Game 14 vs. OKC: Total Eclipse of the Heart

Question: Who looked like the young, inexperienced expansion team?

Answer: It wasn’t the young, inexperienced expansion team.

Did the “D” disappear when the Delta Center became EnergySolutions Arena??? There is no “D” in Utah, Salt Lake City, Jazz, Carlos, Boozer, getting embarrassed on your homecourt, pathetic, shameful, train wreck, leaving execution at the altar, why are you giving your opponents open shots on every possession?, this is as far as you can get from a Jerry Sloan team, what the frak is this crap.

Tellingly, Deron said after the game, “We used to think when people come in here it’s an automatic loss and we’ve got to get that back. Start having fun, too.” “Start having fun?” We don’t have any finger-pointing, teammates-under-the-bus-throwing players on this team (excluding that time last season when we lost to Dallas and Boozer blamed Memo). Front Office, are you listening to this? Your team is broken, and it’s on you to fix it. Only you have the power to fix it. Have you noticed how empty the arena–supposedly the NBA’s fiercest arena–is lately? No one’s going to pay money to watch this team flail.

My own little personal ray of light is AK. During one sequence in the game, he dunked on one end, blocked the shot at the other end, and dribbled the ball back down again, and I just felt happy watching him. He’s attacking the rim with a ferocity that we haven’t seen since there was a mountain on the front of his uniform and a mohawk on the top of his head*, and when he puts up a shot, I think it’s going in. Most importantly, he seems to be playing happy. If the theory that players take that leap in their third year holds, we can think of 2007-08 (i.e. the year after the meltdown, subsequent trade request, and new start with Jerry, if you will) as his rookie season, 2008-09 as his sophomore-wall-hitting, injury-plagued second season, and 2009-10 as the Great Leap Forward season. Anyway, it’s just good to have a bright spot in the midst of all this chaos.

*Seriously, watch this. Back in the day, AK used to fly–and fly hard–to the rim.

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“Top 10 stupidest things I’ve ever heard an NBA player do”

First, this post is not the result of Carlos’ decision to opt out. Everyone knew he was going to, it was a good business decision, etc.

This post is about how before the season, which was just two months ago, Carlos was saying that he wouldn’t be making a decision until after the season, and how and when he delivered his little message.

The scene: the Jazz are in the middle of an East Coast road trip and have been struggling all season long with injuries and morale. Boozer has sat out the past 15 games with unspecified additions to his strained quad injury (soreness, bruising) that are preventing him from playing.

“It was great (Tuesday). I went through a full practice, felt really good. Not really good to the point where I felt strong enough to play, but it was a good step in the right direction.”

“We’ll see what the MRI says, but if it’s not healing like I’d like it to, I will be out for a little longer than I expected.”

“Great”…”really good”…just not good enough to play. Meanwhile, Sap has played through a toe sprain, DWill is playing through the pain and soreness of a sprained ankle, AK is playing with gauze pads on his knees, etc. Karl and John wouldn’t have missed more time than it took to tape it or put a brace on.

So anyway, the Jazz finally achieve a 22-point down comeback win that could potentially turn the season around…and what does Boozer do?

He tells Chris Sheridan of ESPN after the game: “I’m opting out. No matter what, I’m going to get a raise regardless. I am going to opt out, I don’t see why I wouldn’t, I think it’s a very good business decision for me and my family, but I’d also like to see what happens with the Jazz and stay here.”

Like I said at the top of the post: this is not about his decision to opt out. It’s about when he chose to go public with it, how he did it (telling ESPN without and before telling anyone on the Jazz), and how he chose to phrase it. So classy Carlos, letting your team hear about it from ESPN while letting every team in the league know that you’re available. Real nice.

Reaction:
KOC said Boozer’s representatives have never informed him of opt-out plans, and he called the timing of Boozer’s proclamation “a little peculiar.”

LHM: “Top 10 stupidest things I’ve ever heard an NBA player do in 24 year. Carlos knows better. He told (Jazz general manager) Kevin (O’Connor) he screwed up. But that doesn’t fix it.”

Jerry: “If it were my son, I’d talk to him a little bit more.”

More Jerry: Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, however, was disappointed by Boozer’s comments, which again brought up the subject of personal agendas this season. “If he had came and asked me and talked to me about it, I would give him what I think is common-sense advice. But players have to be who they are. I can’t legislate who they are and what they’re about.”

DWill: “You know, it was a little odd that he would just suddenly drop it in. But it’s the way he feels. Grown man. He can say what wants.”

The Jazz just beat the odds and finally get a good win and you ensure that at the end of the day, it’s all about you.

How does one have the gall, not to mention the complete and utter shamelessness, to make this announcement, in this way, and at this point in time, especially when he hasn’t played in 15 games for the team signing his paychecks? You missed half of your first two seasons with the Jazz and you’ve missed more than half of this season so far, and you’re talking about how you’re going to get a raise “no matter what”?

The next day, Carlos realizes how badly he f*cked up, and is in damage control mode. He puts the blame on:

–Sheridan (who covered the Olympics for ESPN and is far from being some tabloid hack): “He basically put that in my mouth. Without saying it in so many words. He used that word [raise], I didn’t even use that word. I don’t even talk like that.” So that’s your excuse? You said “much more money” and he typed “raise” while filing the story?

–the media: “I didn’t plan on talking about this. It just kind of happened. Next thing I know, it turned into a big media thing.” Oh poor me, I talked to the media and they reported on it.

He then went on to say that no one should question his commitment to the Jazz because “I’m a Jazzman. Obviously I’m an integral part in getting this team to the level where we are, and hopefully getting us to a championship level.”

That statement pissed me off too. Yeah, we’ve won a lot of games with you on the court, but you’ve sat out 100 games in a Jazz uniform and our Playoff wins last season were won in spite of you.

Please Jazz, don’t give him any more money than you already have. Goodbye Carlos, and good luck frustrating fans elsewhere.

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KOC: “We intend to keep Paul Millsap. I don’t know how much more succinct I can be.”

Deepish Thoughts

In relationships going downhill fast, at what point do you cut your losses and say enough is enough?

If your significant other is bipolar/has multiple personalities/is just plain crazy, and on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays is great and fine and makes you marvel at how you could possibly love someone that much AND fills you with joy and thrill that they are in your life AND such excitement that your heart literally feels like it’s going to beat out of your chest AND ravenous anticipation for the next time you see them, BUT is, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays driving you up a roller coaster wall of torment AND making you want to tear your hair out while screaming your [now bald] head off AND throwing you headfirst into emotional abysses the depths of which you never could have fathomed, do you sit them down for the break up talk and remove yourself from the situation?

Do you take the good you take the bad you take them all and there you have…oops, got distracted. In life, you might one day face a situation where when your significant other makes your life simperingly wonderful just as often as they make your life putridly sucky, sometimes you just love them so damn freaking much and they’re such an ingrained, inseparable part of your life that you can’t bear to excise them no matter how low the lows are (apple bottom jeans…boots with the fur…).

That’s how I feel about the Jazz. I must say that if the Jazz were an actual person that was my significant other, I would have started running in the opposite direction long ago. There’s only a finite amount of crap you can put up with from a[n actual] person. But there is no exaggeration in this post in regards to how I feel about the Jazz. Which means I have to seriously consider the possibility that maybe I’m the crazy looney one.

P.S. Speaking of crazy, does the Jazz have a team psychiatrist? Carlos is clearly suffering from delusions of grandeur and needs help. On why he can’t come back yet:

“The way I play, I’m physical, and I’ve got to bang against KG (Kevin Garnett) or Perk (Kendrick Perkins) or whoever it is out there. I mean, I probably wouldn’t be strong enough to do it. But maybe.”

Where the Jazz play like an eastern team playing western teams happens

Yes DWill, we want to cry too.

Jerry needs to start calling the plays again. A lot has been said about how he called every single play in the Stock era, but lets DWill do his thing. That’s generally fine and dandy–DWill is capable of that, no question–but for whatever reason, this team’s deficiencies have become increasingly, glaringly obvious over the course of this season, and Tom Nissalke might be right when he calls this the worst Jazz team in history at executing what the coaches want.

Ron Jere– Stan Van Gundy called the game “one of the best wins I’ve ever been a part of.” Why do we ALWAYS have to be on the opposite end of other people’s “best wins”? It freaking sucks.

They’re often sloppy, they turn the ball over way too much, they have NO freaking idea how to defend the perimeter (why are we getting lit up by some guy on the other team every other game?), and always try to answer 3s with 3s which is not a good idea since the Jazz under Jerry Sloan have never been a 3-point shooting team.

In retrospect (aka minutes into the 3rd quarter when all of us were cringing, gnashing our teeth, and banging our heads against the wall) we should have known. The way the Jazz closed the half–playing great, offense silky smooth, hitting all their shots–we should have known that we were in for a 3rd quarter letdown. We just didn’t know how bad. DWill and his crew launched a crapload of ill-advised long shots and 3s to open the third and didn’t hit their first FG until over 6 minutes had elapsed.

The first 6 minutes of the second half went like this:
Memo misses long shot
MoAl TO
DWill misses long shot
CJ misses 3
DWill misses 3
MoAl misses 3
Sap TO
DWill 1/2 FT
Sap TO
Memo misses 3

In the meantime, the Magic rattled off 16 points including 3 3s.

The Jazz ended up with 3 FGs for the quarter. They missed 12 of 15, including 5 3s and 2 layups. Pathetic. They also had 8 TO’s, including DWill getting stripped on two consecutive possessions, and 7 fouls in the quarter. Disgusting.

There were only three Jazzmen with a “+” in the +/- column: Harp with +1 in 5 minutes; KK2 with a +2 in 10, and AK +9 in 31. Which is why I don’t understand why Jerry didn’t sub him back in until 2:39 in the 3rd–by which time the Jazz were already pouring blood from the gaping hole they’d shot in their foot.

In the 4th, they went on a mini-run and got within 6 on a long jumper by AK with 5 minutes left. Plenty of time to get back in the game…so what happens? KK and Memo both jack up 3s and miss. Let me close this post the way I started it. Jerry needs to pull in the reins and start calling plays again.

Note via desnews: Jazz sixth man Andrei Kirilenko leads all NBA bench players in free throws attempts this season with 102. Sixth Man of the Year: AK47 baby.

Game 25 – WTF Jazz

WTF. F. F. F. F.

Game 23

My original game recap was going to be just one line tacked onto the end of the Jerry post: “P.S. The Jazz beat the Peskies/The Peskies decimated the Jazz as expected.”

However, I ended up having to create a separate post because the game was so incredibly, frustratingly horrible. A win is a win, I suppose, but there was no joy at the end of this one. It’s infinitely preferable to and less emotionally painful than a loss, but there was just no way to be unfrustrated about this win.

The Jazz played like zombies going through the motions. How about making an effort to win this milestone game for Jerry? Especially when the NBA refused to schedule this game in Utah and instead ensured that the milestone game would take place in Minnesota in front of an estimated 56 people? The Jazz couldn’t have seemed to care less about taking the game over and winning it, and AK (2-10; 3 TOs; got yanked) and DWill (2-11; 5 TOs; 3 BAs) were both chucking terrible. Had KLove hit his FT season average of 82% and made 7 for 9, Minnie would have won. Even 6-9 would have done the trick. Instead, KLove went 2-9 (not that the game can be summed up so simply) and the Jazz escaped with a win that no one can be happy about…

Except Jerry?! Despite all that, Jerry was “pleased”: “Our team has to develop more toughness to fight through stuff,” the typically tough-to-satisfy Sloan said, “and I thought they showed that tonight, which pleased me a great deal.”

As it turns out, it was all just luck anyway: “I spun, really didn’t know what I was gonna do with it,” Williams said of his assist to Okur [which turned into the game winner with 1.7 seconds left]. “I saw Memo last minute. (He) really made a great shot, big shot.”

Final note: No one can pronounce DWill “back” until he tries to dunk.

Games 21 & 22 – I am not a happy camper

In the aftermath of Game 22 at PHX, had to go watch an old game that the Jazz won to get the bad taste out of my mouth and escape the black cloud hanging over my head. It only half did the job, because nothing can get rid of that taste/cloud except for the next win. How wonderful, therefore, that the next game is not for three days. Really should just tell everyone to stay away from me because my mood is as foul as Carlos going over the back…

So, first Game 21:

The Master and the Student

The Jazz kicked the Raptors’ asses back to Canada on national television (it was even on TV here). Pretty much every Jazzman played great, including Harp* (though of course that did not stop most Jazz fans from bitching about him) and KK2 (5-5 for 10 points in 6 minutes, including a beautiful monster putback). I like how KK2’s not afraid to get in front of huge guys (Amare, Shaq) barreling down the lane and going for the block or simply playing D. The thought of Booz doing that is laughable because it would never happen in…well, I would be a Kobe and Lakers fan before that would ever happen.

*Jerry said after the game, and I agree with him, that some of the younger guys have a lot to learn from Harp when it comes to playing physical and how to use their bodies. Most of the younger guys and Booz rarely if ever body up on D and generally keep several feet away from their man. This situation, of course, ends with open shots, and 1s, or stupid fouls. Big surprise that the Jazz are so awful defensively.

As for Harp, I feel for him. He obviously wants to play and his heart and hustle have not diminished, but it seems that he’s at a point where his body won’t cooperate with him and he can’t keep up, especially in fast-paced games like the one against the Suns. I still think he is useful in certain matchups in certain games though, and can see him in a player/coach role for the younger guys.

AK was back…which I believe had something to do with the blowout nature of the game. The Jazz offense just flows so much silkier smoother when he’s playing. DWill is the heart and soul of the team, no question, but AK is like how the world is so much brighter when the sun’s out. Memo played great as well, which I was 100% happy about even though I benched him on my fantasy team.

As for Sap, and this goes for both games, I don’t think there’s any longer any question that he is an adequate replacement for Booz should Booz be gone next season for whatever reason. No, he will never be as talented offensively as Booz, but he definitely can replace Booz’ production and I love seeing him use his strength boarding and throwing the ball down instead of doing cutesy little finesse layups that too often roll off the rim. It’s not that much of a stretch to say that the Jazz could not afford NOT to have Sap on the floor in every one of the last 8 games (since Booz got injured) if they wanted to win. And since our coach is named Jerry Sloan and not Don Nelson, I assume that was the goal.

Sap has racked up double doubles in all 8 of the games and is averaging 18 ppg on 56% shooting, 12 rpg, 3 apg, 1.6 spg, and 1 bpg. While he gets more phantom fouls called on him and more no calls on the other end than anyone else in the L, he has gotten to the line as often as Booz in the last 8 games, and is shooting a higher FT%–which he has obviously worked to improve in a way reminiscent of another Jazz PF from LA Tech–while turning the ball over less. And oh yeah, he gets paid about 11 million less (though that will change VERY soon, and that scares me).

So. I’m just sayin’.

All right, Game 22:

CJ was on fire against the Suns again, but the flame went out when it counted at the end of the game. The Jazz jacked up too many shots, including 21 3’s, and no one went after boards except Memo and Sap (25 of the Jazz’ 37 boards). Not exactly a recipe for success there.

Knight is leagues ahead of Price in backing up DWill. In keeping with Jazz trends this season thus far, Brev caught an elbow to the throat and had to be sent to the hospital at halftime after tasting blood. In case anyone’s keeping track, this is his third injury of the season. More on this in a subsequent post.

This game was also on TV. I’ve had enough of Chinese commentators, so I put the TV on mute and tuned in to Hot Rod on the computer at the start of the game…but not before the Chinese commentators said that Sap’s brother plays in the “CBA”–which folded only 7 years ago due to Isiah’s excellent management skills and decision-making abilities. Seriously, how do these clowns keep their jobs? There’s no way that fans here are as ignorant as they are (well, unless they’re all bandwagon Lakers “fans,” which, sad to say, could be the case).

Incidentally, I thought the NBA had a minimum age limit. Explain to me, then, why the Jazz played against awkward, adolescent Eastern European boys two nights in a row. I give you:

Exhibit A: the Raptors’ Roko Ukic

Exhibit B: the Suns’ Goran Dragic

Both look like the token pimply nerds with inhalers you find in TV/movies.

Game 20 – The Last to Know

Sooo…apparently we are still rebuilding and I just didn’t know it. Frak.

I am benching all the Jazzmen on my fantasy teams until AK comes back.