Physical? Not the Jazz
Watching the Jazz's 100-93 loss at Atlanta on television, I once again had to laugh about their reputation as a physical team, which always seems to be discussed when opposing players and coaches are asked about Utah.
When he played, coach Jerry Sloan was tougher than a cheap steak.
When he played, Karl Malone was as physical and intimidating as any player in league history.
When he played, John Stockton was a tough and physical as possible for a 175-pound point guard.
Those days are long gone, however, and this team is not physical or intimidating. In fact, the Jazz's lack of physical toughness is the one thing they lack that other top-tier teams possess.
Against Atlanta, the Jazz got smacked around from the start and did not respond, except for a brief stretch of the third quarter. The Hawks were more physical and, for the most part, Utah offered little resistance.
In this regard, three plays by the Hawks -- borderline dirty plays, actually -- come to mind.
-- With 9:47 left in the second quarter, Zaza Pachulia drove to the basket and, while attempting to create some space for a layup, he hit Paul Millsap square in the face with an elbow.
-- With 6:05 left in the third quarter, Deron Williams drove to the basket and had his layup blocked by Al Horford, who kicked his leg out on the play and hit Williams in the sternum with a karate-like shot.
-- At the end of the third quarter, Ronnie Brewer beat the clock with a layup. Atlanta's Josh Smith was trailing the play but caught up with Brewer as he released the shot. Smith ran through Brewer and landed on top of him as time expired. Brewer crashed to the floor and cut his lip.
Of course, Smith got a pass from the league for this type of play three weeks ago, when he flagrantly fouled Matt Harpring during a game at EnergySolutions Arena.
Harpring injured his back, hip and shoulder on the play and missed a game. More significantly, he has not played nearly as well since Smith knocked him out of the air on that layup attempt.
The officials ejected Smith from the game for his nasty play, but NBA disciplinarian Stu Jackson did not suspend him for the dangerous take-down.
On the play, you'll remember, Harpring leaped to his feet and had to be restrained from going after Smith. In the dog-eat-dog world of the NBA, it's the type of reaction that is needed. Players shouldn't get themselves suspended by their heat-of-the-moment actions, but they also need to let opponents know that if hard fouls are going to be taken on one end of the floor, they are going to be given on the other. Otherwise, scouting reports about the Jazz and its individual players are going to start saying the same thing: soft, soft, soft.
After the Hawks' three overly aggressive plays in Atlanta, the Jazz offered no Harpring-like response, which made me think of the Lakers-Blazers game this week.
When L.A.'s Trevor Ariza committed a hard foul on Portland's Rudy Fernandez, two Trail Blazers including All-Star Brandon Roy confronted him. When that happened, Kobe Bryant stepped in and Lamar Odom came off the bench to stand up for Ariza.
Odom was suspended by the NBA for leaving the bench and says he would "probably" do it again if he saw a teammate "... put under pressure by two guys from the other team."
The Jazz should listen carefully and digest what Odom said, otherwise the Josh Smiths of the NBA are going to keep them from scaring anyone -- even they though are talented enough to challenge in the Western Conference.
-- Steve Luhm
When he played, coach Jerry Sloan was tougher than a cheap steak.
When he played, Karl Malone was as physical and intimidating as any player in league history.
When he played, John Stockton was a tough and physical as possible for a 175-pound point guard.
Those days are long gone, however, and this team is not physical or intimidating. In fact, the Jazz's lack of physical toughness is the one thing they lack that other top-tier teams possess.
Against Atlanta, the Jazz got smacked around from the start and did not respond, except for a brief stretch of the third quarter. The Hawks were more physical and, for the most part, Utah offered little resistance.
In this regard, three plays by the Hawks -- borderline dirty plays, actually -- come to mind.
-- With 9:47 left in the second quarter, Zaza Pachulia drove to the basket and, while attempting to create some space for a layup, he hit Paul Millsap square in the face with an elbow.
-- With 6:05 left in the third quarter, Deron Williams drove to the basket and had his layup blocked by Al Horford, who kicked his leg out on the play and hit Williams in the sternum with a karate-like shot.
-- At the end of the third quarter, Ronnie Brewer beat the clock with a layup. Atlanta's Josh Smith was trailing the play but caught up with Brewer as he released the shot. Smith ran through Brewer and landed on top of him as time expired. Brewer crashed to the floor and cut his lip.
Of course, Smith got a pass from the league for this type of play three weeks ago, when he flagrantly fouled Matt Harpring during a game at EnergySolutions Arena.
Harpring injured his back, hip and shoulder on the play and missed a game. More significantly, he has not played nearly as well since Smith knocked him out of the air on that layup attempt.
The officials ejected Smith from the game for his nasty play, but NBA disciplinarian Stu Jackson did not suspend him for the dangerous take-down.
On the play, you'll remember, Harpring leaped to his feet and had to be restrained from going after Smith. In the dog-eat-dog world of the NBA, it's the type of reaction that is needed. Players shouldn't get themselves suspended by their heat-of-the-moment actions, but they also need to let opponents know that if hard fouls are going to be taken on one end of the floor, they are going to be given on the other. Otherwise, scouting reports about the Jazz and its individual players are going to start saying the same thing: soft, soft, soft.
After the Hawks' three overly aggressive plays in Atlanta, the Jazz offered no Harpring-like response, which made me think of the Lakers-Blazers game this week.
When L.A.'s Trevor Ariza committed a hard foul on Portland's Rudy Fernandez, two Trail Blazers including All-Star Brandon Roy confronted him. When that happened, Kobe Bryant stepped in and Lamar Odom came off the bench to stand up for Ariza.
Odom was suspended by the NBA for leaving the bench and says he would "probably" do it again if he saw a teammate "... put under pressure by two guys from the other team."
The Jazz should listen carefully and digest what Odom said, otherwise the Josh Smiths of the NBA are going to keep them from scaring anyone -- even they though are talented enough to challenge in the Western Conference.
-- Steve Luhm
12:04 PM
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2 Comments:
So, why wasn't anyone from the Jazz bench, let alone any of the Jazz on the floor, say anything to defend their guys! There was so little attention paid during those plays. No fouls called? Hard to imagine not a single ref blew a whistle on each of those plays. Was happy, though, to see Horford get caught with the technical for taunting (9:00min left in 4th). [BTW, play in the 3rd was 6:19 min left, not 6:05 min.]
Steve I'm glad someone is finally saying this. I have been talking about this with my buddies since Chris Webber took out Stockton in the playoffs nearly 10 years ago. Jazz players are not as physical as they are given credit for.....and nobody is ever willing to defend their teammate. Someone needs to step up and lead the charge when another team starts beating us down....and let's face it....our "Captain" Boozer isn't going to be that guy.
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