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Utah Jazz Blog-o-Table - What is your biggest questions left about the Utah Jazz?
December 14th, 2010
This week’s blog-o-table touches on two topics, one national and one Utah Jazz related. These questions were asked to the large collection of broadcasters on the Utah Jazz radio and TV broadcasts.
At the quarter mark of the season what is your largest question involving the Utah Jazz?
How many more games will the Miami Heat lose this year?
TOM NISSALKE
Will Memo be back by All Star Break? I realize he can't be counted on until he is cleared to play by medical people. And most importantly, himself! If he is able to play this season even limited time, Jazz will be at least in Western finals.
If no injuries to "Big two and 1/2" and return of Miller [for sure, soon] and maybe Haslem-8 games and go to finals in East for sure.
PATRICK KINAHAN
QUESTION 1
My biggest concern going forward is the team’s rebounding, particularly as it relates to allowing offensive rebounds.
In general, the Jazz haven’t proven to be a good rebounding team. Going into Monday night’s game, the Jazz ranked 27th in the league in rebounding at 39.4 per game. The teams below the Jazz – Phoenix, Washington and Detroit – all are going nowhere this season.
As Pat Riley famously stated, no rebounds, no rings. The two things that will doom any team are points off of turnovers and second-chance points.
The most egregious example came early, when Golden State grabbed 21 offensive rebounds in an 85-78 win over the Jazz on Nov. 5. In a 94-82 loss to San Antonio on Nov. 19, the Spurs won the rebounding battle by 15 and enjoyed a 16-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
Miami also crushed the Jazz 42-28 in a win at EnergySolutions Arena last week. I find it alarming that no Jazz player has a rebounding average in double figures.
This season Al Jefferson has had six games in which he has recorded seven or fewer rebounds this season. At his position, the Jazz can’t afford Jefferson not to be a great rebounder.
By contrast, in 78 games last season Carlos Boozer only had 13 games in which he pulled down seven or fewer rebounds.
A three-time NCAA rebounding leader, Paul Millsap hasn’t reached double figures in this category in 15 games. Boozer never went more than three games without at least 10 rebounds in his final season with the Jazz.
To combat this deficiency, the Jazz need to send at least three players to the boards, even if it curtails potential fast-break opportunities. It’s better to go with the set offense than to inbound the ball off the opponent’s second-chance basket.
QUESTION 2
At most the Heat with lose 13 games the rest of the season.
DAVID LOCKE
Who is Al Jefferson and what is he capable of doing for the Utah Jazz? When the Jazz acquired Jefferson I watched all of his post-ups plays in Minnesota and thought he would be a pig in slop in Utah. My belief was that the offense would give him huge advantages that he has never had before and that he could work his way toward the pre-ACL player he was with Kevin McHale. However, offensively Jefferson is very inefficient and has been struggling over the past 8 games shooting around 42% which is disturbingly low. In addition, he has a career low defensive rebounding rate and the Jazz are one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the NBA. He has made some big plays and played solid defense, but I am still lost on who he is going to be inside the Jazz offense. I believe the Heat have already lost over half their games they will lose this season. They have lost 8 and they won’t get to 16 on the season. They have figured out how to play offensively. They have weaknesses, but they have figured out how to use their strengths. The Heat finish with 15 losses and win 67. The beginning of the season will be a distant memory.
CRAIG BOLERJACK
he inability to over power teams in the 1st half. We've seen the talent. I'm amazed at the lack of confidence we see early in ball games....
As for the Heat....This team goes 57-25... 49-17 the rest of the way...
DAVID JAMES
Thru the first 25 games, the Jazz have proven they are a good team. I believe they are in the top quarter of the 30 NBA teams, but below the championship tier teams. The question is how much of a boost will they get out of Mehmet Okur and it will he help get them on par with the NBA's best? I always thought it would take at least 9 months, and maybe a year, for Okur to get back to his previous form. Since he was hurt in the playoffs it is reasonable to assume that's about when he will return to form. But if medical improvements return him to top form a little earlier can he give the Jazz a boost in the playoffs. Maybe the Jazz will surprise us and make a mid-season trade, but traditionally they stand pat, which means if they are going to add talent and depth to the roster this season, it will be Okur returning to the rotation.
I always thought the Heat could be a 60 win team. LeBron won 60 with less help in Cleveland than he has in Miami. With 9 straight wins, Miami is 18-8 and I still expect them to get to the 60 win plateau which means, 14 more losses max. Remeber there are more inter-conference games earlier in the season. Currently the Heat are 6-4 against the West and 12-4 against the East and they have already played the Celtics twice. As the Heat play more games against the inferior East, they will fatten their record, just as the Jazz have. I'll put the number of losses at 12 and say the Heat will finish 62-20.
MATT HARPRING
question 1
Biggest question in my eyes is if and when memo okur comes back and plays. if he does come back, how effective will he be? To be considered as a team that can win an NBA championship, you have to have three bigs that could start on most teams. The jazz will have that if okur comes back and can resume his play before he was injured. question 2 in my mind, is can the Jazz take care of their home court? Im not talking about inferior teams, i am talking San Ant, Lakers, Dallas, Heat (thats done), boston, ok city, and Chicago. I think establishing a home court that teams fear is crucial when heading in the playoffs..
question 2
i think the heat will lose 22 games on the year. i am sticking with my original forecast that they will win 60 games. they lost a few more than i figured early, but i think that is corrected. they have 8 losses that gives them another 14 losses for the year. i think it will be tough for them to get to 60 wins now, but i think they will get there. if wade or lebron get hurt, obviously this would change. i think as long as boston stays healthy, they are the best in the east.
