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My impressions on the Jazz after last night

NotDeadYet

NotDeadYet

Well-Known Member
Some fairly obvious, some not so...

1. Dwill & Big Al are gonna terrorize the NBA. The Suns had no chance defending Big Al; very impressive game by him.

2. Watson vs Gaines - Gaines is a riverboat gambler; very confident with the ball, good shooter, threw a couple risky passes, missed them both. Too loose on defense, though he's active. Watson held the ball a bit too long at times, a smart shooter, hit a couple, but missed a couple easy ones. Good basic passer, had a few assists, tough on-the-ball defender.

3. Fesenko - I thought he looked very alive last night. He totally surprised me on offense. I'm betting he's learning some things from Big Al; good!! He looked so much quicker; got some offensive rebounds, went up over his opponent with a very soft baby hook instead of crashing into him like years past. He looked much, much more comfortable and FOCUSED out there!!!

4. CJ - Looked dominant at times; he's a big boy now! When his jump shot is on, he's gonna be yet another "X" factor for us.

5. Hayward - He just lets the game come to him; very, very, smart player. Totally unselfish; had 4 assists last night. Goes to the hoop very aggresively, but under control.

6. Evans - WOW; this kid has the hops, and is a smart basketball player. Very good at twisting through the air around much bigger guys; PROTECTS THE BALL well. Unworldly quick; already a very effective offensive rebounder.

7. Jeffers vs Thompson - Jeffers is very aggresive around the basket, but looks likes he's always looking for contact. Doesn't protect the ball that well. Thompson only played 5 minutes late, but got some opportunistic buckets right at the basket. Seems to be very much under control; reminds me some of Hayward, though not as quick as Hayward.
 
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I don't think Thompson is in game shape yet - when he is I think he'll have the last roster spot wrapped up.
 
Good reads on the game, NDY. I especially like river boat gambler analogy and think it fits. I feel a little more cautious on DWill and Big Al, at least until there's more consistency there. Al had a great game, but the measuring stick for him will be the Lakers. I thought Sap looked lively last night but I couldn't see his play complimenting Al's as much against the Lakers. Two very nice surprises have been Fes and Evans. I know there's several other threads on each (one of which has reached nonetoorare hyperbole), but I do think these guys can really contribute. Plus, it was great to see Memo moving around so well in the warmups. I figured he'd be gone until December, but he looked like he could be back sooner.
 
I agree with the OP's statements and would like to add a few things I noticed. Big Al and Fes need to work on their recovery on the pick and roll. They flashed well to disrupt, but rotating back was slow. Granted that nash plays the pick and roll with the best of them so will make people look bad. It was also interesting to watch evens play center. He couldnt keep the 300lbs out on offense, but he made him look like he was stuck in cement on the other end.

The Jazz are going to have to get accustomed to the new way the refs are calling fouls this year. I hope that they are just calling everything in preseason to set a tone, then relax it a bit in the regular season. I mean some of the foul calls were just someone running into the defender. Or a defender trying to get around a screen. They seemed like incidental contact to me.

I also noticed that Fes's form on free throws is pretty good. If he can stay calm and just shoot, he could be 60% easy from the line. Would be nice to see that from a true bigman. In addition, Big Al has a nice touch and very high release on that faceup jumper. Like it much better than Boozer's fallaway.
 
When Earl Watson came in and connected with Jeremy Evans (I can't wait for this kid to have a nickname), it reminded me of AK's rookie year and Mark Jackson would sub in and immediately hook him up on 1 or 2 ally-oops per game.

Good times with that Mark Jackson, douche of eternity.
 
NotDeadYet said:
Some fairly obvious, some not so...

1. Dwill & Big Al are gonna terrorize the NBA. The Suns had no chance defending Big Al; very impressive game by him.
Click to expand...

Here's one observation that I haven't seen anyone make yet: Big Al is going to help this team so much partly because he can play *without* DWill in the game. If I were Sloan, I would have Al play 100% of the minutes when Deron's on the bench (and of course, a lot of the minutes when Deron's on the floor). Al can so easily score on his own, that it won't take a special point guard to create opportunities for him. Therefore, if he's in when DWill's out, the Jazz offense will still be able to put points on the board. That's huge, and something the Jazz haven't had the past few years.
 
You have to remember, Jefferson was playing against Siler for a large portion of his minutes.

Who? Siler.

Who? Siler.
 
LunaticWolf said:
You have to remember, Jefferson was playing against Siler for a large portion of his minutes.

Who? Siler.

Who? Siler.
Click to expand...

Just because is someone is not well known, does not mean they're bad. Siler was a beast last night.
 
colton said:
Here's one observation that I haven't seen anyone make yet: Big Al is going to help this team so much partly because he can play *without* DWill in the game. If I were Sloan, I would have Al play 100% of the minutes when Deron's on the bench (and of course, a lot of the minutes when Deron's on the floor). Al can so easily score on his own, that it won't take a special point guard to create opportunities for him. Therefore, if he's in when DWill's out, the Jazz offense will still be able to put points on the board. That's huge, and something the Jazz haven't had the past few years.
Click to expand...

I like it. You're smart.
 
Good thread. I can really see the potential in Hayward. He has good focused and efficient mobility when he runs the floor and has pretty good body control on the break. He handles well and passes with good timing and touch. Most importantly he reads the situation and usually makes the right play--he's potentially an efficient player who can add value and intangibles on both ends. If he can become a go-to shooter, he could be a special player, a guy who has a well-rounded game out on the wing. He could be a better player than Mike Dunleavy, someone he gets compared to sometimes.
 
Hey, anyone think Millsap could become a power-3 like a poor-man's Carmello Anthony?
Or is he more of a Clarence Weatherspoon type, a 250-lb 6'7" player who is more of a tweener?
 
Catchall said:
Hey, anyone think Millsap could become a power-3 like a poor-man's Carmello Anthony?
Or is he more of a Clarence Weatherspoon type, a 250-lb 6'7" player who is more of a tweener?
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I see him as a bigger Larry Johnson with less skills.
 
colton said:
Here's one observation that I haven't seen anyone make yet: Big Al is going to help this team so much partly because he can play *without* DWill in the game. If I were Sloan, I would have Al play 100% of the minutes when Deron's on the bench (and of course, a lot of the minutes when Deron's on the floor). Al can so easily score on his own, that it won't take a special point guard to create opportunities for him. Therefore, if he's in when DWill's out, the Jazz offense will still be able to put points on the board. That's huge, and something the Jazz haven't had the past few years.
Click to expand...

Good thinking. And since Jefferson is a bit underconditioned, you sub him out at about the 8 min mark and have Deron play the entire 1st/3rd. Then you have Al come back in after resting the quarter break and about 3 mins of the 2nd/4th. That gives him 34 mins total. Deron, meanwhile sits down at the quarter break and re-enters about halfway through the 2nd and 4th (36 mins of PT).

Or you could reverse it. I know Sloan used to take Stockton out at about the 8-9 min mark, rest him through the quarter break and then he'd play the last 9 mins or so of the 2nd and 4th. You could do the same with Deron and have Al play the entire 1st and 3rd, then half of the 2nd and 4th.
 
colton said:
Here's one observation that I haven't seen anyone make yet: Big Al is going to help this team so much partly because he can play *without* DWill in the game. If I were Sloan, I would have Al play 100% of the minutes when Deron's on the bench (and of course, a lot of the minutes when Deron's on the floor). Al can so easily score on his own, that it won't take a special point guard to create opportunities for him. Therefore, if he's in when DWill's out, the Jazz offense will still be able to put points on the board. That's huge, and something the Jazz haven't had the past few years.
Click to expand...

Never thought about that but its a good idea. Our backup point guards still suck so it is foolish to even try and run much of an offense with them. Let them bring it up the court and just let Big Al do his thing. If he's doubled, kick out and swing to an open shooter. nothing fancy, and hopefully it lets us break even til DWill is rested.
 
siromar said:
Just because is someone is not well known, does not mean they're bad. Siler was a beast last night.
Click to expand...
Just because he got a few dunks late in the game doesn't mean he can play a lick of defense against an established player like Jefferson.
 
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