Paul Millsap is having his finest season yet for the Jazz. He is averaging career highs in points (20.6) and rebounds (9.1), and he also had a career high 46 points in the huge comeback win for the Jazz last week against the Miami Heat. He is arguably having an all-star season.
Yet this apparently doesn't seem to merit enough credibility to make the all-star ballot for this season. The ballots were released last week, and Millsap was not found among the 24 forwards in the West up for all-star considerations.
"This is still one of the things that I use to get over humps, to fight over adversity," Millsap said. "I use what other people say to my advantage....It kind of gives you a little extra (motivation), a little extra oomph about yourself, makes you want to go out there and show yourself."
He still has a good shot at making the squad, considering that the ballot is only to choose the starters for the squad, he still could make the team as a reserve. Still, this snub is a travesty given that players such as Mario Chalmers, Brendan Haywood, and Linas Kleiza were able to make the ballot
The streaking Jazz have enjoyed having Big Al Jefferson as part of their line-up this season. He has given them some solid post scoring and has helped to free up other players whenever he gets the ball in the post.
He has had some troubles getting acclimated to the complex Jazz offense though. During a game last week, he realized he still has a way to go.
"I told him we've got 25 or 30 more plays," Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "I thought he was going to pass out." This revelation was told to Jefferson after he missed a screening assignment during a game against Toronto. Apparently Sloan called for some plays to be run during that game that hadn't been "reviewed" in training camp this fall.
Still, Jefferson has been very teachable so far, and should learn the complex offense soon enough.
Jazz coach Jerry Sloan is likely to sign an extension with the Utah Jazz as reported by the Salt Lake Tribune. “It’s just a matter of time and we’ll probably we get it worked out,” Sloan said. “This is how we do it every year. … I’m really not concerned about it.”
Sloan has been with the Utah Jazz for 23 consecutive seasons, reaching the playoffs in 19 of those seasons, so it comes as no surprise that the Jazz would want to keep Sloan in the mix for a few more years.
To make this news more interesting, there is a hilarious website that is entirely dedicated to the massiveness of Sloan's hands. Take a look at it and judge for yourself. http://sloanhands.blogspot.com/
Andrei Kirilenko was mentioned in trade talks this past summer, particularly in the 4-team deal that would have sent Carmelo Anthony to the New Jersey Nets.
Since that mega trade didn't go through, Kirilenko talks have surprisingly subsided and all signs look to AK remaining a part of the team for the foreseeable future. "The way Andrei has played for us in the past and the way he played in the preseason, he's a real key to our team,"team GM Kevin O'Connor told The Salt Lake Tribune. "He really competes."
AK has looked solid in the first few games of the Jazz, particularly on Sunday with his defense against Kevin Durant. Maybe AK's stay in Utah will inspire his wife, Masha, to re-open her clothing store Fleur de Lis in downtown Salt Lake? This blogger hopes so.
Also, this funny youtube video of the couple made me laugh. Check it out.
ESPN has released its annual awards predictions to coincide with the beginning of the new season. Interestingly, the favorite to win the Coach of the Year award this year is Jerry Sloan. He tied for the most amount of votes (5) with Miami Heat Coach, Erik Spolestra.
Now, Jazz fans are very used to hearing Jerry Sloan's name thrown into the discussion for a COY award, but of course this has yet to happen. This is due to the fact that Sloan can take virtually any group of guys and turn them into a 50 win team in the league, he has shown that he can do this with remarkable consistency. However, he has failed to get his Jazz teams over this hump and to help them reach elite status, (pardon my use of the word "elite", I know that ever since the happenings with EA's NBA Elite 11,that word has a negative vibe) and since the COY isn't a lifetime achievement award, it's hard to find a single year in which he flat out deserved to win it.
If Sloan can get the Jazz to a 2nd seed in the West, and help them finish around 55 wins or more, I could see him winning the award. The acquisition of Al Jefferson could help them get to that point, but only time will tell, and in the end, I don't think that Sloan cares about the award that much. This is, after all, the man that spends his hours on his John Deere tractor when he isn't filling his role as coach. But he does care about winning , and if he can get this Jazz team to buy into that, he could take them to next level.
Photo provided by Getty Images
The Salt Lake Area is full of buzz right now. Not because we're known as the beehive state, or because of the surprise, early snow storm we had last night. Rather everyone is pumped for the new Jazz season beginning this Wednesday. Even more, the Jazz cruised to a perfect 8-0 record in preseason play amidst a myriad of injuries and roster changes.
So, what does Coach Jerry Sloan feel of this success? He said, "People get carried away especially in the exhibition season, about the wins. We've got a lot of work to do to be able to play like we'd like to play. I think we can be a better team, a better executing team than what we did. I think we can be a better defensive team. It's a matter of getting that done. I don't know how that will work out."
Typical Jerry Sloan. Still, the team looks extra promising, and newly acquired, fan favorite Al Jefferson has looked great so far. Here's to another great season!
So long Boozer and hello Al Jefferson! Jazz fans have been thrilled to see the swift acclimation of center Al Jefferson into the Utah offense in the preseason. Further, Jefferson, or "Big Al" as he's been called recently, has developed a great friendship with all star point guard Deron Williams.
However the friendship isn't only based on the functionality of the "pick and roll" or D-Will's ability to get Big Al the ball in the post. The friendship has also been formed on religion of all things. To answer your question, neither of them are Mormon.
According to Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune, Williams revealed to Jefferson that earlier this year he (Williams) had been baptized as a Christian. Jefferson, who had been raised Christian growing up in Mississippi, was thrilled to hear the news. “He got saved,” Jefferson said. “I didn’t know that about him. That was real good to hear. ... He said he has really done changed his life around.”
The chemistry of these two players means everything to the Jazz offense this season. If their religious beliefs can help to make this bond stronger, than they might be able to not only save their lives, but save this season for the Jazz as well.
Hello again blogging world. It's a great time to be a fan, the playoffs start this coming weekend, so expect plenty of dog fights between the middle seeded teams, especially in the West. Also expect to see some of the top paid players strutting their stuff in their bling and duds on the sidelines, choosing to "rest" before the first round of the playoffs. I won't talk much about this now, but I am a little ticked that I didn't get to see Lebron play today.
Our good friend Rasheed Wallace has been known for his fan favorite quote, "Ball don't lie." In the same vein, I've always been a firm believer of the ideology that "stats don't lie." A closer look at an individual players stats can tell you much about how much he really adds to the team. The other set of numbers that are worth a look are players' salaries. After all, in our recession plagued time, and with grumblings of a potential lockout on the horizon, it's worth to look at how much the players really are making.
One of the main reasons the league is struggling right now isn't because of the money that the bonafide superstars are making. Lebron, Kobe, Dwyane Wade, Melo, Dwight and the other elite players command high salaries (especially Wade and Lebron after this season), but they arguably make up for it with the amount of money they bring in with merchandise and ticket sales. Today I want to focus on the players that are a veritable drain on the league--The most overpaid players in the league. Coupled with their salaries, I will also show their averages to see how their production isn't equaling their pay. After all my friends, "stats don't lie." Thanks again to Sheed for helping is to think this way. Also, since Sheed took a substantial pay cut to gain weight, be lazy, and shoot near career worst percentages from the field for the Celts this offseason, I won't include him on my list... for now.
Darko Milicic- $7,540,000 a year
Minnesota Timberwolves, 2nd overall pick in 2003 draft
Carrer Averages 5.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG
The Smooth Serbian who was taken before Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh has stayed in the league for seven seasons now, and plays for his fifth team. This kid sucks for lack of a better term, and this year he makes nearly twice as much money as MVP candidate Kevin Durant.
Andris Biedrins- $9,000,000,000a year
Golden State Warriors 5.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG
This one is my personal vendetta. After a breakout year last season, I took him pretty early in my fantasy draft back in November. He had his worst averages since his rookie season, and spent more than half of the season on the bench with injuries. His coach, Don Nelson has accused him of being soft, and I accuse him of ruining my run at a second straight fantasy league title. I hope you get heavily taxed on your $9 million Biedrins!
Bobby Simmons- $11,242,666 a year
New Jersey Nets 7.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG
Simmons was the winner of the NBA's Most Improved Player Award in 04-05 season. He has since "improved" by suffering huge injuries, seeing a more than 50% decline in PPG and RPG and being traded to the hapless, Jay-Z Nets.
Tracy McGrady- $22,843,124
New York Knicks- Career Averages 22.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 4.7 APG
THIS SEASON 9.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.9 APG
For years, he was largely touted as one of the future best players of the league, and signed at the time, the largest contract in league history. Now he's touted as an injury riddled, selfish player, who's sole purpose is to help teams gain cap relief when hebecomes a free agent.
Jermaine O Neal- $23,016,000
Miami Heat 13.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.7APG
He makes slightly less than Kobe, and that ranks second highest for league salaries this
season. Props to the Sports Guy, Bill Simmons for this obervation, "[O Neal] makes more money this season than Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Serge Ibaka, Eric Maynor, Thabo Sefolosha and Jeff Green combined." Hardly worth it.
Other notable guys that are running the league to financial ruin:
Shaq-$21,000,000
Zach Randolph- $16,000,000
Michael Redd- $17,040,000
Peja Stojacovic- $13,392,000
Samuel Dalembert- $12,025,694
Andrei Kirilenko- $15,456,976
I have long been in favor of an incentive based pay system for players, that can rise and diminish due to favorable and poor performance respectively. A base pay can be negotiated due on past performance,after all, this will still give players to be awesome the last seasons of their contract (Carlos Boozer anyone?). But these multi-million dollar, multi-year contracts for guys that sit out games with a cold and average less points than I did for my high school team, are hardly worth the investment. But for now, this is the way things are. However, if this trend continues, look forward to a lockout sometime in the next few seasons.
Look forward to future posts and a fun last week of the season.
Well NBA fans, it is that time of year again. The time of year where the Western Conference experiences their yearly log jam of 2-5 place, and the world holds their breath to see which sub-par teams in the Eastern Conference will undeservedly clinch a playoff berth. But today's post isn't about my feelings on why I don't like the current playoff format, this is about something so much more.
I am a Jazz fan. The first step is admittance and I should come out and say it. Funny thing is, I don't regret it. I love our team this year and am optimistic about what might happen in the playoffs. I was very excited especially after the huge, yet controversial win against the Thunder Tuesday night. However, that all changed on Wednesday. No, I am not talking about the throttling we took against the Rockets that night, even though that bout was about as one sided as the matchup of Ivan Drago vs. Apollo Creed in Rocky IV (interestingly enough, Kirilenko didn't play that night.)
My reason for disillusion came during the ESPN Half time show, when the analysts were giving their predictions as to who would take 2nd place in the Western Conference. Jamal Mashburn picked the Mavericks to take the 2nd seed, and Avery Johnson picked the Jazz. Now, this might seem like good news, especially given that the Jazz have a knack for avoiding any kind of positive, national props. But given that Avery Johnson predictions are about as valid as a tarot card readers', this doesn't look good. Let's look at Avery's track record over the past few years:
- Paul Pierce will win reg. Season MVP- 2008 (Pierce didn't receive any votes that year)
-“I always thought of him as a triple double guy” (speaking of Antoine Walker- who now is out of the league and $85 million in debt)
- Nuggets will upset the Lakers in 2007 (Nuggets were swept in first round)
- Israel (the country) is one of the biggest media markets for the NBA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RjmjejukO0) -The Toronto Raptors will finish in the top 4in the East this season (they currently have been bumped from the playoffs)
I could go on, but to be blunt, Avery's predictions seem to be a kiss of death almost every time, and to add to the irony, he has cartoonishly gigantic lips. So you can see my reason for worry now that the "Little General" (Avery) has given us his misplaced confidence.
I still remain optimistic, but this is reason to worry. Let's hope that the Little General can actually get close on this one. Sometimes he has been known to hit his mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUHIfOicCbU
