Showing posts with label Portland Trailblazers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Portland Trailblazers. Show all posts
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The Comeback Kids
November 30, 2010 -
This year’s Utah Jazz team is definitely not for the faint of heart. Absolutely unreal how they have managed to consistently fall behind by double digits and then somehow come back to win.
It’s even more amazing when you look at the teams they’ve done it against. The Jazz had 8 such 10+ point comebacks during the month of November and managed to pull them off against some of the top teams in the league
Here's a summary of their conquests:
Nov 6: Clippers – trailed by 18 – won by 2 (double OT)
Nov 9: @Heat – trailed by 22 – won by 2 (OT)
Nov 10: @Magic – trailed by 18 – won by 10
Nov 12: @Hawks – trailed by 11 – won by 4
Nov 13: @Bobcats – trailed by 19 – won by 1
Nov 20: @Blazers – trailed by 11 – won by 9
Nov 26: Lakers – trailed by 19 – won by 6
Nov 28: @Clippers – trailed by 10 – won by 12
With the exception of the perennially woeful Clippers whom the Jazz victimized twice, all the teams on the list made the playoffs last season. Additionally, 6 of the 8 wins occurred on the road and 4 of them were on the 2nd night of a back-to-back -- two areas the Jazz have struggled in recent seasons. I don’t have the time or motivation to do the research right now, but I would be surprised if an NBA team has ever had this many double-digit comeback wins in a single month. Truly a November to remember.
While the ability to come back from seemingly insurmountable deficits it’s certainly a good thing, being forced to do it on a regular basis is not. Championship teams don’t routinely fall behind by double-digit margins. They put teams away early. The Jazz have shown tremendous heart and determination by refusing to quit no matter what the score, but they need to come out of the blocks a little faster if they plan to keep winning.
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Jazz Beat Blazers…Again
October 21, 2009 –
For the second time in less than a week, the Jazz beat the Portland Trail Blazers with relative ease. Utah built an 11 point lead in the first quarter and never looked back, cruising to a 108-97 victory. The Jazz improved their record to 5-2 in the preseason.
Game ball goes to: Deron Williams. He scored 27 points on 8 of 12 shooting from the field, along with 9 of 10 from the free throw line. He only had 3 assists but obviously didn’t need more. Once again, Deron looked like the best player on the court.
Stat of the game: Utah was outrebounded by Portland (31-33), had fewer assists (15-18) and more turnovers (22-21), yet still managed to win easily. The Jazz shot 53% from the field while holding the Blazers to 41%.
Highlight: Kyrylo Fesenko had 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks in only 13 minutes. (If only he hadn’t committed 4 turnovers and fouled out during those same 13 minutes…)
Lowlight: Paul Millsap only scored 3 points on 0 of 6 shooting and fouled out in only 21 minutes of play. Not exactly the kind of performance to make Portland agonize over losing out on him this summer.
Other items of note:
- Carlos Boozer kept his hot hand, hitting 8 of 10 from the field. Booz has averaged 72% shooting over the past 3 games.
- Eric Maynor finally broke his streak of recording exactly two steals in each preseason game. He only had one on Tuesday.
- Ronnie Brewer continued to look impressive, putting in another solid if not spectacular performance on Tuesday. He scored 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting. He also had 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block.
- Mehmet Okur returned to the lineup after sitting out Sunday’s game with a sore back. He only scored 5 points on 1 of 6 shooting. Kyle Korver and Ronnie Price are still out. No word yet as to whether or not they will play on Friday.
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Maynor Shines in Jazz Victory Over Blazers
October 16, 2009 -
The Utah Jazz beat the Portland Trail Blazers 99-96 on Thursday evening in Salt Lake City. This game wasn’t on TV, so I can’t make any personal observations. But based on the box score and recaps I read from some fans who watched the game in person (thanks Redneck, Maria, and Pater), here is my second-hand summary:
Game ball goes to: Eric Maynor. The rookie is starting to make me look bad for doubting the wisdom of drafting him. He easily had the best game of his short pro career with 15 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals in 23 minutes off the bench.
Stat of the game: Deron Williams had more rebounds (7) than three Jazz centers combined (6): Mehmet Okur (2), Kosta Koufos (2), Kyrylo Fesenko (2)
Highlight: Williams left the huddle during a timeout to launch t-shirts into the crowd using a giant slingshot.
Lowlight: Fesenko had 0 points, 4 fouls, and 3 turnovers in 11 minutes. In fairness, he did also block 2 shots.
Other items of note:
- Ronnie Price started at SG for the Jazz with Miles, Korver, and Kirilenko all out of the lineup. He had 10 points, 2 assists, and 1 block in 23 minutes.
- Long-time Jazzman, Jarron Collins, played for the Blazers. It must have been odd to see him in the opposing uniform. Even more odd, Collins recorded a blocked shot – something he rarely did while playing for Utah.
- The Jazz managed to win despite being outrebounded (36-47), committing more turnovers (16-15) and fouls (32-25), and dishing out fewer assists (20-24).
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Utah Jazz Offseason a Major...?
August 31, 2009 -
Not quite sure how to finish that sentence. Success? Bust? Disappointment? Guess it all depends on your perspective. At this point, the only word I can really settle on is Bore.
So what happened to the most exciting summer in Jazz history? With eight free agents including four of the team’s key players (Boozer, Memo, Millsap, and Korver), we were guaranteed to see some major movement. The Jazz had everything you need to pull off a blockbuster: expiring contracts, all-star talent, young players with upside, and the highly coveted NY 2010 draft pick. All we fans had to do was grab some popcorn, pull up a chair, and watch the events unfold…
This summer has been like meeting a hot girl who flirts with you but then stands you up for the date.
Did you know the Jazz are the only team in the entire NBA who have not either added a new player to their roster (aside from their draft picks) or had another team sign away one of their free agents? In the meantime, the majority of contenders in the West have made at least one significant move to improve their team. Check out this list based on 2009 playoff seeds:
1. Lakers – Signed Ron Artest
2. Nuggets – A few minor deals, but no major changes
3. Spurs – Traded for Richard Jefferson; signed Antonio McDyess
4. Houston – Signed Tervor Ariza (but lost Artest to the Lakers and Yao to injury)
5. Portland – Signed Andre Miller
6. Dallas – Traded for Shawn Marion; signed Drew Gooden
7. Hornets – Traded for Emeka Okafor
8. Jazz – I heard they added a new towel boy for home games
Clearly five of the teams ahead of the Jazz in last season’s standings pulled off deals that make them stronger, at least on paper. You never know how it will translate on the court, but the West definitely looks tougher than ever.
Training camp doesn’t start for another month, so things could still change between now and then. I’m holding out hope that KOC has a few tricks up his sleeve, because it will be a major letdown to start the season with the same cast that barely made the playoffs last year. For now, the Jazz offseason remains an unanswered question.
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Millsap Matched
July 17, 2009 –
If I had any doubt about Jazz ownership’s commitment to building a title contender rather than saving a buck, those fears have been put to rest. By matching Portland’s “toxic” offer sheet to Paul Millsap, Greg Miller convinced me that he wants to win.
I’m thrilled that Millsap will remain a Jazzman. While I always believed the Jazz would be true to their word and match any reasonable offer he received, there was enough subjectivity in the term “reasonable” to leave them an out had they chosen to go the financially conservative route. Instead, they will pay Paul a boatload of money upfront and then have him locked to an extremely reasonable contract for the next four years.
(I promise not to use the word “reasonable” for the remainder of this post.)
Now things get interesting. This move obviously makes Boozer’s imminent departure appear to be more of a foregone conclusion than it already was. The question is does it hurt Utah’s leverage now that other teams know the Jazz are deep in luxury tax territory and may therefore be much more motivated to trade Boozer for some salary relief?
I don’t believe the Jazz will deal Boozer for nothing more than cap relief, and I sincerely hope I’m not proven wrong. It just wouldn’t be reason… uh… I mean, "sensible" to do so.
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Top Five Wishes for the Rest of the Offseason
July 13, 2009 -
1. Jazz match Millsap -- He needs to be a Jazzman. We don't have enough tough, hustle players, and Sap actually has skill and upside to go along with it. It will be a sad day if he becomes a Blazer.
2. Jazz trade Boozer without involving Portland -- I don't want to see them benefit in any way from signing Millsap to a "toxic" offer sheet, even if it does allow the Jazz to shed more salary. I just want the Jazz to get something of value back for Booz, not just expiring contracts.
3. Jazz trade small and/or expiring contracts for a single wing upgrade -- I would like to see any combination of Harp, CJ, Korver, Fess, and Brewer traded for someone like Caron Butler, Gerald Wallace, Rip Hamilton, Kevin Martin, Eric Gordon, OJ Mayo, John Salmons, Tayshaun Prince, etc. (Probably dreaming here, but if San Antonio can get Richard Jefferson for their leftovers, there's always a chance...)
4. Andre Miller re-signs with Philly (and therefore not Portland or NY) -- Miller makes the players around him better, and for obvious reasons I don't want to see either of those two teams improve.
5. Lamar Odom signs with anyone but Portland -- Again, no interest in seeing Portland add a player who could make them better. I can't figure out why they haven't pursued Odom aggressively, as he seems like a great fit for them at both forward spots.
So how many of the five will actually happen? Guess we'll find out soon enough.
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