End of July Odds and Ends

1. Two days ago, I get to work and find that I’ve been assigned a translation…on K*be and his Asian tour. Given the complete and utter lack of quality control at the office, you have no idea how much self-control it took to refrain from inserting the words “Colorado” and “million dollar ring” into the translation. Due to the poorly written and often ambiguous original (like I said, no quality control), one of my translated lines read, “Through a skills demonstration, Bryant proved that he is the best guard on the Los Angeles Lakers.”

Thanks to idiot Asian nations/fans treating K*be like he is some kind of un-smug and likeable star, news coverage on his tour is not ignorable. So the next day, I am grieviously and thoroughly insulted by my very own father, who asks me, “Who’s that basketball player you like? Is it K*be?” (This is stating the obvious, but Dad does not follow basketball–despite all the screaming, certifiably insane fanatics in the family).

2. Via TrueHoop, Basketball Reference has added transactions to player pages. Truehoop wondered whether former Jazzman and lots-of-other-teams-man Tony Massenburg’s page required BBR to acquire additional server space. Let’s take a look at the transaction part of his page:

Now let’s take a look at Stock’s page:

(Cue sappy song with the words “miss/missing” and “you” in the title.)

3. Tell me if this sounds familiar. NBA All-Star and Olympian with close ties to Deron Williams discusses his financial fate with a highly-respected sports journalist named Chris. When the story is published, the All-Star/Olympian denies all of the quotes attributed to him, and accuses Chris of being a liar and making everything up. To defend himself, a wronged Chris is forced to release the tape of the interview, which proves that the All-Star/Olympian is, in fact, the only liar in the room. This is the story also known as:

Chris Paul pulls a Carlos Boozer.

Saying your comments were taken out of context or misinterpreted is one thing, but flat out denying that you ever said them, when they’re on tape? That makes you a liar.

Calling out the reporter that printed them by name, and accusing him of making it up? That makes you a jerk, too.
…
Chris Paul owes Chris Tomasson an apology.

One wonders whether FB ever apologized to Chris Sheridan. Meanwhile, over in Miami, you know Carlos is rubbing his hands together and snickering to himself that CP3 is now be the freshest “f*cked it up” memory in everyone’s minds.

4. Got a kick out of these quotes from LBJ’s new book on his high school years:
–”We had become big-headed jerks, me in particular”
–”I was arrogant, dubbing myself ‘The Chosen One’”

I love his usage of the past tense, as though “big-headed” and “arrogant” were phases he went through, as though these terms are no longer accurate depictions of him. Is that super elegant and humble “Chosen 1″ tattoo not still decorating his back? (And incidentally, Nike has never looked so foolish as when it released that statement on why they were giving the dunk tapes back to their rightful owners.)

5. DWade doesn’t want Carlos either: “There’s a lot of excitement going on with Lamar and Carlos and even A.I.,” Wade said Tuesday during his summer camp at Nova Southeastern University. “I think Lamar right now is our big focus. We want to make sure ultimately we get Lamar, and go from there.”

6. Does Brev Brev feel like it’s time to hang ‘em up, or is he only preparing for that eventuality? According to USA Today, Brev Brev is one of six mostly old “Huh? They’re still in the league?” NBA players taking part in a broadcasting career program at Syracuse that will help the players “learn and practice television studio delivery, interviews, field reporting and game coverage on and around the SU campus.”

Game 58 – Five Steps Forward, One More Step Forward

Ronnie B was, to me, the hero of the game and I wanted to post a picture of him, but there weren’t any good ones to be found. AK and KK are a good second choice. More on that later…

So “@” + “Peskysota” = Test Game. It was a test that the Jazz almost failed. They didn’t start to pull away for real until 4:30 in the 4th. Like I said at the top of the post, it was all about Ronnie B (+/- of +13) in the 4th. He scored 16 points in the final quarter and was a perfect 4/4 from the floor and 8/8 from the line. Brew Brew had 2 steals and 2 blocks to boot…

…and Jerry deserves the credit. “In the first half, I was just trying to let the game come to me,” said Brewer. “I only took one shot. But the second half I started on the defensive end, got a couple steals, got to the basket, started cutting hard. That’s just what Coach told me to do. … It got me going.”

The Peskies were, well, pesky, and Kevin Love in particular made the Jazz look like chumps for most of the first half. Love had a DD by halftime and was the lone Wolf with a non-negative +/-: a nice round 0.

I wasn’t impressed with Boozer (one of only two Jazz players with a negative +/-, the other being CJ), as he had more TOs than assists and more fouls than boards, but I’ll leave that alone since he just came back from injury blah blah.

Having had the privilege of watching four of the last five games, I can say that AK + KK = success. AK (+19) continues to make everyone around him so much better, and KK (+33!!!!) has really stepped up his game lately. He’s not only hitting more of his shots, but playing good D and averaging about 6 RPG this month, which is twice his season average of 3 RPG. For whatever reason(s), AK and KK are just a good combination and play great together.

No game on right now and no games for two days, so NO JINX. AK’s stroke has been on since he’s been back. In the post-game when Hot Rod asked him about it, he thanked Horny and said that he’s “not shy to take [mid-range Js].”

Let’s take a look. This is how AK was doing through the first 42 games of the season:

His last 10 games:

And finally, the last 5 (he’s been back exactly 5 games):

Hot Rod also asked AK if he’s happy with the way he’s playing, and AK said that things are good [since the sit-down with Jerry prior to last season] and that he appreciates his role coming off the bench. Looks like AK’s healthy and in a good place emotionally and mentally, and it’s showing in his game.

Someone had to be out, just because:
Harp was suffering from a sore back stemming from the Flagrant-2 and sat this one out.

LOL Quote of the Day:
As part of the Jazz’s pregame meeting, Jarron Collins had to offer the scouting report on his twin brother, Jason. Although he hadn’t played for a stretch of 31 games, Jason has seen action in four of Minnesota’s last five games, playing five minutes Wednesday.

“I know his moves, or lack thereof,” Jarron said. [source]

“A Good Idea”:
A lot of suggestions have been thrown around in recent days about how LHM should be honored. I like this one published on sltrib’s Jazz blog:

[Wade Schillo in Sandy] suggests the Jazz honor Miller by lowering the official seating capacity of EnergySolutions Arena from 19,911 to 19,910…It is a low-key, unpretentious way of permanently honoring Miller, who always considered himself an owner/fan, not just an owner.

Two more test games coming up:
– vs. SAC on Saturday just a few hours after LHM’s funeral; and
– @ GS on Sunday. @ + second of a back-to-back + against a sucky team = Jazz recipe for disaster. Can you say “trap”?

Finally, the Basketball Jones’ Final Thought of the Day:
The only difference between friends and lovers is…4 minutes.

“You don’t want to screw with Jerry Sloan,” etc.

Monson and Graham were talking about how Harp is always the toughest man on the [Jazz's] floor. During their weekly interview with Mark Eaton, they asked Mark who he thinks is the second guy on the Jazz that would get in there and mix it up and has his teammates’ backs. Eaton thinks it’s Sap, that Sap is the guy he wants next to him (after Harp). Sap is definitely tough, but when it comes to standing up for your guys, something makes me think that it’s Ronnie B…

While we’re on the topic of Matty and toughness, the Jazz’s trio of PGs responded to some random questions and all three voted Matty as the “strongest teammate in the weight room.” Ronnie P and DWill also said that Almond is the funniest guy on the team (unexpected), while Brev Brev said it’s Ronnie P.

Meanwhile, DWill was on the Colin Cowherd Show (or whatever it’s called) and the 7-minute interview rapidly disintegrated towards the end into Cowherd raving, by himself, about how tough Jerry is (and don’t think I didn’t enjoy hearing every second of it, because I surely did). Cowherd thinks that if every NBA coach got into a fist fight or MMA fight, Jerry would win, and win easily–while Phil Jackson would not because he’s “old and crumply.”

Can’t disagree, although DWill did due to Jerry’s age. I still think Jerry + Harp could take out any other NBA duo.

After DWill hung up, Cowherd continued on, “Jerry Sloan is tough. Go look up Jerry Sloan’s resume…oh no, he’s like a fighter. You don’t want to screw with him…he’d take Bobby Knight over his knee and spank him, not even close. You don’t want to screw with Jerry Sloan.”

Game 57 – Fight

Hear those footsteps, Denver and San Antonio? They sound … jazzy.

The Jazz had a great deal of emotional motivation to play well tonight, and they did. I’m still reeling from LHM’s passing, so I can only imagine how actual members of the organization are dealing with it.

This was the first game of the season that the entire roster was available, and Jerry had his work cut out for him tonight in managing minutes in possibly the most all-over-the-place rotation in Jazz Sloan history. The Jazz shot an insane 71% in the first half, and everything was back:

–Boozer was back
–KK’s shot was back (he connected on his first 6 shots, 4 of which were 3s)
–Sap’s real knees were back (he played brace-free for the first time since he got injured)
–Horny was back in Utah (and had worked with KK earlier in the day on shooting)
–Knight’s shooting confidence was back (which was unfortunate since his shot was not)
–even Getty images were back on Yahoo sports (yay!)

Other notes:
–ATL has not won in the SLC since 1993. We are their Spurs.
–Ronnie B hit a buzzer beater from midcourt to end the first half. Awesome.
–DWill got a DD in three quarters and Sap racked one up off the bench.
–Boozer got 2 points (1-5 with the 1 being a goaltend call and 5 boards). The Cowhide Globe says, “What the hell did Boozer think this was…an ‘08 playoff game?” LOL.
–Atlanta “held” the Jazz without a field goal in the last 7 minutes of the game. The Jazz missed their last 13 shots and only scored off two FTs during those 7 minutes. They also started the quarter 0-5, which brings us to the three minutes that took place between the 0-5 and 0-13:

The Jazz were up 23 with 8 minutes left and Harp was going up for a layup when J-Smoove shoved him in the chest/shoulders. Matty went down and his head bounced off the ground before he jumped up and went after Smith. KK knew what Matty was going to do before Matty did and ran at him before he even got up. In the end, Sap and AK restrained him and Smith was called for a Flagrant-2 and tossed (although that awful woman they have doing game recaps on nba.com would have you believe it was “J.R. Smith” that was ejected). Now there’s talk (among Jazz fans) that Matty might be suspended for “escalating” things. Be that as it may, I loved seeing Harp’s fire and it was exciting while it lasted, ha.

Anyway, the Jazz scored 13 of their 15 (total) 4th quarter points during those three minutes, and Matty was responsible for 11 of them, hitting 4 shots and 3 FTs. Say what you want about him, but Matty is plenty useful in slow games and (I apologize in advance for using the word “toughness”) gives our team toughness that no one else provides. He don’t back down from no one.

Quote of the Night:
“I can’t get you ready. I don’t believe in motivating players. I think they have to motivate themselves. I think it’s the most overused word in sports: motivation. You either play or you don’t play.” — Jerry Sloan (source)

For once, Matty’s the one bring up football:
“That was one of those that hurt,” said Harpring, who landed flat on his back and whose head banged against the hardwood floor. “Every time I get knocked down like that a voice goes off in my head, ‘get up.’ It just goes back to what my dad said in football — never act like you are hurt.” (source)

Next up: “@” + “Peskyland” = test game.

Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!

So number 223, as it turned out, was the Pesky Timberwolves’ Randy Wittman (I had to go look that up. I wanted to say his name was Sam Whittleman).

A lot’s been said about how Jerry is the longest tenured coach in North American professional sports. KK2 wasn’t even born yet when he took over, four presidents have been inaugurated, five teams have gone through double-digit coaching changes, five expansion teams have entered the league…

During thre pre-game show, KFAN was playing songs from the year that Jerry took over the head coach position–gems like “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Faith.” Did I feel old.

I’m having a little trouble with words, so I’m stealing BBJ’s:

The only coach you’ve ever known…I can’t even imagine being a fan of another team where they’ve probably had at least 3-4 coaches in that same time frame.

Jerry is one of the greastest all-time coaches, period, and I can’t even contemplate the day when someone else is walking the ESA sidelines and cursing the refs.

Unlike certain vain, egomaniacal “all-time” coaches named Jackson and Riley, Jerry didn’t quit/suddenly need surgery to preserve his winning percentage when his HOF stars retired from the NBA/retired from the Jazz. That he achieved a winning record the subsequent season with a team of AK + scrubs and only had one losing season in 20 years–and helped keep our rebuilding years to a minimum–speaks volume about his greatness. After all, there are teams that have been rebuilding since they were born (Hello, Minnie).

He has stuck with the team through thick and thin and through personal tragedy, has never cared about accolades, doesn’t want praise or fuss, doesn’t even really want to talk about his amazing and unheard-of achievements in a game where coaches are oh-so-expendable. Jerry maintains that it’s a players’ game and is unbelievably humble, throwing credit around and never taking any for himself. He’s totally honest and straightforward and tells it like it is. He doesn’t play mind games, get himself a throne to sit on at games, appear on “The Dog Whisperer,” or regard himself as a religious guru.

I didn’t realize this when I started typing, but I guess one of the things it comes down to is that if it we were celebrating Phil Jackson’s 20th anniversary as the Jazz head coach today, this post would be blank. Say what you want about Jerry, but you can’t not respect him, his fire, his intensity, his competitiveness. And the man that coaches the same way he played (click; it’s a great read)–which led to him having the sole jersey hanging in Chicago’s rafters until the Bulls retired MJ’s–does indeed have my complete respect.

How many players looked decent playing in Utah, went elsewhere because they thought they could play, and found out they couldn’t after all? (Hello Shandon Anderson). Jerry gets the most out of his players (Meech excepted), instills his work ethic and drive in ‘em, and that is perhaps why the Jazz are still in Utah.

He showed it in the years after Karl and John retired, but this season more than any other, he’s shown that he’s flexible, current, and still relevant. The injury situation definitely has something to do with it, but Jerry has shown that he’s willing to shake up his rotation AND play rookie/young players. In regards to the latter, it’s pretty clear by now if you work hard and can follow instructions (stay within the offense), Jerry will play you. (see KK2, Sap (rookie year), Almond, CJ)

No, he doesn’t like 3s (except when they go in) or oops, but what’s wrong with good ol’ fashioned basketball the way it’s supposed to be played, playing inside-out, and layups and paint points being the first option? I’d spend a lot less time yelling at the TV if the Jazz followed this principle (most of the time; I like the highlights too of course).

And so…it comes down to this: Larry deserves much of the credit for creating the situation that Jazz fans celebrated today. A situation where the players know that if they don’t like Jerry’s way or system, they’re the ones going, not Jerry. And that’s a recipe for success that has worked for 20 years.

Linkage and Quotage:
–Jerry: “I mean, anybody could have been in this position. I just think I just happened to be lucky, the guy that came along and the right place and they hired me as a head coach. I never think of myself as better than anybody else or anything like that. I just think I’ve been fortunate.”

–On the day that Layden made the announcement: Sloan, who had been fired as Chicago Bulls coach in February 1982 after 2 1/2 seasons, circled around the locker room, shaking the hand of every player to express his gratitude. “He was bawling, crying, by the end of it. I’ll never forget it. By the time he got around to the last guy, there was not a dry eye in the house,” Iavaroni said, “because he was very, very emotional about getting into the seat and getting to coach again. It’s been an incredible ride.” (from both sltrib and desnews)

–On Jerry and Phil’s interweaving coaching careers: Sloan played under Johnson during his NBA playing days in Chicago in the early 1970s and then hired him as his sidekick for his first head coaching gig with the Bulls in the late 1970s-early 1980s. He knew exactly the type of basketball guru the former Weber State assistant and head coach and Utah State standout athlete was. Johnson, who’d also previously been one of Layden’s assistants [while Jerry was a Jazz scout; Sloan later replaced Johnson as Layden's assistant after Johnson left to coach the Sacramento Kings], was coaching with the Sacramento Kings during the Layden-to-Sloan transition, so Utah’s new coach had to get permission to speak to him about rejoining the Jazz. Sloan first called then-Kings coach Jerry Reynolds, who hired Johnson after replacing him in Sacramento. (Yes, this does sound like an NBA coaching soap opera.) The Jazz and Kings worked contract stuff out, Johnson agreed to return to the Beehive State, flew back to California from an Eastern road trip with Sacramento, grabbed some clean clothes and hooked up with Utah just in time to head back East for a six-game trip after being rehired by the Jazz on Dec. 11, 1988.

Inane Throughts from My Rambling Mind

I could be powerfully evil. Or evilly powerful. Whatever. I might have powers.

Five days ago, I wrote “Screw you, Rose” in a post about Jazz injuries. And what happens? Four days later, Rose is “injured” in a bizarro incident with a very Monta-esque explanation.

“It was a silly incident,” Rose said. “I was cutting up some food and I laid on a knife getting lazy in bed. I went to go get a bottle of water, came back, forgot the knife was there, then sat down and sliced my arm.

He was cutting an apple in bed? What? Whatever.

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So, more on injuries because that’s the recurring nightmare theme of the season so far.

We’ve had players injured in: pre-season games (DWill), post-surgery recovery (Harp), pre-season golf cart accidents (Collins), shootarounds (Fess, Harpring), chronically and/or [due to long hours] on planes (Memo), and of course actual games (AK, Booz and now for the nth time, Knight).

Of course, there have also been a ton of injuries that our tough guys played through, i.e. AK’s scraped up knees (hence his knee braces and gauze pads), Sap’s sprained toe, and DWill’s strained hip flexor.

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As I see it (listed in no particular but probably alphabetical order):

Jazzmen working their way into the rotation/minutes (injuries permitting): Almond, Knight (as primary backup at PG), KK2, CJ (possibly), Sap

Jazzmen working their way out: KK, Price (at PG)

Jazzmen working their way towards the front of the bench towards the coaches: Harp, Collins

Token Jerry’s doghouse* player: Fess

Unchanged: Booz, Ronnie B, AK, Memo, DWill

*Unsure whether the doghouse must be filled at all times.

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Random note 1: AK has been absolutely phenomenal in getting to the line this season. Clark laid it out in full detail in a great post on this.

Random note 2: As we all know, basketball is full of intentional or unintentional double entendres/sexual innuendo like “he has a quick release,” “he is really stroking the ball tonight,” “he is driving to the hole hard,” and anything having to do with penetration. I just realized the other day that Boler’s “Down she goes!” deserves the top place on that list.

And that’s it for this post.

Game 17

Udrih “going for the ball”

The J rendered me somewhat speechless (good way of course) by putting up 44 points on the Kings in the 3rd quarter. Having DWill on the court makes all the difference and Memo is helping me look like I knew what I was talking about when I told everyone during the summer that he was going to have a career year this season.

CJ on the backboard dunk: “He (Williams) told me he was gonna throw it when we were running,” said Miles, who added Williams has been trying to make such a play for “about two-and-a-half years.” “He said, ‘C’mon, I’m gonna throw it,’ so I kept running.”

Ronnie B also has his say: “I said, ‘C.J., you stole my dunk. I stole the ball,’ ’’ said Brewer, who would love to have finished Globetrotters-style – but who also knew better.

And then we have Jerry bringing us back down to earth with a little old school throwdown: “We have thrown more alley-oops than I’ve seen in my career. John Stockton never threw an alley-oop in his career. How many have we thrown away trying to make those plays? We’ve had some of them go right, but when they go awry, what does it look like?”

Call me crazy, but I think the combination makes for a winning AND exciting Jazz that totally works for me.

Game 12 Quote and Note:

AK on the Jazz’ injuries:

“I don’t know how to translate, but in ancient time there was one marshal, or general,” Kirilenko said. “His name was (Pyrrhus). He had a huge army, and every time they’d be losing people.

“He’d see target, and not have anybody to fight.”

It’s called a Pyrrhic victory — one that comes at quite a cost — and it’s a reference to King Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose army suffered irreplaceable casualties while defeating the Romans during the Pyrrhic War at Heroically in 280 BC and Asculum in 279 BC.

For the Jazz, it meant beating the Bucks and improving to 8-4 on a night both starting point guard Deron Williams (sprained ankle) and veteran reserve point Brevin Knight (strained groin) were out — and, on the same evening starting center Mehmet Okur returned from a five-game absence, having All-Star power forward Carlos Boozer go down to injury as well.

“It’s good to keep winning, but we need to stop losing people,” Kirilenko said. “It’s not good.”

I love AK in general. That he is smart and well-read–even though he’s been playing professional basketball since the age of 16–makes me love him all the more.

Unlike most injured players, Deron Williams isn’t sitting directly behind the bench, but right on it, usually to the right of assistant coach Scott Layden. We also now have evidence of how much he’s getting caught up in the games.

With 5:25 left in the second quarter Wednesday, referee Eddie F. Rush came over to the bench and admonished Williams. Rush didn’t issue a technical foul but made it clear to Jerry Sloan and his staff that he didn’t want to hear another word out of Williams.

What did Williams say? I asked after the game and Williams said he told Rush, “That’s a terrible call,” after Paul Millsap was whistled for a loose-ball foul on a rebound. Even if that’s all that was said, Rush still didn’t take kindly to it.

And this makes me love DWill all the more.

Game 13 Quote:

HE SAID IT: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on Sloan, the only current NBA coach who’s been with the same team longer: “He’s in a different league than I am, both as a player and as a coach.”