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Paul Millsap's role next season

Jerry Lundegaard

Jerry Lundegaard

Banned
Millsap has improved every season he's been in the league. In my opinion the only thing holding him back from being an all-star is his consistency. Of course he has plenty of games where he can beast just about any guy guarding him in the NBA, but there are still too many where he's just mediocre and non-existent when we need him most. I think he's worth every penny we're paying him and one of my favorite Jazz players of all time.

I am curious to know what he will be focusing on this offseason. One thing he needs to do much better is recognize when double teams are coming, and making a good decision when one comes. He was pretty bad in that category this year. He never used to draw doubles consistently until this season. I'm eager to see how he responds.

I'm a little wary of him trying to turn too much into a three/face-up guy but he has developed his game in that aspect much better than I ever thought he could have after his first few seasons. The idea of him at the three with Favors and Kanter in the front court is intriguing, considering it worked so well against certain teams - but I just can't buy into the idea that specific lineup is the answer.

He's served so many different roles on the court under Sloan and Corbin, that I don't think he's quite settled into one to start getting that consistency needed to take that next step from a real good player to an all-star.

I hope Corbin and Millsap are on the exact same page as far as what is expected of him for next season on the court, and in which role. It's imperative Corbin was crystal clear with his objectives, and Millsap completely understands.

Where do you hope Millsap's role on the court is next season? I don't think it's out of the question to bring him off the bench (although, I disagree and would need to hear a really good argument to the contrary), but any insights on how you feel we'll be at our best with Millsap would be greatly appreciated.
 
Millsap NEEDS a point guard. He'd get so many open looks from the short corner with a guy like Rondo at the helm.
 
The only lineup that even half-worked against the Spurs was the one with Millsap at the 3. And Corbin only really utilized it for Game 4, when Hayward and Burks were spraying the ESA with radioactive waste. Had Gordon hit a few shots, there may have been a Game 5.

Millsap needs to become a swing forward. Barring a trade, Paul, Derrick and Al need to start. Millsap should be splitting his time between SF and PF, playing the 4 against backups he can dominate.
 
Millsap CANNOT play on the right-block with consistency. The fact that Ty draws up iso-esque plays for Sap in that position is just beyond retarded. We saw this time-and-time again in the Spurs series. Millsap has the tools to be a great pick and roll/pick-and-pop player, and is versatile in many facets of the offensive side of basketball. Akin to what GVC said, Millsap would excel with a good PG, as well as dealing with a much more fluid offense. I cannot recall more than 5 plays were people set screens to free up Sap, which to me is just wasting talent.

Regardless, Sap and Al are not a good 4/5 combo with the 2011-2012 Jazz offense. Yes, I realize that there was much less time for Ty to implement a proper offense with out team, but I feel like the jist of our offense was running plays for Al, and then dishing it out when the double came. The only time that Millsap ever received a decent amount of plays, were when he played with the bench in the 2nd quarter, or when he was hot in the 4th. To me, this is quite disappointing. This could stem from poor PG play, but I'm placing the blame moreso on our offense this season. We saw what happened when you try to compete with a one-dimensional offense in the playoffs, and your guards aren't hitting their threes when your main scorer is being negated by the other teams defense.
 
Jerry Lundegaard said:
Of course. But considering the point guards we got now...
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It's a major problem. Even without a point guard who could create offense for others OR a single starter who could set a half decent screen (on or off the ball), the Jazz offense was 6th best per possession this past season. If these problems aren't addressed, they won't do as well next season (speculation, yes, but I think proper training camps will help other teams' offenses more than the Jazz's).

Of all the starters, Millsap stands to benefit the most from adding a half decent point guard, as he does a good job finding space along the baseline, from above the free throw line, and on the weakside in general. The lack of perimeter shooting and the space taken up by Jefferson hurts Millsap as well, but finding an actual point guard would do wonders.
 
dalamon said:
Millsap CANNOT play on the right-block with consistency. The fact that Ty draws up iso-esque plays for Sap in that position is just beyond retarded. We saw this time-and-time again in the Spurs series. Millsap has the tools to be a great pick and roll/pick-and-pop player, and is versatile in many facets of the offensive side of basketball. Akin to what GVC said, Millsap would excel with a good PG, as well as dealing with a much more fluid offense. I cannot recall more than 5 plays were people set screens to free up Sap, which to me is just wasting talent.

Regardless, Sap and Al are not a good 4/5 combo with the 2011-2012 Jazz offense. Yes, I realize that there was much less time for Ty to implement a proper offense with out team, but I feel like the jist of our offense was running plays for Al, and then dishing it out when the double came. The only time that Millsap ever received a decent amount of plays, were when he played with the bench in the 2nd quarter, or when he was hot in the 4th. To me, this is quite disappointing. This could stem from poor PG play, but I'm placing the blame moreso on our offense this season. We saw what happened when you try to compete with a one-dimensional offense in the playoffs, and your guards aren't hitting their threes when your main scorer is being negated by the other teams defense.
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Agree with everything, but a great PG cures any ****ty offense. So considering what we have, I feel like Sap needs to figure out what role he's going to play. I also agree with you about him in pick and roll situations over throwing it to him on the block. However, if he worked hard on it I'm fully confident in his ability to turn into a player who can produce with his back to the basket on the block.
 
The 4 main starters this season (Al, Millsap, Gordo, Devin) just don't fit well together. Even subbing Favors in at the 4 and moving Millsap to the 3 is problematic. A lineup committed to playing tough, tight D and running the floor like mad centered around Favors-Millsap-Hayward could work nicely, but you need a dynamic point guard (Steve Nash would be absolutely perfect with those 3) and a shooter to round out the lineup.

This is why, however unlikely, people are drooling over the possibility of a Nash-Hayward-Harden-Millsap-Favors lineup. That would be so incredibly fun to watch.
 
Agree with most here. We could get another 3 points out of Millsap with a good PG - easily. According to 82 games Paul was only assisted on 56% of his attempts - that is insanely low and is a testament to how good he is. Boozer was around 80% back in the day with DWill.
 
GVC said:
The 4 main starters this season (Al, Millsap, Gordo, Devin) just don't fit well together. Even subbing Favors in at the 4 and moving Millsap to the 3 is problematic. A lineup committed to playing tough, tight D and running the floor like mad centered around Favors-Millsap-Hayward could work nicely, but you need a dynamic point guard (Steve Nash would be absolutely perfect with those 3) and a shooter to round out the lineup.

This is why, however unlikely, people are drooling over the possibility of a Nash-Hayward-Harden-Millsap-Favors lineup. That would be so incredibly fun to watch.
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!!!

It's not as unlikely if you put Burks in there instead of Harden (who is the real long shot in your scenario). If I'm a PG, I pass it to a cutting Burks with total confidence that he's going to score or get fouled.

Nash-Burks-Hayfever-Millsap-Favors. That's 55-57 wins.
 
dalamon said:
I can easily see him being a very competent 2nd option if Al Jefferson isn't on this team.
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damn, I repp'd your first post of the thread so I can't rep this one.
Millsap can easily be an efficient 18/9 with a good PG. That's second option material
 
Well if Jefferson is still on this team next year, Sap will do what all the other players on the Jazz do - watch the ball get dumped to Jefferson, Slow Al holds on to it for 10 seconds, then try to get an offensive rebound.
 
I like Paul, but he was in such a bad position most of last year. they bulk of his possessions were either him isolating, (which usually led to a contested or awkward jump shot), or desperation give it to Paul with 6 on the shot clock.

Paul, though improved, will never be elite at the isolation game, and should be focusing on the things that have garnered success in the past - rebounding, hustle, cutting, and pick and pop.
i wouldn't be against him improving his handles a bit either.

I think his situation begins and ends with Corbin and to some extent Jefferson.
 
What's not to love about Paul? But he will never be the heart and soul of a championship team. Ever since he has gotten starter minutes he seems to go into these month long slumps which drags the rest of the team down. This past season it was January when Millsap went into a funk and the team lost like 11 or 12 games.

Part of Millsap's problem is that he's never figured out how to put points on the board when his shot isn't falling. He draws contact but most of the time it's while he's trying to avoid contact; which usually gets no love from the refs. For once when his shot isn't falling I'd love to see him go shoulders first into the defense and force the refs to make a call.
 
i think shared mins and a trio of Kanter-Favors-Millsap in 4-5 is more than good, we should just send harris and jefferson and find a good pg to make them play
 
candrew said:
What's not to love about Paul? But he will never be the heart and soul of a championship team. Ever since he has gotten starter minutes he seems to go into these month long slumps which drags the rest of the team down. This past season it was January when Millsap went into a funk and the team lost like 11 or 12 games.

Part of Millsap's problem is that he's never figured out how to put points on the board when his shot isn't falling. He draws contact but most of the time it's while he's trying to avoid contact; which usually gets no love from the refs. For once when his shot isn't falling I'd love to see him go shoulders first into the defense and force the refs to make a call.
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My favorite thing about Millsap is that he acts surprised every time he doesn't get the call that he has never gotten his entire career.
 
GVC said:
Millsap NEEDS a point guard. He'd get so many open looks from the short corner with a guy like Rondo at the helm.
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Don't forget Millsap played with Deron Williams for the first 5 2/3 seasons of his career. As a starter Sap's FG% remained pretty consistent in 2010-11 both before and after the DWill trade (54% vs 52%). This year it dipped to just under 50% for the first time in his career but IMO alot of that is due to our offensive sets, more time playing SF on the perimeter, and more iso's and letting Millsap go 1-on-1 stepping off the right block instead of pick&roll and motion offense.

Great point guards don't always boost everyone's numbers - everyone thought playing with Deron would instantaneously raise Al Jefferson's game and that certainly didn't prove to be the case.

Millsap's a face-up PF who does just about everything pretty well but not one thing exceptionally great. Some nights he can carry you, and others he's just a role-player, but overall I really like the versatility he brings and the options he gives us to do alot of different things with our front line. If I'd like to see him work on one thing this offseason, it's his back-to-the-backet game - not because he is or or can become a great low-post player, but because if the Jazz keep Al and we want to keep trying the "Big Lineup," it's imperative Millsap is able to make SF's pay down on the low block. Just a simple left-shoulder turn-around jumper from 8-feet, which he can make but not a shot he's made consistently, would be enough to prevent a Kahwi Leonard or Stephen Jackson from effectively guarding Sap like we saw in the playoffs.
 
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