Nuggets 120, Jazz 119
If C.J. Miles plays even a second at point guard this season, I'll be surprised. Deron Williams has missed two games in three seasons and Brevin Knight and Ronnie Price both are capable backups.
But Miles got the call in Wednesday's preseason loss to Denver and the 13-plus minutes he played at the position were the story of the game, especially once the Jazz were able to rally late in the fourth quarter and force overtime.
He did a good job looking for teammates, whether it was Morris Almond for a three-pointer, Kosta Koufos for a layup or Kevin Lyde for a dunk. Talking after the game, Miles said he tried to stay calm knowing that he was leading a young lineup.
What might have been most interesting is that when we asked Jerry Sloan about Miles' play at point guard, the first thing Sloan brought up was the jumper that Miles took early in the first quarter, which clearly rankled him.
That's the second time in two games that Miles has taken shots to open games/halves that have met with Sloan's displeasure. I think he would be well-advised to make his first shot a layup Friday against Chicago.
Miles, incidentally, was matched up against Smush Parker in the second quarter and Mateen Cleaves in the fourth quarter and overtime. Parker and Cleaves have played in a combined 430 games in their career.
* * *
One of the things about the preseason is that you almost have to watch the games more closely than in the regular season. There's definitely observations to be made, but you have to be paying attention to see them.
Case in point: Morris Almond got the chance to run with the starters to open the second half. Miles was still in the locker room getting stitched up after he took an elbow from Lyde in the second quarter.
Even though Almond was the Jazz's first-round draft pick in 2007, I think Wednesday's game might have been the first time I'd ever seen him play with Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur. That includes last October's preseason.
Almond had a couple of tough breaks. He was matched up against Dahntay Jones, who faked him in the air and drew a trip to the foul line. Almond lost a rebound to Carmelo Anthony, who put it back for a basket.
Almond missed a couple of jumpers as well as a couple of layups. He finished the game 3-for-11 and scored 12 points before fouling out in overtime. Most significantly, Almond played a team-high 28 minutes.
I'd be interested in hearing some other impressions of Almond's night. He got beat on that drive by J.R. Smith at the end of regulation but also didn't get any help as Kosta Koufos crossed him up on the pick-and-roll.
Almond was called on to shoot the free throw after Ruben Patterson's inexcusable technical foul in the final minute. Had Sloan not called on him, Almond said after the game he was going to step up and shoot it.
* * *
Where to begin with the Jazz's defense? That's two games in a row with Mehmet Okur slipping into early foul trouble. The Nuggets shot 14 free throws in the first quarter and 57 for the game. They scored 120 points without Allen Iverson in the lineup and with Carmelo Anthony playing 26 minutes.
Just looking at the first quarter, Linas Kleiza cut backdoor for a layup and Anthony Carter served up an alley-oop dunk to Kenyon Martin even as he fell down in the lane. The worst play, though, I thought was in the third quarter on an Anthony drive baseline.
He beat Ronnie Brewer and hit a layup as part of a three-point play. I'm not sure if the Jazz were in a zone or what, but Brewer got no help even though Anthony needed several dribbles to get to the basket and had to foul Anthony as a result.
The Jazz also gave up an easy run-out layup to Linas Kleiza (haven't we seen that before) as well as a Kleiza three-pointer in overtime. Sloan pretty much ripped his team's defense after the game and said it would be a long season if things didn't improve.
* * *
A couple of sidenotes: For the first time, we had a public address announcer confuse Kyrylo Fesenko and Kosta Koufos. I have a feeling it's going to be a common occurrence. . . .Deron Williams walked out for the opening tip, collected the game ball from referee Tom Washington and promptly threw it off the back of the Nuggets' mascot Rocky....There is nothing we writers root for less than overtime in a preseason game, especially in a game that featured 108 free throws.
--Ross Siler
But Miles got the call in Wednesday's preseason loss to Denver and the 13-plus minutes he played at the position were the story of the game, especially once the Jazz were able to rally late in the fourth quarter and force overtime.
He did a good job looking for teammates, whether it was Morris Almond for a three-pointer, Kosta Koufos for a layup or Kevin Lyde for a dunk. Talking after the game, Miles said he tried to stay calm knowing that he was leading a young lineup.
What might have been most interesting is that when we asked Jerry Sloan about Miles' play at point guard, the first thing Sloan brought up was the jumper that Miles took early in the first quarter, which clearly rankled him.
That's the second time in two games that Miles has taken shots to open games/halves that have met with Sloan's displeasure. I think he would be well-advised to make his first shot a layup Friday against Chicago.
Miles, incidentally, was matched up against Smush Parker in the second quarter and Mateen Cleaves in the fourth quarter and overtime. Parker and Cleaves have played in a combined 430 games in their career.
* * *
One of the things about the preseason is that you almost have to watch the games more closely than in the regular season. There's definitely observations to be made, but you have to be paying attention to see them.
Case in point: Morris Almond got the chance to run with the starters to open the second half. Miles was still in the locker room getting stitched up after he took an elbow from Lyde in the second quarter.
Even though Almond was the Jazz's first-round draft pick in 2007, I think Wednesday's game might have been the first time I'd ever seen him play with Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur. That includes last October's preseason.
Almond had a couple of tough breaks. He was matched up against Dahntay Jones, who faked him in the air and drew a trip to the foul line. Almond lost a rebound to Carmelo Anthony, who put it back for a basket.
Almond missed a couple of jumpers as well as a couple of layups. He finished the game 3-for-11 and scored 12 points before fouling out in overtime. Most significantly, Almond played a team-high 28 minutes.
I'd be interested in hearing some other impressions of Almond's night. He got beat on that drive by J.R. Smith at the end of regulation but also didn't get any help as Kosta Koufos crossed him up on the pick-and-roll.
Almond was called on to shoot the free throw after Ruben Patterson's inexcusable technical foul in the final minute. Had Sloan not called on him, Almond said after the game he was going to step up and shoot it.
* * *
Where to begin with the Jazz's defense? That's two games in a row with Mehmet Okur slipping into early foul trouble. The Nuggets shot 14 free throws in the first quarter and 57 for the game. They scored 120 points without Allen Iverson in the lineup and with Carmelo Anthony playing 26 minutes.
Just looking at the first quarter, Linas Kleiza cut backdoor for a layup and Anthony Carter served up an alley-oop dunk to Kenyon Martin even as he fell down in the lane. The worst play, though, I thought was in the third quarter on an Anthony drive baseline.
He beat Ronnie Brewer and hit a layup as part of a three-point play. I'm not sure if the Jazz were in a zone or what, but Brewer got no help even though Anthony needed several dribbles to get to the basket and had to foul Anthony as a result.
The Jazz also gave up an easy run-out layup to Linas Kleiza (haven't we seen that before) as well as a Kleiza three-pointer in overtime. Sloan pretty much ripped his team's defense after the game and said it would be a long season if things didn't improve.
* * *
A couple of sidenotes: For the first time, we had a public address announcer confuse Kyrylo Fesenko and Kosta Koufos. I have a feeling it's going to be a common occurrence. . . .Deron Williams walked out for the opening tip, collected the game ball from referee Tom Washington and promptly threw it off the back of the Nuggets' mascot Rocky....There is nothing we writers root for less than overtime in a preseason game, especially in a game that featured 108 free throws.
--Ross Siler
12:38 AM
| 
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home