More Hart?
If you are like me – you watched the games the last few weeks assuming that Ronnie Price had beaten out Jason Hart for the job of backup point guard. That may not be the case. In an odd announcement that was followed by some local sports radio discussion, the Jazz stated that Jason Hart was feeling better, his back no longer bothering him so much, and he may be available to play tonight. It’s odd because he has been playing spot minutes the past few games. Granted it’s not as many minutes as when he was backing up Williams.
You might remember that Hart missed a few games in the middle of the Jazz win streak because of his back. Price stepped up and arguably played better, in the minds of many, winning the job instead of just filling in. When Hart returned, so did his minutes, at the expense of Price. A few games later, Price once again was getting the nod to back up Williams - but was it because Hart was still injured?
This could very well mean that Hart is going to again be backing up Williams while Price looks on and wonders he has to do to officially get his stamp on the backup spot. This will also undoubtedly incite fans as despite the fact that the backup point guard gets about 12 minutes a game. Who the minutes go to, has become a polarizing debate. The majority of fans have strong opinions about Hart, Price, and who ultimately runs the offense to end the first and third quarters.
Personally – I like Price. He adds a lot of athleticism – and he shoots the ball at a much higher clip. It’s going to be interesting to see the fan reaction if Price gets pulled for anything short of a broken leg. The next Two nights should be telling indeed.
4 Comments to “More Hart?”
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Stat missing;
Hart Price
SPARK! 2.5 97.5.
There really is no comparison whatsoever. There are some stats that do not show up on any stat sheets. Especially when it comes to reading the floor, offensively and defensively. With Price’s athleticism he creates several stops defensively. It doesn’t necessarily mean that he steals or blocks the shot, just that other players numbers suffers when he is defending them. People get really hesitant knowing that he is on the floor. As far as offense goes, he may not get the assist, but he reads the floor and finds the better passes. Just watch the two of them play.
On another note, Hart openly admitted that “it may have been a mistake to come to Utah.” Nobody likes his ugly shot, his lack of enthusiasm, his turnovers, or lazy defense. He is not a player we have missed while he was on the Injured Reserved list.
When I moved to Utah in December I started going to all the Jazz home games, my family has season tickets. I immediately started to analyze the Jazz team, it’s one of my obsessions. I’m not even a Jazz fan.
Still, my interest in sports and experience coaching football and basketball at the high school level has made me that way.
My first observations of the Jazz were that they needed 3 things…
1. A bonafide shooter.
— The Jazz were facing teams that were sitting back in zone coverages all the time. The reason for this was because they couldn’t hit a shot from the outside. They needed to force defenses to play them honest. When a team uses a zone it prevents penetration and inside scoring. Teams baited the Jazz to shoot from the outside. They aquired Kyle Korver…and, well, things have changed in that regard now.
2. A proven defensive presence on the inside.
— I still think this will be the Jazz shortcoming this year in the playoffs. Unless Okur can finally play some consistent defense they won’t be representing the West in the Finals. He has spurts of good defense, but it’s too inconsistent. We all know that Boozer doesn’t stand a chance against most big men out West on the defensive side. Millsap is too small to matchup well as well. Then there’s Collins, who’s probably the worst player on the team.
3. A backup PG.
— Even though Deron Williams plays most of the game it’s important to have someone to come off the bench for a few minutes at a time, or in the situations where DWill is hurt or in foul trouble. They had Hart in that role and he was horrible. The offense would fall apart when he wa in the game. He can’t shoot and teams know that so they wouldn’t honor him as a shooter. He plays decent defense, but still not great. Then, they turned to Price during Hart’s injury and Price built some confidence up and embraced the role as DWill’s backup. Since that move the Jazz have played much more consistent when DWill is on the bench.
I have now come to the absolute conclusion that the 2 worst players on this Jazz team are Jason Hart and Jaron Collins.
Jason Hart is an asset to the Jazz bench not only as a player, but he’s a class act off the court. He’s great with the fans, and keeps a positive outlook and team player mentality regardless of minutes played. In a league filled with self absorbed athletes who are more concerned with their own personal game than their team game, Jason’s willingness to remain ready to play and yet accept what the coaching staff feels is the best substitution for the given situation is remarkable. His playing time, or lack thereof, is a reflection of the depth of talent this Utah team possesses, and not due to a lack of talent on Jason’s part. He’s a scrappy player and very fun to watch.
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