If Boozer finds himself this offseason...

[erudite23]

Buuuuut, lets get something clear. We didn't lose to the Lakers because of our defense. The only thing that cost us defensively were the amount of fouls that we committed.

We lost to the Lakers because of our offense.

My godness , erudite you'll never learn will you ?

OF COURSE DEFENSE is the reason we lost that series.
We let the Lakers shot 49% from the floor. Do you understand what that means ??
It's better than there regular season average or better than what they were allowed against the freaking Denver Nuggets !!

You say that our team had a worst % in the playoffs than in the regular season , but EVERY **** TEAM has a worst field goal percentage in the playoffs because defense are tighter in the postseason !!
Take the Spurs for instance . Last year's champions.
Last year they shot 47.6% from the floor. IN the playoffs they shot 44.3% vs Denver , 45.7% vs Phoenix and 44.4% vs Cleveland.
They still won the championship , why ? DEFENSE.
Actually the only series where they had a better fg% than in the regular season was against...Utah. Last year they shot 49.3% vs the Jazz.
It was the reason we lost last year , and this year is no different.

We scored 107 pts per game on 44% from the floor , and you really think we lost that series because of our offense ?!!
My goodness this is PATHETIC.

Calm down young grasshopper. Sheesh.

I understand that you feel a strong drive to vent about what you consider to be the predominant barrier standing between your team and a championship, but you should take a bit of a step back and think for a bit.

I could explain all day long, if I felt it might do some good, but I don't think it would. So I will just say that we aren't a team that wins with defense. San Antonio is a team that wins with defense. So is Detroit.

We win with offense.

Our team, in the coming years, has a real chance to be one of the best offenses of all-time. People don't realize how good we already are, and that we have a young team that is still growing and developing. We are an offensive team.

Whether or not that fits with all your preconcieved notions (likely fueled by media driven cliches) about how a team wins a title is irrelevant. Its who we are.

That said, we as a team did not have a good defensive series. I'm not saying we did. What I'm saying is that--even with the struggles we had--we could have taken that series if we had shot the ball like we normally do. I'm not buying that LA was shutting us down, and I'm not buying that we are bound to shoot much worse in the postseason than we do in the regular season.

More than anything, I'm seeing a litany of sequences (most of them from game 5) where we were in a position to take control of the ball game and couldn't because we didn't convert on an opportunity that we would normally convert on. It was there for us. Likewise, the Lakers were really stroking the ball (especially Fisher, who made seemingly every jumper he took) from the perimeter, too.


Look, I'm not going to argue that we couldn't use more D, because we certainly could. But you'll forgive me if I don't jump at every crackpot idea that an internet keyboard jockey comes up with to improve the team. If there was a reasonable, feasible proposal on the table for us to acquire a strong interior defensive presence, I'm positive that the team would strongly consider making the move.

However, as KOC recently said, "show me that guy". Almost every team in the league is looking for that guy, and the teams that have an established player of that quality aren't looking to ship him out.

In the meantime, we actually have what is likely the best offensive frontcourt in the game today. Boozer and Okur are dynamic enough offensively and on the boards that they more than make up for their defensive short comings. If you are looking to replace Boozer's shoddy D, you must also replace that nice little 22 and 11 he puts up with great %s to go along with it (in addition to his passing skills and excellent screening abilities).

You can throw ideas out there all you want, but all they are is useless drivel until we see them in action. Otherwise, you can hide behind your hypothetical genius all day long and never have to do a lick of accounting yourself.

Meanwhile, I will be dealing with the bird in the hand. We have a dominant player playing the PF position on our team right now. If there is a way that we can get another dominant player who also plays defense, I will jump for joy. Until then, we should be talking about ways to build around the high quality personnel we already have on the team.

[troy]

I could explain all day long, if I felt it might do some good, but I don't think it would. So I will just say that we aren't a team that wins with defense. San Antonio is a team that wins with defense. So is Detroit.

We win with offense.

Our team, in the coming years, has a real chance to be one of the best offenses of all-time. People don't realize how good we already are, and that we have a young team that is still growing and developing. We are an offensive team.

Whether or not that fits with all your preconcieved notions (likely fueled by media driven cliches) about how a team wins a title is irrelevant. Its who we are.

When did you start following the NBA ?
Name me one "offensive team" that won the Championship in recent years .
The last offensive team to win a title was the showtime lakers and they still had a way better defense than us .
Despite those "preconcieved notions (likely fueled by media driven cliches) you still think Utah can win because it has one of the best offense of all time.
Didn't you see what happened to the Suns those past four years ?
Or maybe you're blind ?

On top of that , you hvae some flaws in your thinking process :
How can you say something like that seriously :
"I'm not buying that LA was shutting us down, and I'm not buying that we are bound to shoot much worse in the postseason than we do in the regular season.
"
I mean this is just stupid. In the playoffs you only play the best defense in the league in case you've never noticed. You do not play the Wolves or Sonics...
Do you really think we shot 49.7% vs the lakers during the regular season ? Well you might want to check again.


IN the playoffs , the defensive intensity is up. We've shown the past two years that we couldn't elevate our offensive game. So in order to compete, we need to elevate our defensive game. It's not that hard since he is crappy at the moment (we let the lakers shot 49.1% for godness sake !!!)

Utah will not win with Boozer AND Okur starting inside. We need to get at least a good interior defender in our starting lineup.
If you think otherwise , you might to buy some tissues from the suns fans , because you're in for a big disapointment. This "offensive team" isn't winning anything as it currently stands.

[JStockLivesOn]

Boozer's passing isn't a strength. Malone, he is not.

He's (forgive me) passable passing out of the post and his interior passing has been steadily improving, but he's also one of the worst outlet passers in recent memory. I'm stunned by how many turnovers he gives up on outlets.

[HouseofBoozer]

All this talk about FG% is irrelevant considering we owned the boards.

[erudite23]

When did you start following the NBA ?
Name me one "offensive team" that won the Championship in recent years .
The last offensive team to win a title was the showtime lakers and they still had a way better defense than us .
Despite those "preconcieved notions (likely fueled by media driven cliches) you still think Utah can win because it has one of the best offense of all time.
Didn't you see what happened to the Suns those past four years ?
Or maybe you're blind ?

Actually, no, the last offensive team to win was the Lakers with Kobe and Shaq. They were also a very good defensive team, too, but their offense is what carried them. Just in case you would like to contest this point, ask any Laker fan in the world, and he'll tell you.

Also, the Heat were not a defensive team, really, either. They were good defensively, don't get me wrong, but they didn't win with defense. They won with Dwayne Wade and Shaq getting high percentage shots.

And, even with all that said, the fact that people haven't done something doesn't mean it can't be done. Just because the recent trend in the Finals is defensive teams winning doesn't mean you have to be a defensive team to win it. That is faulty logic

On top of that , you hvae some flaws in your thinking process :
How can you say something like that seriously :
"I'm not buying that LA was shutting us down, and I'm not buying that we are bound to shoot much worse in the postseason than we do in the regular season.
"
I mean this is just stupid. In the playoffs you only play the best defense in the league in case you've never noticed. You do not play the Wolves or Sonics...
Do you really think we shot 49.7% vs the lakers during the regular season ? Well you might want to check again.

Actually, YOU might like to check it again. For the season we shot 1031/2111 against the other 7 playoff teams from the West. That computes to 48.8%, or right around where we shot during the regular season. It gets even more impressive if you add in our performance against the top 2 teams in the league overall (Boston and Detroit), and the top 3 teams in the East (with Orlando). Those three teams ranked 1st, 4th and 5th in defensive efficiency for the season. We shot a combined 52.2 from the field against those three teams. Add that number into the number against the 7 WC teams, and you have a 49.5% mark against the top 10 teams in the league....or right about where we were for the season. You should verify facts before you make statements like that. It makes you look dumb.

IN the playoffs , the defensive intensity is up. We've shown the past two years that we couldn't elevate our offensive game. So in order to compete, we need to elevate our defensive game. It's not that hard since he is crappy at the moment (we let the lakers shot 49.1% for godness sake !!!)

Listen, I'm not trying to say that we can't expect a small dip in our offensive production from RS to playoffs. That is understandable. But going from 49.7 on the year (or even the 47.7 we shot against LA during the regular season, which was skewed downward a bit) to 44.3% is just unacceptable. In a series which was nip and tuck for much of it, its not unreasonable to look at that number and say "wow, if we had converted on offense better, we very well might have advanced".

Utah will not win with Boozer AND Okur starting inside. We need to get at least a good interior defender in our starting lineup.
If you think otherwise , you might to buy some tissues from the suns fans , because you're in for a big disapointment. This "offensive team" isn't winning anything as it currently stands.

While I don't necessarily disagree with you in theory--meaning that I fully appreciate the negative impact that having both of those guys and their bad D in the starting lineup has on our team--I don't think you know what you're saying. We could easily have won it THIS YEAR. We are on par with LA as a team right now. Give us HCA and who knows what might be different.

Its one thing to say "we need an interior defensive presence", EVERY JAZZ FAN ALIVE agrees with, but its another entirely to say that we will not win it all without one. If you look at what happened in the LA series, we were playing against a great offensive team who--surprise!--played like a great offensive team. But we are also a great offensive team, and we certainly didn't play like one. We turned the ball over, missed a ton of easy shots, and allowed them to dictate what we did and did not do.

If the Jazz shoot 49.7% in that series, I guarantee we win it. With the advantages we had on the boards, if we had out shot them from the field, then only a herculean effort from Salvatore or Bevetta could have allowed the Lakers to be victorious.

[erudite23]

Boozer's passing isn't a strength. Malone, he is not.

He's (forgive me) passable passing out of the post and his interior passing has been steadily improving, but he's also one of the worst outlet passers in recent memory. I'm stunned by how many turnovers he gives up on outlets.

While I agree that he is not a great outlet passer (got hyperbole? ), I think you are undervaluing his passing contributions. He's not a great passer, certainly, but he is pretty good, and, as you say, getting better.

People forget how young he is, still. If the guy had been on a regular rookie-scale contract, he would have barely been in the 2nd year of his first big time contract. He has a lot of growth ahead of him, and his game is going to age well, because its not predicated upon his athleticism or quickness, but his skill. I think he's going to get a lot better, personally.

[troy]

If the Jazz shoot 49.7% in that series, I guarantee we win it.

No ,you're kidding right ?
Of course we could have won the series , but name one team that shot 49.7% from the field against a TRUE CONTENDER in the past 10 years (the Jazz from the past two years can't be considered a true contender).
It's like saying the Suns would have murdered san antonio the past two years if they could have shot "as well as usual" , it's ridiculous.

Utah plays on only one end of the floor. Last year the Spurs had by far their best FG% against them , and this year it will be the same with the Lakers.
Those team had a better fg% than in the regular season.

And saying this team could have EASILY won it this year is incredible.
You really think we are on par with LA ? Ahahaha.
We got blown out in the first two games in LA and in Game 5 the closest one in california we NEVER lead in the 4th !
IN comparison , the Lakers forced overtime on our floor (game 4) and won the series on our floor.
Kobe killed us (something like 40 free throws per game) Gasol/Odom killed our interiors, and you really think we are "on par" with the Lakers ?
Furthermore even if we had beaten the Lakers , the Spurs would have humiliate us . And don't be fooled by the regular season games , the Celtics would have also killed us with their defense.
No sir , we had NO chance of winning the title this year. You need a reality check.


Regular season doesn't mean jack ****. We lost only 4 games at home in the regular season , but in the playoffs we lost 2 out of six games at home.
In the playoffs we had trouble getting rid of the Rockets (one of the worst offense in the league with maybe the biggest choker of all time) and we got kicked out by a Laker team during a series we never had control. How can you say we could have won the title with this team.

The Mavericks were close to winning the title in 06' , the Suns too maybe last year (if they had beaten SA). But us ?
Of course we will improve , and maybe this group can go as far as Dallas did . But in the end they won't win. Because their defense is pathetic.

And for the record , that Shaq/Kobe laker team had the BEST defense in the league in 99/00 . Their offense was only 4th in the league.
Think whatever you want , but guys like Harper, Fox , Horry , AC Green weren't there for their offense.


The most interesting here is that you tell us we weren't far from the title this year. We were on par with the Lakers.
With a 16pts , 41.5% Boozer we were on par with the Lakers.
Do you think it's that hard to find a 16pts scorer that can defend way better than Boozer ?
Boozer is probably a top 5 worst defender at his position. Thus It's much easier to improve defensively than improve offensively.

[erudite23]

I can see that you are frothing at the mouth here, so prudence tells me that I should avoid going any further in this argument.



....however, I have never been the most prudent person around, so...

I find it funny that you don't even acknowledge it when you're proven wrong, but you just gloss over and continue along your merry way.

What you're really doing is playing devil's advocate to the hilt.


So now the Jazz have been outclassed and beat down blah blah blah blah. I will take a second to point out the manner in which you argue without full disclosure, only ever bringing out points that illustrate the point you want to make, while ignoring the obvious rebuttal that is to come.

Example:

...in Game 5 the closest one in california we NEVER lead in the 4th !
IN comparison , the Lakers forced overtime on our floor (game 4)

This cracks me up. First you say we NEVER lead in the 4th in game 5, and then immediately turn around and explain how they were so good that they forced OT on our floor.

Using the same tactics, I could make the argument that WE were within 4 points for almost the entirety of the 4th in game 5, and that we were tied with the ball and an opportunity to take the lead MULTIPLE times in the closing minutes. AND that, if not for consecutive no calls on obvious pushes in the back by Pau Gasol that lead to the eventual winning margin, we EASILY could have taken that game, maybe even SHOULD have taken it.

Meanwhile, in regard to game 4, I could say that we won the game by 8, and that--just as you pointed out about us in game 5--that the Lakers never lead in the 4th (or the game, for that matter) and trailed by as many as 11.




Now, each of those statements are true, as were the ones that you made, btw, but what they have in common is the fact that they are misleading. I made it sound like we outplayed them more than we actually did, and you made it sound like they were far better than us when it was certainly not the case.

The biggest difference between the Jazz and the Lakers in this series was the ability to close out and put the foot on the jugular, the FT line, and the little bit of oomph that Kobe gave them. All small things, relatively speaking.

Given the fact that we were operating well below what our typical offensive performance is, its not anything close to outlandish to assert that we could have won the series if we were scoring as we usually do.

And finally, you're beyond help if you want to use Boozer's performance against the Lakers as a measuring stick for what he's worth. Yes, it would be easy to find a player that is capable of scoring 16ppg with 42% FGs who plays better than Boozer on the defensive side of the ball. But if you think that we will EVER see that kind of playoff performance from him again.....well, then that would explain why you are so pessimistic about the future.

[troy]

Given the fact that we were operating well below what our typical offensive performance is, its not anything close to outlandish to assert that we could have won the series if we were scoring as we usually do.

Ok i'm done with you. Call the ability to close out games a small thing if you want , looks like you're just not a very clever basketball mind.

We could have EASILY won the title that year. Especially if we'd shot 49.7% from the floor against the Lakers. It would have been so easy if we could have done this small thing.
And we could have EASILY won game 5 if they called consecutive calls on Pau Gasol. EASILY i said.

I'll let you with the "if ... , Utah would have won the title 10 times" .
Personally I'm not a dreamer , and the fact showed that we were very far from the title this year. Our interior defense was pathetic and one of our two veteran needs to go and be replaced by a good defender if we ever want to win the title with Deron.
The fact that you say Boozer is still very young just proves how far you are from reality. Keep dreaming buddy.

[dr0welf]

This has been quite entertaining and I actually agree with both of you. I do feel we can play better offensively then we showed in the playoffs and if we did we would have had a chance to go further. I also believe that Boozer showed nothing on the defensive end and yes it would not be hard to replace someone who played like he did.

But Boozer was playing his worst performance and we are comparing against his bottom level.

And saying we don't know how to close out games is misleading in this series because most games we were blown out somewhere in the beginning and would have to fight to get back into it.

You could get us an edge by multiple different ways.

-Better defense (reduce their points and percentage)
-Better offense (hit the layups and open jumpers we missed alot)
-Take better care of the ball (turnovers killed us)

Are any of these good enough to get us to through that round, depending on the increase. I think Fish hurt us in that series. First off he knew the plays and the players and got a lot of steals because of this. He also shot lights out.

I feel we need to keep Boozer unless we can get a big already in the league that can perform at the 20-10 level and have better defense than Boozer. Probably not going to happen. So i think we need to work with what we have. One thing that does need to happen though if someone is struggling and a person from the bench comes in and plays good..... maybe ride that guy a little bit. If someone doesn't seem to give effort, pull them quickly and put someone it that will.

We need to get rid of Collins and Hart, grab someone who wants to come in and play some defense off the bench. Unless Boston wants to trade us KG, or Orlando wants to give us Dwight, with which both would be an improvement and neither will happen.

Is Okafor worth going after? I haven't seen many of his games since his college performance.

[carrottop12]

We are definitely a better offensive team then we showed in the playoffs, and that is highlighted by Boozer suckassedness.

However the real problem was defense if you ask me, if the Jazz play any semblance of defense they are easily in the Finals right now.

Granted we also got **** over by the refs, but playing better D definitely would have helped.

[JStockLivesOn]

-= original quote snipped =-



While I agree that he is not a great outlet passer (got hyperbole? ), I think you are undervaluing his passing contributions. He's not a great passer, certainly, but he is pretty good, and, as you say, getting better.

People forget how young he is, still. If the guy had been on a regular rookie-scale contract, he would have barely been in the 2nd year of his first big time contract. He has a lot of growth ahead of him, and his game is going to age well, because its not predicated upon his athleticism or quickness, but his skill. I think he's going to get a lot better, personally.

I would agree with this. He's shown improvement passing the ball and will only get better. I guess my point was just that, if one is making arguments in Boozer's favor, his passing as seen this year isn't what one would want to highlight.

I stand by my bold outlet passing statement, though...

[troy]

My opinion regarding the initial post.

I do not think a Korver/Kirilenko/Boozer is ideal for this team.

I think Kirilenko's best position is power forward , he played at this position during his all star year and his defensive game is particularly suited for this position. Still physically he can't play in an half court team at this position. He needs to play for a run and gun team. In the right system , Kirilenko would be way more valuable than Boozer or Okur. He is much much more complete.

Unfortunately you build a team around and FOR your best player.
Our best player is Deron Williams. As good as he is in the transition game , Deron is MADE for the half court offense.
He is maybe the strongest guard at his position and he has a terrific shot , he is just a perfect match for this type of play. Great point guards are known for there fast break court vision (Magic,Kidd,CP3, ...) but Deron with his skill set might be one of the rare point guards to dominate in an half court set (along with Stockton).
No point guard in the league today are better suited than Deron for the half court. He can dominate ANYBODY in a slow tempo game.

So we have to use this to our advantage and surround Deron with a supporting cast that will flourish in an half court type of play.


Like i said earlier , Kirilenko can't play PF in an half court team. He would be great on the Warriors or Suns , but with our system he can't play this position regularly. Do you imagine him setting pick for Deron ? He would fall more often than not. Do you see him guarding Duncan in a slow tempo game ??? No chance.

Boozer at center is also extremely flawed in this type of game. His lack of size is flagrant.
You can be fooled all you want by his standing reach which would be better than Bosh's , Noah's etc... you know by watching Boozer that those guys play way bigger than him defensively.
You just have to watch Boozer defends. Strangely he is one of the few big man that has the stance of a guard (!!) when he defends. I could find a pick but every time he is on defense he lowers his centre of gravity and leans forward. This is stupid to do so for a big man.
Defensively he looks smaller than just about everyone of his direct opponents.
Plus he is horrible defending the basket. He was horrible playing odom on the perimeter , but believe me it was even worse inside , Odom killed him with a lot of easy baskets , shooting over him. You just gotta look at what Oberto did to him last year !


This is not the way to surround Deron. We should be getting bigger instead of getting smaller.
We need to have guys that can be good in an half court set which means :
Size (!!)
Good rebounder
Very physical players (setting picks etc...)
Good shooters

This is my ideal Jazz team :

Deron
Brewer
Battier or Posey
Boozer or Okur
Kaman or Bogut

Around Deron we have a physical center (especially Kaman) that sets the tone for the whole team. He anchors or defense and protects the basket, knocking down anyone who dare comes near our basket (unlike Boozer and Okur who are very soft fouling and give up a lot of and ones).

At the power forward position , we either have size (Okur) or strenght (Boozer).
In any case we have a physical advantage over the other PFs.
Okur is a better defender at this point , he has more heart and more size , but Boozer is much more talented on offense. Pick your choice.

At Small forward , a guy that defends well and can play a physical game (unlike Kirilenko with his thin frame) but can also stroke the open three pointer.
Battier would be PERFECT for this team.

At shooting guard , Brewer is the only guy who is not suited for half court , but he would be our main weapon in transition. Dude is an awesome finisher and he would make sure that we would not be just an half court team. San antonio is an half court team , but in transition they can kill you with Parker or Ginobili (ask Shaq and the Suns ).

Everybody say that Utah is a physical team even though Okur and Boozer are two of the softest big men in the league (on defense at least) , Kirilenko is everything but physical , and Brewer is also thin for a two guard. The only true physical player is Deron on our team.
Surround him with a true physical supporting cast and make sure that anyone who wants to beat Utah is going to have a battle !

[erudite23]

I'm sorry, but you are so far from your rocker you couldn't find it with a homing beacon.

You can sit there all day and make unfounded accusations (like Boozer not being physical, which is ludicrous), and you can live in a dream world where we have a shot at guys like Kaman and Bogut, but it won't make anything happen.

The funny thing is, the guys you listed are often criticised BY THEIR OWN FANS for their defensive play. Kaman is a shot blocking beast, but his man-to-man defense has taken a ton of flack from Clip fans. And he continually gets lost with his defensive rotations and responsibilities. Bogut was the "interior stopper" on the quite possibly the worst defense in the league.

You are just throwing names out there that seem to fit the profile you are looking for, and they are below average defenders themselves! These are your ideal guys, and aside from the fact that there is no way in hell we could acquire someone like that, THEY DON'T EVEN ACCOMPLISH WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.

Tell me something, Sigmund, why--if we are so horrible defensively--did we easily out perform BOTH of the teams with the big guys you just listed. According to your own reasoning, we aren't particularly strong anywhere. Deron is a good defender, but certainly not elite. Boozer is "pathetic", Okur is only slightly better. According to most (not sure if you're one of these) AKs man-to-man defensive is horribly overrated, and his help defense is a mere shadow of what it used to be. Brewer is talented (though there are those that want to make him seem leaden-footed). Harp has the lateral mobility of a filing cabinet. Korver tries hard but isn't that good.


Basically, 6 of the 9 players in our rotation are "horrible" or worse, and the other three are varying degrees of "ok-to-good".

SO WHY DON'T THE NUMBERS BACK IT UP?

We were the 12th ranked defense in the league this year, and the only reason we are even that low is because of our propensity for fouling the other team so damn much. If we could clean just that up, then we would suddenly become a top 8 defensive team. And yet, by the accounts of people like you, we are the 31st worst defensive team in the league.

I agree we need more defense, especially on the interior where I would absolutely kill for a Dikembe Mutombo-in-his-prime type player. But great defensive centers aren't exactly a dime a dozen. We have a nice prospect in Fes that could become that guy for us. We might be able to catch an over-the-hill player with a year or two left in his tank to stand in the gap. But we just aren't going to wave a magic wand and get a Chandler, Duncan, Howard or Oden on this team. And, frankly, that's the type of player we need if we're going to make up for the OFFENSIVE hit we would take by removing either Memo or Booz from the team.

When it all comes down to it, we're not a real good defensive team....but we're nowhere near as bad as you make out.

I think you should take a hard look at what you're saying here. You don't know what you're talking about.

[troy]

When it all comes down to it, we're not a real good defensive team....but we're nowhere near as bad as you make out.

I think you should take a hard look at what you're saying here. You don't know what you're talking about.

I have a simple question for you : Can you name one team that won the NBA championship while defending as bad as the Jazz do at the moment ?

Is the Jazz defense shameful ? Not really. But i know for sure that it's not good enough to compete for the title.
And that is the only thing important in the end. Is it good enough ? NO.

The numbers don't back it up ?
Over the past two years only two teams shot better than 49% over a playoff round : The Spurs last year and the Lakers.
Each time , the opponent was Utah. No other team over the past two years defended worse over a playoff round !
Forget the regular season man , look at the way our defense was destroyed the past two years in the playoffs.
I mean even the Nuggets who are always criticized for their defense , were better than us defensively against the Lakers this year or the Spurs last year.
And it's not even close , but do not realise it.
Oberto ridiculed our defense (Boozer) last year and this year Odom crapped on us too (18pts,59%) . He wasn't nearly as much a factor vs the Nuggets (12pts,41%) , Spurs (13pts,40%).

Our defense is terrible for what is supposed to be a contender. PERIOD.



Unlike you i think this is only due to our bigs :
- Deron is a great defender. "Certainly not elite ?" , name the PGs that are clearly better than him defensively . Put Deron on the Spurs and he would dominate on defense .
- AK is no Battier or James Posey but he is clearly a good defender at his position. Top 10 at his position at the very worst.
- Korver is not bad either. He's got heart , brains , and size. He is underrated.
- Brewer is not though. He is overrated actually. He is really really overrated defensively. He is terrible defending in transition and even in the half court he was killed repeatedly by Tmac and Kobe.
A lot of Jazz fan like to think of him of a good defender , but name one game where he did a good job defensively ?
For instance in game 5 of the lakers series he got destroyed early by Kobe , so Sloan had to put him on somebody else (Radmanovic) but even then he was still murdered by his man. He can't even stop Radmanovic.
I repeat : name one game where Brewer impressed you defensively. Is he quick ? yes , but a lot of nba guards are quick.

Still , Deron , AK and Korver is a solid trio defensively. If the insde defense is as good , Utah could be a very good defensive team because those three players plays with heart and smarts.
Okur is getting better actually. He did a gecent job in those playoffs. He has size , ahd try to help the other players. ONly problem , he can't block a shot nor draw a charge. He will never be great defender but he is not a liability.
Boozer is though. I've watch again two games of the playoffs (Game 2 vs Houston , game 5 vs Lakers) over the past two days , and the more i watch him the more scared i am by his defensive flaws .
Horrible on the ball , he is just as bad when it comes to help defense. Seriously he is terrible. I do not think there are many 6th year veterans that defend as bas as him at this position. He is useless.
Physical ? You might want to check again. he is one of the softest player in this league defensively . The last hard foul i remember from him was last year in the playoffs on Ginobili. He makes a lot of fouls but all his fouls are soft and he gives up a TON of and one.
I thought that Okur was soft , but it's nothing in comparison with Boozer. But maybe you don't pay attention to him defensively , it's understandable , he is invisible most of the time.


Anyway Bogut and Kaman would do wonders for this team. Below average defenders ? I guess you just deserved a "LOL" on that one.
Are they elite defenders ? Maybe not. But they would be easily the best inside defenders on our team with their size and help defense.
They could anchor our defense because they take a lot of space in the paint and that's all we need defensively. Somebody that won't let the opponents gets 10 layups per game.
More importantly these two players would be also useful offensively. Unlike Boozer and Okur they have a real back to the basket game , something we lack right now especially when Boozer is taking more and more jumpshots.
With a point guard like Williams they could easily score 15pts on 50%. That's a minimum.
Offensively we wouldn't miss a bit , and defensively they would be a HUGE upgrade over Okur or Boozer.
I agree that our chance of getting one of those two players is very small , still Utah has all the assets to make such a trade possible.

[troy]

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_twoplusthefoul/213/20080618/30_teams_30_days_utah_draft_preview/
That's for erudite .

Greatest Areas of Improvement:

Strength Inside
Another downside of the Boozer-Okur tandem is the fact that both guys aren’t very intimidating in the paint area.

Boozer is physical defensively ? Like i said , i'm not sure you watch a lot of game . This journalist seems to agree with me.

[hoops4life]

A) you shouldn't really call those guys writing the team previews journalists... i am sorry.

You are bashing on Brewer because he struggles against TMac and Kobe. Dude, lay off a bit. More than 90% of the league struggle defending those guys.

[OC Jazzfan]

I can't figure out what you guys are arguing about. The Jazz lost to the Lakers because they played shite offense and shite defense. It wasn't one OR the other. They just played poorly on both ends of the floor.

As for moving Booz to center... ARRGHHHHHH!!! His rotation on help defense is, well, pathetic would be a compliment. It normally consists of standing there and watching the guy he should've rotated to cruising in for a layup. That would only be amplified if he were in the middle. He passes the ball either with nice gentle underhanded lobs to players on the opposing team or zings 200 mph fastballs through his teammates hands and out of bounds.

Until this team gets a mean, big, defensive-minded badass in the middle they aren't going past the second round. Band-Aids aren't going to get it done.