Ronnie Brewer M.I.P. - Again.

Posted by Johnathan Kendrick on October 09, 2008

Last year during the first few weeks of camp it became clear that Ronnie Brewer had gotten a lot better. He had taken advantage of the summer months to focus and to practice and the improvement was obvious. He was able to easily lay claim to the starting spot at shooting guard – filling the anticipated hole left by Derrick Fisher perfectly for the Jazz. Brewer was the most improved Jazz player.

So far this year it looks like that aspect of history is repeating itself. Brewer looks to be the most improved Jazzman again this year. He’s stronger, worked on his shot, and most importantly – more confident.

Brewer 3.0 (Melissa Majchrzak NBAE/GettyImages)

During the team scrimmage last week and the first preseason game his confidence is showing up in the intangibles. You know, the little things that make an average player a good player. He is seeing the floor clearly and making good passes. He is taking good shots. He looks comfortable on the floor and at times he has looked like the team leader. He isn’t just hustling – he seems to be hustling in the right place at the right time.

Thanks to a unique situation Brewer has faced off against T-Mac or Kobe (arguably the two best at the position) the last 14 straight times he has played an officially NBA sanctioned game. That is experience the regular season cannot buy a player. Brewer looked confident facing up against Kobe Bryant in the first preseason game. When Kobe was able to get some separation – Brewer was able to quickly close the gap. When you get used to guarding Kobe every night – no other player is going to scare you.

Brewer looked good shooting jump shots in the scrimmage. Even though he missed most of his shots from long range in the first preseason game, it’s safe to assume he has improved this aspect of his game. Combine that with the extra 13 pounds of muscle he added in the offseason, which will help him finish stronger and more often around the hoop and it wouldn’t be too farfetched to think that Brewer could hit 60% of his shots this year. That’s really incredible when you think about it.

If Brewer can translate the kind of success listed above to an 82 game schedule, the Jazz will be a much better team and should win 60 games – perhaps even claim first place in the West. Ronnie Brewer is going to again be a major storyline pivotal to the Jazz success this season.

4 Comments

Jared Young on October 09, 2008 said:

This blog is right on the money!

Brewer is looking so good. Isn’t it great when you get a guy on your team that makes improvements like this year after year? Who needs to make trades and shuffle up the line-up to get better when players like Brewer, Milsap and Williams are on the team? We get better just by staying the same!

Dallin Turner on October 09, 2008 said:

My favorite part of watching Brewer in the preseason game was how often he dunked it. He really has a knack of getting to the hole and slamming in those high-percentage buckets.
Does anyone else think that he might be considered one of the better guards in the league in a couple of years?

Mr. Bytheway on October 09, 2008 said:

I’d say the over/under for Brewer dunks a game has got to be 4.

JayD on October 10, 2008 said:

I think that Brewer is one of our key players . I think that he will be an all-star .
I was excited to watch him slam those dunks down . It was cool to see him run that baseline , that is his favorite spot in my opinion . We are definately going to see more of the D-Will to R.B. alley oopps this year .
I say go Jazz !!!!!!

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