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SaltyDawg said:
And then shortly after that all the AK lovers will have to face the sad but true fact: AK sucks when he isn't the best player on the team.

It's going to be very interesting to see how AK responds to being the 5th option on that team.
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You probably do not remember Adelman's Kings with Peja, Divac, Webber, Christy, Williams...There is no 5th option in his system, so AK is doing just fine. If you would listen to his preseason interviews or see them play you would see how happy he is finally playing in system which utilizes him properly. They ALL are involved and share the ball. Not two people 90% of the time like with "good" old Sloan.
 
nightmare3983 said:
Obviously the coach would be the one to blame for underutilizing a player. But is the coach also to blame for a player not adjusting his game in a way that helps the team?
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Do you remember? AK tried to. He was asked to stand on perimeter and clear space for pick and roll and he did. He was asked to chase guards on perimeter on defense and then needed to run back in the paint to help covering Boozer's and Okur's lazy asses. He tried to change his game to become more jumpshooting SF which he never was to begin. Great coaches are putting players in position to succeed and revolve their game plan around specific strengths of those players, mediocre coaches trying to fit them into their preset robotic system like clones. There is reason Sloan never won anything. He got freaking lucky he came to the team who had Stockton and Malone already, otherwise he would have not lasted in Utah longer then in Chicago. I really hoped he would get signed by some mediocre club like Bobcats so he could show "his magic", to bad nobody is interested enough.
 
AKMVP said:
You probably do not remember Adelman's Kings with Peja, Divac, Webber, Christy, Williams...There is no 5th option in his system, so AK is doing just fine. If you would listen to his preseason interviews or see them play you would see how happy he is finally playing in system which utilizes him properly. They ALL are involved and share the ball. Not two people 90% of the time like with "good" old Sloan.
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You realize that Love is out with an injury, and Rubio isn't 100%, right? They have Williams right now, and Roy trying to find his legs after missing so much time.

When everyone is healthy and clicking. AK will be the 5th option.

Wasn't Adelman the coach in Houston when it was Mcgrady and Yao?

AK will either be complaining about his role, or out with an injury. This is pretty easy to see.
 
AKMVP said:
Just when I thought I saw it all comes this newest absurd from Thriller. Can't wait to see what you say after AK is back to his usual 5x5 self under Adelman. Sloan sucked as coach since NBA allowed zone defense and was constantly outcoached by Pop,Jackson and others who knew how to utilize three ball and wing play, thankfully he is retired and we do not need to worry about him anymore. Oddly enough he did his best coaching job when he deviated from his PG to PF dominated offense in 2004 ( led by AK ). To bad he had no guts/brains to continue with something new and fresh and needed to recreate his Stockton to Malone clone with DWill and Boozer. Somehow no other NBA team offered him the job... GM's must know how outdated Sloan is and his losing playoff record speaks for itself.
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The biggest indictment of Jerry Sloan is AK's destruction as a player. Any coach that's in the conversation for "best coach ever" would have figured out a way for AK's unique gifts thrive.

Phil Jackson would have had him in both the DPOY and MVP conversations.

Jerry Sloan, steady and firm and beloved as he was, totally failed AK and the Jazz in this aspect.
 
So the Jazz should have moved away from their greater strengths to provide AK the chance to reach his potential? Meh. I love AK. He's one of the funnest players to watch when he's on his game. I think he has a unique genius in his ability to get his hand on the ball and disrupt plays with a special kind of finesse. I don't hate AK and I don't doubt that he could have been used in a way that would resulted in better performance for AK, but would that have also resulted in better performance of the Jazz team he was on? On that point I'm not so sure.
 
Gameface said:
So the Jazz should have moved away from their greater strengths to provide AK the chance to reach his potential? Meh ... I don't doubt that he could have been used in a way that would resulted in better performance for AK, but would that have also resulted in better performance of the Jazz team he was on? On that point I'm not so sure.
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The only thing I can say is that I believe a rising tide raises all ships. Case in point: The Spurs last year moved significantly away from their traditional strengths and adapted not only to their personnel, but the changes in the game as a whole--and were once again one of the very best teams all while an aging Duncan/Ginobili/Parker trio still thrived.

This isn't news, but bears repeating: the Jazz under Sloan never significantly changed strategy or tactics. e.g.: Defending the 3, using the 3, defensive schemes, even substitution patterns and time out usage were essentially iron-clad and set in stone. And here's the thing: His approach was demonstrably successful. Sloan's wins/losses do not lie, nor does his or his team's reputation for hard play night in and night out.

Av_-PYWCEAECnaE_crop_exact.jpg

HOWEVAH:

Sloan's refusal to adapt to anything created many casualties along the way. The ability to win in the playoffs, the ability to beat the Spurs, player alienation. Most were insignificant and matters of taste, some were not. The biggest one is AK.
 
Magic Spray said:
The only thing I can say is that I believe a rising tide raises all ships. Case in point: The Spurs last year moved significantly away from their traditional strengths and adapted not only to their personnel, but the changes in the game as a whole--and were once again one of the very best teams all while an aging Duncan/Ginobili/Parker trio still thrived.

This isn't news, but bears repeating: the Jazz under Sloan never significantly changed strategy or tactics. e.g.: Defending the 3, using the 3, defensive schemes, even substitution patterns and time out usage were essentially iron-clad and set in stone. And here's the thing: His approach was demonstrably successful. Sloan's wins/losses do not lie, nor does his or his team's reputation for hard play night in and night out.

Av_-PYWCEAECnaE_crop_exact.jpg

HOWEVAH:

Sloan's refusal to adapt to anything created many casualties along the way. The ability to win in the playoffs, the ability to beat the Spurs, player alienation. Most were insignificant and matters of taste, some were not. The biggest one is AK.
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Sloan refused to acknowledge the 3 point shot existed, true. However, to say he never adapted or changed anything is just wrong.

The Jazz went from one of the best slow paced, half court, defensive teams, to I've of the best fast paced, offensive, transition teams. They went from Sloan calling all the plays, to the point guard calling all the plays.

It's funny that all the AK lovers (not you specifically) are saying Sloan's best coaching was when he key AK be himself that one season.

Reality is, the Jazz were barely .500 and missed the playoffs that year. I knew it's easy to look back on the Stockton to Malone years and say it was all them, but the reality is the Jazz were never the favorites with Stockton and Malone. They were old, and every year the media said it was finally the year they would fail due to age. Yet every year, the Jazz exceeded expectations. Even in the finals years, the Jazz were supposed to suck before the season began, and then supposed to lose in the playoffs.
 
SaltyDawg said:
Sloan refused to acknowledge the 3 point shot existed, true. However, to say he never adapted or changed anything is just wrong.

The Jazz went from one of the best slow paced, half court, defensive teams, to I've of the best fast paced, offensive, transition teams. They went from Sloan calling all the plays, to the point guard calling all the plays.

It's funny that all the AK lovers (not you specifically) are saying Sloan's best coaching was when he key AK be himself that one season.

Reality is, the Jazz were barely .500 and missed the playoffs that year. I knew it's easy to look back on the Stockton to Malone years and say it was all them, but the reality is the Jazz were never the favorites with Stockton and Malone. They were old, and every year the media said it was finally the year they would fail due to age. Yet every year, the Jazz exceeded expectations. Even in the finals years, the Jazz were supposed to suck before the season began, and then supposed to lose in the playoffs.
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I would say that every year the media thought that the jazz would fail due to age, it was just because the media didn't understand how great, durable and hard working stockton and malone were.
So I give the credit to stockton and malone for continually working thier butts off to stay competitive and I also think that alot of sloans reputation is based off of those two guys.

I think sloan was a great motivator and that is about it.
He was horrible at making adjustments, calling timeouts, taking advantage of missmatches and in some cases developing and utilizing talents (AK).
Having said all of that, i think that AK's problems were more of his own fault than sloans. (though sloan probably deserves a little blame too)

I was glad to see ak gone and i also was ready for sloan to leave a few years before he actually did.
 
SaltyDawg said:
It's funny that all the AK lovers (not you specifically) are saying Sloan's best coaching was when he (let) AK be himself that one season.

Reality is, the Jazz were barely .500 and missed the playoffs that year.
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You speak the truth of 1000 suns.
 
SaltyDawg said:
It's funny that all the AK lovers (not you specifically) are saying Sloan's best coaching was when he key AK be himself that one season.

Reality is, the Jazz were barely .500 and missed the playoffs that year. I knew it's easy to look back on the Stockton to Malone years and say it was all them, but the reality is the Jazz were never the favorites with Stockton and Malone. They were old, and every year the media said it was finally the year they would fail due to age. Yet every year, the Jazz exceeded expectations. Even in the finals years, the Jazz were supposed to suck before the season began, and then supposed to lose in the playoffs.
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As to that being the best coaching job by Sloan, it might have been.

They had nobody. AK was their best player, that should tell you a lot. Can you name very many of the starters on that team let alone the other players and tell me with a straight face they were talented enough to play .500 ball? At least with the statues you expected a decent record.
 
"Kirilenko is really the godsend of this free agent class. He understands how to play the game and can execute. While he may never take over a game scoring wise, he can potentially dominate everywhere else."
Wolves blogger after today's win.
 
If not spectacular, AK was solid in his regular season Twolves debut: 10 points on 4-7 FGs and 2-3 FTs, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, and 2 TO's in 31 minutes.
 
Minnesota's 2 best players missed the game. We'll see how AK does when they get back and he's the 5th option.

Maybe they'll stay out long enough to where it's not an issue (doubtful).
 
SaltyDawg said:
Minnesota's 2 best players missed the game. We'll see how AK does when they get back and he's the 5th option.

Maybe they'll stay out long enough to where it's not an issue (doubtful).
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Sorry but you have no clue. He will never be 5th option.
 
Where this obsession with option number is coming from? I have no problems if my fifth option ends up with five-by-five and is paid $10mil p.a.
Attempts to establish direct connection between salary, ppg and option number on offensive end reveals basketball ignorance.
Do you guys realize that there are plenty of offences out there where you don't have such thing as option number what so ever?
 
Watched it. A solid C game from AK, did some good stuff that didn't show up in boxscore, did some asinine stuff that also didn't show up.

Wasn't the first option on offense, certainly, but was given a chance to work with the ball in his hands every few trips down. Already clear that he's considered a more important part of this team than he was last few years in Utah.
 
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