That last game pretty much sums up the season for the Jazz. High hopes, disappointing outcome. There seemed to be no real sense of urgency or intensity until the Jazz found themselves down 20.
The first play of the game set the tone. Randolf takes a pass 14 feet from the hoop, to which Al Jefferson, the Jazz supposed best player, turns, looks, and.......doesn't do anything. Randolf misses the jumper but the message is clear. The best player for the Jazz just let the world know that this game didn't matter enough to even try to make a close out, put a hand up, or even go box out. The Jazz coral the rebound and continue about the game. No damage done on that one play, but can't help but wonder if your best player putting forth that kind of effort to start the game sets things up for everyone else.
Here is a "breakdown" of the roster in this season's "breakdown":
Al Jefferson: Plain and simple, if this guy is playing 30 minutes a night you are going to be a mediocre defensive team at best. He can put the ball in the hoop, but is that even worth the predictability it takes to get him those possessions? He might have the worst defensive instincts I've ever seen a player of his caliber have. To have been in the league 8 years and play the minutes he's played either tells me that he is unable or unwilling to learn to play defense. I'm really quite blown away at the amount of points he was responsible for. If there was a stat that could measure "defensive breakdowns that led to easy buckets because of one players inability to defend" (or even try) I'm 100% positive he would be the Michael Jordan of that stat. I'm just not convinced in any way that if Al is the center piece of your team, you can be a contender.
Mo Williams: Is he the answer? He's one of those guys that seems like the answer after a good game and seems like a curse after the bad games. He misses a lot of games every year and is pretty inefficient. For a guard who likes to get out and run, he sure does make terrible decisions in transition.
Paul Millsap: His improvement through the first 5-6 years of his career made everyone believe he was headed for great things. He is a skilled player, but lets be honest; he has peaked. He should be a 3rd big on a playoff team and I would love to see him in that role for someone that has a shot at winning a title. He just isn't good enough to be a reliable high level starter. He got outplayed more than not this season.
Derrick Favors: Gifted defender that can score some clean up easy buckets and on the pick and roll but that is about it. I don't think he will be like Al Jefferson in the post, which most fans seem to compare him to, but really is that what we want him to be? Honestly, I think he's good to go right now and should have been starting a long time ago.
Enes Kanter: He's 20 years old and has played basketball for like 5 years. He'll be pretty darn good.
Randy Foye: He is a shooter no question. He was misused though. He isn't a go to option, especially off the dribble. He is one thing and one thing only, a spot up shooter. He needs to be the guy off the bench that comes in for a bit and stays in if he's hot, and doesn't if he's not.
Jamaal Tinsley/Earl Watson: See ya. Thanks for being such great locker room leaders and admirable people but you're both old and unreliable as a back up point guard.
Jeremy Evans: He just is what he is. I guess he could have been used a bit more as a spark when things got dull, but he's so limited its hard to have him out there for extended minutes. I think he leads the league in "least amount of dribbles" this year at 7.
Alec Burks: Again, I feel was somewhat misused. He isn't a 1. He can play that for a bit, and I'd prefer him over Earl, but he's most definitely a 2. He's pretty good. He has an ability you cannot teach nor develop, and that is to get the ball up to the rim where it has a chance at going in no matter who is in the way, or how hard he is fouled. I'm still bitter about the 40 DNP's to start the year. Imagine where he'd be with that extra 1000 minutes.
Kevin Murphy: Hate to say it, but barring a miracle off-season, he will be overseas or in the D-league next year. Just never looked even somewhat NBA ready in the minutes he got, even in garbage time against other garbage players.
Marvin Williams: I actually think he is still worth keeping. He has a player option, but I think he was misused big time. His defense was extremely underrated (probably more like unnoticed) but he was very valuable on that end. He doesn't use possessions, turn the ball over, or take bad shots. That was kind of the knock on him, he just didn't really seem to do anything. I still think with a clearer role for him, and a more versatile offense he can be a very good back up on the perimeter.
Demarre Carroll: What can I say? I saved him for last because he is a fan favorite. He played his butt off in every second of every game. He shouldn't have been reduced to DNP's, especially in some of those games where it seemed all we needed was a spark of energy to wake us up. He reminds me of Kenneth Faried (different positions entirely I know) in that he is limited, but just so active he makes things happen all the time. I'm not saying he should be a starter but he should be on the floor each and every game at least for a little bit.
Ty Corbin: Where do I begin? The rotations were confusing. The timeouts were untimely. The substitutions were bizarre. The defense was a mess. The team wasn't focused on the road, or ready. They couldn't stop runs. Players were jerked around in different rotations, roles, positions and even just pulled from the rotation out of the blue. The offense was predictable. The end of game execution was horrid. Am I forgetting anything? But it's somehow OK because everyone got along? I don't buy it. He did show some signs of improvement but if the Jazz don't fire him, at least don't extend him before we see how next season goes.
Moving forward I think the philosophy should be to bring in guys that are 2-way players (O and D). Guys that will bring toughness and focus to the point where winning in Toronto doesn't seem like such a tough task. The Jazz should really focus on trying to becoming an elite defensive team.
Overall, this season ended up pretty terrible. I hate to be so pessimistic but look at the overall picture. We didn't develop the young guys as much as we could have because we were told we were sacrificing some of their time for the older guys. That was supposed to give us some playoff experience (which was supposed to help the young guys). Now here we are, 9th in the west with no playoffs, the 14th pick in the draft, no identity, and a whole bunch of uncertainty.
Like I said, that Memphis game summed up the entire season. High hopes, disappointing outcome.
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