.
Amnesty for Raja doesn’t save the Jazz any luxury tax, because unless they do some trade or FA where they take on a lot of salary, they should be able to stay out of the luxury tax.
And…they don’t need the roster spot for another player, at this point.
Also, because of the cap holds, it wouldn’t put them below the cap, where they could offer a FA more money.
Our only hope is that Ty will allow him the opportunity to root for the team on the sidelines, instead of play.
As long as Raja comes off the bench, instead of starting, we should be OK.
Ty will give us that answer in a week and a half, when the starting lineups are announced.
Jazzaholic
Too Bad!!!
Alex Kennedy: Earl Watson is leaning toward signing with the Atlanta Hawks, according to a league source.
Jazzaholic
Still hope
David Locke: Just communicated with Earl Watson – “says he is sitting patient until I hear from the jazz at this point. Other teams are pushing hard.” Twitter
Earl is not a major signing, but a great fit for the Jazz.
Jazzaholic
We have young players with a lot of potential but still i think that we must re-sign Andrei Kirilenko and i think that hayward can learn a lot of andrei. The best young player this year will be Favours without a doubt. But once more i say re-sign AK 47
I see a lot of talk about Burks not being a great shooter. Well that was college. Now hes in the NBA and he has Hornicek to help him with his shot. He doesnt have to shoot well, just have the ability to learn and has one of the best shooting coachs out there.
It sounds as if he has the talant it just needs to be shined up. Watch out!
Burks is a good player and we need player od that position
Nice post man, this is very similar to what I posted here: http://www.tornbysports.com/ideal-or-real-breaking-down-the-utah-jazz/
I sure hope these young guys develop and can make an impact. One thing is for sure, it won’t be as immediate as we want.
They signed Earl. Good deal!
Jazzaholic
I think one overlooked player is Jeremy Evans.
I don’t think he’ll make the biggest impact on the team, but shooting .661 (highest percentage on the team by .13), his time on the court may have been more effective than people give him credit for. In those 9.4 minutes, he averaged 3.6 points, but with his height, length, and jumping abilities, probaly caused more disruption for opposing offenses than we recognize.
At a time where there is so much uncertainty as to who will fill which 2/3 spots(Bell, Miles, Burks, Hayward, AK?), Evans could be a good fit for the 3 spot. Kirilenko has a broken nose, and isn’t necessarily starting quality, at least not with a broken nose. I think he would be great support coming off the bench, but I honestly feel that Kirilenko and Bell are better coming off the bench if at all. With Hayward hopefully filling a starting position, a good wingman (3) presents a vacancy on the roster, but I think with his height, agility, and shooting, Evans could easily fill the 3-spot. He won’t be taking 3’s, but he has a smooth and consistent 15-foot shot. Anything inside that distance, and he might as well be going in for a dunk.
Even if Evans comes off the bench to fill that 3-spot, he can still be a game changer because no one respects his game enough, maybe even himself. And in a year where Utah has so much fresh talent and not enough games to perfect the lineups, I think it would be worth it to get Evans a solid 20 min a game, develop his talent and skills and see if he could be a tayshaun prince in the making.