AK-47 block party from 2 years ago
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Ladies and gentlemen, Andrei Kirilenko ...
Sweet music & sour notes -- Jazz vs. Suns
Jazz beat the Suns, 108-104, in what could be a big game for Utah as the season wears on in terms of confidence. Let's hear some sweet music and sour notes ...
* Kirilenko shows up: 17 points (5-11 FG), 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks -- One game after looking totally lost, AK-47 was all over the place on Friday, blocking shots, grabbing rebounds (he even made a 3-pointer) and making some key passes to help Utah rally in the second half.
* Boozer keeps it going: 21 points (7-15 FG), 12 rebounds, 3 assists -- He had the game-winning slam dunk and the game-clinching rebound of Leandro Barbosa's miss. Can't ask much more of the guy and he seems to be comfortable in the offense with each passing game.
* Harpring gets hot in 4th quarter: 17 points (6-12 FG), 4 rebounds -- Harp had a nice overall night, but when he made a critical double-clutch jumper off a high-low play with Kirilenko late in the 4th, it proved why the Jazz keep this guy around. He creates mismatches on the block with his strength.
* Fisher makes his mark (again): 18 points (5-10 FG), 2 rebounds, 3 assists -- When the Jazz play he and Deron Williams together, they have a pretty solid combination of ball handling and shooting. Fisher is the steadying force the team has lacked the last few years and I think he's providing the never-give-up attitude a playoff-caliber team needs.
Sour notes
* Poor interior defense -- The Jazz only had 2 blocked shots (both by AK-47). While Utah has been bullish on the glass (they outrebounded Phoenix 48-32), but need to do a better job of contesting shots or fouling and wrapping up around the basket.
* Welcome to Utah, youngsters -- In the season-opening win over Houston, Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Miles played key roles. Tonight ... not so much. Brewer played 3 minutes (0-1 FG, rebound, 2 fouls) and Miles played 17 minutes (2 points, 1-5 FG, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 2 fouls). Sloan is just DYING to make Fisher the starter ... and I can't say I blame him.
Jazz notes -- November 3, 2006
Friday, November 03, 2006
Let's see what's going on in Jazz land today:
* I've always thought that when the Gordan Giricek trade went through in 2004, the Jazz seemed to get the best of the deal, especially when you consider the big man heavy 2004-05 roster (Okur, Boozer, Humphries) that would have allowed him to be a lights-out 3-point shooter. Throw in the fact the Jazz gave him a 4-year deal after 2004 and he seemed to be the shooting guard of the team's future.
The 2004-05 season was a wash and Giricek was lost in the shuffle of bad play that year. He also seemed to wear on Jerry Sloan because he often broke off plays and didn't play defense every time down the floor. These were warts in Giricek's game when he played in Memphis and Orlando, and they still exist.
Now comes news that Giricek didn't play in the opener against Houston because coach Jerry Sloan says Giricek hasn't worked hard enough to warrant time.
"I don't have anything against him personally," the Jazz coach added. "I just think it's important that he works. He's got a lot of talent, and I think he wastes it. Right now, he's wasting some of it."
Giricek can score and make some shots, but I think he's wearing out his welcome in Utah. He didn't get along with Arroyo when he was here. Arroyo, coincidentally, couldn't get along with Sloan at times and now he's a backup point in Orlando. I wouldn't be surprised if the Jazz try to ship Giricek to Charlotte, Atlanta or some other outpost for a second rounder.
* The Jazz won't have set captains this year, but instead Sloan will nominate different players each game.
* This has nothing to do with the Jazz, but a recent NBA.com survey of rosters, Warriors SG Jason Richardson is Mr. Average ... well at least in terms of height, weight and age. Most interesting fact from the study: NBA players are shrinking, getting lighter and younger.
Notes from the other side: Phoenix Suns
* Not a good sign ... Leandro Barbosa might start tonight. He averaged 13.0 ppg against the Jazz last year, but he's been playing really well this season. In addition, when the Suns have played both Diaw and Kurt Thomas together, their tempo has slowed a little bit. Mike D'Antoni is trying to speed things up (of course) and that doesn't bode well for the Jazz.
Notes from the other side: Phoenix Suns
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Here's some links from the other side -- The Phoenix Suns:
* Jalen Rose needs a home and the Suns always need more forward/guard players to go along with Raja Bell, Jumaine Jones, Eric Piatkowski, James Jones and Boris Diaw.
* Amare Stoudemire isn't at full strength yet (duh) and wishes he were playing more.
* Leandro Barbosa might be starting soon.
Sweet music & sour notes -- Rockets vs. Jazz
Sweet music
* The two-headed 2-guard (C.J. Miles & Ronnie Brewer): 21 points (7-10 FG combined), 2-3 (3-pt FG), 5-7 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 steals -- Hard to know where to start, but needless to say it was great to see Gordan Giricek in warm-ups all night and the youngsters getting it done. Miles got off to a hot start, including two 3-pointers in the first quarter. Brewer came off the bench and looked a little tenative at first, but once he got that mid-court alley-oop from Deron Williams (more on him later), you knew he was feeling more comfortable. Brewer did a great job harassing T-Mac and had a couple of nice drives to the basket.
* Carlos Boozer sighting: 24 points (10-18 FG), 19 rebounds, block, assist and a steal -- Well, after two years off (more or less), he showed up to play on opening-night. The nifty fade-away jumpers over Yao and Mutumbo were great, but there wasn't a lot of driving to the basket going on (which is usually his thing). He adds a Karl Malone-like dynamic to the offense on the pick and roll, but as usual, can he keep it up all year and can he stay healthy.
* Deron Williams: 18 points (7-14 FG), 10 assists, 3 reb -- He's picking up where he left off last year and you can tell his teammates have confidence when he's in the game, running plays and arranging the offense. It's always cool to see the Jazz point guard look back to the bench as he heads up court for the play call (just like Stockton used to do). He's still not very quick, but he gets to the basket somehow.
Sour notes
* Kirilenko struggles: 5 points (2-3 FG), 4 reb, block, 4 fouls -- A very un-Kirilenko type of stat line last night. AK-47 got hung up on pick and rolls quite often, his lateral movement seemed a little lacking and just seemed to be out of sync on defense. On offense, it's not a good sign if your best all-around player gets 3 shots and a second-year player gets 5 (Miles). Hopefully his back/leg are not giving him trouble.
* Memo off to a slow start: 17 points (4-15 FG), 0-3 (3-pt FG), 9-11 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 steals -- He scored around his average from last year, but the poor shooting from the field and his shot not falling is not a good sign. Luckily, Miles and Derek Fisher were able to hit some deep shots to keep the inside open, but Okur is counted on for some outside shooting. He's got to do better.
* Matt Harpring: 5 points (2-4 FG), 5 rebounds, 5 turnovers -- He did his usual Harpring thing (hit a few jumpers, foul people), which makes me wonder why he was brought back instead of letting Miles/Brewer get his minutes. As the year goes on, I'm sure Harpring will serve a valuable role (esp. if AK-47 gets hurt).
