Upper Bowl Jazz Fan

After 2 games the Jazz and Nuggets are tied at 1-1

// April 21st, 2010 // 1 Comment » // 2010 Playoffs

You know what?  I couldn’t be happier about that.  I would have been happy about it had Memo’s injury never happened.  Knowing now that he’s out and that the Jazz won a game in Denver, way to freaking go Jazz!

While Denver dominated the Jazz this year, I always felt like they weren’t necessarily better than us.  It seemed like they just knew how to exploit the matchup and the Jazz were slow to react.  I hope that stays the case and that the Jazz have learned a lasting lesson because Game 3 is only a couple days away.

The difference in the game wasn’t that the Jazz were missing Mehmet Okur or Fesenko as a starter, rather it was the defensive effort on Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams doing what he does best….kicking ass and taking names.

Reportedly, Matt Harpring advised the Jazz on how to defend Melo better and it involved being a lot more physical with him.  In Game 1, Melo had his way with everyone tasked to guard him.  They gave him too much space when he caught the ball and he punished the Jazz for it.

In Game 2, he rarely saw those same looks.  He attempted 25 shots in each game, making 18 in the first game and only 9 in the second.  The more physical defense is nowhere more evident than at the foul line.  In Game 2, Melo went to the line 15 times, sinking 14 of them.  In Game 1, he was 4 for 4.

Interestingly, the box score for the Jazz in Game 1 and Game 2 was almost identical.

Game 1                                                               Game 2

• 55% FG                                                           53% FG
• 41% 3P                                                            46% 3P
• 75% FT                                                           77% FT
• 31 Rebounds                                                32 Rebounds
• 26 Assists                                                      26 Assists
• 10 Turnovers                                               18 Turnovers
• 4 Steals                                                            7 Steals
• 6 Blocks                                                           4 Blocks
• 25 Fouls                                                          30 Fouls
• 113 Points                                                       114 Points

The difference was defense (like the NBA commercial says) and getting outrebounded by 10 boards in Game 1.

Our boy, Wesley Matthews, is going through a hard stretch in his playoff debut.  Only shooting 25% from the field and looking noticeably nervous.  Hopefully getting back to Salt Lake City will make a difference for his confidence.  His defense on Carmelo Anthony needs recognition though because despite playing very well Matthews is doing a solid job against a superstar.

CJ Miles was having a playoff breakout in Game 1 but after a collision with Chauncey Billups towards the end of the 1st half, Miles was sort of a non-factor.  In both games he tallied 17 points but was a better contributor in Game 2.  Playing better defense on Melo made a difference as well as drawing Melo’s 6th foul 60 feet away from the basket with only :25 left in the game.

What needs to happen going forward is Boozer being more aggressive.  In the first 2 games he has been settling for a lot of outside jumpers and while they fell for him he needs to stop being a wussy.  Booze only went to the free throw line twice in each game which means he’s avoiding contact.  Nene and Birdman are great shot blockers but if the Jazz want a chance to win the series they can’t rely on Boozer’s outside jumpshots.

The Jazz are not going to be able to rely on being at home for these next 2 games.  Denver proved how little that mattered by beating us at home without Billups and Melo this season.  They also proved it again by losing the the Jazz in the hostile Pepsi Center.  Energy Solutions can be a difficult place for opponents but the Jazz seem to sometimes be lulled into a false sense of security there after posting our 37-4 home record there 2 seasons ago.

The Jazz have to expect that Melo will adapt to the new defense he saw in Game 2 and adapt accordingly.  That seems to be one of the Achilles’ heel of the Jazz: adaptation.  It feels like too little too late when the Jazz do make adjustments.

Melo is too good to not be adjusting always and he’ll be certain to try and draw even more fouls against the Jazz knowing that they are going to be physical with him.

If the Jazz can win the the next 2 games at home, they’ll have a good chance at being able to upset the Nuggets and steal the series.  Come on baby

Jazz are embarrassed by Houston Rockets – 4/7/10

// April 7th, 2010 // 4 Comments » // Game Summary

I feel the need to warn you.  I’m not in the greatest of moods after seeing the Jazz get destroyed by the lowly Rockets tonight.  This post could be a little, um, critical.  Ok, I’ll be honest: this will likely be my most cynical column yet.  I feel the need to vent and I will do so here.  So if you want a warm fuzzy feeling then go here.

I knew that the Jazz were going to be a little tired after playing an intense game last night but nothing prepared me for the utter lack of effort the Jazz showed up with.

Was the entire Jazz team not aware that there are only 3 games left in the season and our position as #2 in the West would only last if they won the game?  Showing up was not enough.  And with Phoenix, Denver, and Dallas all winning tonight, our perch at #2 was short-lived…again.

As of late, the Rockets have been a terrible defensive team. They’ve given up more than 110 points in 3 of their last 5 games.  In fact, the last meeting between the Jazz and Rockets the Jazz scored 133 on their way to an easy victory.

Would it kill Carlos Boozer to try and disrupt a shot or even try for some blocks?  I mean, HONESTLY!  There is no one in the league with worse help defense.  When you can hear what the players are saying on the court you can always hear Booze barking little commands to other Jazzmen.  That could be a good thing if it weren’t while Boozer was standing there with his hands at his sides allowing the opposing team to give him a wedgie while scoring easily.

Deron Williams was definitely off.  He pushed harder last night than I’ve ever seen him play but he was not getting it done very well tonight.  It didn’t help that he constantly was guarding Aaron Brooks who is significantly faster than DWill.  Why did Sloan not go w/ a smaller lineup to deal with the Rockets fast guards?  WHO THE HELL KNOWS.

When their guard rotation is Kevin Martin, Aaron Brooks, and Kyle Lowry-all of whom are under 6’4-it would do well to either exploit those matchups like crazy on offense.  Since the Jazz couldn’t do that, at the very least they should have put in Price or Gaines to guard some of those smaller faster guys.  But, Sloan couldn’t be bothered by such things and remained his old stubborn ass-self.

Fesenko missed yet another game for the most BS reason: sore throat and migraines.  I cannot count how many games he has missed for ingrown hairs, tummy aches, sore throats, headaches, and who the hell knows what else!  Can you not give the kid some pills?  Some Halls lozenges and and a freakin’ oxycotin would have solved his problems tonight!  Why do I get the feeling that all his “injuries” are just synonyms for “hangover.”  Give me a break!

Why, in the name of all that is holy, can Kyle Korver not dribble a basketball?  He knows he’s a professional basketball player right?  He can only catch and shoot?  The only times I’ve seen him catch and then do something else, it either ends up in a travel or 3 or 4 dribbles and then an awkward pass.  If he worked on the rest of his game as much as he works on his shooting he’d be incredible.  But no, apparently he is fine NOT expanding his game.

Why can Ronnie Price NOT shoot the basketball well?  He, amazingly, went 4 for 6 tonight from the field but on the season he’s putting up an incredible 29% from 3 point range and under 40% from the field.

Ugh, just 3 games remain, and 2 on the road.  The Hornets are up next.  Thankfully, they’ve been a train wreck lately and Chris Paul is out for the rest of the season with a mysterious thumb injury.  However, that sounds like just the recipe for the Jazz to not show up again and lose to a bad Hornets team.

Ok, my rant is done.  I love the Jazz but can’t stand it when there is a lack of effort.  If you just get outplayed by a better team, that’s another story.  Sadly, this was not the case tonight.

Boozer leads Jazz to victory over the Charlotte Bobcats – 2/24/10

// February 25th, 2010 // No Comments » // Game Summary

The Charlotte Bobcats had no answer inside for Carlos Boozer losing 102-93 to the Jazz.  Thank heavens because the Jazz had no answer for Gerald Wallace or, in part, Stephen Jackson.  With Andrei Kirilenko missing his 2^nd game because of back problems we had to throw the likes of CJ Miles, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, and Wesley Matthews in to defend those 2.  I was actually impressed with Korver’s defense.  For someone who is not really known for being a great defender and for having bad footwork, his D on Wallace down the stretch was admirable.  He was also 5 of 6 from downtown and finished with 18 points.  That’s the Korver we’ve wanted

The Jazz got dominated in the first half.  The offense went particularly downhill when Deron Williams left the game and Ronnie Price stepped in to run the offense.  How to perform that task has often eluded Price as he seems to rarely take advantage of ball screens or find an open man.  DWill came back after missing a game after being kneed in the quad and play a game-high 41 minutes.  It seems sad he had to play that many but I fear that if Sloan had taken him out in the 3^rd or 4^th quarter our momentum would have been lost.

In the 2^nd half the Jazz realized that going inside to Boozer was the right plan and we took off w/ Booze scoring 14 of his 33 points in the 3^rd.  In fact, Charlotte only scored 16 points in the 3^rd; Boozer was close to outscoring their entire team that quarter.  He finished having made 13 of his 16 field goal attempts, 33 points, and 16 rebounds.  He had 3 3-point plays with fouls as well.  I’m liking this Boozer…who is also helping me forget last year’s Boozer.

And then there is CJ Miles…my favorite Jazzman…by far.  His 1 for 10 from the floor should illustrate why.  It all started out in the pre-game warm-ups where I watched him juke a couple times to take the ball up to the basket for a layup/jam and he lost the ball.  There was no one guarding him at the time.  It reminded me of a point in the 3^rd quarter (I think) where he fell over near the 3 point line for no apparent reason and turned the ball over.  Good times!  His 1 for 10 shooting was pretty awesome as well as his 4 fouls in only 30 minutes of play.

Memo wasn’t much better going 3 for 10 from the floor and finished with only 9 points and 9 rebounds.  I miss the Memo from last year.

Williams managed a good shooting performance after being terrible in most of the last 10 games.  He finished just under .500 from the floor going 8 for 17 and 2 for 5 from 3 point land.  He dished out 12 assists and seemed to have some swagger.  Hopefully, he keeps it up.

The Jazz have won 18 of their last 21 games with the only losses to the Lakers, Hawks, and Nuggets…all quality teams.  I can live with that.

Carlos Boozer gets snubbed on reserve All Star Spot

// February 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // All Star Game

Chris Kaman was named an All Star today to replace Brandon Roy who will miss the ASG because of a hamstring injury.  Chris Kaman huh?  Not Carlos Boozer?  Not Mother?  Sorry, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels quotes always seem necessary.  Let’s compare their stats…Boozer’s and Kaman’s…not Mother’s stats.

Kaman:                                  Boozer:

20.2 points                            19.2 points

9.0 rebounds                         10.8 rebounds

1.2 blocks                               .5 blocks

1.9 assists                              3.2 assists

.6 steals                                  1.1 steals

.497 FG%                               .545 FG%

.758 FT%                               .766 FT%

44 games played                   46 games played

Ok, so they are pretty even.  Kaman scores a point more but grabs nearly 2 fewer boards per game.  Kaman blocks more shots but Boozer gets more steals.  Boozer is the clear winner on assists and is actually a pretty good passer for a big man.  Boozer shoots a better percentage from the field and from the line.  Kaman has missed more games than Boozer this year.

If Kaman is better I would invite you to point out in what way.  Oh, and Kaman averages nearly 2 more minutes a game so Boozer does the same in less time.  Just to be clear, their numbers are nearly the same so what does each bring to the team?  Well, Utah is on an 8 game win streak and have won 12 of their last 13 games and sit at 31-18.  The Clippers are a meager 21-29 and have lost 7 of their last 10.  So Kaman isn’t making his team any better, is putting up similar, if not worse stats than Boozer and is an All-Star while Carlos Boozer isn’t?

I’m just going to throw this out there…could Deron Williams’ bid to the All Star Game be the reason Boozer is not getting his?  Don’t get me wrong, I think Williams deserves to go as much as just about anyone but I wonder if Stern didn’t actually think Williams deserved the nod and is now punishing Boozer since they feel like they already went out on a limb for DWill.  I don’t know if that’s true…just wondering how this has happened.