Good Season
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edfmx86
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JStockLivesOn
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LOL @ the idea that the Hornets are "considerably better" than us.
Anyway, great thoughts by everyone. I, too, think this was a very successful season. As I said in the Game 6 thread, now that I've had a few days to let it sit, I think (as much as I obviously wanted a title) that this was a great way to end the season.
I was genuinely inspired by our gritty comeback in Game 6, and was pleased and moved by the standing ovation the crowd rightfully gave our boys at the game's conclusion.
Anyway, great thoughts by everyone. I, too, think this was a very successful season. As I said in the Game 6 thread, now that I've had a few days to let it sit, I think (as much as I obviously wanted a title) that this was a great way to end the season.
I was genuinely inspired by our gritty comeback in Game 6, and was pleased and moved by the standing ovation the crowd rightfully gave our boys at the game's conclusion.
"Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter."
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edfmx86
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erudite23
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We had a solid year, they exceeded my expectations in some respects, and disappointed in a few others.
Deron Williams continues to exceed all reasonable projections. I never thought I would be saying this at the first of the year, but I would be shocked if he doesn't post a few seasons of 20 and 10 in his career. And to do it while still posting 50%+ from the field is unbelievable thing.
Carlos took his O to another level for much of this season, and then proved in the playoffs that his rebounding hadn't regressed like his season average would lead you to believe.
Memo--after a pretty big scare--reminded us why he made the All-Star game, and was actually going along at close to 20 and 10 himself for awhile. He was a dominant rebounder for the last 2 months.
AK improved, but still showed that he is not going to return to his previous form any time soon. I would be fine with that, as long as he still disrupted the opponent with his D the way he always used to. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like he has the same drive to block every damn shot that he used to. Don't know if part of it is Sloan telling him not to gamble as much or what. But its devastating. AK was once my favorite player to watch in the NBA. I miss him
As for the rest of the supporting cast, I think most are pleased with what Ronnie B. did this year. I have already said he is a future AS, so you know where I stand. Millsap was a bit of a disappointment to me, because he didn't show any sign of stepping his game up to future starter or AS like I hoped he would. CJ is coming along. Price gives us hope that we have our future backup PG. Harps was better than I expected.
All in all, we won about the right amount of games, but we did it in more impressive fashion than what I thought we would. If you check back, Hollinger's old-standby of margin of victory being the best predictor of future success really does bear out. From that standpoint, the Jazz ARE clearly a top 3 or 4 team in the league, well above SA and NO, and right on par with both Detroit and LA.
Who knows how that bears out, but to me the Jazz are, along with LA, the future of the conference. NO has a chance to be there, too, but their bench is AWFUL, and this year went as good as they could hope for with their injury situation. West, Peja, Paul, and Chandler have all had injury issues in the past, and none missed significant time. Who knows if they can replicate that? (not saying they can't, btw) And their lack of depth will be huge should they sucumb to the injury bug. The fact that Jannero freakin' Pargo is deciding your season does not bode well for the future, imho. Phoenix, Dallas and SA are all clearly in decline, if you ask me. Each of them are going to have to catch lightning in a bottle to boost back on top (something along the lines of a huge steal in the draft or under-the-radar FA acquisition that they hit big on).
Lastly, Portland is a future threat, with all that damn talent, but we've seen in the past that too much talent isn't necessarily a good thing. They will have to work out the roles for that team, and a pecking order will have to be established. I'll have to see it before I starting handing them future championships.
Overall, I fully expect the Jazz to win at least one championship with this group of players. We do need more interior defense, and I like everything I have seen or heard about Fes in the last year. We will figure it out. I do know that a tweak here or there is needed, but I think we'll figure it out. You never know what the future will bring, but right now, at this moment in time, its a damn fine thing to be a Jazz fan.
Deron Williams continues to exceed all reasonable projections. I never thought I would be saying this at the first of the year, but I would be shocked if he doesn't post a few seasons of 20 and 10 in his career. And to do it while still posting 50%+ from the field is unbelievable thing.
Carlos took his O to another level for much of this season, and then proved in the playoffs that his rebounding hadn't regressed like his season average would lead you to believe.
Memo--after a pretty big scare--reminded us why he made the All-Star game, and was actually going along at close to 20 and 10 himself for awhile. He was a dominant rebounder for the last 2 months.
AK improved, but still showed that he is not going to return to his previous form any time soon. I would be fine with that, as long as he still disrupted the opponent with his D the way he always used to. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like he has the same drive to block every damn shot that he used to. Don't know if part of it is Sloan telling him not to gamble as much or what. But its devastating. AK was once my favorite player to watch in the NBA. I miss him
As for the rest of the supporting cast, I think most are pleased with what Ronnie B. did this year. I have already said he is a future AS, so you know where I stand. Millsap was a bit of a disappointment to me, because he didn't show any sign of stepping his game up to future starter or AS like I hoped he would. CJ is coming along. Price gives us hope that we have our future backup PG. Harps was better than I expected.
All in all, we won about the right amount of games, but we did it in more impressive fashion than what I thought we would. If you check back, Hollinger's old-standby of margin of victory being the best predictor of future success really does bear out. From that standpoint, the Jazz ARE clearly a top 3 or 4 team in the league, well above SA and NO, and right on par with both Detroit and LA.
Who knows how that bears out, but to me the Jazz are, along with LA, the future of the conference. NO has a chance to be there, too, but their bench is AWFUL, and this year went as good as they could hope for with their injury situation. West, Peja, Paul, and Chandler have all had injury issues in the past, and none missed significant time. Who knows if they can replicate that? (not saying they can't, btw) And their lack of depth will be huge should they sucumb to the injury bug. The fact that Jannero freakin' Pargo is deciding your season does not bode well for the future, imho. Phoenix, Dallas and SA are all clearly in decline, if you ask me. Each of them are going to have to catch lightning in a bottle to boost back on top (something along the lines of a huge steal in the draft or under-the-radar FA acquisition that they hit big on).
Lastly, Portland is a future threat, with all that damn talent, but we've seen in the past that too much talent isn't necessarily a good thing. They will have to work out the roles for that team, and a pecking order will have to be established. I'll have to see it before I starting handing them future championships.
Overall, I fully expect the Jazz to win at least one championship with this group of players. We do need more interior defense, and I like everything I have seen or heard about Fes in the last year. We will figure it out. I do know that a tweak here or there is needed, but I think we'll figure it out. You never know what the future will bring, but right now, at this moment in time, its a damn fine thing to be a Jazz fan.
Re: Good Season
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carrottop12
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Re: Good Season
Looking back on it now that I've had plenty of time to step away from the situation, it was a good season.
From being 16 and 16 after losing to Bobcats on the road and thinking that this season was a waste and that the Jazz had to completely start over and rebuild, to the morning when I read that we had traded for Korver, to winning 50+ games and beating those losers in Houston again, it was very entertaining.
I fully expect the jazz to be better next year which can only mean one thing, WCF or bust.
From being 16 and 16 after losing to Bobcats on the road and thinking that this season was a waste and that the Jazz had to completely start over and rebuild, to the morning when I read that we had traded for Korver, to winning 50+ games and beating those losers in Houston again, it was very entertaining.
I fully expect the jazz to be better next year which can only mean one thing, WCF or bust.
Re: Good Season
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troy
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Re: Good Season
I do not think it's that good of a season because we didn't really progress.
Last year we were at best a top 4 team in the conference (behind Dallas , Phoenix and San antonio) and this year we are at best a top 4 team (behind SA , LA and Phoenix or New Orleans).
Furthermore last year the conference was aging and we were the most promising team. This year teams like the Lakers , Hornets and also Blazers had a great season and we can no longer be named the most promising team in the league.
But more than the competition , what disappointed was that we didn't improve our defense.
Improvement on defense was supposed to be our main objective last summer when you heard Boozer talking for instance. In the end we made no significal improvement in that area this season.
That's what we need to do though to be a real contender. Otherwise our ceiling will always be the WCF , and this team has a potential to be much more with a leader like Deron and a system like Sloan's.
Sure there have been some positive things this season :
- Korver's acquisition
- the emergence of Ronnie Brewer / and the progress of CJ Miles too
- Kirilenko has found a shot , and he is smiling again
- Deron's continued improvement
- Okur proved he could hit shot in the playoffs
Still that is worthless if we can't improve our defense to at least become a top 5 defense in the league . More than anything we need to HAVE a defensive mentality. We need to think WE CAN WIN A GAME WITH OUR DEFENSE ,so that when our shots are not falling or during period where we are cold , we can still be competitive (especially in the money time !)
At the moment this team can't think they can win also with defense. That was the problem last year , and that is still the problem now. That's why i think this is at best an OK season because even though our defense and offense has improved a little bit this season , the competition has improved much more than us.
Last year we were at best a top 4 team in the conference (behind Dallas , Phoenix and San antonio) and this year we are at best a top 4 team (behind SA , LA and Phoenix or New Orleans).
Furthermore last year the conference was aging and we were the most promising team. This year teams like the Lakers , Hornets and also Blazers had a great season and we can no longer be named the most promising team in the league.
But more than the competition , what disappointed was that we didn't improve our defense.
Improvement on defense was supposed to be our main objective last summer when you heard Boozer talking for instance. In the end we made no significal improvement in that area this season.
That's what we need to do though to be a real contender. Otherwise our ceiling will always be the WCF , and this team has a potential to be much more with a leader like Deron and a system like Sloan's.
Sure there have been some positive things this season :
- Korver's acquisition
- the emergence of Ronnie Brewer / and the progress of CJ Miles too
- Kirilenko has found a shot , and he is smiling again
- Deron's continued improvement
- Okur proved he could hit shot in the playoffs
Still that is worthless if we can't improve our defense to at least become a top 5 defense in the league . More than anything we need to HAVE a defensive mentality. We need to think WE CAN WIN A GAME WITH OUR DEFENSE ,so that when our shots are not falling or during period where we are cold , we can still be competitive (especially in the money time !)
At the moment this team can't think they can win also with defense. That was the problem last year , and that is still the problem now. That's why i think this is at best an OK season because even though our defense and offense has improved a little bit this season , the competition has improved much more than us.
Re: Good Season
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dr0welf
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Re: Good Season
Going into the playoffs the only two teams I feared was LA (mostly) and SA. San Antonio only because we seem to struggle against them. I do feel we have a better team. LA because of the acquisition of Gasol and how well they were playing together. It gave them more offense to try to defend and Troy has already told us about our defense. So to lose to the Lakers doesn't make me feel worst then where I thought we were. It actually proves my fear. If LA didn't get the gift of Fisher or Gasol this year we would have had a rematch of last year and it would have showed us how far we have come. But I don't think we would have lost to Phoenix or New Orleans.
Last year I do feel we got lucky with Dallas losing to Golden State. And after this years playoffs I think we were lucky Boozer played so good last year. I mean he made Yao look silly trying to defend him at times. I feel Phoenix, SA, Dallas were all better then us last year.
I do feel we moved up but only a little. But I feel we have the talent to be tops if we could get the strong effort game in and game out; especially on the defensive end. But Troy's right we do need to get our defense figured out and cohesively working together if we want a championship.
Last year I do feel we got lucky with Dallas losing to Golden State. And after this years playoffs I think we were lucky Boozer played so good last year. I mean he made Yao look silly trying to defend him at times. I feel Phoenix, SA, Dallas were all better then us last year.
I do feel we moved up but only a little. But I feel we have the talent to be tops if we could get the strong effort game in and game out; especially on the defensive end. But Troy's right we do need to get our defense figured out and cohesively working together if we want a championship.
