Ball or Nuthin' » Jazz

Before Brad Womack, There Was…Carlos Boozer??

T Lamont — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 22:36:37 +0000

In the NBA stratosphere, the Utah Jazz is viewed as one of the most stable, traditional organizations in the league. It had one of the longest runs of consecutive playoff appearances, and the head coach with the longest single-team tenure in the Association, who based his playbook exclusively on team-oriented offensive formations.

But with that being said, NBA players will be NBA players.

Back during the 2008-2009 season, former Jazz player Carlos Boozer spent 45 regular season games out of action. Or, at least he was out of action on the court.

Turns out that Boozer, the two-time All-Star, was busy working on his courting skills. During that time, Boozer, who was still married, was dating Michelle Money – currently of ABC’s The Bachelor fame.

Money became perhaps the most intriguing character in this season’s installment of the Bachelor. She was particularly possessive when it came to her relationship with Brad Womack, often referring to him as her man although she only made it as far as the final five contestants. In fact, Michelle was so over the top on The Bachelor, that many believe she was a hired actress by the program. Michelle has stated that she never knew of Boozer’s marital status while they were dating, saying that she thought Boozer was no longer married. She hinted at the fact that she shouldn’t have believed that what she was ”told” (by Carlos) was true, but cleverly resists the urge the lay 100% of the blame on the former Duke star.

While Boozer’s arthroscopic left knee surgery kept him from doing his job, he was courting Money during a period of turmoil in his marriage. Boozer and his wife, with whom he has three children, were reportedly cycling through times of struggle and reconciliation – making it difficult to ascertain the level of deceit that Boozer engaged in. Given Michelle’s possessiveness (as illustrated on the show), one can imagine that it would have been a challenge for Carlos to maintain any discretion regarding the activities with which the two of them may have been involved.

But then again, can any of us truly say that we can accurately predict anything about Michelle?

Williams’ Deal Shows Prokhorov Means Business

T Lamont — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:03:58 +0000

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To say that the New Jersey Nets have had their share of hard times would be an understatement.

This season will mark the fourth consecutive campaign that the Nets will fail to make the postseason. After limping through a pair of 34-win seasons in 2007-08 and 2008-09, New Jersey bottomed out last year at 12-70. But just prior to that historically futile season, the Nets organization welcomed their most influential member for the future – new owner Mikhail Prokhorov.

According to the 2010 Forbes list, Prokhorov is the 39th richest man in the world. He didn’t have any ties to the NBA, but had been connected with sports clubs in Moscow. Therefore, his interest could be guaged to be more like that of the casual fan than that of a money-hungry owner.

Since Prokhorov’s inclusion into the NBA, he has done nothing but try to make the Nets better. After less than two years, the Russian billionaire has picked up on a key fact about the Association – - a team must have good players in order to attract more good players. The 6’8″ owner has continuously tossed the Nets name in trade talks for every superstar, and has courted every big name free agent in an attempt to put a face on a franchise that currently lacks description.

Of course, we all realize that New Jersey was ultimately unable to land LeBron James and Dwyane Wade over the summer. And the misses continued when the Nets were defeated by the Knicks in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes.

After the smoke clears, will the Nets be able to keep Deron?

Yesterday, Prokhorov stunned NBA insiders by pulling off a trade for perennial NBA All-Star point guard Deron Williams. The Nets surrendered Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, and two 1st round draft choices to get its first big ticket player in years. But with Williams’ contract set to expire at the conclusion of the 2011-2012 season, the Nets will find themselves under the same pressure that the Utah Jazz felt. With a team in disarray after having its legendary coach step down, Utah knew that it couldn’t promise Williams any degree of success, and figured it best to make a deal for D-Will before they were desperate.

The Nets will now be forced to uphold the current trend of trying to develop a “mega-team” around Williams. Their time is limited, but they’ll have to find a way to entice Williams to hang around when he has an option to do otherwise. While New Jersey does lie within a huge market, it will still have to compete with other big markets with elite superstars, not to mention a Knicks roster with two All-Star performers.

If the Nets are able to obtain a star to complement Williams without relinquishing the services of center Brook Lopez, Prokhorov will have successfully pulled off one of the biggest coups of the decade.

And if recent history is any indication, we can rest assured that New Jersey will leave no stone unturned in its quest to do so…thanks to Mr. Prokhorov.

Sloan Gone? What’s Next For the Jazz??

T Lamont — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 16:24:45 +0000

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A sharp decline in winning percentage. A shift in command of the franchise. A chance at the ultimate prize…the NBA Championship.

How about all of the above?

While the first two are almost certainties, and the last, a hopeful possibility, there’s a lot to be said about the resignation of Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan. He had been the master of his craft, spearheading Utah’s consistent playoff participation for the past 23 seasons. Sloan is often identified by his two primary offensive tendencies, the pick and roll (made famous by John Stockton and Karl Malone) and cutting, screening and constant-movement sets.

Of course, we all recall that Sloan would have possibly won two championships during the late 90′s. But, of course, both of them were foiled by the man – MJ – who kept so many others (including Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning) title-less during his decade of dominance.

But all in all, the Jazz have not managed to win a title in any of those other years, either. Sure, Utah has continued to field good teams year after year, but isn’t the ultimate goal to win an NBA Championship? Sloan is third on the all-time wins list, and has compiled a total overall record of 1221-803 (.603). With Utah, his mark has been 1127-682 (.623) Sustained excellence has been the story of Sloan’s coaching career. He’s never won an NBA Coach of the Year award, often being overlooked for a coach who has either guided a team to a more dramatic win-loss turnaround or led a team to an outstanding regular season mark.

Even with Stockton and Malone, Sloan was unable to coach the Jazz to a championship.

Although Sloan has amassed commendable win-loss records, he has managed to do so without many individual stars. Malone and Stockton were Jazz staples until about 2003, and then a new Utah group became centered around a collection of individual talents (Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams). But regardless of the players wearing the uniform, the Salt Lake City crew maintained that typical Jerry Sloan-level of success. That is, first- and/or second-round playoff appearances were still the norm.

But with a blooming cast of characters, there was no adjustment to Sloan’s coaching philosophy. Much like Phil Jackson, Sloan held true to what his coaching was all about – a team brand of basketball that displayed little favoritism to the individual strengths and weaknesses of his players. But unlike Jackson, Sloan’s system had not delivered a single championship (let alone, multiple championships). And also unlike PJ, Sloan did not have a player with the talent to break the system…in an effective way (A.K.A. Jordan or Kobe Bryant). The best teams in NBA history were successful because of their propensity to get the most out of their players. And how do you accomplish that in the NBA?

By milking your most talented player(s). There’s currently a ton of speculation in the tabloids, suggesting that perhaps it was Sloan’s deteriorated relationship with two-time All-Star Deron Williams that may have accelerated his canning by the organization. While that may or may not be true, Williams has suggested displeasure with Sloan’s coaching style – desiring to control the reigns of a more uptempo squad.

D-Will wants to push the rock and get more shots like this one.

But the request by Williams is not an uneducated one stemming from selfish desires. The Jazz are one of few teams with more than an 11% decrease in effective field goal percentage when attempting a field goal at the beginning of the shot clock as opposed to the end of it. Without a dominant back-to-the-basket presence or super-scoring wingman, getting good looks early and often would seem to be vital to Utah’s offensive success, indeed.

Of course, Sloan was probably the same as he always has been: predictable. It’s a safe bet to assume that he wasn’t about to transition from a system that has given him a consistent level of accomplishment based upon the concerns of one player.

So, as effective as he’s been in his two plus decades in dedication to his craft, Sloan has failed Utah – and himself – in the ultimate goal that exists for an NBA head coach. But a true master of his craft knows when it’s time to make a change.

He has been fortunate enough to have flexible players who were always able to spurn their individual desires for what Sloan indicated was the greater good of the team. And now, in the end, it was Sloan’s inability to do the same that forced him to abandon his position.

Paul Millsap Overpowers the Big Three

T Lamont — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 05:49:31 +0000

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Although the Miami Heat have three of the NBA’s best players on its roster, it was generally understood that the team would lack an interior offensive presence.

On Tuesday night at home against the Utah Jazz, it seemed that they also lacked an interior defensive presence.

While LeBron James and Dwayne Wade prove to be physically overpowering specimens in their respective positions, the Utah Jazz’s strength lies in their point guard (Deron Williams) and power forward (Paul Millsap). The Heat have Chris Bosh, but his fragility along with Joel Anthony’s ineffectiveness allowed Millsap to have a field day.

In a game in which the Heat held a 22-point lead – at home – they squandered it away and enabled the visiting Jazz to pull out a 116-114 overtime victory.

Millsap was the story. With Miami threatening to pull away in the third quarter, the Louisiana Tech alum poured in 18 points in the period to keep hope alive for Utah. Williams got into a groove as well, as he ran Jerry Sloan’s patented pick-and-roll sets to perfection – with the result often being a strong conversion in the paint by Millsap.

The Jazz never threw in the towel in this game, and they were ultimately rewarded for it. The Heat made amny miscues that led to their demise. They split several pairs of free throws down the stretch of the fourth quarter. They allowed Utah to have too many points in the paint. They surrendered a couple of conventional three point plays to Williams – fouling him on fast break layup tries.

Millsap and Williams put the Jazz in position to steal a win in South Beach.

Millsap ended the night with 46 points on 19-28 shooting, including an uncanny 3-3 on three-point attempts. After an invisible first half, Williams picked up his game to the tune of 21 points and 14 assists. Along with some timely contributions from C.J. Miles and Andrei Kirilenko, the point guard/power forward combo controlled the tempo of the contest.

The Jazz win provides a blueprint for attacking the Heat. A point guard/big man screen and roll is effective against Miami for a couple of reason:

- PG and PF are two of Miami’s weak positions from a defensive standpoint

- the Heat were trapping the screen and roll…meaning that good passing will find an open man

A disciplined team like the Jazz were able to overcome a 22-point deficit on Miami’s home floor.

LeBron should call his Nike reps, and have them confiscate the tapes of this game. The Heat need to do everything that they possibly can to make this game disappear.

Lakers Become Third Team to Sweep Conference Semifinals

T Lamont — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:10:01 +0000

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Sometimes, teams that are in the upper echelon of the league need a wake-up call to get them motivated.

Unfortunately for the Utah Jazz, it was the Oklahoma City Thunder who sounded the alarm for the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

The Jazz were overcome by the Lakers last night, 111-96, making L.A. the third team to sweep their conference semifinal opponent. The Lakers were able to stay focused and provide a consistent effort in each game of the series against Utah. While Los Angeles wasn’t playing clamp-down defense, glimpses of their championship defense did show up. Meanwhile, their offense was efficient - and in Games 2-4, L.A. put up 111 points in each contest.

Phil Jackson and his troops are now on track to achieve their ultimate goal: a second straight NBA title. But just how did they get on track, you night ask?

MVP runner-up Kevin Durant and the Thunder exploded onto the scene this year. After a slow start to the season, Scott Brooks had his group gelling and they finished the regular season at 50-32. The youngsters were listed on everyone’s (including mine) list of teams that were capable of pulling off an upset in the first round. But there was one huge problem.

Their first round opponent was the Los Angeles Lakers.

Missing two key players for almost all of the series, the Jazz were simply overpowered by the Lakers.

The Thunder had to be thinking, ‘what a way to break into the playoffs.’ But they didn’t show it. After an anticipated Game 1 loss and a close-but-no-cigar effort in Game 2 at Staples, Oklahoma City came out thundering at home. They beat the champs in a neck-and-neck contest in Game 3. And then there was Game 4.

If L.A. goes on to win the title this year, it could be because of Game 4 against the Thunder. From the opening tip, the Lakers were absolutely shredded by OKC. The Thunder got to the free throw line 48 times that night. They were hungry. The final damage: 110-89. An embarrassing loss for any team that had a goal of winning a championship.

Since that game, the Lakers have reeled off six straight victories.

On Monday, they’ll battle the Phoenix Suns – a team that virtually no one had picked to make it to the NBA’s version of the Final Four. But they were starving for respect…

It remains to be seen as to whether Kobe Bryant and the Lakers still have their appetite for success.