My Take: Jazz Over Hawks

Posted by David Locke on February 24, 2008

‘Game Faces ‘ (Melissa Majchrzak – NBAE/Getty Images)

FINAL SCORE — JAZZ 100 HAWKS 94
This was a tussle.  The Hawks are improved with Mike Bibby
Jazz win their 14th straight game at ESA
Josh Smith had a very good defensive 4th quarter.   He didn’t guard Memo and had a big impact on the game.
The Jazz forced 22 turnovers.
D-Will was just 6 of 16 Bibby deserves some of the credit for that.
Huge play with 3:03 left the Jazz were up only 3 and Korver had been taken out of the game for defensive reasons.   The Jazz swung it around to AK and he took and nailed the three.
The other great play in this game, was Bibby hit a lay-up to make it a a 2 point game and the Jazz immediately pushed the ball up the floor and took advantage of the Hawks not getting back on defense and got a lay-up from Memo.

End of 3rd Quarter — Jazz 73 Hawks 62
Jazz found themselves trailing early in the third 58-56 with 6:01 left
Then the Jazz tightened the screws.
Boozer got rolling late in the quarter.
Josh Smith is a miserable player, his effort is non-existent.  His 19-10 is the worst 19-10 I have ever seen.
The Jazz passing was great and numerous highlights ignited the crowd.
Jazz are cutting very well and getting lay-ups out of the cuts.

Halftime — Jazz 47 Hawks 40
Jazz had been brilliant in the 2nd quarter until the Hawks hit a flurry of three’s. Bibby hit three and Smith hit one at the buzzer.
The Hawks were 10 of 31 from the field before hitting their final 4 shots of the quarter.
Ronnie Price continued to play well.
Hawks had 15 turnovers and the Jazz had 17 points off the turnovers.
If the Jazz return to the intensity of the 2nd quarter they will win this easily

End of 1st Quarter — Jazz 23 Hawks 17
Boozer lead the way with 9 points
Jazz defense was very solid holding the Hawks to 6 of 15 shooting.
Price was very good replacing Deron.
Joe Johnson looked totally disinterested.
The Jazz bench was scoreless in the quarter

4 Comments

"C-BIZKIT" on February 24, 2008 said:

Finally the new blog is up! To most average fans it appears the Jazz came away with a victory last night, and to me it feels like a loss. Sure we got the W(thank goodness) but we have been playing terribly the last couple games. The Hawks are not a good team, even with Bibby. I am sure he is just thrilled to be in Atlanta, but I am sure he will be out of there shortly. Sorry got off track alittle, but back to our Jazz. C-Bizkit was his normal self getting a dub dub. D-Will was ok, he looked alittle tired, maybe thats because he is getting worn down carrying this team on his back. AK has been pretty much invisible lately but he did hit a big 3 down the stretch. K-Korv made some big free throws, after a night where we couldn’t hit any. Harpring was his tough self. Millsap is becoming a defensive presence and needs more time. And Ronnie price had a nice game and almost had an amazing dunk on a circus type fast break that C-Bizkit followed up with a put back. Now to the not so stellar proformances. Corey “hasn’t hit a shot in a month” Brewer continues to throw up jumpers like he is trying to build a house, brick after brick. When will he learn??? Sure he had a couple ally-opps that really energized the crowd but any decent street baller in the world could have done that. Besides that, what value does he have on this team. A average leaper with no offensive and a below average defender. He is a disaster waiting to happen. Next left shift gears to his partner in crime Okur. I now know why he stays out of the lane, he can’t do anything in there either. He is just a big waste of space because we might as well start K-Korv in his place because the play the same position, the only difference is K-Korv has hit an outside shot in 2008′. He continues to stand at top of the key and drive the lane like a bull in a china closet. Even if he makes it to the rim what is he going to do? He is out of control, has no footwork(to go along with no athleticism), and won’t finish. I say lets bring up Mo-Al and get him some minutes. We need a spark, we are not looking to great lately and we have a tough stretch coming up. Look at what Detriot is doing to the Suns and we have them next. So thats my advice, Mo-Al 20-25 minutes a game, send Okur back to Turkey, and send Brewer to And-1(oh wait he isn’t athletic enough). We need change Utah and we will make a push in the playoffs. C-BIZKIT5 out!

Linda McFarland on February 24, 2008 said:

I had a little trouble following your thoughts about team players. Yes, I agree that we have not done as well the last 2 games but I think a little of that may be a virus that is going through the players and they all look a little tired. We have a long hard road ahead of us and I agree that some guys need to take a step up and play better. I think we are lucky that we have some players who can take the place of another when they aren’t having a very good night. I don’t think that I can say who should be playing and who shouldn’t because I am not at practice and I don’t know what is being discussed by all the coaches. As the wife of a coach I do know that they have to think farther ahead than the next game(which is the Timberwolves) Players who are not doing well are not going to get better sitting on the bench and who knows if maybe our top 3 players are out with horrible flu cases at the same time? I wonder why players are in and others out but I think
my place is to cheer them on and stand behind them. I’m the fan, not the coach.

kkorvklan on February 25, 2008 said:

As an athlete myself I know what its like to try to play “under the weather” the fact that some of the Jazz players might be sick is hopefully the reason we haven’t looked too sharp the last couple nights. Carlos “C Bizkit” Boozer has looked a little off, but he is our horse so he’s stepped up and still come through with quality double doubles, but the fact remains that Okur and Brewer have looked like they’ve been playing sick for about a month and a half! I laughed when I read CBizkit5’s post calling Ronnie Brewer “Corey” I forget his name sometimes too because he’s really been a non-factor for us and he should be one of our go to guys. The reality of it is he’s not. Watching the games I’ve lost confidence in him and Okur. On the other hand Harpring and Millsap have been playing really well and picking up the slack that Brewer and Okur are leaving. Deron is a stud, if he’s playing sick, you wouldn’t be able to tell, he’s the kind of guy that steps up and gets things done when the rest of the team looks like they just want to get the game over with so they can go home. He is our captain as far as I’m concerned and if we can get the rest of the team to respond to his drive and energy we really have a chance.

Ernest Monson on February 27, 2008 said:

Just a small comment, I have noticed that Okur has been kind of quiet, expecially since Korver came in. I think he is experiencing the similar kind of let down that AK suffered thru. The go to guy for the Money Ball
has been over looked somwhat. No real plays just for him much anymore. It looks to me like he is feeling let down by coach and also players. But I am certain he will get rolling again, he is a very good player, and his driving to the basket has surprised me, but it is great to see him trying, but still I think his edge has been dulled just a bit by Korvers, 3 pt. opportunities. He seems like a quite guy who is just a little confused and not sure where he is right now with the team..
Ernest Monson

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