CJ Miles - The debate continues

Post #1 » by **jazzfan1971** » Fri Mar 6, 2009 10:18 pm

I was thinking one thing to watch tonight against Denver would be CJ Mile's minutes. It seems to me that they've been down quite a bit since Boozer came back. And I think with good reason. I think he's been terrible.

I wonder how long he can hold onto that 'starting' position.

He'll go up against JR Smith tonight. It'll be a good chance for him to show that he can defend an explosive wing player. I'll be watching that matchup closely to see if I think CJ can meet the challenge. Everyone said he guarded Kobe well last game, I didn't get to see the game, but, if he can do that there is no reason to think that Smith will pose a problem.

carrottop12 · Post #2 » by **carrottop12** » Fri Mar 6, 2009 10:29 pm

CJ actually seems to play well against Denver, they play an up tempo game which benefits his game of shooting, and getting easy dunks on fast breaks.

He needs to realize however that his defense is the most important thing now with Boozer, Okur, Deron and Brewer are more the capable of handling scoring loads.

Pai Gow · Post #3 » by **Pai Gow** » Fri Mar 6, 2009 11:26 pm

I think he should have been benched a long time ago.. But I guess Korver coming off the bench is something we like. Personally I think we should get someone who can play defense consistently at that position and hit the 3-ball (ala Bruce Bowen)

Post #4 » by **JStockLivesOn** » Sat Mar 7, 2009 6:51 am

I'm fine with CJ as an "honorary starter," but Korver should definitely get more minutes by a wide margin.

J_Ray · Post #5 » by **J_Ray** » Sat Mar 7, 2009 7:02 am

You guys do realize that starting means absolutely nothing these days, and that he eats up minutes so Korver has fresh legs at the end? You fresher Korver is at the end, the better IMO. Miles also usually has some great games where he'll go off, and it's a huge lift early in games.

@ndrew · Post #6 » by **@ndrew** » Sat Mar 7, 2009 7:55 am

And what about Ronnie Brewer finishing the game right now? I think he deserved it...

TaylorJ · Post #7 » by **TaylorJ** » Sat Mar 7, 2009 7:44 pm

Yeah, I was very happy to see Brewer in there to finsih things off. It seemed to me that his energy was key in the game, especially because I thought Millsap and Okur both looked like they were running in sand, what was with those guys?

Post #8 » by **DelaneyRudd** » Sat Mar 7, 2009 7:48 pm

I am pro-CJ. He is getting quality minutes that are helping him, and I can see flashes of him becoming what JR Smith was in last nights game.

dalekjazz · Post #9 » by **dalekjazz** » Sat Mar 7, 2009 7:49 pm

JStockLivesOn wrote:I'm fine with CJ as an "honorary starter," but Korver should definitely get more minutes by a wide margin.

He's way better than the honorary starter the Jazz had in the 1980's, Marc Iavaroni

carrottop12 · Post #10 » by **carrottop12** » Sat Mar 7, 2009 8:44 pm

I think CJ's two three's in the third quarter were the first two three pointers he's hit in the second half of a game all season.

I swear he can never shoot in the second half.

seejaydeja · Post #11 » by **seejaydeja** » Sat Mar 7, 2009 11:33 pm

CJ usually starts, but I don't seem to notice him in alot after that, I'm fine with Korver getting more PT than Miles right now but I think Brewer should finish the game over Korver every night.

erudite23 · Post #12 » by **erudite23** » Sun Mar 8, 2009 1:07 am

We are slowly but surely moving towards a more traditional 8 or 9 man rotation, its looking like. Are "starting 5" is DWill/Brewer/AK/Booz/Memo, and we have Knight getting 6-12 mpg (depending on how important of a game it is and how little we can tolerate playing 4 on 5 offensively) solely because we don't have any other ball handler. In many ways, he's really not even in the rotation. He isn't even "holding down the fort" like an old vet stop gap usually does. He's really just killing every minute worth of time he spends on the floor.

Matty and CJ seem to be splitting one rotation spot, which might be paired down in the coming weeks. But our core rotation is the starting 5 listed above, plus Millsap/Korver with the Harp/CJ duo making the 8th man. We dont' have a viable backup point, so I'm not goint to even count Knight.

Most teams have thier 5 starters, 1 backup point, 1 backup wing and 1 backup big, for a nice tight 8 man rotation. Our team is deeper, so we can bring in a guy like Matty or CJ, and we can even pimp a young PT-worthy big like KK or a decent combo-guard like Price.

But I see us really tightening up the rotation. CJ is getting less and less minutes, Ronnie is moving into a 35mpg guy, and our crunch time lineup--which is the true SL--is the 5 listed above.

I like it. Its usually the mark of team that is zoning in on the playoffs.

erudite23 · Post #13 » by **erudite23** » Sun Mar 8, 2009 1:15 am

Oh, and to be more CJ-specific, lets just remember that the guy is the same age right now that Brewer was in his rookie year, when he looked lost and completely out of sorts.

We are at the point where we see regular flashes of brilliance from him, but only the occasional wire-to-wire good performance. This is typical of good young players. Most of them grow out of the inconsistency and become solid veterans. As long as they are showing the potential regularly, you usually can be fairly certain that you have a find.

Its interesting, though, to remember how well he was playing earlier in the year. I think he really would do better with a bigger role. In fact, I think much of his struggles are the result of not wanting to step on any toes and trying to fit into the system. For example, he's obviously a really good dribble penetrator...but he rarely puts it to use, even though that is a dimension that we really need in our offense.

I think he's right on track. By the year after next he will be a very solid starter, with an outside shot at being a low-level star. He has a very solid all around game, he just needs to rebound the ball more and be more aggressive (make better decisions) in taking the ball to the rack for high percentage shots. Right now, his low usage rate is the reason for his low PER. He shoots a very good TS%, doesn't turn the ball over much, passes the ball well and defends well. His rebounding and decision making are the areas where he needs to grow, besides the obvious consistency issue, obviously. I am very happy with his progress this season.

freakazoid · Post #14 » by **freakazoid** » Sun Mar 8, 2009 6:24 am

Batronuj wrote:I think CJ's two three's in the third quarter were the first two three pointers he's hit in the second half of a game all season.

I swear he can never shoot in the second half.

2 Cold blooded 3 pointers under pressure at a critical point in a crucial game.

I say we should bench that jerk-off.

Post #15 » by **jazzfan1971** » Sun Mar 8, 2009 7:35 am

Those were a couple key buckets to be sure.

freakazoid · Post #16 » by **freakazoid** » Sun Mar 8, 2009 9:19 am

jazzfan1971 wrote:Those were a couple key buckets to be sure.

Call me fickle, but the Donutay Jones fiasco made it so much more ever so sweet when CJ swished those 3's to show Deron he had his back. Awesome.

@ndrew · Post #17 » by **@ndrew** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 2:50 am

Take him out...

Reckless · Post #18 » by **Reckless** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 4:09 am

I don't like CJ starting. Just cause we are overpaying him doesn't mean he should start...He's too young to start on a team this good. The memphis grizzlies, the sacramento kings, ok he can start on those teams, but on this team he needs to be on the bench.

Soul Patch · Post #19 » by **Soul Patch** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 4:20 am

Cj starting makes AK more effective, our bench more effective, thusly our team production is more effective. I wouldn't mind having Korver start though.

@ndrew · Post #20 » by **@ndrew** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:01 am

Look at the AK minutes. He's not getting enough. Sure, he sucks @ ATL, but he was doing great getting big minutes. While I don't think it's great idea to put him in starting line-up, because it would hurt our bench, but Sloan need to provide him more minutes, that's for sure. That's all my IMO.