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Game 49: Jazz 98, Kings 91 (OT)
Posted by: TACOREV on February 4th, 2013
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.The Jazz pull away in overtime to handle Sacramento (17-33, 5-21 road) at ESA.
Foye led the way with 20 & 6, while Jefferson finished with 15 & 12 (on 17 shots). He also had five assists for the second-straight game, which quite frankly is astonishing.
Burks played well in the backup PG role off the bench, contributing 14 & 4 on just seven shot attempts. He played what I assume was a career-high 31 minutes and led the team in +/- with +21. Millsap also added 14 and Favors put in 13 & 9.
Jason Thompson led the Kings with 23 & 10, with Tyreke Evans scoring 20 and Isaiah Thomas adding 17.
DeMarcus Cousins was ejected for the second-straight meeting between these two teams. He finished with 10 & 6 before getting tossed just before the half.
The Kings aren’t a good team, especially on the road, so this game shouldn’t have been in question playing at ESA. But the Jazz do deserve credit for pulling away convincingly during the extra period and getting it done for the W.
The biggest thing that stuck out to me tonight was the point guard play. Tinsley almost literally didn’t do anything, as usual. He scored zero points with one rebound, five assists and two turnovers in 22 minutes, finishing with by far the lowest +/- on the team, -14.
I liked what I saw from Foye running the point. He has decent ball-handling skills, and he is actually an offensive threat unlike Tinsley or Watson. Burks wasn’t perfect at backup PG, but he did a lot of things well, and with more consistent minutes like tonight’s, I have no doubt he would continue to get better. He has so much potential with his athleticism and his knack for getting to the basket and drawing fouls — none of which Tinsley or Watson can come close to emulating.
If you ask me, neither Tinsley nor Watson should step onto the floor again this season, with or without Mo being healthy. Start Foye at PG along with Carroll at SG, then bring in Burks off the bench as backup PG.
But of course, we all know Ty. He’ll get his boy Watson in there as soon as humanly possible, if it kills him.
The Jazz improve to 27-22, and next up is a visit from the Bucks (25-21) on Wednesday.
Jazz player of the game: Randy Foye
Replies: 21
Views: 475
21 Responses
Thank God that Burk is finally playing the minutes that he deserve, I don’t know the reason why it took the coach so long to wake up and realise that Burk should not be on the bench.
I suppose if we want to win the championship, the person we need to trade is Ty, personally I think we have already have a strong team and no trade is necessary apart from trading Corbin to D League.
Couple Thoughts:
- Burks made mistakes, but played hard and had a couple big moments.
- Al and Foye played solid defense tonight, although Al gave up several rebounds he shouldn’t have.
- Don’t know what happened to Tinsley, but there is no way he goes back to DNP.CD with Watson/Mo/Hayward out, sorry guys.
- Ty did a GREAT job tonight with substitutions. At one point he had a lineup of Burks/Carrol/Sap/Favors/Kanter and he even made defensive subs at the end of regulation.
- Kanter and Favors are still making mistakes, but it’s great to watch their growth. I can’t wait till they are getting 30+ even if our wins drop off.
2 Q’s:
- Where does Hayward fit in when he gets back? Foye/DMC and even Marvin have been playing inspired bball.
- Why did Cousins get tossed? I was at the game and they didn’t really give a reason.
Trade Al…. that is all.
This game is the first game where the commentators actually turned on Al a little. Phil Johnson and Harpring both mentioned that they were going to him way too much and it was ruining the flow. I dont know why all the sudden this clicked to them. Its been like that for ever..Weird but I’ll take it. Also, again Corbin is a Moron I cant stand him. His play calling sucks. That last possesion in regulation was pathetic. oh and Please trade Al for anything he is whats wrong with most of the team. Thank you bench, Sap, and Foye for another W.
Whens the last time Watson Scored 14?
Oh, I meant to mention that last play of regulation, thanks for reminding me Derek.
Tie game, 16 seconds, Jazz ball. The play call is pick & roll from Foye to Jefferson, but Jefferson goes all the way out to the 3-point line instead of rolling to the basket. He gets the ball and shoots a 3 at the buzzer… AIRBALL.
And it wasn’t even close. It was a good five feet short. Embarrassing.
I expect to see that on the next episode of NBA on TNT’s “Shaqtin’ a Fool”.
Wtf was that last play of regulation? Playing Al at the moment seems to be hurting his trade value. Kanter contributed again with little minutes. Hopefully Corbin sticks with Burks over the next few games as the opposition start to improve. I still maintain the Jazz make the playoffs with or without Al
To Al’s credit, he was probably just nervous to be playing in front of his idol, Carlton.
Forgot that play as well. WTF was Al thinking?
So funny Taco! Love me some fresh prince! Hey Taco what happened with the “opportunity” with the Jazz I saw on a post awhile back?
If you guys honestly think Watson is a worse PG than Burks than you don’t know basketball. Burks is a far better player overall, but his impact on the game isn’t nearly what it would be if he were allowed to play next to a real pg. That being said, I would much rather watch him than Watson.
I liked Foye running the point and Burks at the 2-guard. Good perimeter/penetration combo.
That last play is precisely what makes Corbin an a** of a coach. NO ONE should call a play that has Al shooting a 3 to win. I know he should have cut to the hoop, but why not put Millsap in that Role? That way, if the interior defense is still good, you have a guy that shoots 97% from 3-point in the clutch (exaggeration) as opposed to a guy who has made 2 his whole career.
Again the team built up a 10 point lead against a losing team after a slow start, only for the fans to see the Kings go on a 9 – 0 run at the end of the first half. Seriously Coach? Help your team!
Again slow starters couldn’t have had much argument against coming back on in place of players that were executing plays. Except maybe in the coach’s head.
Final seconds of the regular game clock – why was Jefferson not closer to the basket? Why was he edging out to the 3 point line? Why did he take the 3 point shot he has only made 3 times in his career? He should have been in the middle distracting the Kings players. The team should have just been looking for a two point play from any one on the floor. Two points would have won the game. But if a 3 point play had to be made I would have put Foye, Milsap, Carrol, and Marvin in that position , heck Tinsley and Burks would be better than Al.
Burks I thought started slow and was struggling in the PG role tonight but came on to a game when two or three of the players started harassing Jimmer. That’s when he seemed to realize that unlike the Kings unit he has teammates that have his back.
I’m getting more and more concerned at the play of Tinsley. Tinsley never brought much threat individually but he was passable because he could find his man. The more minutes he is being relied on to play the more he is struggling to be effective. Thats two games where Al has had 5 assists. If we are going to rely on Al for assists this team could be in trouble. Watson probably shoots even less than Tinsley but the unit he runs with usually outscores the opposing 5 players, now they aren’t running with Al so the balance is a little better but they also aren’t as offensively experienced. They have growing pains but they usually do a decent job as a unit at getting the team back into the game. Yes the team could improve here, but as a Backup PG Watson is passable as as long as his unit continues to outscore other second units. When the game is being run by Tinsley lately the team is really starting to struggle. Tinsley might be the one who has to go first.
I feel the backroom staff have been working on Burks PG play all season and he is improving in that area but we can only rely on him against weaker units.
Two players on expiring contracts I still want to see in a Jazz uniform next year. Carroll. He needs to get at least the same contract that Jeremy Evans got. Evans isn’t going to get the playing time. The team seems to be paying him for his art. Carroll deserves at least that contract if not more. I suspect though the Jazz could lose him as his contract is probably going to be the last to be signed. The team will be looking to change the roster around, make plays to improve the squad and look to keep Carroll. However Carrol’s contract will be way down on the to do list depending on what contracts are signed elsewhere and how much money is left over at the end of it all. Carroll could be one that slips away and be that intangible that we might miss from game to game.
Foye. We got Randy on the cheap this year. At first I was concerned that Burks would miss out on playing time. But I think for what he costs he has been a valuable addition. Even Burks has started to hit a 3 point shot that scouts said wasn’t in his game. The boy barely made plays to try any jump shots. Again like Carroll I think we got Foye really cheap for what he provides to this team and he is going to be in demand in the off season. If Foye leaves and we don’t replace his 3 point shot we might have to over-rely on points in the paint again next season, whether Al is here or not.
@Steven, Several people postgame said that play broke down because the Kings came out in a different defense than expected. It was supposed to be Marvin in Al’s spot which makes much more sense. Also Al was supposed to roll instead of pop for a shot far beyond his range. Blame the players for lack of execution, not Ty on that one.
That’s what timeouts are for. Coaches around the league use timeouts to adjust to conditions that aren’t as designed. Without Cousins on the floor, it was obvious to me as a foreigner and a 4 year fan of the game of basketball that the Kings were going to adjust defensively. Corbin has been playing and coaching for years he should have been able to prepare his squad at half time, and if he overlooked something he has the power to call timeouts. His execution of timeouts is horrible. He waits until it is too late and the opposing team has momentum.
I do blame Al for sliding out of his comfort zone and moving his teammates inside, but maybe if had instructions to stay inside or at least near the paint his teammates might have had more room to be where they were useful. It would have drawn players to Al in a zone where is dangerous in the clutch situation.
‘maybe if had instructions to stay inside or at least near the paint…’
Oh of course! Al was told to take that 3-point shot.
Again Jazz start slowly, fall behind, and the bench comes through to get a double digit lead…which was then again given away. The NBA TV crew was saying the Jazz had the lights in their head turned off like ESA to start the game…..oh if they only knew this is what the Jazz do every game!!
Al’s numbers are always so deceptive:
Yes he had 15 points…..on 17 shots!
Yes he had 12 rebounds…….ONE offensive rebound in 38 minutes! Kanter in 14 minutes had 1, and Favors in 24 minutes had 2! Al is just not physical enough. It is not a coincidence that Cousins has been ejected in two Jazz games—you know why?….cuz he starts the game playing against Al and it feels like church league with no physicality, AND then Kanter the beast enters and starts pushing Cousins around!! Cousin started the game walk in the park style, then Kanter comes in and starts pounding! I want Kanter as my playoff center—not Al!. Hayes played physical, and Al and more shot attempts than points.
Maybe it is only me, but I was disturbed that close to end of game in a tight game, Al (our center) is trying to take a charge, while Millsap (undersize PF) comes flying out of nowhere to get a block at the rim?! That right there told me the player the Jazz should trade away.
Burks will be as consistent as his minutes are consistent. So if Watson plus another Watson from last year, and gets his agent to complain for him to get back in rotation, don’t expect Burks to play well when one night its 2 minutes, the next 5 nights DNPs, the night after that 12 minutes, then 7 DNPs, etc.
@Derek They’re going to be launching a new website called weareutahjazz.com and he asked if I had interest in helping out in some way. I’m still waiting for him to get back to me with more details.
There are teams out there that can use what Al brings to the team. No team though can afford the luxury that is Al when using mainly as the primary focus of the offense like the Jazz are using him. As long as he is used in that capacity the Jazz will struggle to be consistent offensively and defensively. Apparently the Clippers are looking at trading for Garnett. With Paul and Griffin already there in the Clippers offense, Al might be a better option to add an extra dimension to their offense in limited minutes, and with his age and his expiring contract rather than Garnett’s two years might be a better option.
Making that trade with the Clippers might be a way for the Jazz to get a PG added to the roster and a way to see if Kanter and Favors are ready to step up, and also see if Marvin and Hayward can add more balance to the offense without the ball going through Al. I’m not sold on Bledsoe yet, I think he was overhyped throughout the season and recent results for the Clippers without Al suggests he is a work in progress, but he’s better than what we have available and the Jazz can afford to work on his game.
Man coach Corbin is really doing things right now, letting Burks play!
Oh WAIT, its just a twilight zone re-hash of last year. Burks is getting playing time because Mo and Earl are out with injury and Corbin is FORCED to play him!
We all know how this story ends. Burks back to the bench, in with the less effective vets who will get floor time instead and will require multiple games to even get back to their regular less-than-stellar selves, and the Jazz will struggle for wins.
Yay.