Utah @ Greg Oden's Naked Junk, Jan. 27, 2010, 8PM FSN UT

[carrottop12]

Good win tonight, but could be costly with Boozer going out with an injury. Also Deron's uncle died so he won't be playing against the Kings.

That is a tough game with out Boozer and Deron.

[Soul Patch]

They jazz would have just had to finish the game with 4 players on the floor.

That's way too innovative for Sloan.

[Soul Patch]

No Dwil and no Boozer. The King's biggest threats are their PG Turner and the up and coming PF Jason Thompson.

[d-will8]

I'll concede that Sloan wasn't directly responsible for the turnovers, the missed free throws and Portland's offensive rebounds. However, beyond that, the defenses that you guys are erecting for Jerry are pretty damn weak and--from a logical standpoint--barely warrant a response. I'll humor you with one anyways.

1.) I could buy the argument that Sloan was saving Korver if Korver had been playing big minutes and needed a break, but do you honestly think that Korver can't handle more than 18 minutes? The guy was an instrumental part of building that 24 part lead and, given how congested the paint was in the second half and that nobody else was able to hit an open jumper off of Deron's penetration, Sloan's failure to put him in until midway through the fourth quarter (after Matthews picked up his fifth) was borderline (Please Use More Appropriate Word). It's not really surprising that the game changed dramatically after that.

2.) There's pretty much nothing you can say to make me agree that Sloan was correct in leaving Memo in the game against two physically unimposing, jump shooting big men. "The Money Man" had 2 points and 4 rebounds in 36 minutes. AK had 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks in 25.

3.) Just because we're playing well right now doesn't mean that Sloan's done everything right and just because we won tonight doesn't mean that he couldn't and shouldn't have done things differently. Look no further than his failure to put Korver in the game or take Memo out of the game.

I'm not saying that Sloan is a horrible coach who does nothing right, but his coaching certainly doesn't justify people blindly and invariably defending him. Even he admits from time to time that he does things wrong.

[britblazerdude]

When Boozer was in...that was really the difference. Portland had no idea what to do. There was no way we could score in the paint when he was out there. Would've stayed ugly if he had played in the second half. Dude is a beast. The only reason we got close was because Aldridge could punk Okur down low. LOL at 28 fouls on Portland and 27 on Utah.

It was hardly watchable the officials called so much.

Jazz are going to make a long ass run in the playoffs if Boozer can ball for 40 minutes a night.

[Rauxcee]

I don't think there is a single person here who thinks AK shouldn't have been in the game at the end or that CJ should have had any playing time over Kyle. I think what the issue is, is people thinking that it was those wrong choices that let Portland back in the game and almost cost us the game. If the Jazz had managed to loose this game, Memo and CJ's playing time would be at the bottom of the list IMO. Even if AK and Kover played as they should have, the Jazz still couldn't rebound, make free throws, and would turn the ball over. That was their problem tonight, not Sloan's bad rotations. (which wasn't that bad IMO)

[OC Jazzfan]

3.) Just because we're playing well right now doesn't mean that Sloan's done everything right and just because we won tonight doesn't mean that he couldn't and shouldn't have done things differently. Look no further than his failure to put Korver in the game or take Memo out of the game.

Just out of curiosity, "from a logical standpoint", does this mean that when the Jazz aren't playing well that Sloan hasn't necessarily done everything wrong? And when they lose it doesn't mean he couldn't and shouldn't necessarily have done things differently? Or is it simply that when a team loses it's because of the coach and when they win it's due to the players overcoming the coach's incompetence?

It's not that I disagree, just trying to wrap my mind around this one is all.

[Reckless]

give the sloan bashing a rest for christ sake we won in portland for the first time since a long time!

[OC Jazzfan]

give the sloan bashing a rest for christ sake we won in portland for the first time since a long time!

I agree. A very good win and one I wasn't really expecting.

On another note, it'll be interesting to see how Boozer's injury pans out. Will it be 1 game, 3 games or will it turn into the calf strain to end all calf strains?

[Soul Patch]

I'll concede that Sloan wasn't directly responsible for the turnovers, the missed free throws and Portland's offensive rebounds. However, beyond that, the defenses that you guys are erecting for Jerry are pretty damn weak and--from a logical standpoint--barely warrant a response. I'll humor you with one anyways.

1.) I could buy the argument that Sloan was saving Korver if Korver had been playing big minutes and needed a break, but do you honestly think that Korver can't handle more than 18 minutes? The guy was an instrumental part of building that 24 part lead and, given how congested the paint was in the second half and that nobody else was able to hit an open jumper off of Deron's penetration, Sloan's failure to put him in until midway through the fourth quarter (after Matthews picked up his fifth) was borderline (Please Use More Appropriate Word). It's not really surprising that the game changed dramatically after that.Korver still isn't 100% coming off of his knee injury. All game we heard that there were still some things he didn't feel comfortable doing because of that. No need to give him too many minutes and have him aggravate his knee just when he's on an upswing.

2.) There's pretty much nothing you can say to make me agree that Sloan was correct in leaving Memo in the game against two physically unimposing, jump shooting big men. "The Money Man" had 2 points and 4 rebounds in 36 minutes. AK had 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks in 25.
I agree with this. AK should have finished the game and Okur was the player to put him in for.

3.) Just because we're playing well right now doesn't mean that Sloan's done everything right and just because we won tonight doesn't mean that he couldn't and shouldn't have done things differently. Look no further than his failure to put Korver in the game or take Memo out of the game.

I'm not saying that Sloan is a horrible coach who does nothing right, but his coaching certainly doesn't justify people blindly and invariably defending him. Even he admits from time to time that he does things wrong.

I agree with most of the things you said but it does get really annoying having people jump on Sloan's ass every game. Sloan isn't a perfect coach, he's not the best coach in the NBA, but he does deserve more credit by a lot of posters on this board.

[d-will8]

3.) Just because we're playing well right now doesn't mean that Sloan's done everything right and just because we won tonight doesn't mean that he couldn't and shouldn't have done things differently. Look no further than his failure to put Korver in the game or take Memo out of the game.

Just out of curiosity, "from a logical standpoint", does this mean that when the Jazz aren't playing well that Sloan hasn't necessarily done everything wrong? And when they lose it doesn't mean he couldn't and shouldn't necessarily have done things differently? Or is it simply that when a team loses it's because of the coach and when they win it's due to the players overcoming the coach's incompetence?

It's not that I disagree, just trying to wrap my mind around this one is all.

I didn't mean to suggest that at all. Like I said, I realize that Sloan doesn't do everything wrong. Sometimes, there is simply nothing he can do to offset poor play from his players. Additionally, I'm not stubborn or stupid enough to believe that Sloan's coaching is invariably at odds with the goal of winning games; I realize that it has played a signicant role in multiple wins this year and countless wins over the years. That being said, he (like pretty much every other coach) also makes mistakes, which sometimes complicate or even undermine the goal of winning games.

I had no intention of suggesting that Sloan is a bad coach or that the Blazers' rally was simply his fault; I understand that things are more complicated than that. I agree that it would be ridiculous if I had said any of the things you seem to believe I implied in my post, but I didn't. Obviously, I realize that Sloan regularly does certain things right in losses, that he is not incompetent and that poor play from players is a primary determinant of most losses. That doesn't mean I can't criticize the coach when there are legitimate reasons to do so.

[red4hf]

I'm the first to blame Sloan for everything, including the alleged global warming because of all the hot ait he spews, but I thought he did a nice job yesterday....... He actually called to a timeout late in the second quarter when the Blazers made a little run........

And as far as his substitution patterns, well he was a little hamstrung when Boozer went out with the injury....... And I though he did just fine as far as when he put Korver back in the game.......

So, all in all, it was a very nice job done by Sloan last night....... Not too often you'll hear me say that.........

[seejaydeja]

http://twitter.com/GregInUtah/status/8326541339

what a f***king dick. earlier this morning it had said "Jazz Fans" in quotations. looks like he re-thought that one and changed it

[idajazz]

I can't believe that folks are gripping about Sloan....
They are playing great ball right now, as good as this group has ever played.
Is that because of poor coaching?
What do you want for pete sakes?

I have been on both sides of the Sloan debate, There have been times when I wanted him gone, and times when I thought he was absolutely brilliant.
I have finally settled into thinking that Sloan should stay as long as he wants.
All I have to do is look around the league and see how other teams have done with musical chair coaches. Even the MIGHTY lakers went through a spell Before Phil where they sucked.
The Knicks are the best example, They are a team with everything in their favor, Large market, the Garden, storied franchise, Endorsement heaven for players. and yet they suck.
The grass isn't always green on the other side of the fence.

[HammerDunk]

http://twitter.com/GregInUtah/status/8326541339

what a f***king dick. earlier this morning it had said "Jazz Fans" in quotations. looks like he re-thought that one and changed it

I actually like it. He is becoming the fanatic his dad was.

[Hikari]

http://twitter.com/GregInUtah/status/8326541339

what a f***king dick. earlier this morning it had said "Jazz Fans" in quotations. looks like he re-thought that one and changed it

I think that was very funny.

[Shem]

You Jazz fans don't realize what you have in a coach.

As a Blazer fan, I would rather have your coach than Nate McMillan. In fact, a local media guy named Dwight Jaynes said some nice things about your team that you should read:

http://www.dwightjaynes.com/now-thats-h ... -be-played