Singing in the Rain
‘Paint Problems’ (Doug Pensinger - NBAE/Getty Images)
I watched the game. I heard the announcers and the post game and Coach Sloan. Know what, I am choosing to be more melancholy about this game. Here’s why.
We played the leader of our division - on their court– and we lost. We didn’t play horrible. At half we were in the game 59-61. We were in it all the way if you can just cut out the entire third quarter. You can spend hours in agony over the mistakes and missed opportunities but I say–it sure could have been worse. Korver and Okur each had 16, Williams 23. Not bad. 44 team rebounds. I have to agree with all the talk that our defense wasn’t on tonight. Going into this game, I feared it would either be Denver by a blow-out or we would win. Well, I don’t think 11 points is a blowout–though the 23 point lead Denver had at one point sure could have been. We fought back. We didn’t get it done. Plain and simple. I’m not happy we lost but I’m not distraught either. Denver is a tough team.
I am looking onward to teams that I know we can beat –and we’d better beat them. If we start losing to them (again) , well then you may see a different side to me. This was a learning experience. If we want to play with the big boys, we have to get our job done. All of us, in every aspect of the game. If we don’t, we won’t walk out on top. Let’s learn from this and move on. We play Denver again, three more times in fact. And we better beat them at home, and take them once on their court. Then we’re good. Very good in fact. That’s what I’m hoping for. That’s what I am planning on. Till then I’ll be . . . ¯ “singing in the rain” ¯
8 Comments to “Singing in the Rain”
Search Jazzbots.com
Be connected!
Get the latest from Jazzbots delivered to your email
Get the latest from Jazzbots delivered to your phone
Bookmark and favorite Jazzbots.com
Jazz Inside Scoop
The FREE, Official E-mail Newsletter of the Jazz.
The Inside Scoop is one of the best ways to keep up-to-date with your Utah Jazz. We'll provide you with information year-round about the Jazz -- breaking news, special event information, unique merchandise & ticket offers, promotions, advance contest opportunities and more.
Featured Sponsors
Jazzbots Recent Readers
Jazz Polls
Loading ...
Here is my take with the Jazz on just about every loss that they have. It isn’t because they are tired or get worn out by the fourth quarter. It isn’t that they aren’t shooting good (usually). Here is the problem in a nut shell:
JERRY SLOAN
I have watched every single Jazz game, last year and this year, and the problem stays the same. I will break it down for you because it is the same game plan everytime.
1st quarter- Jazz start with Williams, Boozer, AK, Okur, Brewer. Games goes good to start, it does every night. 7-8 minutes left in the quarter, Ronnie Brewer comes out, Korver (use to be Miles) comes in. At 3-4 minutes left in the quarter, AK goes out, Harpring comes in. At 2-3 minutes left in the quarter Williams and Okur go out, Collins and Hart come in. At 1-2 minutes left in the quarter, Boozer comes out, Millsap goes in. By the end of the quarter, ever starter is on the bench all at the same time, and 95% of the time, the other team still has in almost every starter on their team, so any lead that the Jazz had, quickly goes away.
2nd Quarter- Sloan starts with Korver, Harpring, Collins, Millsap, and Hart. ????? All at the same time again while the other team has in mostly starters. At 8-9 minutes left in the quarter, Collins goes out and Okur goes in. At 7-8 minutes left in the quarter, Millsap goes out and Boozer goes in. At 6-7 minutes left in the quarter, Hart goes out and Williams goes in. At 5-6 minutes left in the quarter, Harpring goes out and AK goes back in. At 2-3 minutes left in the quarter, Korver goes out and Brewer is back in.
1st half summary: In the entire first quarter, the starting 5 only play a total of about 8-10 minutes on the court all at the same time. No matter who is on the court for the other team, this is the rotation and Sloan sticks to it regardless of what the score is, how someone is playing, how someone is defending. Rotation, plain and simple.
3rd Quarter: Sloan starts with the starting 5 of the game, Williams, Boozer, AK, Okur, and Brewer. At 8-9 minutes left int he quarter, Brewer comes out and Korver goes in. At 6-7 minutes left in the quarter Okur goes out Collins goes in. At 5-6 minutes left in the quarter, AK goes out and Harpring goes in. At 3-4 minutes left in the quarter, Williams and Boozer go out, Hart and Millsap go in. At 2-3 minutes left in the quarter, Collins goes out and Okur back in.
4th Quarter- Starts with Okur, Millsap, Korver, Harpring, and Hart (once in a while Williams will come back in to start the 4th quarter. At 8-9 minutes left in the quarter, Millsap and Hart go out and Boozer and Williams go in. At 6-7 minutes left in the quarter, Harpring goes out and AK goes in. At 5-6 minutes, Okur and Korver go out and Collins and Brewer go in. At 2-3 minutes left in the quarter, Collins and Brewer go out, and Okur and Korver come back in.
2nd half summary: The starters play on the court at the same time for about 5 minutes total, sometimes, maybe 7 minutes. Again, it doesn’t matter WHO is on the court for the other team, this is the rotation and the way it goes regardless of the score.
You see, it isn’t that the players are tired, it is that they don’t ever get a set game plan or momentum going because there is always some one rotating in and out just about every minute or 2. Also, having ALL of the subs on the court all at the same time is just about the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. This is the time when the Jazz either lose the lead that they have or get completely burried. Because the subs start the 2nd and 4th quarters, they get foul calls really quick so the Jazz are in the penalty with most of those quarters remaining which gives the other team ample trips to the free throw line.
Defense? There are only a couple of players on the team that can actually say that they know how to play defense and execute defense. AK is one of the most talented defensive players in the NBA. Any coach on any team will tell you that, and they have said it multiple times. So why does Sloan not put him on the opposing player that is getting 30-40 points a game against the Jazz? Your guess is as good as mine. AK does try to defend everyone on the other team, but give the guy a break, he is only one man. If you watch and keep track of what the other teams do when AK is in a game you soon realize, they do not shoot as often when AK is on their back. They are very leary when AK is around them. Other teams know what AK is capable of and they do seem to respect his defense, even if nobody else does. Williams plays defense, sometimes, but not all the time. Korver is actually pretty good on defense, which I am so glad to see, because AK needs the help when Brewer is not it. Brewer is a good defensive player, I think that he has picked up a few things from AK and he use to be one of the only ones to help AK with defense. Okur is good at defending his guy, but because he is a big man, we can’t expect him to be running around defending others, it just isn’t reasonable. Boozer, what can I say about Boozers defense? Just about non existant. Pay attention people, because it is usually Boozer’s man that torches the Jazz for 30-40 points. Him or Williams guy. It always is. Boozer is a great player, don’t get me wrong, but ever great players can have a major weakness, defense is his. He is too soft with who ever he is defending and they take advantage every single time.
Also, I think that the Jazz need to work on layups. I can’t tell you how many easy layups they miss in every game. Still the main problem lies with Jerry Sloan and the mind set that he has about rotating in every player at the same times every game. Here’s a tip Jerry: I THINK THE OTHER TEAM HAS FIGURED IT OUT! Get a new game plan. The only guy tired from the 1st quarter to the 4th quarter is Jerry Sloan. Half the time he doesn’t even look like he wants to be there and most of the time I think that he either doesn’t care or he gets mad at players so he burries them intentionally. I hope that is not what he does, but it sure does seem like it sometimes.
Finally, the Jazz are a good team with the possiblilities to be great and the talent to be great. The only thing that they are lacking is a great coach and leader. A coach is supposed to mix up the game plan every night, see your weakness in a game and adjust them. That is why the coach gets paid 6 million dollars a year. They are just as implortant if not most important to the team. I was so upset to hear that Larry Miller extended Sloans contract for 1 more year. I was hoping that they would just let him finish out his 20 years and then be done with it already. I hope that Sloan figures this all out on his own or someone figures it out for him, because if he doesn’t, it will be a very long 2nd half of the season.
Best moment of game: Korver’s hard foul on Kleiza.
Worst moment of game: Boozer letting Camby walk to basket for easy 2 points.
Whoa!!!! How long have you coached?? I am not trying to put you down, but it sounds like you spent more time taking notes on the substitutions than watching the small things that go on. What about foul trouble? With the subing that Jerry does you don’t often see a Jazz player foul out but you often see a player foul out from the other side. Have you seen what happens to another team when one or two players get hurt at the same time? The subs hardly know what to do and it becomes a disaster ( except for the crazy out of this world play by Kleise (spelling) where everyone had a chance to guard him and no one slowed him up). Look at the many,many times that the” off the bench players ” have come in and given a spark to the game. Just because they are off the bench players it doesn’t mean they can’t play. Mixing it up a lot gives them a chance to be ready to play with the other four, no matter who they are. I know that I am not convincing you because you don’t like the coach and I think he is great. I am proud of the fact that he is not ranting and raving along the sidelines like some of the other coaches in the NBA. It is like my husband always said when he was coaching,”I teach these players all I can and then turn them loose in a game and hope that they execute all of it. Maybe Sloan is watching and thinking of what needs to be changed. As for why they have that definate rotation, I don’t know because I am not in on the coaches meetings, or in the practice times, or in on the conversations Sloan has with Williams. I don’t pretend to be smart enough to say what should and shouldn’t be but when you listen to interviews and read what other coaches say, they highly respect Sloan. We were in Phoenix after the game and their coach said that you have to be ready for the Jazz because Sloan is one of the best and even if you know what they are going to do it is hard to go against his teams. Once again, I’m sure I haven’t changed your mind but then again, you certainly didn’t change mine. I was very sorry the contract was only for 1 year. It’s funny how everyone sees things because my husband, who was at the game didn’t agree much with what you say about the defense in the game. Guess we are all entitled to our own opinion. Go Jazz….Go Jerry and all the assistants
Boozer needs to hit free throws. His misses against Denver lost the game.
Sorry for the delayed response but we had a wedding Friday, reception Sat. where did this weekend go?? Anyway, WOW to you Lola. I have to admit I haven’t ever paid that close of attention to the game plan. It is an interesting theory and I will for sure be paying closer attention. I will warn you that I am a Sloan fan, but I will definitely try to be open minded and see what I see.
Jon, good call on the Korver foul. I WISH Boozer had been the only one to let someone virtually walk to the basket. Maybe we wouldn’t have lost.
Linda, I have to agree with you that Sloan — to some extent– is watching and waiting for the players to catch on to what he already knows. As a parent, I can relate. You teach them but sometimes, they are determined to figure it out on their own. Sometimes I think Sloan deserves credit for his patience!
Eddie, I think free throws are an over-simplification of the reason we lost BUT, as any coach will tell you, we can’t throw away free points. Dang, what was up with Boozer? He’s better than that.
WOW oh Lola! WOW!
Now and again while watching a game I often wonder why the court seems to be loaded with folks that don’t play together as well. As well wonder why some roll in and out at the times they do. I’ve no idea if the rotation is good bad each game should be approached with the opponent in mind and remain flexible thought the game as well. I’d bet coach Sloan and the rest apply some thought for each contest.
One thing I noticed in the Den game was right when Korver got hot as can be, all of sudden nobody would give him the daaum ball! Booze kept it and missed down the middle and got a charge against him as well.
WE do have to be smart enough to know and understand that ANY player in any game can light it up, like Kleiza did. I think that Korver was right there, and then did not have the tool handed to him. If somebody gets hot, by golly give em the ball!
I don’t pay much attention to interviews and the like, most are just staged for a sound bite and none of them can really speak their mind and you might notice how the refs are NEVER discussed, even though they should be slammed at times.
The only thing that bothers me is constantly wondering which team will be dressed for the game, “The JAZZ” or the jazz boyz.
RRR, my favorite comment of yours was at the end when you wonder who will be dressed for the game “The JAZZ” or “the jazz boyz”. I couldn’t agree with you more. I think you hit on a key problem with our team this year–we aren’t a team.
SLOAN IS NOT THE PROBLEM, and the jazz are fine everyone worries to much about our division, everyone knows we have to be in the top 8 seeds right?
Leave your Comment