Jazz 103, Cleveland 101
Back last season, the Jazz lost a game to the Knicks in New York when Deron Williams' jumper with 3 seconds left was answered by Stephon Marbury driving the length of the court for a layup at the horn.
It was the same finish, but a different outcome a year later.
Give credit to Williams for making an incredible play. The Jazz could have played it safe, called timeout and advanced the ball. But Williams didn't even look in Jazz coach Jerry Sloan's direction on the bench.
"Booz threw it to me. I'm going," Williams said. He added that while the Jazz do practice two-for-one situations at the end of quarters, they haven't rehearsed going 94 feet in the last five seconds to win. "When I got it, I was going," he said.
No surprise Sloan was unhappy after the game. The Jazz had their chances to put away the Cavaliers and squandered them. They also struggled to crack Cleveland's zone defense the entire game.
"I don't know how we thought we were going to win the way we were trying to play," Sloan said. "We were throwing the ball up in the air, trying to put on a show or something. It wasn't anything like I've ever tried to teach."
Sloan cited the alley-oop passes the Jazz tried to throw and the jumpers they took. Just when it looked like the Jazz had solved the zone (Ronnie Brewer from Mehmet Okur in the third quarter), they fell back on bad habits.
"We just stood outside. We just took shots," Sloan said. "I don't know how you expect to beat a team. We have an offensive structure against a zone and we never did get into it except a couple of times."
* * *
My question is whether we'll see an equal and opposite reaction to Wednesday's game when the Jazz play Friday in Seattle. I'm talking about Sloan shortening his rotation so much that only seven players were used in the second half against Cleveland.
That would be the starting five plus Matt Harpring and Paul Millsap. Deron Williams played the entire second half as a result. Gordan Giricek, Jarron Collins, Jason Hart, Ronnie Price and Morris Almond were reduced to spectators.
Playing the winless Sonics, Sloan might feel he has a better opportunity to give his bench players extended minutes. It might be a good idea to give Hart eight or nine minutes in the first half to see if he can get going and get his confidence back.
Same thing for Collins, who got into the game for 30 seconds Wednesday. Maybe the Jazz will want to experiment with the Hart/Price backcourt that we saw once during the preseason. The point is, you can experiment a little against Seattle.
* * *
Welcome to the NBA, Morris Almond! The Jazz's first-round pick was activated Wednesday and played all of 2:31. Sloan went to Almond late in the first quarter with the Jazz in foul trouble and he got a nice ovation from the crowd.
Almond also got the true rookie treatment. He was whistled for back-to-back fouls in the second quarter and returned to the bench. It was almost impossible to make any judgments about Almond's ability to defend watching the three minutes he played.
If you haven't checked out Almond's blog at NBA.com, it's definitely worth reading. Unlike blog superstar Gilbert Arenas, Almond actually types his entries out. Arenas talks on the phone to a ghost writer, who turns his thoughts into what you see on the site.
Almond thought he would be able to better watch his words typing instead of talking. His most recent post was about life on the inactive list, which he didn't even know existed until Sloan told him about it before the Golden State opener.
"At least I'm on a good team and with a good organization," Almond wrote. "There are worse places I could be. At Rice when I wouldn't get in the game, I'd have to walk back to my dorm room afterwards, dejected AND broke. At least I get a little scratch for my troubles this time around."
Whether he plays or not, Almond will make about $10,000 a game this season. The scratch in the NBA isn't bad at all.
* * *
Somebody put a copy of the placard of Baron Davis dunking over Andrei Kirilenko in Kirilenko's locker at EnergySolutions Arena. The Warriors printed 20,000 or so copies for their fans on opening night.
Kirilenko said it's a reminder to "Be on time" when it comes to blocking shots. Otherwise, you'll arrive a split-second late and wind up in somebody's poster. . . .
With the ESPN cameras in the locker room before the game, rookie Kyrylo Fesenko walked over and put an arm around Kirilenko and smiled for the cameras. Most players just ignore the cameramen and keep on tying their shoes or whatever, but Fesenko clearly wanted to be on TV.
Fesenko also had a funny moment when we were in L.A. for the Lakers game. He sat right in Phil Jackson's customized chair as the Jazz were out shooting before the game. It's not hard to figure out which chair is Jackson's - - it's the one that's two stories taller than his assistant's.
Almond tried to get Fesenko to move but the 20-year-old Ukrainian wouldn't budge.
--Ross Siler
It was the same finish, but a different outcome a year later.
Give credit to Williams for making an incredible play. The Jazz could have played it safe, called timeout and advanced the ball. But Williams didn't even look in Jazz coach Jerry Sloan's direction on the bench.
"Booz threw it to me. I'm going," Williams said. He added that while the Jazz do practice two-for-one situations at the end of quarters, they haven't rehearsed going 94 feet in the last five seconds to win. "When I got it, I was going," he said.
No surprise Sloan was unhappy after the game. The Jazz had their chances to put away the Cavaliers and squandered them. They also struggled to crack Cleveland's zone defense the entire game.
"I don't know how we thought we were going to win the way we were trying to play," Sloan said. "We were throwing the ball up in the air, trying to put on a show or something. It wasn't anything like I've ever tried to teach."
Sloan cited the alley-oop passes the Jazz tried to throw and the jumpers they took. Just when it looked like the Jazz had solved the zone (Ronnie Brewer from Mehmet Okur in the third quarter), they fell back on bad habits.
"We just stood outside. We just took shots," Sloan said. "I don't know how you expect to beat a team. We have an offensive structure against a zone and we never did get into it except a couple of times."
* * *
My question is whether we'll see an equal and opposite reaction to Wednesday's game when the Jazz play Friday in Seattle. I'm talking about Sloan shortening his rotation so much that only seven players were used in the second half against Cleveland.
That would be the starting five plus Matt Harpring and Paul Millsap. Deron Williams played the entire second half as a result. Gordan Giricek, Jarron Collins, Jason Hart, Ronnie Price and Morris Almond were reduced to spectators.
Playing the winless Sonics, Sloan might feel he has a better opportunity to give his bench players extended minutes. It might be a good idea to give Hart eight or nine minutes in the first half to see if he can get going and get his confidence back.
Same thing for Collins, who got into the game for 30 seconds Wednesday. Maybe the Jazz will want to experiment with the Hart/Price backcourt that we saw once during the preseason. The point is, you can experiment a little against Seattle.
* * *
Welcome to the NBA, Morris Almond! The Jazz's first-round pick was activated Wednesday and played all of 2:31. Sloan went to Almond late in the first quarter with the Jazz in foul trouble and he got a nice ovation from the crowd.
Almond also got the true rookie treatment. He was whistled for back-to-back fouls in the second quarter and returned to the bench. It was almost impossible to make any judgments about Almond's ability to defend watching the three minutes he played.
If you haven't checked out Almond's blog at NBA.com, it's definitely worth reading. Unlike blog superstar Gilbert Arenas, Almond actually types his entries out. Arenas talks on the phone to a ghost writer, who turns his thoughts into what you see on the site.
Almond thought he would be able to better watch his words typing instead of talking. His most recent post was about life on the inactive list, which he didn't even know existed until Sloan told him about it before the Golden State opener.
"At least I'm on a good team and with a good organization," Almond wrote. "There are worse places I could be. At Rice when I wouldn't get in the game, I'd have to walk back to my dorm room afterwards, dejected AND broke. At least I get a little scratch for my troubles this time around."
Whether he plays or not, Almond will make about $10,000 a game this season. The scratch in the NBA isn't bad at all.
* * *
Somebody put a copy of the placard of Baron Davis dunking over Andrei Kirilenko in Kirilenko's locker at EnergySolutions Arena. The Warriors printed 20,000 or so copies for their fans on opening night.
Kirilenko said it's a reminder to "Be on time" when it comes to blocking shots. Otherwise, you'll arrive a split-second late and wind up in somebody's poster. . . .
With the ESPN cameras in the locker room before the game, rookie Kyrylo Fesenko walked over and put an arm around Kirilenko and smiled for the cameras. Most players just ignore the cameramen and keep on tying their shoes or whatever, but Fesenko clearly wanted to be on TV.
Fesenko also had a funny moment when we were in L.A. for the Lakers game. He sat right in Phil Jackson's customized chair as the Jazz were out shooting before the game. It's not hard to figure out which chair is Jackson's - - it's the one that's two stories taller than his assistant's.
Almond tried to get Fesenko to move but the 20-year-old Ukrainian wouldn't budge.
--Ross Siler
2:17 AM
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