Utah Jazz

[clubber_lang]

Get a bigger SG. Hope that guy is good in D and can drain the J...

[howard_the_duck]

Get a bigger SG. Hope that guy is good in D and can drain the J...

Kobe????

[Eddy Syet]

It's over for the JAZZ, for this season...

 

Hmmnn... Congratulations for over-achieving! Hell, they placed better than my NETS in the playoffs! Hats off to you guys! :thumbsupsmiley:

[FF]

Jazz Postcript

Brad Rock of the Deseret News :

 

So the Jazz are gone for 2007.

Yet in another sense, they're back.

One thing the Spurs, Mavericks, Suns and everyone else in the talent-crowded Western Conference has to know deep down in their size 18 shoes: The Jazz are coming. They're young, confident and most important, now they've had a taste. Isn't that what Jerry Sloan feared all along? That his teams would forget — or never know — what it feels like when every single possession counts. When the Earth seems to tilt with each possession.

So now they know.

This postseason is the stuff they'll remember when they get old.

"Once you get a taste of how good it feels," said reserve guard Ronnie Brewer, "you just want to try to get back."

When the playoffs came to an end Wednesday with a humiliating 109-84 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, it was obvious the Jazz had been overmatched and psyched out. Not enough Andrei Kirilenko, not enough Mehmet Okur, not enough of a lot of things. The season ended with the scrubs getting experience and the stars taking a long-delayed rest.

It has nonetheless been a memorable playoff run. The improbable comeback from a 2-0 deficit to Houston. Kirilenko's tearful struggle to fit into his role. Derek Fisher's lesson on facing the greatest of all fears — a child's cancer — with dignity.

Williams' start against Golden State, when suddenly it became clear he is everything the Jazz hoped for and more. Rookie Paul Millsap's demonstration that it's not age that matters but maturity. Carlos Boozer's unpredictable, sometimes unstoppable, left hand.

 

And more: The fan outside EnergySolutions Arena, wearing a Jazz retro warm-up suit, a wig, a Jazz cape and holding up a sign asking for FREE lower-bowl tickets because he couldn't afford to buy his own. (Right, we'll get those right over to you.) An angry night in Salt Lake City when fans showered Javie and other officials with debris as they left the court.

Javie, who tossed Fisher and Sloan at the end of Game 4, has become the new object of Jazz fans' scorn, replacing Bavetta, the villain of the 1998 NBA Finals.

Only in the playoffs.

It's good entertainment if you can find it.

If the Jazz were looking for excuses, there were a few of those. Williams played Monday with a case of the flu and in the process sprained his foot. He was also battling a neck stinger on Wednesday. By the end he was looking like a car with a light out, a cracked mirror, a couple of dents and a tailpipe hanging loose — but still gets you where you need to go.

With Fisher arriving at halftime Wednesday, because of his daughter's hospital appointment, Sloan was asked before the game if he knew whether he'd have a full team.

"Do I know?" said Sloan. "Not right now."

Turned out he didn't have a full team. But it had little to do with Fisher's arrival or Williams' injuries but everything to do with a team that requested an early checkout. If you ask Williams, it had much to do with a few teammates taking vacation.

Still, in the end it's hard to fault what happened. For a team that finished the regular season as flat as week-old soda, it made some noise. The Jazz fashioned themselves into an intriguing picture, from their spiky-hair small forward to their burly power forward to their star-bound guard to their 3-point center and beyond.

A team that now understands the vast difference between hoping to be there and expecting to go back.

 

Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Jazz !

[13Nails]

The jazz shold shop for a decent shooting guard and another big man that can score in the post. :thumbsupsmiley:

[FF]

The jazz shold shop for a decent shooting guard and another big man that can score in the post. :thumbsupsmiley:

 

you're so right dude. ronnie brewer is a good athlete but needs time to develop. hope he works on his jumpshot over the summer. so veteran help at shooting guard would be nice. araujo and collins don't have the scoring sock nor the shotblocking skills the jazz need. it will be nice to see if the jazz package their pick along with some players ( gira , collins , araujo , miles ) for a decent back up center.

[howard_the_duck]

ano kaya feeling ni BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOZER ngayon?

[edc]

ano kaya feeling ni BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOZER ngayon?

 

Sana ginaya nya yung Buhok sa batok ni GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODEN

[FF]

ano kaya feeling ni BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOZER ngayon?

 

maloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooongkot bro ! :upside:

[loafer]

Ilguskus VS Duncan. Nice match up.

[FF]

Ilguskus VS Duncan. Nice match up.

 

eh ? naligaw ka ata bro ...

[howard_the_duck]

eh ? naligaw ka ata bro ...

magagalit si fellatiooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[FF]

The Kirienko Saga Continues ....

 

Tim Buckley

Deseret News

Utah coach Jerry Sloan lashed out Monday at comments made recently by Andrei Kirilenko. He suggested he does not have full confidence in Kirilenko. And he indicated he will not significantly alter things for him.

 

Yet despite all that, despite saying Kirilenko has struggled on the court for more than three years, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan let it be known he does not think it's time to trade the starting small forward from Russia.

"We're not having a fire sale, with anybody," Sloan said. "I don't even like to use that word — but you have to in trying to describe what's going on here a little bit."

Sloan's remarks about not dealing the 2004 NBA All-Star did leave some wiggle room.

Still, the Jazz coach who recently took his club to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1998 made it clear he wants Kirilenko — who has four years and about $63 million remaining on a six-year, $86 million contract extension — to remain in Utah for the foreseeable future.

"We're gonna keep him, as far as I'm concerned," added Sloan, whose voice is as loud as anyone's when it comes to major Jazz player personnel decisions. "And if something comes up that we think is best for this franchise, that's with any player.

"We're not looking. I don't like to trade people," Sloan added. "But we've got to do what's best for the franchise, always."

 

for more of this article go to http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,665194850,00.html

[FF]

come draft day , the jazz will try to address one of the team's biggest holes : a shooting guard who's a genuine threat to bury the three. read more on two prospects who are on the jazz radar :

 

arron afflalo of ucla http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,665194838,00.html and morris almond of rice university http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,680192492,00.html

[peep_tom]

AK-47 Drama and a Draft Update in Utah

By Travis Heath

Jun 21, 2007, 14:57

Is Almond the Answer?

 

With the draft now just a week away, decision time is coming soon for the Utah Jazz. One player who has emerged as a favorite to land in Utah according to multiple league sources is Morris Almond. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Rice looks to be a perfect fit for the Jazz if he's available when Utah selects at #25.

 

First, the kid can flat shoot the rock. He already has NBA three-point range, and he can put up points in a hurry. He also has a good mid-range game which makes him very difficult to defend. And the fact he's a deadeye foul shooter is the cherry on top of this kid's offensive sundae.

 

Moreover, Almond has an NBA body and will be able to physically compete with other NBA shooting guards right off the bat. He's also a very smart player. He understands how to use screens to get open and moves exceptionally well without the ball. His high basketball I.Q. is something Jerry Sloan would quickly learn to love.

 

Almond isn't without faults and one of those faults has been his inconsistent level of intensity on the defensive end of the floor. At Rice, he went through stretches where he seemed disinterested defensively. However, when he was focused, he showed the ability to get in the passing lanes and create steals. It's reasonable to surmise that part of the reason Almond didn't give as much on the defensive end in college was because so much was expected of him on the offensive end. That said, Sloan shouldn't have any problem getting him to apply himself defensively at the NBA level for the simple fact that if he doesn't, he won't play.

 

Don't be surprised if the Jazz are touting Almond as their shooting guard of the future next Thursday night.

 

AK's Drama Continues

 

You read in this space prior to last season that Utah should think long and hard about trading Andrei Kirilenko. At that time, your friendly neighborhood columnist was raked over the coals for having the audacity to even ponder trading AK-47. Roughly a year later, many fans have changed their tune.

 

Of course, no one could have predicted the kind of drop-off in production and focus Kirilenko suffered last season. That said, the point advanced last year at this time was that Utah would be plenty good defensively without Kirilenko and that trading him for a legitimate two-guard would make the Jazz a more balanced outfit.

 

The consensus now is that Utah is stuck with Kirilenko for the duration of his contract. However, it is possible for the Jazz to move him this summer despite what you might be hearing elsewhere. Now, can they move him for the same value they could have last summer? Of course not. But it's not like there is no interest out there for a player as unique as Kirilenko.

 

Rumor has it that Seattle is shopping Ray Allen. It would behoove the Jazz to at least touch base with the Sonics and inquire about an AK for Allen Swap. That's not to infer this specific trade could get done, but it's just an example of the type of conversation the Jazz should be having.

 

At the end of the day, one has to wonder how much longer Kirilenko and Sloan can coexist. Kirilenko complained about his role with the team recently to a Russian newspaper and Sloan gave his response earlier this week. This isn't the first time the two have butted heads through the media, and this kind of dynamic is simply not healthy for a team trying to take the next step in a very tough Western Conference.

 

The Jazz must find a remedy to this mess. Sloan needs to stop being so bullheaded and actually take a second or two to really listen to AK's concerns. If he's willing to do that, Kirilenko must in turn accept that he's never going to be the focal point of an offense which features Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur.

 

Compromise must be the first order of the day. However, if it can't be achieved, Utah must look to move the forward. Larry Miller and Kevin O'Connor can claim all they want that Kirilenko and his contract can't be moved this summer, but that's really just a way of taking pressure off of them by essentially saying, "Well, we'd like to move him... but we can't."

 

That's simply a fallacy. I've talked to multiple front office people who have more than a passing interest in Kirilenko. Again, are the Jazz going to get top-dollar in return for him? Most likely not. But it's very possible for Utah to move him and get something of value in return.

 

Point is, the Jazz must make a definitive statement this summer. Either they have to work things out with Kirilenko and say he's our guy, or the organization needs to trade him. The team is simply too close to doing great things to let a squabble like this get in the way again next season.

 

Edited June 22, 2007 by peep_tom