Utah Jazz (27-14) @ New Jersey Nets (10-31)

[nyjazz]

Come on, putting this on Sloan is crazy. Should Sloan really have to make a bunch of adjustments for the Jazz, with best PG in the league and 7th payroll in the league, to beat a bottom team like the Nets? Should he really have to yell at the players to get their butts in gear an put forth some effort? Should he really have to say anything or do anything at all? This is completely on the players and particularly on the leaders in the locker room. Yes, I am speaking about you Deron - if you want to be a Hall of Famer, then you can not allow your team to fold to a bottom team like the Nets.

Nuff said.

[BarneyGumble]

Come on, putting this on Sloan is crazy. Should Sloan really have to make a bunch of adjustments for the Jazz, with best PG in the league and 7th payroll in the league, to beat a bottom team like the Nets? Should he really have to yell at the players to get their butts in gear an put forth some effort? Should he really have to say anything or do anything at all? This is completely on the players and particularly on the leaders in the locker room. Yes, I am speaking about you Deron - if you want to be a Hall of Famer, then you can not allow your team to fold to a bottom team like the Nets.

Nuff said.

I dont think Sloan deserves all of the blame, but he does get alot of credit when we win....so he should definitely share in the blame when we lose.

[Sloanfeld]

I agree with the people who are giving Jefferson a hard time. He doesn't set many screens, and when he does they aren't good. The push shot is terrible, and he only uses it because he can't overpower his man like Boozer or Malone could. He's not a great finisher or passer as we are used to either, and speaking of defense, Memo defended Lopez one on one way better than Jefferson did. Also, Jefferson/Millsap don't get to the line as much as Boozer, and doesn't score as much in transition (ok make that never).

And I can't believe people thought Millsap could replace Boozer. KOC is at the top of that list. He made a huge mistake with the Memo extension, and I felt that way at the time. People shouldn't be blaming Sloan, they should be blaming KOC.

[toyguc]

Time to bench Millsap. Okur at center and Jefferson at the 4 where he belongs.

+1

[The59Sound]

Come on, putting this on Sloan is crazy. Should Sloan really have to make a bunch of adjustments for the Jazz, with best PG in the league and 7th payroll in the league, to beat a bottom team like the Nets? Should he really have to yell at the players to get their butts in gear an put forth some effort? Should he really have to say anything or do anything at all? This is completely on the players and particularly on the leaders in the locker room. Yes, I am speaking about you Deron - if you want to be a Hall of Famer, then you can not allow your team to fold to a bottom team like the Nets.

Nuff said.

I dont think Sloan deserves all of the blame, but he does get alot of credit when we win....so he should definitely share in the blame when we lose.

I think the majority of the blame goes to the players, but there's one thing I really don't get (and which frustrates me): where is Gordon Hayward? Please, Jerry, give the kid some burn. He's our most competent defender, is gaining confidence on offense, and -- along with Price and Watson -- is one of only three players who lays it out there every single time he steps on the court.

[The59Sound]

I agree with the people who are giving Jefferson a hard time. He doesn't set many screens, and when he does they aren't good. The push shot is terrible, and he only uses it because he can't overpower his man like Boozer or Malone could. He's not a great finisher or passer as we are used to either, and speaking of defense, Memo defended Lopez one on one way better than Jefferson did. Also, Jefferson/Millsap don't get to the line as much as Boozer, and doesn't score as much in transition (ok make that never).

And I can't believe people thought Millsap could replace Boozer. KOC is at the top of that list. He made a huge mistake with the Memo extension, and I felt that way at the time. People shouldn't be blaming Sloan, they should be blaming KOC.

Agree about the Memo extension being very questionable. But I think you're being too hard on Millsap, as Al's black hole quality is making things hard on Paul. Things were going much better for us when we ran the offense through him earlier in the year.

[HammerDunk]

I don't normally go after Sloan, but I am still racking my brain, trying to figure out why he pulled AK for as long as he did. AK was having a monster game, getting to the line at will though he wasn't shooting well, rebounding, stealing, blocking, all with no turnovers. He should have played 40 minutes, and should have taken Millsaps minutes. Other than that, and playing more Gordon, there isn't much you can do when your team is playing like puke. They finally get off to a fast start, and then piss it away. I didn't watch on TV, so I don't know what was going in in the second half of the first quarter, but there is really no excuse for that to happen.

Millsap has GOT to break out of this funk. I hope it's not all the minutes he has played this season coming down hard on him, but something is happening to him. He shouldn't be dominated like the past couple games.

CJ scored 13 points, but it took him 12 shots to do it, and he did hardly anything else. His defense is really bad lately, and he is so easily blocked at the rim, but he won't take the midrange jumper when he is wide open coming across the middle. I don't know why he thinks he always needs to go straight to the hoop, especially against a defensive lineup like NJ had in there. He is trash and needs to go! Gordon needs to get more of his minutes.

Finally, something is going on with Deron. For the first time, I am starting to get worried about him wanting to stay with the Jazz. He seems out of touch with the team. He is super frustrated, and it is showing in his play. I saw him get upset with both Al and CJ on a couple plays when I could watch the 2nd half. Al isn't setting good screens, and isn't crashing to the hoop as hard as he should be. This team still needs a lot of practice time together. Their defense is the worst I have seen this season. They are letting scrub teams score way too many points on them. That is what is most concerning to me.

How this team responds to these two losses will tell us everything we need to know about them. 0-4 on this road trip will be a disaster, but is a very likely possibility at this point. Let's hope we can see some of the heart the showed earlier this season, and hope they can play hard against the Celtics tomorrow night.

[GP]

What happened to all the guys supporting a Jefferson/Millsap front line? Everyone thought that replacing boozer with Al was a great upgrade because unlike boozer he "is a center", completely ignoring the fact that AL and millsap both operate in the key. Why did minny trade Al? Because they knew that AL and Love take up the same space on the court. Now, without Al, Love looks like the white shaq. Slide Al to the pf and move Okur back to the starting lineup (when healthy of course). World isn't coming to an end, but I think we can look forward to a short playoff run.

[HammerDunk]

I'm pretty sure most of us were supportive of the Al/Sap front line simply because we didn't have a choice, but we all knew that having Memo on the floor with either one of them would help with spacing a lot and would be a better option. I think it would help either one of them to have him there a ton. Either one could come off the bench with CJ and work better there as well.

Memo on the bench has been a hindrance to this team all season, as well as Al's injury to his hand (which he seems to bet either getting better, or just ignoring the pain). A C or PF that is scared to go hard to the hoop and dunk because of an injury will never be effective in this league.

Now that Memo is healthy and at game speed, this team really needs practice. Having some good practices will help Deron, Memo and Al all get on the same page. I think there will be a hang up until they get that chance.

[toyguc]

I'm pretty sure most of us were supportive of the Al/Sap front line simply because we didn't have a choice, but we all knew that having Memo on the floor with either one of them would help with spacing a lot and would be a better option. I think it would help either one of them to have him there a ton. Either one could come off the bench with CJ and work better there as well.

Memo on the bench has been a hindrance to this team all season, as well as Al's injury to his hand (which he seems to bet either getting better, or just ignoring the pain). A C or PF that is scared to go hard to the hoop and dunk because of an injury will never be effective in this league.

Now that Memo is healthy and at game speed, this team really needs practice. Having some good practices will help Deron, Memo and Al all get on the same page. I think there will be a hang up until they get that chance.

+1

[red4hf]

You get mad when people give Sloan the credit when they win but then pass the buck when they lose but you tend to do the exact opposite.

I didn't watch the whole thing but I am not sure that Sloan or any coach could've done too much differently. I think more than anything it goes on the players shoulders.

I give Sloan plenty of credit, I have always Sloan is one of the best, if not the best, regular season coaches in NBA history....... He has a system, he sticks to it, and he usually is able to get a lot out of his players...... And that's fine for the regular season.......

But he's terrible at making adjustments, always has been going back to the Finals...... He's too stubborn, he just sticks to the system....... And that's the difference between a great regular season coach, and a great coach period.......