My Take: Jazz vs. Knicks

Posted by David Locke on November 27, 2007

‘Boozer - Unstoppable’ (Nick Laham - NBAE/Getty Images)

FINAL SCORE — KNICKS 113 JAZZ 109
The Jazz had a shot at the end but this game was lost by their terrible defensive effort in the first half and the third quarter.
The Jazz cut it to 3 and had the ball and then collapsed. With 2:30 left Deron turned it over trying to cross over on Marbury. The Knicks missed and then Eddy Curry blocked a Deron drive. Deron stole an entry pass but his outlet went to Brewer who turned it over. The Knicks scored on a second chance bucket. Now down 6 Deron turned it over again with a ill advised one handed pass in traffic.
Jazz had it back down to 2 but the Knicks got a second chance on a Crawford miss forcing the Jazz to foul.
The Jazz played very hard in the 4th quarter but that was the first time all night. The Indiana lesson didn’t quite sink in.
This is too bad after the great win yesterday. They somewhat wash each other out.

3:33 4th Quarter — Knicks 105 Jazz 103
Jazz have scored on 12 of 15 trips this quarter
Boozer is unstoppable. Booz is 11 of 17
Marbury has 5 fouls and can’t guard D-Will. D-will is 10 of 15 and looks more explosive.
Knicks are going 1 on 1 on every possession, first it was Crawford at Brewer, then Marbury at Williams and then Randolph at Boozer.
It is time for AK help defense on the 1 on 1 plays

5:55 4th Quarter – Knicks 102 Jazz 94
Offensively the Jazz are rolling. Executing perfectly on every set. They have scored 7 of their last 8 trips.
Defensively the Knicks have good 1 on 1 players and the Jazz can’t handle it. They have had to go to the zone.
Ronnie Price has played the entire quarter. If he is going to be the back-up shooting guard he will have to make a shot and he hasn’t done that yet.
Jazz need 3 stops in a row in the final 5 minute stretch, maybe twice.
They have the ball with a chance to get it to 6.
This one is not over yet.

End of 4th Quarter — Knicks 89 Jazz 80
Jazz looked like they were knocking on the door and then Nate Robinson got back to back 3 point plays. This is going to be tough.

3:43 3rd Quarter - Knicks 81 Jazz 72
Milsap we ask for we got it — 9 straight points and great energy.
The defense is still awful. They have broken down guarding the side pick n roll. Once they just left Marbury and he was the ball handler and he drove for open lay-up, which was missed but the Knicks got the rebound and the buckjet.
Okur’s defensive focus and energy is very poor
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS DEFEND FOR THE NEXT 4 MINS AND IT WILL BE TIED

8:22 3rd Quarter — Knicks 69 Jazz 59
No sign of a change from the Jazz
Boozer out with 4 fouls
Jazz are letting the Knicks come off curls for easy looks, drive without resistance. It is ugly.
We need a vintage Milsap hustle today

Halftime — Knicks 58 Jazz 52
Jazz played defense and rotated well for a grand total of 3 possession in the entire half. That is probably an exaggeration but not by much.
You have to play a little defense or else it gets ugly and the Jazz are just sitting back playing soft.
They are letting the Knicks bigs move into the post without any contact. It is so easy if they catch on their spots.
Offensively the Jazz are fine, but that is not how this team needs to win games.
Marbury had 15 points, also Williams had 15

5:59 2nd Quarter — Knicks 45 Jazz 40
Knicks have scored on 5 straight trips/
D-Will got it rolling and scored on three straight possessions.
Their doesn’t seem like their is a great flow to what teams are trying to do today.
Knicks are a poor offensive team and they are shooting 64%.

End of 1st Quarter - Knicks 31 Jazz 29
Feel free to bring the defense at some point.
Zack Randolph is 6/7. Of course, since I talked about how awful he has been in the pre-game show.
Randolph is left handed and his only move is left or a spin back to his left.
Jazz played well offensively to stay in the game.
Boozer’s 8 leads the Jazz, Randolph has 13.

5:50 1st Quarter - Knicks 19 Jazz 16
Brutal defensive start by the Jazz.
Jazz were jogging back in transition on two straight fast breaks and gave up easy lay-ins
The Knicks are getting really deep post position whenever they want.
Offensively, the Jazz are getting whatever they want and will all night
These feels way too close to the Indiana game.

Keys to the Game
1. Play hard
2. Make Randolph shot not Curry
3. Keep the Knicks off the defensive glass

STARTING LINE-UPS
Jazz: Deron, Ronnie, AK, Boozer and Okur
Knicks: Marbury, Crawford, Richardson, Randolph and Curry

STATS — 2007-08 SEASON
Note: Efficiency Stats are based on possession. Therefore, equalizing for pace of play. Efficiency rankings are based upon 100 possessions. Example: The Jazz average 111.1 pts per 100 possessions

Pace: Jazz 95.6 possessions per game (6th in NBA) Knicks   91.5 (15h in the NBA)
Offensive Efficiency: Jazz 110.6 (9th in NBA) Knicks 100.2 (26th in the NBA)
Defensive Efficiency: Jazz 102.4 (5th in NBA) Knicks 110.5     (25th in the NBA)
Jazz Defensive Glass:   Jazz Def Reb % - 74.2% (13th in NBA) Knicks Off Reb % - 31.6% (2nd)
Knicks Defensive Glass:   Jazz Off Reb % - 30% (10th in NBA) Knicks Def Reb % -73% (18th)

Officials
Steve Javie, Tony Brown and Derek RIchardson

1 Comment

John P on November 27, 2007 said:

Okur has got to GO!!. I am VERY disappointed with his play. In fact, I believe he is actually a detriment to the day-to-day success of the team on the court. Let me explain. His 3-point shooting is horrible (33.3% as I write this with 4 guys shooting better). His defense is horrible, almost lackadaisical, especially in the paint, which costs us points. He fouls a lot, which costs us points. He turns over the ball a lot, which costs us points. On offense, he just stands out at the 3-point line, apparently just to stay out of everyone’s way. When he does go inside, he can’t even make a stupid lay up. He doesn’t work hard at either end of the floor. At 6′11′, he should be a presence on the floor, in the paint, and be a rebounding machine. But basically, he’s just taking up space. Why is he even in the NBA?

We need a center that will play basketball at a higher level. Fezz is a ways off from that. Jeron Collins needs more playing time so he can hone his skills. He’s much stronger, and a better defender and rebounder than Okur, which is what we need right now. We have other guys to do the perimeter shooting (he sucks anyway). Send Okur back to Europe to play lazy-ball. We need a real center.