Nearly half way in, how do you feel about this team?

[erudite23]

I've got to be honest: this team is nearly unwatchable for me. We've been ragged as hell on offense all year long, we don't execute our sets, we miss easy shots consistently when we DO get them, and we come out of the gate with a ridiculous lethargy that is completely and utterly indefensible.

Add in that we can't find a way to rebound the f***ing basketball, and that we owe nearly half our wins to our bench--a collection of untalented castoffs who are playing better relative to their competition than the starters by mere determination and heart--and its hard to feel good about our chances moving forward. About the only good thing I can come up with is that we have done a great job at limiting TOs compared to the past.

I don't get it, really. Al Jefferson has been terrible. He goes from grabbing 11 boards a game to just 8ish now? Millsap suddenly thinks he's Dirk Nowitzki and doesn't have to go into the paint except when inbounding the ball after an opponent's bucket. AK is boarding like CJ used to. Raja suddenly lost his stroke and is a step late on D most of the time. CJ is MJ one night and EJ the next. Gordon Hayward, despite the promise he's shown the last couple games, has not contributed at all (while Ed Davis has shown the ability to be EXACTLY what this team needs coming off the bench) and Memo can't get on the court.

Deron Williams is the only thing that's gone right this year, really, and even he hasn't been able to stroke the long ball with the consistency he needs to in order to be at his best.


Its just a difficult team to watch. I've taken to skipping through large stretches of games. I haven't watched a game live since the first Mavs game (on ESPN).

And there doesn't seem to be any indication that things will improve. I mean, its basketball, so you never know when you'll get hot, but barring a sudden surge of excellence, I just don't see this team going anywhere. We take care of business against bad teams (at home and on road) by short margins, we split games with good teams and we get beat down by the best teams. We are your typical 50 win team who everyone knows to be completely toothless when it gets down to live or die time.

In the past, we were a very up and down team within the season. In fact, we usually went somewhere around .500 through January before taking off and dominating during the second half of the season. But with Boozer gone and our wing depth depleted, I don't see us making a similar push this season. Something must be done. I don't want to see Deron's prime squandered on middling teams. Al's got to be moved, I'm sick of sitting around waiting for a breakout that's not going to come.

All I know is this team makes me feel nothing but disgust. Anyone else care to chime in with your feelings on this iteration of the Jazz?

[DelaneyRudd]

I disagree! Here's a shirt.



I think Al and Paul are doing fine, would like Al to go inside more, CJ is going well, and the backup PG situation is fixed.

[StocktonShorts]

The fact that you haven't watched a game live in a month and you skip over large stretches of games makes me question how much I should trust your opinion of this team.

I admit that this team has been disgustingly frustrating at times, but they've been wonderfully thrilling at others. Personally I think they're FAR ahead of where I thought they would be at this time. They've done a much better job of integrating a lot of different pieces and I think there's still a lot of room for improvement and reason to think that improvement will happen.

[The59Sound]

I get plenty frustrated with our slow starts, and obviously things like the Portland losses get me down, but by and large, I've enjoyed watching this team. They're certainly more scrappy than in years past.

Rebounding? HAS to improve. Slow starts? NO excuse. Al Jefferson? Get your **** in gear, brother.

But if this season's been anything, it's been fun. I recognize that repeated comeback wins speak to some systemic problem(s) and aren't ideal for a team to get in the habit of -- but hell, they're certainly exciting to experience as a fan.

[Jazzy13]

Honestly I will take this team over the WCF team. At least we finally play defense now.

Sure Al isnt the 20/10 guy we were expecting but he is still learning our complicated flex offense.

Although it doesnt help that Al is more of the "tip it to himself" rebounder than actually going up and grabbing the ball type, our rebounding has taken a hit mostly due to the fact that both Millsap and Al go for the block which puts them out of position unlike Boozer who strictly went for the box out.

Either way the blocked/contested shots have improved this defense greatly. We were giving up over 100 pts per gm in the past from what I remember.

Also the fact Al's post game and push shot can be used over anyone helps us against our biggest weakness which is playing the Lakers and teams with length.

Yea the lackluster 1st halfs suck but at least we are winning. Didn't we start 16-16 or something like that before we go on our annual post allstar break win streak last few years?

Earl Watson is the best backup pg we have had since Eisley.

Sure this team aint perfect but I feel we are a solid SG away from being true contenders.
I am very pleased with this team and expect them to only improve.

[meat tray]

Trade Al....reactionary much? I disagree that he has been terrible. His numbers are down but his defense has been very solid and he has been pretty clutch in the 4th quarter. To be honest I don't think he'll fully hit his stride in Utah until next year when he has a full season under his belt...similar to RJ in San Antonio.

Overall, I'm actually really pleased with this team. The slow starts are definitely frustrating, but I think we can all agree this time hasn't been playing up to it's full potential. With that said, we are on pace for a 56 win season...

The thing is this isn't your typical Jazz team that we are used to seeing. We aren't rebounding the ball well and we aren't dominant at home. On the flip side we are one of the best FT shooting teams, we are taking care of the ball, and we've been grinding out games on the road. It's kind of like the Bizarro Jazz.

[GP]

I kind of agree with erudite, still watching the games, but wouldn't say I'm stoked with what I am seeing. I think we are slightly worse than last year, which isn't that surprising considering how many new guys we are integrating. In all, I see a team that still isn't a contender, and will instead be looking at a 2nd round exit.

[The59Sound]

Re: Al

He make some dumb mistakes and isn't playing up to his potential, but it's nice to have a guy who gives a damn about the game of basketball take the court on a nightly basis, particularly on the defensive end.

[ColdBlue]

I have to admit, I fast forward through many games as well. The game begins in the 3rd and we usually are behind 10 pts.

[erudite23]

Wow....

A couple points:

1) Since our hot start, our defense has fallen off dramatically. We are now in the bottom half of the league in DRTG

2) I don't think people tune in to this, but margin of victory is a much better indicator of quality of play than pure W/L. Our record today is as good as I could have realistically hoped it to be. But we are not winning in impressive fashion and that shows up in our pathetic +3.0 MOV.

3) I don't see how we improve, unless it comes in the form of Al Jefferson playing like he is capable of. Does anyone see him doing that? He hasn't gotten much better since mid-November. I don't see it.

[erudite23]

Also, I think the positive vibe that has come from ridding the team of Boozer is covering a lot of the stink of this team. The paper ran a story saying that local TV ratings are up FIFTY PERCENT this season over last. That's a ridiculous number.

I think that combined with our W/L is making people feel good about things that would normally not fly around here. This is the worst offensive team we've had since 2005 and our rebounding is the worst I've ever seen it in the Sloan era. I dont' care who you are, that **** is hard to watch.

[Spottieottie]

Bet you'd rather watch the Suns (15-17) and their 3rd ranked offensive efficiency.

The fact of the matter is that we are, as of present time, still an above average offensive team. Its our pace of play that has gone down dramatically which is probably what's bugging you so much.

There's still a ton of reasons to watch the Jazz this year, I am still excited by most games. I think its just you brah

[yonexpro1]

Really disgusted with some of the responses and just the general posts. This team 35 games into the season is much better than I thought they would be, 24-11 for not totally understanding / executing the offense is pretty Damn good. Rebounding has been a decreased issue in my mind because for the past 10 games or so a majority of the O Rebs have been long rebounds which the bigs cant get (Dont get me wrong no excuses for the bigs avg of 8 rebs)

I will admit sometimes its tough to watch but just like someone else posted, would you rather watch an exciting struggling suns team?

Al over the past couple weeks has been better, doesnt miss many gimmies only misses shots were he could dunk but instead does a double clutch layup or something of that sort.

At least with this team I feel that A. they WANT to win (AL wants to win, you can see it) and B. They are better equipped to play against some teams (Lakers, primarily)

This team has lost games they should have won, but they have won a hella lot more than they should of.

[HolyToledo]

Utah Jazz 2010-2011 >>>>> Utah Jazz 2009-2010 Good enough to make major noise in the playoffs ...maybe.

[babyjax13]

They have lost their luster for me since the first part of the season. I expected them to get over these slow starts, I think that they just lack a killer instinct and we need a shakeup for the starting lineup (or the roster), Raja would be a good place to start.

[erudite23]

So....it could be worse? Really? That's the argument?

We have a really nice record, but we aren't playing like a 24-11 team. And it's showing tonight. Again.

[Soul Patch]

All of you suck.

[Sloanfeld]

Also, I think the positive vibe that has come from ridding the team of Boozer is covering a lot of the stink of this team.

YES! That is spot on. As soon as we signed Jefferson, Jazz fans all over the internet declared him better than Boozer, and an upgrade. I didn't buy into it. Boozer got a lot more transition points than Jefferson, a lot more AND ONE'S, more boards, better J, better finisher, better FG%, more FT's. And the pick and roll is a dinosaur this season. Jefferson has the edge in FT% and blocks.

This is going to cost us HUGE in the playoffs IMO. I see us losing to the Spurs in the second round. Boozer was a monster against them last season. Duncan and Blair will eat our front line alive on both sides of the ball. I think we beat OKC in round one, but if we get Denver, we are in trouble.

[Pai Gow]

Dude, if we had Boozer it is an automatic loss to the Lakers, why can't you get that?

[Montanajazz]

All of you are afraid to say what needs to be said. The jazz need to make trades now. This apologetic attitude that everything will eventually be all right is a fantasy. When you continue for 35 games not being able to start any game with energy and effort and fall behind, something big is missing. Is it coaching or just some players just don't have it or don't care. You can't expect the 2nd team to be the only players who play with effort and energy on most nights. Perhaps the starters should be threatened with a kick in the butt and probably benched for a while or at least play on the 2nd team.

This team needs to be DRASTICALLY changed!! BY who starts or thru trades!!