Utah Jazz @ Houston Rockets, 1/8/11

[Millsap24]

Al Jefferson is really coming into his own. I hope he soon takes his place as 2nd best player on this team.

Millsap was great in the 4th tonight, but I've never been one of the ones who thinks he can carry the load as a starter the way Boozer did. I still believe he's better suited for the bench, where he can still get good minutes as a 6th man and add firepower to that second unit. He just doesn't seem to be able to sustain that energy (or his stats) as a starter all year long.

No knock on him personally, He's a no-nonsense, tough player and I love him on the team. I just think he should be used differently.

Great post. I think that would be best for the team.

Jefferson should be our go-to guy in the block. Millsap as the all-around glue guy. We'll need a healthy Okur at the 5 to make it work.

[Matt007b]

not sure where Fesenko got the guts to do a long range (for him) jump shot but that was awesome!

[babyjax13]

not sure where Fesenko got the guts to do a long range (for him) jump shot but that was awesome!

He's a better shooter than people give him credit for, but when you are 7-1 you still should not be shooting those.

[HammerDunk]

I love how Paul clowned on almost everyone tonight. It's what he does. He almost always proves the naysayers wrong. Keep it coming, it makes him play better. Sure I would love to see Memo play with Al, but Sap has stated a strong case to keep starting. Single handedly preventing the Jazz from losing 3 in a row in the 4th quarter and overtime is pretty smart basketball...

[Matt007b]

Sometimes I think the Jazz offense of settings screens hard picks...playing our style runs better through Milsap instead of Jefferson. I know most people don't think Milsap can carry the load for the team at PF but seems like the ball gets to Jefferson and just stops...(or ends up with a push shot that clangs off the rim 5ft out)

At the end of this game, Deron and Milsap were doing the pick and roll all game and Jefferson went into a supportive mode and the offense was just rolling at that point...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnVXKfgfQ0E[/youtube]

[HammerDunk]

Well, if this team wants to run like everyone seems to be begging them to do, Millsap is much better for that than Al. His game is very slow. When Deron and Paul get a good 2 man game going, they can eat the other teams for lunch, just like tonight. That first move he made on Scola to start the OT was really amazing.

[outerspacefella]

Williams just not himself most of the time. When he start playing real ball the other guys elevate their games. Jazz main tool's clearly bothered by something. Probably playing thru injury.

[Neon Black]

I know most people don't think Milsap can carry the load for the team at PF but seems like the ball gets to Jefferson and just stops...(or ends up with a push shot that clangs off the rim 5ft out)

At the end of this game, Deron and Milsap were doing the pick and roll all game and Jefferson went into a supportive mode and the offense was just rolling at that point...

It's really all speculation at this point. Hopefully either you're right or the other argument is...that Jefferson will come into his own, find his place on the team and be able to consistently carry us. On the other hand, hopefully Deron and Millsap can do together what they did last night more consistently. We really could benefit from picking up the pace, we're the slowest team in the league since Dec. 1st.

So far, neither Jefferson nor Millsap have proven they can do those things consistently....luckily they both did tonight.

[jazzed77]

I know most people don't think Milsap can carry the load for the team at PF but seems like the ball gets to Jefferson and just stops...(or ends up with a push shot that clangs off the rim 5ft out)

At the end of this game, Deron and Milsap were doing the pick and roll all game and Jefferson went into a supportive mode and the offense was just rolling at that point...

It's really all speculation at this point. Hopefully either you're right or the other argument is...that Jefferson will come into his own, find his place on the team and be able to consistently carry us. On the other hand, hopefully Deron and Millsap can do together what they did last night more consistently. We really could benefit from picking up the pace, we're the slowest team in the league since Dec. 1st.

So far, neither Jefferson nor Millsap have proven they can do those things consistently....luckily they both did tonight.

Except Al has proven over seasons that he is capable of being a 1st option for a team and Sap hasn't...I love Sap but I think he's be best in the 6th man role...

[The59Sound]

We were running things through Sap early in the year when Al was clueless. Now that Al has some vague idea what's going on, we've been running things through him.

People have been on Millsap for his decreased production, but it's no surprise, given our reduced emphasis on him in running the offense. He'll still get up a decent number of shots, but we're not going out of our way to put him in good positions to score like we were early in the year.

[Jazzfan Bayamon]

We were running things through Sap early in the year when Al was clueless. Now that Al has some vague idea what's going on, we've been running things through him.

People have been on Millsap for his decreased production, but it's no surprise, given our reduced emphasis on him in running the offense. He'll still get up a decent number of shots, but we're not going out of our way to put him in good positions to score like we were early in the year.

I don't think people have been on Millsap for his offense, but for everything else. His D and rebounding have been, well, not there.

[Soul Patch]

I'm a big advocate for getting Millsap more shots. His rebounding numbers are down and there's really no excuse for that but his offense and his defense are the most consistent out of anybody on the team. If things aren't working with Al run things through Millsap to keep yourselves in the game.

[The59Sound]

We were running things through Sap early in the year when Al was clueless. Now that Al has some vague idea what's going on, we've been running things through him.

People have been on Millsap for his decreased production, but it's no surprise, given our reduced emphasis on him in running the offense. He'll still get up a decent number of shots, but we're not going out of our way to put him in good positions to score like we were early in the year.

I don't think people have been on Millsap for his offense, but for everything else. His D and rebounding have been, well, not there.

I definitely want to see his rebounding go up, and there's no reason he shouldn't be getting more, but 8.1 boards per game isn't atrocious. I'll definitely say there's been a few nights when it frustrated me that he couldn't box out his man, or when he lost track of his man when he showed on the pick-and-roll.

Overall, though, I think Sap's been our most consistent player.

[Reckless]

Aaron Brooks came back and led the Rockets to a surprising victory in Boston, looks like we might have caught a break with Brooks being out one more game.

[BringtheD]

Sometimes I think the Jazz offense of settings screens hard picks...playing our style runs better through Milsap instead of Jefferson. I know most people don't think Milsap can carry the load for the team at PF but seems like the ball gets to Jefferson and just stops...(or ends up with a push shot that clangs off the rim 5ft out)

At the end of this game, Deron and Milsap were doing the pick and roll all game and Jefferson went into a supportive mode and the offense was just rolling at that point...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnVXKfgfQ0E[/youtube]

Thats what I think, Jefferson is not going to learn the offense or how to play in it if they throw him the ball with fifteen seconds on the clock and then step back and watch him try to win games, not a winning strategy imo. The real value in Jefferson is if you can throw him the ball with six seconds on the clock and he gets his shot, or at least finds an open wing on the perimeter for a jump shot, but giving him the ball with fifteen seconds isn't going to work, until he becomes a better passer, just don't pass to him.