RealGM

First off, I dont think anyone here will disagree that our team is as dependent on Deron Williams as any team is on any other "franchise player." As Deron goes, so the Jazz goes...

That being said, I think Deron is playing too many minutes and this is the cause of our pathetic 1st quarter showings. Deron expends so much energy at the end of games when it's "winnin' time" that I think he consciously saves his energy in the first quarter. He looks to get his teammates off, almost to a fault. It would be nice if he could display the same attack-mode in the first half that he does in the second half.

Also, coming down the stretch of the season and into the playoffs obviously those minutes during the season tend to wear down a player. I wish there was a way we could get Deron 3-4 fewer minutes per game but with our shooting guard situation the way it is, I dont see how we can....

I agree. He is on a crash course for an injury at this rate. I would like to see him averaging 33-35 mpg rather than his current 38.

Sloan has never been a coach that plays any one player alot of minutes, but he has played Dwill alot of minutes this year which is quite surprising. I fairly confident that if Dwill had played only 33 min per game that we might have a couple of more losses on our record. Lets face it when he is out of the game, it is very scarry. Even though the bench has been good this year, I am ok with Sloans substitution pattern this year which has not always been the case.

I agree that he needs to play fewer min. But the Jazz had slow starts before he would have gotten tired from playing too many min.

We're talking about less than 2 mpg more than his typical level. This is simply an attempt to explain the ridiculous performances at the beginning of games. There is no connection.

I say you pull him halfway through the first and let Watson run the show until 3-5 minutes into the 2nd quarter. He has looked bad in the 1st quarter anyways so let him start and get things going a bit before sitting him and letting him rest until you really need him. It will also provide incentive for him to play hard to start the game since he knows he will come out and sit for a good while before he gets back in.