Phoenix 124, Jazz 101
Not much to say about a preseason game where the Jazz commit 28 turnovers (11 in the first 14 minutes), trail by as many as 35 points and lose 124-101 to Phoenix.
My first question: What do you make of Ronnie Brewer's game? Brewer had a terrible first quarter, going 0-for-4 with two turnovers. He got pasted on a layup by Sean Marks, who has all of 36 career blocks despite playing in the NBA for parts of seven seasons.
Brewer nearly threw away passes on back-to-back plays, bricked a three-pointer, was blocked by Marks, lost the ball out of bounds. Even when Brewer stripped Boris Diaw, he blew the layup at the other end.
He also committed a bad foul with 50.6 seconds left in the first quarter, grabbing Marcus Banks in the backcourt to put the Jazz in the penalty and send Banks to the foul line. The Suns broke open the game with a 12-0 run (9 points by Leandro Barbosa) in that quarter.
"He's got to be ready to go to start the ball game," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "He's got to be able to defend, No. 1. That's the first thing. You start the game off trying to score, you get yourself in trouble, especially young guys. You get into a casual mode if you're looking just to score."
Credit Brewer with salvaging some of his night in the fourth quarter. Of course, it was a 30-point game by then and the arena was empty, so factor that into the final evaluation. He had 13 points in the quarter, though, and attacked the basket for three three-point plays.
Another thing to think about is that Jeff Hornacek now has Lesson 1 for Andrei Kirilenko in the art of self-correcting his shot. When he first arrived in Boise, Hornacek said the goal with Kirilenko was to keep one bad shooting game from turning into three or four.
Kirilenko had 11 points Monday but went just 3-for-8, missing from 21 feet, 22 feet, 22 feet and 17 feet. His jumper was off and Hornacek said afterward it had something to do with the lift Kirilenko is getting on his shot.
"We just talked about little things," Hornacek said. "You've got to find out what feels good to him. I think the more he uses his legs, the better his shot is. He has a tendency to not really spring off of them. So that's kind of what we're concentrating on.
"When you're shooting one way for so many years, you get used to that. It's something he has to have the confidence to do in games. I think we'll get there."
Kirilenko said: "It's hard to choose when you need to shot the ball, when you need to pass the ball. I don't think tonight was a good example because I think Phoenix did better than us and they just force us to play their game. They just forced us to get a lot of turnovers."
The Jazz second team still has a ways to go. Sloan put a lineup of Jason Hart, Gordan Giricek, C.J. Miles, Paul Millsap and Jarron Collins on the floor and watched as they lost the second quarter 30-20 (granted the Suns did bring back their starters to finish the half.)
What was really alarming was that the second unit came in and had turnovers on three straight possessions when the Jazz needed to take care of the ball after an eight-turnover first quarter.
You had Millsap throwing away a pass, followed by Hart throwing away a pass, followed by an offensive foul by Collins. The Suns then went bombs away in the middle of the second quarter, hitting four three-pointers in a row, bookended by Raja Bell triples.
Giricek went just 2-for-5 in the quarter, including a three-pointer that missed everything and a 16-footer that rookie D.J. Strawberry blocked.
The fourth quarter wasn't much better as Sloan turned to Ronnie Price, Brewer, Miles, Millsap and Kyrylo Fesenko and gave up an 11-1 run. Fesenko somehow managed to take away his own dunk by committing basket interference by hanging on the rim.
Price went 2-for-9 and was in danger of either getting tied up for a loose ball or being blocked just about every time he drove into the lane. C.J. Miles continues to struggle (0-for-4 Monday) and is now 2-for-13 in three preseason games.
* * *
Until a reporter told him, guard Deron Williams said he hadn't heard the news about Jazz owner Larry Miller saying he was open to offering him a maximum-value $80 million extension this summer.
Williams said he is more focused on the season ahead than any potential contract jackpot once it's over. If the Jazz made a max offer, though, would Williams sign it?
"It's going to be hard for me to leave here," Williams said. "This is the team that drafted me. They have the opportunity to extend me before anybody can get to me. It's going to be hard to leave."
* * *
Some odds and ends: We will try to bring you an update on Donnell Harvey, who has to have the worst case of intestinal flu in the history of man. If Harvey doesn't play Wednesday, he officially will have missed a week's worth of games while sick.
Matt Harpring is still out as he recovers from knee and ankle surgeries. Miles returned from his maternal grandmother's funeral in Dallas and what he called the longest week of his life.
Amare Stoudemire could be heard after shootaround as he walked past some Jazz officials and said: "Word on the street: Utah's lucky Stoudemire's not playing." It was all in good fun.
The Jazz will hold an open scrimmage Saturday night at EnergySolutions Arena. The time has yet to be set.
--Ross Siler
My first question: What do you make of Ronnie Brewer's game? Brewer had a terrible first quarter, going 0-for-4 with two turnovers. He got pasted on a layup by Sean Marks, who has all of 36 career blocks despite playing in the NBA for parts of seven seasons.
Brewer nearly threw away passes on back-to-back plays, bricked a three-pointer, was blocked by Marks, lost the ball out of bounds. Even when Brewer stripped Boris Diaw, he blew the layup at the other end.
He also committed a bad foul with 50.6 seconds left in the first quarter, grabbing Marcus Banks in the backcourt to put the Jazz in the penalty and send Banks to the foul line. The Suns broke open the game with a 12-0 run (9 points by Leandro Barbosa) in that quarter.
"He's got to be ready to go to start the ball game," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "He's got to be able to defend, No. 1. That's the first thing. You start the game off trying to score, you get yourself in trouble, especially young guys. You get into a casual mode if you're looking just to score."
Credit Brewer with salvaging some of his night in the fourth quarter. Of course, it was a 30-point game by then and the arena was empty, so factor that into the final evaluation. He had 13 points in the quarter, though, and attacked the basket for three three-point plays.
Another thing to think about is that Jeff Hornacek now has Lesson 1 for Andrei Kirilenko in the art of self-correcting his shot. When he first arrived in Boise, Hornacek said the goal with Kirilenko was to keep one bad shooting game from turning into three or four.
Kirilenko had 11 points Monday but went just 3-for-8, missing from 21 feet, 22 feet, 22 feet and 17 feet. His jumper was off and Hornacek said afterward it had something to do with the lift Kirilenko is getting on his shot.
"We just talked about little things," Hornacek said. "You've got to find out what feels good to him. I think the more he uses his legs, the better his shot is. He has a tendency to not really spring off of them. So that's kind of what we're concentrating on.
"When you're shooting one way for so many years, you get used to that. It's something he has to have the confidence to do in games. I think we'll get there."
Kirilenko said: "It's hard to choose when you need to shot the ball, when you need to pass the ball. I don't think tonight was a good example because I think Phoenix did better than us and they just force us to play their game. They just forced us to get a lot of turnovers."
The Jazz second team still has a ways to go. Sloan put a lineup of Jason Hart, Gordan Giricek, C.J. Miles, Paul Millsap and Jarron Collins on the floor and watched as they lost the second quarter 30-20 (granted the Suns did bring back their starters to finish the half.)
What was really alarming was that the second unit came in and had turnovers on three straight possessions when the Jazz needed to take care of the ball after an eight-turnover first quarter.
You had Millsap throwing away a pass, followed by Hart throwing away a pass, followed by an offensive foul by Collins. The Suns then went bombs away in the middle of the second quarter, hitting four three-pointers in a row, bookended by Raja Bell triples.
Giricek went just 2-for-5 in the quarter, including a three-pointer that missed everything and a 16-footer that rookie D.J. Strawberry blocked.
The fourth quarter wasn't much better as Sloan turned to Ronnie Price, Brewer, Miles, Millsap and Kyrylo Fesenko and gave up an 11-1 run. Fesenko somehow managed to take away his own dunk by committing basket interference by hanging on the rim.
Price went 2-for-9 and was in danger of either getting tied up for a loose ball or being blocked just about every time he drove into the lane. C.J. Miles continues to struggle (0-for-4 Monday) and is now 2-for-13 in three preseason games.
* * *
Until a reporter told him, guard Deron Williams said he hadn't heard the news about Jazz owner Larry Miller saying he was open to offering him a maximum-value $80 million extension this summer.
Williams said he is more focused on the season ahead than any potential contract jackpot once it's over. If the Jazz made a max offer, though, would Williams sign it?
"It's going to be hard for me to leave here," Williams said. "This is the team that drafted me. They have the opportunity to extend me before anybody can get to me. It's going to be hard to leave."
* * *
Some odds and ends: We will try to bring you an update on Donnell Harvey, who has to have the worst case of intestinal flu in the history of man. If Harvey doesn't play Wednesday, he officially will have missed a week's worth of games while sick.
Matt Harpring is still out as he recovers from knee and ankle surgeries. Miles returned from his maternal grandmother's funeral in Dallas and what he called the longest week of his life.
Amare Stoudemire could be heard after shootaround as he walked past some Jazz officials and said: "Word on the street: Utah's lucky Stoudemire's not playing." It was all in good fun.
The Jazz will hold an open scrimmage Saturday night at EnergySolutions Arena. The time has yet to be set.
--Ross Siler
1:24 AM
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