Ostertag has been reincarnated and his name is Matt Harpring

[JDubJazz]

What is going on the last few games. It seems like Matty can't catch a pass without fumbling it. Normal passes are hitting him square in the hands and he can't seem to make a clean catch. I've never thought of Matt having bad hands before, but lately its like the ghost of Ostertag has possessed him.

Also, it seems to me that whenever Matt is on the floor with Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, the offense grinds to a halt, but when he's on the floor with the backups, he's just fine. At this point, I would much rather see Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver on the court together when AK is resting, than have Harpring fumbling balls out of bounds and bricking layups.

[Rive]

I think a few of those passes the last few games have been pretty bad...

Has he lost the ball a few times? Ya... But I think he has been playing well. He is the only one who consistently moves on the offense. Also, last night, when things got really stagnant, he was down low banging and got a few easy buckets inside. I really like Matt's game as long as he doesn't settle for the corner jumper over and over. But I think the past few games he has been aggressive, got out on the break, and stayed physical inside.

I think you might just be a hater though, so I am sure you won't agree with me no matter what i say.

[JDubJazz]

Actually, I'm not a hater, I just think he's being used poorly. I think Matt screws up the spacing on the floor more than any other Jazz man, when he's on the court with Deron, Booz and Memo. He's constantly dragging defenders into Booz or Deron and causing turnovers because he thinks he should be the focus of the offense. I say leave him on the court with the subs, where he should be shooting, but get Andrei back on the court with the first team (earlier in the 4th Q), because Andrei knows how to share the ball, something that clearly eludes Matty.

Once again, I don't hate Matt, but I think he's really being overused.

[Six_Fore]

Matt does move pretty well on offense, but I think Korver moves well without the ball too. He does his share of camping, but that's what he's supposed to do and if he doesn't get anything after a few seconds he moves, sets a screen and sets up again.

I think the team needs to set a few more screens for Korver and get him open, seems like he spends the night running around and hardly ever touching the ball, then gets yanked from the game.

[ColdBlue]

At this point, I would much rather see Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver on the court together when AK is resting.

Now that is an interesting idea. Who would you put at the 3?

Edit: fixed quote

[Rive]

Actually, I'm not a hater, I just think he's being used poorly. I think Matt screws up the spacing on the floor more than any other Jazz man, when he's on the court with Deron, Booz and Memo. He's constantly dragging defenders into Booz or Deron and causing turnovers because he thinks he should be the focus of the offense. I say leave him on the court with the subs, where he should be shooting, but get Andrei back on the court with the first team (earlier in the 4th Q), because Andrei knows how to share the ball, something that clearly eludes Matty.

Once again, I don't hate Matt, but I think he's really being overused.

I will agree with that.

[JDubJazz]

Now that is an interesting idea. Who would you put at the 3?

Edit: fixed quote

I think that depends on matchups, but generally, I would put Ronnie at the 3 because he's more of a slasher. KK at the two fits more with the Jazz's traditional offense.

[jazzfan1971]

Matt has always had terrible hands. I don't know what you've been watching.

What bugs me lately is all his shots are falling short. I guess shooters have slumps, but, if he's not hitting his shots it might be time to put someone else in.

[Neon Black]

Matt has always had terrible hands.

just what i was going to say...

[bleu]

I've noticed a lot of Ostertag in Matt lately too, and its really starting to bug me.

[GP]

If Ostertag's ghost has taken over harpring, maybe harpring will actually start playing some D now. We could only hope this is the case.

[JDubJazz]

Matt has always had terrible hands. I don't know what you've been watching.

What bugs me lately is all his shots are falling short. I guess shooters have slumps, but, if he's not hitting his shots it might be time to put someone else in.

I guess you are right, but "bad hands" was never the first thing that came to mind when I thought of Harpring, whereas with 'Tag, you just assumed he was going to come out every night with oven mits on his hands.

[kebutah]

Harp's best factors have been that curl shot and his hustle. When the shot isn't falling our young guys can provide the hustle. He always misses loayups and drops passes while playing poor defense.

[Racer X]

It just bugs me that Harp and Korver are on the court together, but Harpring gets all the plays called for him. If Korver got that stupid curl called for him 10 times a game, that is 16 pts easy.

[Duiz]

Korver is far more respected on the East rather than the west. If you noticed, Korver has been shutout in teams that are further to the East than anywhere else. Denver he has a hot night, San Antonio hot night, Phoenix hot night, Dallas hot night. Pistons cold night, Chicago cold night, Milwaukee cold night. There is a reason why 76ers wanted to get rid of a 5 million dollar player, cause he was becoming near useless and way to overpayed. I love Korver, and was psyched when he was traded, but always said that Korver is a mediocre defender, which he has shown, but also too mono in his arsenal.

[jazzfan1971]

I don't think he's as good at freeing himself as Harpring is for that curl play. I've seen them run it for him several times and he never gets as open as Matt does.

[Wolverine]

So he's blocking shots now?