Jerry Lundegaard
Banned
Hello Jazzfanz,
It's a pleasure to be back with all you fine folks. Since I've been gone, way too much has transpired with the Jazz to go over bit-by-bit in this post. I will go over a few things that have stood out to me that are pertinent to the team I love so dearly.
-Kanter is awesome. The one thing I've tried to stress to my fellow Jazz fans is how imperative it is that you set no expectations on him this season. Aside from the obvious fact that he is so young, he hadn't played competitively in an organized game in a little over a year. The transition from college to the NBA is hard enough, but to do it as a 19 year old who's prior experience was high school against mostly scrubs (I understand he played at a good private school and against some solid competition, but it's relatively scrubbish compared to what he's facing now) has got to be insanely difficult.
I've continued to be blown away be his natural strength offensively and defensively, and rebounding. He's really skilled for a big guy. All the little things that go into making a big man great are things he's going to have to learn over the next several seasons.
For many rookies, strength is the biggest hurdle they have to clear for them to take the next step in the league. For Kanter, it's going to be adjusting to the style offensively and defensively. It will be really telling to see what type of jump he makes in between his rookie year and next season. It's impossible to say what type, or how large, an improvement that will be.
But for what he's already shown as such a raw puppy, Jazz fans should be thrilled.
-I like the way Ty has managed the rotation for the most part. I'm hoping Howard sticks as a starter with Hayward (even though Bell has had a handful of solid games since I was e-forcefully sent to purgatory), and keeps Miles coming off the bench. Miles has been really good in that role. Hopefully he continues to embrace it.
My main gripe with Ty has been keeping the first unit on the bench too long in the 2nd quarter, particularly Harris. It's been well documented how painfully mediocre (at best) Harris' start to the season was. But there were a few games while I was gone from here where Harris got off to a great start, but didn't come back in until there were around 3 minutes left in the 2nd quarter and 4th quarter.
I love Earl and everything he brings to this team, so please don't take it as a slight on him. If Harris is having a great game, he needs more minutes as a point guard is the most important position on the court. Watson is a little more limited than him offensively when they're both playing well.
It's a nit-pick, considering we've won games with Watson getting extended minutes (regardless of how Harris has played in that given game) but ideally I'd like to see consistency at the point guard spot. If Harris starts to get cookin' and Earl continues his steady play off the bench, I think we'll be a playoff team for sure this season (barring any major injuries).
-I still can't say with confidence how we'll do once we hit the hellacious part of our schedule on the road, one way or the other, but I'm hoping we keep picking up the W's at home. At the beginning of the season I thought playoffs were a possibility (out of delusional homerism), but after seeing the rest of the West compete there is no doubt we should get in there. This has been a really fun season with a roster full of guys easy to root for. Now lets kick the Clippers' dicks in!
I'm glad to be back, and appreciative of anyone who has read through this entire diatribe.
With much love,
chitownjazz
It's a pleasure to be back with all you fine folks. Since I've been gone, way too much has transpired with the Jazz to go over bit-by-bit in this post. I will go over a few things that have stood out to me that are pertinent to the team I love so dearly.
-Kanter is awesome. The one thing I've tried to stress to my fellow Jazz fans is how imperative it is that you set no expectations on him this season. Aside from the obvious fact that he is so young, he hadn't played competitively in an organized game in a little over a year. The transition from college to the NBA is hard enough, but to do it as a 19 year old who's prior experience was high school against mostly scrubs (I understand he played at a good private school and against some solid competition, but it's relatively scrubbish compared to what he's facing now) has got to be insanely difficult.
I've continued to be blown away be his natural strength offensively and defensively, and rebounding. He's really skilled for a big guy. All the little things that go into making a big man great are things he's going to have to learn over the next several seasons.
For many rookies, strength is the biggest hurdle they have to clear for them to take the next step in the league. For Kanter, it's going to be adjusting to the style offensively and defensively. It will be really telling to see what type of jump he makes in between his rookie year and next season. It's impossible to say what type, or how large, an improvement that will be.
But for what he's already shown as such a raw puppy, Jazz fans should be thrilled.
-I like the way Ty has managed the rotation for the most part. I'm hoping Howard sticks as a starter with Hayward (even though Bell has had a handful of solid games since I was e-forcefully sent to purgatory), and keeps Miles coming off the bench. Miles has been really good in that role. Hopefully he continues to embrace it.
My main gripe with Ty has been keeping the first unit on the bench too long in the 2nd quarter, particularly Harris. It's been well documented how painfully mediocre (at best) Harris' start to the season was. But there were a few games while I was gone from here where Harris got off to a great start, but didn't come back in until there were around 3 minutes left in the 2nd quarter and 4th quarter.
I love Earl and everything he brings to this team, so please don't take it as a slight on him. If Harris is having a great game, he needs more minutes as a point guard is the most important position on the court. Watson is a little more limited than him offensively when they're both playing well.
It's a nit-pick, considering we've won games with Watson getting extended minutes (regardless of how Harris has played in that given game) but ideally I'd like to see consistency at the point guard spot. If Harris starts to get cookin' and Earl continues his steady play off the bench, I think we'll be a playoff team for sure this season (barring any major injuries).
-I still can't say with confidence how we'll do once we hit the hellacious part of our schedule on the road, one way or the other, but I'm hoping we keep picking up the W's at home. At the beginning of the season I thought playoffs were a possibility (out of delusional homerism), but after seeing the rest of the West compete there is no doubt we should get in there. This has been a really fun season with a roster full of guys easy to root for. Now lets kick the Clippers' dicks in!
I'm glad to be back, and appreciative of anyone who has read through this entire diatribe.
With much love,
chitownjazz
