What is Big Al doing differently now that D-Will is gone?

[GloriaJames]

I don't watch a lot of Jazz basketball but I've noticed Jefferson is putting up some big numbers on better efficiency since the all-star break.
What gives?

[Fido]

All of the other offensive weapons have been traded or are injured. So Al is the big scorer on the team now--and the #1 option.

And I think the other players are getting a better feel for how to work together with him.

[Jazzfan12]

Nothing. He finally recovered from his ACL injury and is way more athletic now. It had nothing to do with Deron.

[Neon Black]

Nothing. He finally recovered from his ACL injury and is way more athletic now. It had nothing to do with Deron.

I agree to a point; Jefferson actually started "blossoming' towards the end of Dwill's career in Utah. But I do think his attitude has changed since Deron left. He just looks really serious out there and in interviews, like he's bearing a lot of responsibility.

[Montanajazz]

I disagree. This was William's team before everything went down. A natural leader had to step up and he didi! Jefferson. Harris, Kirlinko, Miles Hayward, MILSAP ALL looked better and more involved after the trade. This is more of a team's team without Sloan's dictatorship and William's ego. It will take some time, but the jazz will be a better team for all this change

[Spottieottie]

Less pressure to fit his game into a "robin" mold for Williams

[QuantumMacgyver]

I'd say the reasoning is essentially 3 fold.
1. Less Pick n' Roll/Pop
2. Playing Closer to the Basket
3. Diversifying His Game

Seemed like when D-Will was here we were always trying to force Big Al into a Pick n' Roll/Pop player. Now without D-Will we are forced to set Big Al up on the block, which has worked out far better for him.

Something that Both Thurl and Matt have been saying since the beginning of the season. That Big Al was taking that hook/push shot from 2-3 feet too far out. He's fixed that.

And the fact that Corbin has been working with him, trying to get him to open up his game by using the other side of the block more, and also implementing the underhand scoop shot.

[TDIDDY]

Nothing. He finally recovered from his ACL injury and is way more athletic now. It had nothing to do with Deron.

I think it had a little to do with Deron I think if only Deron would of seen what kind of player Al is and can be he would not of acted like he did but Deron couldn't wait for Al to get the system down or be the second scoring option on the team he wanted it ALL Deron is very selfish!

[d-will8]

Big Al's basically been doing what he did for the Wolves (when healthy): putting up fantastic numbers as the first option on a **** team. That does have something to do with Deron being gone, in that Al's carrying a bigger load, getting more shots and playing a role that's more conducive to him putting up big numbers. In that sense, those of you who are saying or implying that Deron was responsible for holding Al back are right. That's pretty much where logic ends in regards to certain, seemingly widespread opinions regarding the Deron trade, Deron's impact on the Jazz and Deron in general, though.

The idea that Deron was selfish, which led to Al under-producing? Really? When Deron said he was going to make Al an all-star, he wasn't kidding. He fully intended to make that happen. Things obviously didn't pan out that way, but I don't think it was for a lack of effort on Deron's part. How many times did Al drop perfectly-placed passes, miss gimmes or otherwise fail to execute the pick-and-roll?

I guess there's some truth in the idea that Deron was wrong to try and force Al to fit in to a mold that he wasn't really meant to fit in to, but can you really blame him for trying to turn Al into something other than an inefficient, one-dimensional low post player with a very limited concept of how to fit in to a team framework or how to play off of others? (Side note: how the hell have people skewed Deron's Jazz legacy to the point that he was selfish? I get the complaints about egotism, sometimes-counterproductive anger and less-than-ideal leadership, but selfishness? Are you serious?)

Al's definitely getting better and I haven't given up on him as a building block for the future, but I'm not real confident about him being the franchise centerpiece (just look at what happened in Minnesota), which leads in to my next point: we're not better off without Deron. If we're proceeding with the understanding that Deron was going to leave (and I think he was very likely going to leave), it's absolutely fair to say that the trade was the right long-term move (i.e., we'll be better off in two to three years than we would have been if we just let Deron go. Duh.)

However, we're not better off than we were with Deron. Unless Favors develops into a BEAST and Hayward and at least one or two of our other lottery picks develop in to legitimate impact players, it could be a long, long time before we're a year in, year out 50+ win team like we were with Deron at the helm. Basically, it's hard to replace a top ten (at worst, top fifteen) player, no matter how much you dislike that player as a person.

[Soul Patch]

Dudes eating his wheaties.

[Spottieottie]

We need some GD shooters because I was at the game tonight and I saw Al getting doubled, looking to see who he could pass to and realizing "oh ****, both these dudes are just gonna clank the **** out of this, better shoot it, at least i shoot 50%"

[cjs55]

I think it's psychological. Before Al was desperately trying to fit in and please Deron/Sloan. Now he's just playing his game.

[The59Sound]

Deron was selfish as ****. Egotism, lack of accountability, and misplaced anger are essentially all the required elements. But no, he wasn't purposefully trying to hold Al or anyone else back on the basketball court.

[carrottop12]

He seems to be getting the ball with more time to operate, and he can score on pretty much anyone as long as he has time to operate.

[jazzed77]

He healed up, nothing more or less.....doesn't anyone rememer all the bitching about him missing his push shot and not dunking after he bruised his shooting hand??? Maybe some players were glad Deron is gone but going by his interviews after the trade, Big Al wasn't one of them....anyway barring injuries, I think this is the Big Al we can expect to see

[TDIDDY]

I believe we would of been better off with THE DERON who wanted to be here and win. But not the selfish one he turned into towards the end!

I also believe Big Al wanted to play with Deron but the Jazz never would of seen this 30-10-2 Big Al either it would of been 17-9-2 while Deron got his too!

If Deron only could of seen what he already had here we might still be competeing for a top seed but he gave up and told management to bring in more help or else?!

[Luigi]

The biggest single factor is that he went from being a #2 or #3 option on offense to the uncontested #1 option (where he should have been with Williams). The injury, the chemistry, etc... are all negligible.

And it does not follow that he can only succeed on a losing team. He's never been the #1 option with good teammates. We should have been playing around him before the Williams trade, but now we have no choice to make the right decision. As a responsible franchise begins to build around him--instead of the Timberwolves--we'll see if he can bring his team to the big games or not.

[carrottop12]

I definitely think his skills should translate to a winning team very well. He scores taking good shots, and lately he's been doing it efficiently.

If the Jazz can put the right players around him i.e. good shooters, guys who can get him the ball in the post, and a couple of slashers, we should be in good shape.

[Ming Kong!]

As others have said, Jefferson began to blossom when Sloan and Williams were still here, he's certainly lifted his game since though. Now that I've weathered my feelings for Williams a bit, I think it has a little bit to do with him lifting much more load without Williams, and other injuries here and there, including AK and Millsap. It's alot offensive load that had to go somewhere, and naturally Al Jefferson has taken it. I'm also very impressed with his rebounding and blocking numbers over the months as well. Millsap had the strong start at the beginning of the season, he was hot, and the go to guy in the front court, Millsap suffered some injuries, and Al Jefferson started to lift his game. Just look month by month, he's never regressed all season. Lets not forget he had a bad injury just a little over a year ago, last year he clearly was still nursing his injury and was a shell of his former self. Then comes next season, and throw in a drastically different system and role, and naturally it took a while for him. Damn I just noticed I use the word naturally way too much lol.

[GloriaJames]

thanks for the answers, gentlemen. i didn't even realize jefferson was playing through an injury. i thought he'd recovered from the acl tear by the start of the season.