si article "Can Millsap play SF?"

[Lakers_Slapper]

. . . with effort and focus (perhaps bolstered by the coaching staff insisting on effective defense, especially with the 'threat' of capable players (Favors, Kanter, maybe Okur) replacing him in the rotation) able to resolve a majority of those weaknesses.

The merit-based rotation (adapted from C_T):
30 minutes of AL @ Center, 10 for Okur, 8 for whoever is performing the best at the 4/5 spot in that game
25 minutes of Favors @ PF, 10 for Sap, 13 for Kanter
20 minutes of Sap @ SF, 20 for Hayward, 8 for CJ
10 minutes of Bell @ SG, 15 for Burks, 13 for CJ, 10 for whoever is performing the best at the 2/3 spot
35 minutes of Harris @ PG, 13 for Watson

Post lockout; if the Jazz do go forward with the current roster-or close to as listed, this rotation would make sense to start out with. Wishful thinking; I hope they make some trades to benefit our team. I think Harris is a genuinely good point guard. However I think from being spoiled - having Stockton for so long, and then D. Will, I wouldnt mind seeing the Jazz move a couple of players for franchise-type point guard. If not, a franchise shooting guard. (Because we've never had one)

 

[Deleted member 848]

I think Burks yet to prove anything, but he doesn't seem to have good defense, i would prefer to see both Hayward and Burks at 2. If AK will leave the team , we should for sure get a SF. And Miles can back him up , Hayward can be the third option and fill the space up if any of them are injured. But i wouldn't consider playing Millsap as 3 at all.

Hayward coming into the NBA was considered a sub-par defender at best. Let the player makes his mark on the NBA before we make generalizations like these.

 

[orangello]

You dont see the big picture here, if we will set this team around young core of favors kanter and hayward they should start right away, this rustyness will not be gone if they dont find playing time. We arent gonna be contender with this team anyway and it will not give us any good to make playoffs and be eliminated in the first round. Instead we can give young players playing down and see them improve. In the worst case it will speed up the improvement process of Kanter and Favors.
Memo and Millsap, even Evans is enough to back these guys up. We could get rid of AJ and get some good asset in return like a decent SF or something. I dont dislike AJ but i dont see any reason to keep him with his loaded contract if he isnt in our future plans

Great points. I don't know why so many fans are to tied to making the playoffs ASAP. Try and be patient with these young guys but get them the playing time. I would rather see a season of rookie mistakes and a losing record rather than a first round exit in the playoffs. If the Jazz do the former then I could see more of a chance to be a contender in 3+ years.

By the ways, all those people out there calling for a vet wing player in any sort of a trade must be forgetting about Bell. Please do not misunderstand what I am saying. Bell is not the player that he once was but people were calling for more veteran presence last offseason before Bell was aquired. Just becuase they are a vet doesn't mean anything. I am not saying keep trading a for team of 1st or 2nd year players but just becuase someone is a vet doesn't mean crap to me.

 

[orangello]

I would be very surprised if Millsap averaged more than 10 mpg as a SF.

 

[sepanol]

Hayward coming into the NBA was considered a sub-par defender at best. Let the player makes his mark on the NBA before we make generalizations like these.

No, i like hayward but i think it gives him a certain advantage to start at 2 than 3. He guard kobe very well while im not sure if he can do the same to lebron

 

[Qman]

Jefferson has too many weaknesses on defensive end to lead a contender.

Which is why Favors is there to cover up his mistakes. Jefferson isn't that bad on defense. He needs to improve his pick and roll defense a lot. But I think it could be done.

 

[Deleted member 848]

No, i like hayward but i think it gives him a certain advantage to start at 2 than 3. He guard kobe very well while im not sure if he can do the same to lebron

Buddy-guy, coming into the league he was considered sub par at every position. NO ONE could have possibly predicted him shutting down Kobe like that, at the start of the season. Let the players play, Im sure you have seen zero minutes of Burks playing in-game, so dont make assumptions off of blog posts, and video highlights.

 

[NUMBERICA]

Everyone knows that Kobe's body isn't what it used to be, right?

 

[sepanol]

Buddy-guy, coming into the league he was considered sub par at every position. NO ONE could have possibly predicted him shutting down Kobe like that, at the start of the season. Let the players play, Im sure you have seen zero minutes of Burks playing in-game, so dont make assumptions off of blog posts, and video highlights.

hayward can play 3 but why make him play 3 while he will have an obvious advantage against his opponents at 2? If he didnt have consistent shooting its ok but he has it so i dont see any reason why he shouldnt play 2.

I dont know anything about burks, i just saw some highlights and he didnt seem to have good defense i hope i am wrong, but i think he will not be worse than brewer overall, only thing is he should have a good personality and work ethic so he wont mess up the team chemistry if he cant find playing time

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

hayward can play 3 but why make him play 3 while he will have an obvious advantage against his opponents at 2? If he didnt have consistent shooting its ok but he has it so i dont see any reason why he shouldnt play 2.

I dont know anything about burks, i just saw some highlights and he didnt seem to have good defense i hope i am wrong, but i think he will not be worse than brewer overall, only thing is he should have a good personality and work ethic so he wont mess up the team chemistry if he cant find playing time

Burks and Hayward are similar size. Hayward has more head clearance, but Burk's has the advantage with arm length. Burks and Hayward have the exact same standing reach, and Burks is a good bit quicker/more explosive. Hayward is the stronger of the two players also. If both of them are to start, Hayward is clearly the SF. I

 

[InGameStrategy]

Which is why Favors is there to cover up his mistakes. Jefferson isn't that bad on defense. He needs to improve his pick and roll defense a lot. But I think it could be done.

I still maintain that the #1 problem is focus and effort.

I'm not a fan of a strategy in which players cover up fixable mistakes of others. I would hope that players, coaches, and fans alike aspire to a higher standard.

Just like Boozer unwittingly proved on occasion that he can play defense (at least better than he normally did), so has Jefferson IMHO.

It's all about the coaches enforcing it; just like Carlisle (ring tally = 1) and Thibodeau (Eastern Conference title tally = 1 out of 1) have done.

Ideally the players want it, too, but playing on both ends of the court is tough, and why not ease up on D if you're gonna get your minutes anyway?

 

[silesian]

history?

Memo's a moot point, his injury history makes him practically untradable

Not sure I understand, he had 8 consecutive years playing 71+ games. Maybe the combination of his age plus the recent injuries plus the above-market salary is a concern, but I would not frame thas as having a "history" of injuries. His spot-up shooting game seems to make him less injury prone. Let's see how he does in Turkey

 

[NotDeadYet]

The Jazz are obviously looking at what Millsap's capabilities are as far as playing SF. Good; I'd rather have him guarding SF's on the perimeter than getting toasted in the paint by bigger taller guys for one reason: FG % from the paint is generally much higher than from the perimeter. Millsap is flat overmatched inside by many PF's and is resigned to either fouling the shooter of giving up the sure FG. At least on the perimeter he's got a chance to block the shot or otherwise affect the shot with his size. Personally I think Millsap should split time between BOTH positions depending on matchups.

 

[Jazz4ever]

The Jazz are obviously looking at what Millsap's capabilities are as far as playing SF. Good; I'd rather have him guarding SF's on the perimeter than getting toasted in the paint by bigger taller guys for one reason: FG % from the paint is generally much higher than from the perimeter. Millsap is flat overmatched inside by many PF's and is resigned to either fouling the shooter of giving up the sure FG. At least on the perimeter he's got a chance to block the shot or otherwise affect the shot with his size. Personally I think Millsap should split time between BOTH positions depending on matchups.

Not really, he doesn't have the foot speed to close out on 3 point shooters and can be taken off the dribble by most SFs. He will always have issues either way. It is the main reason, after all, he was drafted in the 2nd round.

 

[sepanol]

Which is why Favors is there to cover up his mistakes. Jefferson isn't that bad on defense. He needs to improve his pick and roll defense a lot. But I think it could be done.

Only Dwight Howard can cover up his mistakes, not Favors

 

[Qman]

I still maintain that the #1 problem is focus and effort.

I'm not a fan of a strategy in which players cover up fixable mistakes of others. I would hope that players, coaches, and fans alike aspire to a higher standard.

Just like Boozer unwittingly proved on occasion that he can play defense (at least better than he normally did), so has Jefferson IMHO.

It's all about the coaches enforcing it; just like Carlisle (ring tally = 1) and Thibodeau (Eastern Conference title tally = 1 out of 1) have done.

Ideally the players want it, too, but playing on both ends of the court is tough, and why not ease up on D if you're gonna get your minutes anyway?

I agree that Big Al needs to improve his defensive energy level. I wonder if working out with Millsap will get him in better shape. Also our big man rotation should be deep enough to give Al a rest as needed.

It takes more than the coach to get a top defensive effort. You have to get buy-in from your star players. It also helps if you have an elite big man defender like Chandler and Garnett.

 

[billyshelby]

There is just no way Millsap can handle starting 3's on the perimeter. He's too easy to beat if he plays close, and he'll be too tempted to sag to prevent getting beat. I also can't remotely see where Sap is going to hold his own in rotations. He has two strengths on D. One, he uses his body to dig in on post players like Chuck Hayes, but he should probably watch a lot of Chuck Hayes tape to see where he can improve. His best attribute is his reflexes. He's not fast, but he reacts quickly and he can get off the floor better than most.

Sap is plenty good as a 4. But he's a liability against starting 3's.

 

[NotDeadYet]

I would hope to see Evans and Miles getting minutes at SF, with Millsap splitting time there as well as at PF. Hayward is better at SG with his length. Burks too. Then Bell would get more limited minutes. Jefferson is a hard worker and loves basketball; he'll do whatever coaches ask him to. He's a better option in the paint offensively than Millsap.

 

[Deleted member 848]

I would hope to see Evans and Miles getting minutes at SF, with Millsap splitting time there as well as at PF. Hayward is better at SG with his length. Burks too. Then Bell would get more limited minutes. Jefferson is a hard worker and loves basketball; he'll do whatever coaches ask him to. He's a better option in the paint offensively than Millsap.

Here we go again....

 

[Stifle Tower]

Burks and Hayward are similar size. Hayward has more head clearance, but Burk's has the advantage with arm length. Burks and Hayward have the exact same standing reach, and Burks is a good bit quicker/more explosive. Hayward is the stronger of the two players also. If both of them are to start, Hayward is clearly the SF. I

Good points. Put aside the argument of who starts for a moment. The Jazz have traditionally preferred true PG's over combo guards, with the 2 and 3 interchangeable on offense. I don't see that changing under Corbin. So figure 96 combined minutes at wing positions. Divide that up and you have 3 players at 32 mins. each. Assuming AK doesn't return and CJ is not re-signed after this season, the Jazz would have 1 spot open for either a starter or 6th-man type to come in and play 30+ mins. IF Hayward can play decent defense against starting 2's, I'd like the Jazz to acquire a good veteran SF who would start. I like the skills Burks would bring as a 6th-man. Hayward would start, but he'd split his minutes between the 2 and 3, sliding to SF when Burks enters the game.

What I do like about Hayward and Burks is that both will be active. One of the best ways to stop good scorers is to make them work on the defensive end. You'll get that with Gordon and Alec. Both of them will be cutting, driving, coming off curls, etc. There's no way for an opposing SG or SF to "rest" on defense.