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Game 12: Jazz 102, Rockets 91
Posted by: TACOREV on November 19th, 2012
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.Back to .500 we go, as the Jazz beat the Rockets with relative ease.
It was a balanced effort, led by Hayward’s 15 off the bench. Jefferson had 14 & 16, while Foye also scored 14, hitting four 3-pointers. Marvin hit three 3’s of his own, scoring 12 points. Millsap was the fifth Jazzman in double figures, finishing with 10 & 8.
Houston’s Patrick Patterson led all scorers with 19. The Rockets had four other double-figure guys, including Jeremy Lin’s 13.
James Harden only played 17 minutes due to illness. His beard scored six points on 1-of-6 from the field.
As usual, the Jazz play great at home, maintaining a perfect 4-0 record at the Solution.
Three days off, before hosting Sacramento on Friday.
Jazz player of the game: Al Jefferson
Replies: 30
Views: 769
30 Responses
Things I noticed:
Kanter and Favors defense continues to look elite
Kanter had 3 assists in 20 minutes. Looks like he’s learning to pass out of the post
Hayward could easily get 20ppg when his open shots start falling for him. I think coming off the bench is better for him, but I need to see more games to be sure.
Carrol is becoming a fan favorite. He does the little things that equal W’s
And of course all of this was at home. I don’t want to overreact to anything but it’s nice to see the young guys displaying glimpses.
the slow starts continue to be a bugaboo… I really feel like its Mo’s responsibility to get us going early. Jefferson seems to get going as the game goes on, so either Mo or millsap need to step and bring some energy to start games.
Hayward has really embraced and played very aggressively coming off the bench and being the go to guy, which is great to see. But he really needs to stop with the Euro-step haha
I still wish we played burks over tinsley. I don’t care how we get him into the lineup but we need to. I don’t want a disgruntled cornerstone of the franchise.
It’s not Hayward coming off the bench that his helping. It’s that he is having the offense run through him without Jefferson and Millsap on the floor. Our entire offense is better when he is on the court making shots or not he moves without the ball, sets good screens, drives to the basket, makes good passes.
Burks was VERY disappointing in 5 minutes of play against the loser bench of the Rockets. 5 minutes isn’t a lot to judge a player off of, but he wasn’t passing well, he settled for 2 contested jump shots with over 10 seconds left on the shot clock and couldn’t get anything going. 5 minutes isn’t a lot, but if it’s a player we want getting more minutes he better play better against the clean up crew of the lowly Rockets…
A wins a win. I guess. Were winning and its still hard to watch. Its hard to watch our big salary guys lose leads, not care, not hustle to disable the opponent but just play good enough to pad their stats so that teams want them when they are free agents. And then our lowest paid players saving their asses to keep a win against other bad teams.
This teams not right and it wont be right until FO simplifies the roster, gets a coach that can teach and does anything possible to get an offensive star. Everybody in the world was mocking houstons management last off season. They did better than us. They got unlucky with Royce White, are a declared rebuild team and they still look better than us. If Harden didnt have the flu, they would have beat our “cultivation in a winning environment” asses at home.
1) the bench was the reason we won this game.
2) Like Jazzed said this roster is just not gelling. The whole slow start thing happened again. Against the Rockets so against a good team we would have been torched. They would not have given us a chance to get back in the game,
3) As much as I loved watching Favors,Kanter,Hayward come off the bench and dominate it can not happen if the starters suck as bad as they do, Al did have a double double but he shot a great 33% he may be scoring but as bad as his 50% shooting was last year he is making that look pretty dang good. No one can say the defense is on him all night either cause most of the night it was wide open shots…
4) Burks is gone. He has checked out and I would not be surprised to see him not with us when we play Sacramento. The way he has been treated he will never play for this coacha again. We all ready alienated the kid so he is done with us. Why did we draft him if we were going to give up on him from day 1?? Clap clap clap
Dallan, you nailed it on the head: Burks is a competitor, hes not going to get up ti play 5 minutes in a blow out against mediocre tired players. Hed do more in 5 minutes against the Lakers in a close game @Staples than Al in a half of basketball. I hate Jazz front office, trading Burks should scare everyone, cuz its looking more and more like Al AND Millsap AND for sure Foye are all being re-signed. This is our squad for the next 3 years Im afraid.
You think our bad starts are bad…..just wait til we are not playing the Wizard (no Wall or Nene) and Houston (no Harden). Foye vs. Kobe, Sefolosha (his D), Green/Ginobili (in the 4th), Wade, Iggy (hell be form next time), Harden, Mayo. And Al playing P&R against the PGs that usually torch him. Not to keep piling on Foye, but when Foye was 2n unit Kanter pick up quick fouls on guards, Foye in 1st w Favors and Favors picks up quick fouls against guards. Elite guards will punish us.
Foye isn’t the problem. Sure his defense is lacking, but he has provided some crucial offense when we’ve desperately needed it.
I don’t understand why we lose Burks while keeping Tinsley and Watson on the team. Freaking cut both of them loose and just let Burks play backup. If we have injuries, we still have Foye to help pick up minutes at the point. Losing a promising young player in order to keep Tinsley/Watson is beyond retarded.
@Taco Haha I love that you called the ESA ‘the Solution’. Seriously, it is the solution for what ails the Jazz. Play at home and we’re a superteam. Play on the road and we’re a bottom third team.
On another note, Locke keeps saying Burks needs to work on his mid-range jumpshot. To that, I say “that’s stupid”. How bout shooting open threes or driving to the hoop? That’s what he was doing when he was successful, and they are much more efficient shots, plus he knows how to get to the line on those drives. It’s what he praises Harden and Hayward for, taking threes, shots at the rim and foul line, so WHY should Burks shoot mid-range shots again? Those two last night are prime examples of why not to shoot them.
@Kevin, I like Foye, I just think hes guard outside his position. Mo good individual defender but hed get killed the same guarding starting quality SG. Just not his position. Thats why I agree with your second point completely! Tinsley and Watson should never take minutes away from Burks. Then Foye is on the court WITH Burks (combo was great in preseason) so Foye guards the smaller PG and Burks his position the biggee more athletic SG. Best of both worlds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76_LPacvUW4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
This video makes me so happy and so angry at the same time.
The Future That Could Have Been…..sigh, sigh, sigh….
I don’t blame Corbin so much as I blame KOC for Burks lack of playing time.
First, he drafts Kevin Murphy.
Second, he trades for Marvin Williams, which means less playing time for Hayward at the three spot, which in turn, means less minutes for Burks at the two spot.
Third, and most significantly, he signs Randy Foye as a free agent, further complicating the distribution of minutes in the backcourt.
Randy has played pretty well, and is a legit outside shooting threat. He’s actually a perfect backup shooting guard (I don’t think he should be starting).
If the Jazz could trade Burks for a better backup point guard option then either Tinsley or Watson, it would really help our team. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a backup point guard who could actually shoot the ball a little bit, as well as distribute? Unfortunately, Burks doesn’t have the shot, or the right mentality to play the point guard spot. That’s not a knock on him. It’s just that he is a different kind of player.
However, on the other hand, the Jazz might be smart to wait until next summer to make sure they can resign Foye to a long term deal before dealing Burks.
Tinsley must have shocked himself when he made that 3, then follows it up with a couple of air balls.
Foye shouldnt start, he is glued to the 3 point line most of the offense, when Hayward he is playing he drives to the basket or keeps moving to create space. I now +/- dosent meant much but Hayward was +25 and only one of the starting lineup was positive +/-.
@Jason I agree completely this team was not put together effectively when we all ready had what we had on the team when we signed Foye.
@Dean that is all Foye does is shoot threes. It is horrendous when he tries other things. Also I am not a huge big plus minus fan but there are times when it is useful you can tell how whole units played by the way the +/- is. Last night Favors got time with the 2nd unit which is why he was a + but the rest of the starters were mediocre.. They even lost some of the lead in the 3rd quarter which is why some of them are minus in such a blow out hahaha
As soon as Burkes came in for Hayward the scoring started to dried up. It might have only been a 11 point win but that was a blowout as we took it easy in the 4th.
I love to see Gordon on bench, he plays better.
Good Jazz game.
Player of the game: jefferson
I like Foye a lot. We don’t need him to drive and create. If he is playing PG in a pinch, then yeah we’d be losing something. But honestly, our offense SHOULD be able to just run through Millsap and Favors. Then when they get doubled, Foye, Hayward, Mo, Burks or Marvin find an open shot.
Instead, Corbin’s entire playbook is to iso Al with his back to the hoop. Then everyone clears out so he can try his stupid fadeaway jumper or that terribly ugly push shot. I like Al, and I think he can do a few things very well. But this Jazz team can do SO much more than what Corbin wants them to do. Waive Watson and Tinsley and start playing Burks some solid backup PG minutes. I know he isn’t as effective there as he is at the 2, but he can learn. And Foye or Hayward can be in there to help him out with the things he struggles with. Then we work the ball into Millsap or Favors with Jefferson or Kanter getting into position for some rebs and putbacks. When they get crowded as I said, they dish it out to our shooters which in turn will stretch the defense and make our inside/out game much more effective.
Enough of this Big Al isolation play that probably nets us 0.6 points per. If we could get Al the ball when he’s within 8 feet, it would be different. But I am sick of him playing the high post and taking 16 footers.
@kevin Also a lot of players do not seem to shoot very well when it is both Paul and Al on the floor. Even Foye does not shoot well when it is a kick out. Not sure why but Foye numbers are good in transition and with the 2nd unit but with the starters they are bad!! Which could explain why everyone with them has shot it pretty badly. I do not know if it is where they are getting it or when they are getting it but it is not good.
I want just one for Corbin to bring in Jefferson off the bench. If he is out of the starting lineup, our team would DOMINATE.
Jefferson is an average to below average offensive player, and an atrocious defender.
You could have Randy Foye and Jamaal Tinsley in the starting lineup with Hayward, Marvin, Millsap and Favors and they would STILL be better than a starting lineup with Jefferson.
I think that Hayward used to run the offense, much like Miami do with Lebron. Why couldnt we use Burks and foye together as two SG like Chalmers and Wade. It makes sense when you have players with that skill set. I wish we had a coach with some balls and half and brain who would make the tough decisions
For the last 2 seasons, our entire team has been built around accommodating a below average offensive player. This is “Player A.”
Player A’s career average is 16.3 points/game. In 8 years in the NBA, he has only averaged 20 points a season TWICE in his career, and that was in 2007 and 2008. It was during the 2008 season that Player A’s performance peaked.
Since then, his numbers have declined every season. Player A averaged more points in his THIRD season in the NBA than he does right now.
He makes $15 million a season.
Now, there happens to be another player on this team who began STARTING at the same time as the previous player was brought to our team. We’ll call him “Player B.”
Player B’s numbers have increased every season across the board and in a variety of different categories. This player gets better every year and is now shooting 55% from the 3 point line.
Since Player B began starting for the Jazz, he has averaged 16.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1 block, with a 54% true shooting percentage.
Lets look at the 3 years they’ve played together on the Jazz.
Player A (Jefferson)
17.7 pts, 10.4 rebs, 1.5 blocks, 49% true shooting percentage, -72.6 cringe*, $15 mil/year
Player B (Millsap)
16.4 points, 8.5 rebs, 1.5 steals, 1 block, 54% true shooting percentage, +37 cringe*, $10 mil/year
*cringe: pts/pos/fga/m/league average. League average is +3.2.
…Al Jefferson is -72, and Paul Millsap is +37.
I’m tired of the excuse of “Al Jefferson may be bad at defense, but he’s SUCH a great offensive player!!!”
Sorry, but a great offensive player doesn’t average 15 pts/game.
totally agree @disco!!
Thank you @Nick! Everyone should take a look at Millsap numbers when Al had DNPs…Millsap, just as much as Hayward, will struggle so long as they get their minutes along side Al. If Jazz were holding auditions, Millsap has won, so TRADE AL ALEADY!!!!
We always talk about how Corbin making players “earn minutes” (HA!) well in 2010-2011, Al played 82 games and started EVERY game; in 2011-2012, Al played 61 games and started EVERY game; in 2012-2013, Al has played 12 games and started EVERY game. So basically Al is the best player cuz I have seen Corbin bench Millsap, bench Favors, bench Hayward, bench Marvin, bench etc, YET he has never benched Al……hhhmmmmm?!
Okay so here’s a thought…….
I am NOT trying to start anything, and I am not saying Al isn’t the problem with some things. But I do wonder…..who would we blame if the Jazz traded Big Al and Raja Bell, and we still struggled? I know people will say they’d be okay with us losing more as long as Favors and Kanter were given time to progress, but what if Al was gone and we were losing while Favors and Kanter played poorly?
That was just something I was thinking about as I sat here.
@kevin – so we should just stay mediocre and not try anything?
@kevin: then it would obviously be a coaching problem, which it might just well be.
But the fact remains that we’ve shuffled our roster and lineup around Al Jefferson and he has gotten worse.
Could all of you shut the hell up and stop complaining please!
I understand that we are not the team that we were in the Stockton/Malone days but would all the real fans please stand up and say something positive because I am tired of all you butt pirates thinking that you know everything about the FO and coaching staff. You don’t know what’s going to happen in the future and as the great Herm Edwards would say “you play to win the game”. So according to certain people on this site we should just forfeit every game before we even play it because we definitely have no chance of winning, you should all be ashamed of yourselves and you should all go be Knicks or Lakers fans.
If Al was gone and we lose games, we are still winning for the future with Enes and Favors getting minutes. I still think we would make the playoffs with Al gone. I think youth/ahtleticism/hustle VS. Experience is a trade off and its about even with Al gone. I would predict the same record with or without him.
Would agree with Nathan. That is why the front office makes the big bucks and makes the calls. Lindsey is well aware of his job. Like KOC he does not show his hand. Fans and sportswriters can say what they want but the right choices will be made at the proper time. With Watson back it will be interesting to see what happens with the guard line. With the depth of the team any player can miss a game and the team will be fine. Then again every team I have followed there are always some that will ask for the coaches head on a platter. I think it will be one of the most active trade deadlines in recient years..
@ Nathan
The FO failed by not insuring 2 lottery picks in the deepest draft in years. Where would Kanter, and Burkes have been drafted if hey came out this year? still think they’re first rounders? Sullinger was expected to be number 1 last year and he dropped. So can you honestly say the FO has succeeded? The only thing the FO has succeeded at is maintaining stability, maintaining a first round playoff exit, maintaining mediocrity. not very satisfying.