Jazz 103, Trail Blazers 96
The way Jazz coach Jerry Sloan always has explained it is that he's followed a set substitution pattern because he believes players maximize their time on the court when they know exactly when they're going in and coming out and how much they'll play.
It's why, like clockwork, Deron Williams and Mehmet Okur will come to the bench at the end of the first and third quarters, usually with about four minutes remaining. The only question is whether they'll come back to start the second and fourth quarters or rest a little longer.
But Sloan clearly is reconsidering some things given his team's impressive depth. The Jazz might be the deepest team in the NBA right now and are really going to be something to watch once Williams, Matt Harpring and Jarron Collins are back from injury.
Ronnie Brewer is seeing the greatest change in his role. After being used almost exclusively as a first- and third-quarter player after Kyle Korver's arrival last season, Brewer played in all four quarters Wednesday, more than 32 minutes in all.
Sloan opted to finish the second quarter with Brewer and Korver in the same lineup along with Brevin Knight, Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur. He played Carlos Boozer for barely three minutes in the quarter, letting Paul Millsap see extended action.
For the third consecutive game, Brewer stayed in to start the fourth quarter, this time for 2:25. He was replaced by Korver, but came back with 5:06 after Korver picked up two fouls matched up against Travis Outlaw.
Brewer was in just long enough to post up Steve Blake, spin back to the middle and foul out a helping LaMarcus Aldridge as part of a three-point play. But Sloan wasn't done making substitutions.
He replaced Brewer with Korver again, this time with 2:22 left and Portland having switched to a zone defense. There was still one more move, as Sloan brought back Brewer to guard Brandon Roy in the final minute.
I wish there was more to say about what happened, which represents a sea change for the Jazz, but the players and coaches are so scattered after these games (no surprise) that sometimes it's hard to find a lot of perspective.
But it seems logical to conclude that Korver is no longer guaranteed to play in the fourth quarter just because he is such an automatic free-throw shooter. Millsap played 25 minutes against Portland while Boozer logged less than 33.
It also will be interesting to see what happens with Brevin Knight and Ronnie Price once Williams returns. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Knight stay with the second unit while Price becomes the No. 3 point guard.
Knight played the final 14:45 of Wednesday's game, including the entire fourth quarter, and finished with six points, six assists, three steals and three turnovers.
* * *
Sloan also seems to be playing more and more zone defense after the success the Jazz had with it Saturday. They had one nice sequence out of it in the second quarter Wednesday as Knight came up with a steal, Okur led the fast break and Korver nailed a three-pointer.
* * *
The Jazz went 21-for-22 from the foul line Wednesday, the lone miss being Andrei Kirilenko's in the fourth quarter. Millsap was perfect for the second straight game, this time going 4-for-4. He's now 15 of 17 (88.2 percent) for the season, remarkable considering that he was just a 67.5 percent foul shooter his first two seasons.
* * *
Sloan had to be happy watching C.J. Miles in the first quarter. Miles passed up a three-pointer and instead rifled a pass to Ronnie Brewer for a layup inside. He came back less than a minute later to knock down a jumper in rhythm. It will be interesting to see whether Miles plays more than his now typical 13 to 15 minutes since Sloan is showing such flexibility.
* * *
Have to talk about the NBA Development League for a second. The Utah Flash are drafting on Friday and I learned about a new rule. It turns out that if a team drafts a player in the second round and cuts him during the preseason, the team's D-League affiliate has that player's rights for the upcoming season.
It looks like Lakers draftee Joe Crawford is going to end up with the Los Angeles D-Fenders. The Knicks didn't draft Patrick Ewing Jr. (Sacramento did), but he did go to training camp with Mike D'Antoni and Co. and is likely to end up with the Knicks' affiliate in Reno, Nev., as a result.
Although Coby Karl was a second-round draft pick with the Lakers in 2007, the rule only applies to players drafted the same calendar year. Because he played at Boise State, Karl's rights belong to Idaho, but he is expected to play for the Nuggets' affiliate, the Colorado 14ers, thanks to the connection with his father.
It's interesting from a Jazz perspective because the team used its two second-round draft picks this year on Croatian center Ante Tomic and Serbian forward Tadija Dragicevic. The Jazz retain their rights as long as they remain in Europe, but the Flash could have benefited had the Jazz drafted an American player.
The rule only pertains to which D-League team can claim a player, leaving any NBA team eligible to sign these players. There are at least two recent draft picks who will be playing in the D-League this season in Chris Richard (Minnesota) and Jermareo Davidson (Charlotte).
--Ross Siler
It's why, like clockwork, Deron Williams and Mehmet Okur will come to the bench at the end of the first and third quarters, usually with about four minutes remaining. The only question is whether they'll come back to start the second and fourth quarters or rest a little longer.
But Sloan clearly is reconsidering some things given his team's impressive depth. The Jazz might be the deepest team in the NBA right now and are really going to be something to watch once Williams, Matt Harpring and Jarron Collins are back from injury.
Ronnie Brewer is seeing the greatest change in his role. After being used almost exclusively as a first- and third-quarter player after Kyle Korver's arrival last season, Brewer played in all four quarters Wednesday, more than 32 minutes in all.
Sloan opted to finish the second quarter with Brewer and Korver in the same lineup along with Brevin Knight, Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur. He played Carlos Boozer for barely three minutes in the quarter, letting Paul Millsap see extended action.
For the third consecutive game, Brewer stayed in to start the fourth quarter, this time for 2:25. He was replaced by Korver, but came back with 5:06 after Korver picked up two fouls matched up against Travis Outlaw.
Brewer was in just long enough to post up Steve Blake, spin back to the middle and foul out a helping LaMarcus Aldridge as part of a three-point play. But Sloan wasn't done making substitutions.
He replaced Brewer with Korver again, this time with 2:22 left and Portland having switched to a zone defense. There was still one more move, as Sloan brought back Brewer to guard Brandon Roy in the final minute.
I wish there was more to say about what happened, which represents a sea change for the Jazz, but the players and coaches are so scattered after these games (no surprise) that sometimes it's hard to find a lot of perspective.
But it seems logical to conclude that Korver is no longer guaranteed to play in the fourth quarter just because he is such an automatic free-throw shooter. Millsap played 25 minutes against Portland while Boozer logged less than 33.
It also will be interesting to see what happens with Brevin Knight and Ronnie Price once Williams returns. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Knight stay with the second unit while Price becomes the No. 3 point guard.
Knight played the final 14:45 of Wednesday's game, including the entire fourth quarter, and finished with six points, six assists, three steals and three turnovers.
* * *
Sloan also seems to be playing more and more zone defense after the success the Jazz had with it Saturday. They had one nice sequence out of it in the second quarter Wednesday as Knight came up with a steal, Okur led the fast break and Korver nailed a three-pointer.
* * *
The Jazz went 21-for-22 from the foul line Wednesday, the lone miss being Andrei Kirilenko's in the fourth quarter. Millsap was perfect for the second straight game, this time going 4-for-4. He's now 15 of 17 (88.2 percent) for the season, remarkable considering that he was just a 67.5 percent foul shooter his first two seasons.
* * *
Sloan had to be happy watching C.J. Miles in the first quarter. Miles passed up a three-pointer and instead rifled a pass to Ronnie Brewer for a layup inside. He came back less than a minute later to knock down a jumper in rhythm. It will be interesting to see whether Miles plays more than his now typical 13 to 15 minutes since Sloan is showing such flexibility.
* * *
Have to talk about the NBA Development League for a second. The Utah Flash are drafting on Friday and I learned about a new rule. It turns out that if a team drafts a player in the second round and cuts him during the preseason, the team's D-League affiliate has that player's rights for the upcoming season.
It looks like Lakers draftee Joe Crawford is going to end up with the Los Angeles D-Fenders. The Knicks didn't draft Patrick Ewing Jr. (Sacramento did), but he did go to training camp with Mike D'Antoni and Co. and is likely to end up with the Knicks' affiliate in Reno, Nev., as a result.
Although Coby Karl was a second-round draft pick with the Lakers in 2007, the rule only applies to players drafted the same calendar year. Because he played at Boise State, Karl's rights belong to Idaho, but he is expected to play for the Nuggets' affiliate, the Colorado 14ers, thanks to the connection with his father.
It's interesting from a Jazz perspective because the team used its two second-round draft picks this year on Croatian center Ante Tomic and Serbian forward Tadija Dragicevic. The Jazz retain their rights as long as they remain in Europe, but the Flash could have benefited had the Jazz drafted an American player.
The rule only pertains to which D-League team can claim a player, leaving any NBA team eligible to sign these players. There are at least two recent draft picks who will be playing in the D-League this season in Chris Richard (Minnesota) and Jermareo Davidson (Charlotte).
--Ross Siler
12:50 AM
| 
1 Comments:
Over the years, my biggest beef with Sloan has been his inability to put the team in a position to win. What I'm referring to are his rigid substitution patterns and his aversion to leaving in hot players. It's his conservative nature that has allowed his teams to be successful to a point...meaning, never getting over that hump.
With that said, its good to see Sloan "going with the flow" so to speak. It'll make for a much more interesting and hopefully successful season.
Post a Comment
<< Home