Does anybody have kind of an '06/'07 vibe going into next year?

[dipship31]

Feels like to me everything is lining up for us to have a year just like we had a few years back where excitement was at an extreme high. The year prior we had finished just 1 game out of the playoffs I believe with a young #3 pick really starting to find his element and could turn into something special. Then going into the offseason seemed like we were picked by analysts to finish as high as 4th (SI I remember) and even as low as around 13th/14th.

Seems like going into next year we are lined up even better than that team was going into the season. Deron really hadn't turned into a star until later in the year and then really shined in the playoffs, but Boozer obviously was beasting. I think Sap/Al can do what Memo/Booze did for us that year or at least close. Then we have our young guys hopefully making strides and I'm hoping that Mo kind of plays the role Fish did in giving us a veteran/leader presence (while hopefully playing a lot better than Fish did). Do we start 12-1? No way, but I could just see us making some big noise again with the ESPN's, NBA.com's, etc. asking "Where did this Utah team come from?" Then just like in '06/'07 we were always there with our potential, you just had to notice.

Thoughts?

 

[fallenchicken]

I think we're going to be a good team who will play for a 4th seed most of the year, but end up 6th or 7th or 8, and we'll lose in the playoffs, and everyone will act like we were supposed to win and that we need to blow it up and the millers need to start paying money because why don't we have LeBron James???

 

[The Midnight]

Feels like to me everything is lining up for us to have a year just like we had a few years back where excitement was at an extreme high. The year prior we had finished just 1 game out of the playoffs I believe with a young #3 pick really starting to find his element and could turn into something special. Then going into the offseason seemed like we were picked by analysts to finish as high as 4th (SI I remember) and even as low as around 13th/14th.

Seems like going into next year we are lined up even better than that team was going into the season. Deron really hadn't turned into a star until later in the year and then really shined in the playoffs, but Boozer obviously was beasting. I think Sap/Al can do what Memo/Booze did for us that year or at least close. Then we have our young guys hopefully making strides and I'm hoping that Mo kind of plays the role Fish did in giving us a veteran/leader presence (while hopefully playing a lot better than Fish did). Do we start 12-1? No way, but I could just see us making some big noise again with the ESPN's, NBA.com's, etc. asking "Where did this Utah team come from?" Then just like in '06/'07 we were always there with our potential, you just had to notice.

Thoughts?

1. Why the name change?

2. Why 'dips**t'?

 

[dipship31]

1. This has been my name forever here.
2. Ends with a "p", always been a nickname play on my last name.

 

[franklin]

I think we're going to be a good team who will play for a 4th seed most of the year, but end up 6th or 7th or 8, and we'll lose in the playoffs, and everyone will act like we were supposed to win and that we need to blow it up and the millers need to start paying money because why don't we have LeBron James???

Negatory. Personally, I wanted to semi-blow it up after 20 games last season in hopes of building a championship contender. How would you feel about:

Mo, Lillard
Hayward, Burks
Marvin, Barnes or Ross, Hayward
Sap, Favors
Favors, Kanter
& an extra pick or whatever they could have gotten out of dealing Harris & or Jefferson for little.

How would you feel about the 4-5 year prospects of that team?

 

[Thee Idiotic Minivan K]

I think we're going to be a good team who will play for a 4th seed most of the year, but end up 6th or 7th or 8, and we'll lose in the playoffs, and everyone will act like we were supposed to win and that we need to blow it up and the millers need to start paying money because why don't we have LeBron James???

Don't we have a favorable schedule near the end of the season?

 

[NAOS]

Even though this year's (regular season) offense might rank about the same as 06-07, it won't be as complex and adaptable. In other words, it won't be as good. This year's team should be better on defense.

Our offense needs to be so much different than it was last year for me to think we'll take a big step forward. I don't have a lot of faith that it will.

I think Corbin has the right idea with defense, but he needs to fully commit to it this year or the players won't. Last year he was preaching defense, but basing his substitution patterns on his one-dimensional offensive schemes. I saw players dogging it. Members on the team saw their teammates dogging it.... so, we slid to near the bottom of the league in defense.

Corbin has to get this all ironed out and clicking from the first day of the season, or we'll be digging out of a huge hole.

 

[NAOS]

So... nope, I don't have an 06/07 vibe. Sorry.

 

[theNBAnerd]

Negatory. Personally, I wanted to semi-blow it up after 20 games last season in hopes of building a championship contender. How would you feel about:

Mo, Lillard
Hayward, Burks
Marvin, Barnes or Ross, Hayward
Sap, Favors
Favors, Kanter
& an extra pick or whatever they could have gotten out of dealing Harris & or Jefferson for little.

How would you feel about the 4-5 year prospects of that team?

basically that scenario is exactly the same as what we accomplished, except that you have us also dropping al and picking up the 6th & 8th picks. so did you picture us trading al for two lottery picks or did you picture us trading al last season so we could tank all the way to 8th?

FWIW, i'm a fan of that type of lineup: get rid of al, hitch our cart to a sap/favors froncourt, and add one more young stud that's a perimeter player. i would do that, absolutely. i'm just not sure how the jazz could have accomplished that lineup, unless a team had really been willing to give up multiple top ten picks for al.

 

[Stifle Tower]

basically that scenario is exactly the same as what we accomplished, except that you have us also dropping al and picking up the 6th & 8th picks. so did you picture us trading al for two lottery picks or did you picture us trading al last season so we could tank all the way to 8th?

FWIW, i'm a fan of that type of lineup: get rid of al, hitch our cart to a sap/favors froncourt, and add one more young stud that's a perimeter player. i would do that, absolutely. i'm just not sure how the jazz could have accomplished that lineup, unless a team had really been willing to give up multiple top ten picks for al.

I think he had the Jazz tanking into the 6th slot, which would have pushed GS to 8th. I guess 27-39 would have been doable.

 

[Stoked]

I think this is a year when people sit up straight and realise that Favors, Hayward, Burks and Kanter are a force to be reckoned with.

 

[Stifle Tower]

I think this is a year when people sit up straight and realise that Favors, Hayward, Burks and Kanter are a force to be reckoned with.

I think this is the year people sit up and start screaming:
"Why the hell are Favors, Hayward, Burks and Kanter" stuck on the bench while Foye, Howard, Jefferson and Watson get most of their minutes?"

 

[Stoked]

I think this is the year people sit up and start screaming:
"Why the hell are Favors, Hayward, Burks and Kanter" stuck on the bench while Foye, Howard, Jefferson and Watson get most of their minutes?"

That is here on Jazzfanz and not the NBA world. The will take notice than thank their lucky stars Utah is being idiotic with its players.

 

[mrob]

Negatory. Personally, I wanted to semi-blow it up after 20 games last season in hopes of building a championship contender. How would you feel about:

Mo, Lillard
Hayward, Burks
Marvin, Barnes or Ross, Hayward
Sap, Favors
Favors, Kanter
& an extra pick or whatever they could have gotten out of dealing Harris & or Jefferson for little.

How would you feel about the 4-5 year prospects of that team?

That's a great lineup, but it seems very far fetched that that we could have gotten two draft picks that high. Not sure how you are theorizing that we got them. Plus, it includes players that we picked up after the season. If we had "semi-blown" it up after 20 games, it's highly unlikely that we would have made the exact same moves after the season that we did. 2 points for creativity though...

 

[green]

Negatory. Personally, I wanted to semi-blow it up after 20 games last season in hopes of building a championship contender. How would you feel about:

Mo, Lillard
Hayward, Burks
Marvin, Barnes or Ross, Hayward
Sap, Favors
Favors, Kanter
& an extra pick or whatever they could have gotten out of dealing Harris & or Jefferson for little.

How would you feel about the 4-5 year prospects of that team?

The problem with this line of thinking is that I don't think the Jazz do much worse record wise had they dumped Al at some point in the season. I even think that Jazz might have ended up a spot or two higher in the West had they dumped Al earlier in the season.

 

[green]

I think this is the year people sit up and start screaming:
"Why the hell are Favors, Hayward, Burks and Kanter" stuck on the bench while Foye, Howard, Jefferson and Watson get most of their minutes?"

And that leads to the year that Corbin finished his head coaching career. Don't forget that this is his last year on his deal that is guaranteed.

 

[dipship31]

The problem with this line of thinking is that I don't think the Jazz do much worse record wise had they dumped Al at some point in the season. I even think that Jazz might have ended up a spot or two higher in the West had they dumped Al earlier in the season.

I'm all for the possibility of moving Al so we can let the young guys develop, but c'mon you don't honestly think we would've been better without him last year do you?

 

[mrob]

I'm all for the possibility of moving Al so we can let the young guys develop, but c'mon you don't honestly think we would've been better without him last year do you?

Clearly you have underestimated the hate for Al Jefferson on this board.

 

[vslice02]

Seems like going into next year we are lined up even better than that team was going into the season. Deron really hadn't turned into a star until later in the year and then really shined in the playoffs, but Boozer obviously was beasting. I think Sap/Al can do what Memo/Booze did for us that year or at least close.
Thoughts?

I like the way this year's roster is shaping up, love the potential of the core-4 and expect the team to wrack up 45-50 wins - but IMO there's a huge difference between having a bunch of good players and having one of the 8-best players in the league you can run your offense through.

I don't think this team has anyone to match the 2006-07 Carlos Boozer. Boozer was really really good, a top-8 player in the league that season, and Memo had one of the most "clutch" seasons in Jazz history. Deron wasn't a "star" but he was still a really good PG capable of putting up 25&10 on a given night. In tight-games down the stretch the Jazz were able to execute their offense with some unbelievable offensive efficency and in the playoffs the pieces came together and fit pretty well.

As with most Jazz seasons this year I expect them to suprise the "experts" who generally ignore us but I don't think you can have drastically high expectations until you see the improvement of the core-4, how the Williams' fit in and if the offensive execution will improve with Corbin given a full-training camp. I'm cautiously optimistic.

 

[mrob]

No 07/08 vibe here. This isn't the year for that. I would love to be pleasantly surprised though. This is, however, the season where the Big 4 need to step up. If it doesn't happen in a meaningful way this season, it probably won't without significant changes.