Indiana 117, Jazz 97
If a clipboard turns up on eBay in the coming days claiming to be game-shattered by Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, we can vouch for its authenticity. So frustrated by his team's play, Sloan cracked the board during a third-quarter timeout Saturday.
In any given season, there are typical five to 10 bad losses for an NBA team. The Jazz certainly had one against Indiana and the biggest question was whether they overlooked a team that had lost six in a row.
Sloan suggested that was the case, although Deron Williams disagreed. "I don't think so," Williams said. "I just think we came out lackadaisical. We didn't come out like we wanted to win the game from the beginning and it showed. "
"Take our hats off to them," Carlos Boozer added. "They kicked our butt. We didn't bring the same energy that they had. We should have, after getting beat last night, but they shot pretty damn good from the floor. It seemed like they were just raining jumpshots."
Moral of the story: The Jazz can't afford to take any team lightly. They've lost two in a row and the mark of a good team is the ability to stop a losing streak as soon as it gets started. Their first chance will come Monday against New Jersey.
Like Indiana, New Jersey also will be desperate, having lost five in a row and averaging just 77 points a game with Vince Carter out. It's the opener of a four-game trip for the Nets and teams often are dangerous in that situation.
The highlight Monday should be seeing Williams play Jason Kidd, his favorite player growing up in Dallas and his USA Basketball teammate this summer. Williams has said he came to appreciate the subtleties in Kidd's game while playing in Las Vegas.
* * *
One new twist in Saturday's loss was the Jazz giving up several big runs. The first was a 10-0 run in the first quarter as Indiana took advantage of its offensive rebounding, running game and inside play to take a 25-12 lead.
The Jazz gave up a 7-0 run in the second quarter as the Pacers pushed the lead out to 20. The backbreaker was a 13-0 run in the third after the Jazz had closed within nine in a matter of moments at the start of the second half.
Mike Dunleavy hit two three-pointers and Shawne Williams one during that last run. Dunleavy finished with 25 for the night, 14 of which came during those first and third quarter bursts. Jamaal Tinsley had 8 points, 13 assists and 1 turnover.
* * *
The Jazz have struggled against zone defenses and settling for outside shots has been a theme of their postgame comments. "They kept us out on the perimeter right from the beginning," Sloan said.
So has been transition defense. "We had a difficult time changing ends," Sloan said. "We looked up and tried to point at one guy and a guy's laying it up in our faces. We didn't come close to handling them."
Boozer said the Jazz needed to get back to sharing the ball, setting real screens "not brush screens," running their plays and focusing on getting layups.
* * *
Several times this season, Sloan has cited the inexperience of the Jazz's backcourt in talking about the team's fortunes this season. Between Deron Williams and Ronnie Brewer, the Jazz have three years of experience; Sloan believes most title teams have 15 to 18.
"Experience is a great teacher to win tough games," Sloan said.
Brewer's streak of double-digit scoring games came to an end Saturday. Before the game, Sloan talked about how interested he was in seeing how Brewer would play in the second game of a back-to-back set, something he has no experience doing with starter minutes.
Sloan also returned to the theme of Brewer's defense, saying, "The position he plays, it's unfortunate, but the guys he has to play against are very talented people, guys who score a lot of points."
"Sometimes the burden is on him to try to be able to do something about that," Sloan added. "But you can't do it alone.
"That's where we've probably failed, because we've given up an awful lot of points to individual players, probably as much as any team I've ever had to start out the season."
* * *
It was stunning to see the crowd at Conseco Fieldhouse for Saturday's game. The Pacers announced 12,447 and the arena was probably half filled. Yes, Indiana and Purdue were playing for the Old Oaken Bucket, but Indiana is supposed to be basketball nirvana.
--Ross Siler
In any given season, there are typical five to 10 bad losses for an NBA team. The Jazz certainly had one against Indiana and the biggest question was whether they overlooked a team that had lost six in a row.
Sloan suggested that was the case, although Deron Williams disagreed. "I don't think so," Williams said. "I just think we came out lackadaisical. We didn't come out like we wanted to win the game from the beginning and it showed. "
"Take our hats off to them," Carlos Boozer added. "They kicked our butt. We didn't bring the same energy that they had. We should have, after getting beat last night, but they shot pretty damn good from the floor. It seemed like they were just raining jumpshots."
Moral of the story: The Jazz can't afford to take any team lightly. They've lost two in a row and the mark of a good team is the ability to stop a losing streak as soon as it gets started. Their first chance will come Monday against New Jersey.
Like Indiana, New Jersey also will be desperate, having lost five in a row and averaging just 77 points a game with Vince Carter out. It's the opener of a four-game trip for the Nets and teams often are dangerous in that situation.
The highlight Monday should be seeing Williams play Jason Kidd, his favorite player growing up in Dallas and his USA Basketball teammate this summer. Williams has said he came to appreciate the subtleties in Kidd's game while playing in Las Vegas.
* * *
One new twist in Saturday's loss was the Jazz giving up several big runs. The first was a 10-0 run in the first quarter as Indiana took advantage of its offensive rebounding, running game and inside play to take a 25-12 lead.
The Jazz gave up a 7-0 run in the second quarter as the Pacers pushed the lead out to 20. The backbreaker was a 13-0 run in the third after the Jazz had closed within nine in a matter of moments at the start of the second half.
Mike Dunleavy hit two three-pointers and Shawne Williams one during that last run. Dunleavy finished with 25 for the night, 14 of which came during those first and third quarter bursts. Jamaal Tinsley had 8 points, 13 assists and 1 turnover.
* * *
The Jazz have struggled against zone defenses and settling for outside shots has been a theme of their postgame comments. "They kept us out on the perimeter right from the beginning," Sloan said.
So has been transition defense. "We had a difficult time changing ends," Sloan said. "We looked up and tried to point at one guy and a guy's laying it up in our faces. We didn't come close to handling them."
Boozer said the Jazz needed to get back to sharing the ball, setting real screens "not brush screens," running their plays and focusing on getting layups.
* * *
Several times this season, Sloan has cited the inexperience of the Jazz's backcourt in talking about the team's fortunes this season. Between Deron Williams and Ronnie Brewer, the Jazz have three years of experience; Sloan believes most title teams have 15 to 18.
"Experience is a great teacher to win tough games," Sloan said.
Brewer's streak of double-digit scoring games came to an end Saturday. Before the game, Sloan talked about how interested he was in seeing how Brewer would play in the second game of a back-to-back set, something he has no experience doing with starter minutes.
Sloan also returned to the theme of Brewer's defense, saying, "The position he plays, it's unfortunate, but the guys he has to play against are very talented people, guys who score a lot of points."
"Sometimes the burden is on him to try to be able to do something about that," Sloan added. "But you can't do it alone.
"That's where we've probably failed, because we've given up an awful lot of points to individual players, probably as much as any team I've ever had to start out the season."
* * *
It was stunning to see the crowd at Conseco Fieldhouse for Saturday's game. The Pacers announced 12,447 and the arena was probably half filled. Yes, Indiana and Purdue were playing for the Old Oaken Bucket, but Indiana is supposed to be basketball nirvana.
--Ross Siler
11:55 PM
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