Al Jefferson is an enigma
- Thread starter George
- Start date
Edgewriter
Well-Known Member
Al is just Awesome. He's the best thing to happen to our team since Stock and Malone left.
George, can you give me your commentary on how easy a decision it is for Corbin to play Foye 30+ minutes over Young Beezy when the former is 64th in TS% and the latter a horrific 302nd? Also, on a scale of 1-10, how bad is it when you post a +/- of negative fourteen in under four minutes of play?
Thanks, I'll log out of life and take your answer offline.
Thanks, I'll log out of life and take your answer offline.
Not all of Burks time has to come from Foye. Tinsley played 35 minutes and Watson 13... From what I have seen, having Burks, Foye and Hayward on the court together has been fairly effective.
As long as Mo's injured I'm cool with Burks getting burn at point guard over Watson.
Hayward's getting much better at running the offense as well, so Burks-Hay-Carroll/Ma could work in situations. Hayward is starting to get the PnR, even with Al Jefferson being the roller.
sojodave
Well-Known Member
Al Jefferson is a Riddle Wrapped In A Mystery Inside An Enigma. I was at the game against the Wizards and our movement on offense sucks with Big Al. But, it's not Big Al's fault, it's Ty's fault. Ty relies on Big Al because he can always get his shot off. It might not go in, and it might be forced, but he can get it off. I think it's because Ty doesn't have confidence in a lot of the team to get a good shot off. I don't think Ty is going to change unless management forces his hand. We need a Billy Bean type of trade.
I agree. It does not even necessarilly have to be Burks at the 1 but 3 minutes and as many DNP as he has is absolute crap. If he is going to excell then give him the chance to. If he is going to crash and burn then let us figure that out now and move forward accordingly.
DutchJazzer
Banned
Otis Day
Well-Known Member
Here is my biggest issue. With Al our offense is dump it down low and let him go to work. That doesn't work for our young guys, especially Favors. I think we fail to put them in a position to exceed by making them a back to the basket type player. It's like building your offense around a running quarterback but your backup is a pocket quarterback. You can try to make your pocket quarterback run but it won't work. As long as this offense is catered to Big Al we will fail to properly use Favors, and to a lesser extent, Enes. Watching us go to Favors on the block for multiple possessions in the 4th quarter was painful.
candrew
Well-Known Member
George, take plenty of time answering this one.
George
Banned
I think you're onto something.
As of right now, I think I would be okay to re-signing Al to 10 mil per, and one day relegating him to the bench once Kanter outplays him on offense (already outplaying him defensively)
HeavenHarris
Banned
big al is so unselfish and underappreciated bros, i hope he wins a championship and proves the haters wrong
Litany
Well-Known Member
Al will not give up $6+ million per year to stay in Utah. He's gone. And I'm fine with that.
Another addition to Big Al's List of "Things any basketball player should know by the time they are in the 8th grade".
You're claiming someone will give Al a $16mm+ contract this summer? If that's the case then a trade is inevitable. INEVITABLE!
Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
I think $15-16M is right in therange of what Al will get, probably for 5 years since he is still relatively young. I don't think a trade is inevitable, though. KOC has shown a reluctance to take on long-term contracts for overpriced vets. Boozer could have been traded numerous times, but KOC didn't want salaries back. I think the same thing happens with Al and Paul. Lindsey will field some offers, but in the end, nothing will happen. KOC will nix any deal that brings back a high-priced vet in return, unless it was also an expiring combined with a young prospect or picks.
JimLes
Well-Known Member
The reality is that we can get rid of Al, but then we'd have no one we can go to in the clutch. As sojodave said, he can get his shot off under nearly any conditions. I know it's hip among the cool kids on this board to pretend that Al has no redeemable qualities, but you just can't ignore this skill of his.
Every team needs closers. It's one thing to be able to score points and have a great shooting percentage when you are able to pick your spots, but it's a whole other story when you have to force the issue. Kyle Korver shot 54% from the three his last year here. Do you recall him having the ball in his hands much in late-game situations? Hell no, he's a spot up shooter. If he caught and shot, he was money. If he took even one dribble, he'd probably miss. Watch the Gaines three against the Cavs again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yawMyj4zQU
Most of that play, the Jazz have 5 players outside the 3-point line. Not one could create. Two great spot up shooters, two athletic chuckers and one D-Leaguer we knew nothing about at that point. Deron went down, Andrei was useless by this point, and Boozer couldn't do PnR without Deron. Notice how Korver passes up the shot the moment he's challenged, Ronnie Price tries a move even I could defend, and the game of hot potato finally ends with everyone deciding that they should let the D-Leaguer take the blame for missing the shot. Except, of course, he makes it, but if you repeated this situation 10 times, the Heat would win 10 times.
You got to have someone who can create in the clutch, and for most teams, that's a guard or a small forward. Couple of reasons. One is that teams pack the paint in the clutch, and the other is the dearth of centres who are anything more than complimentary players. Look at the all-star centres this year. Noah, Chandler, Howard? Would you give any of them the ball in the clutch and ask them to put points up on the board? Hell to the no. If they don't get stripped or commit a turnover otherwise, you're looking at an awkward heave from 15 feet out that may just draw iron. We are lucky, in that Jefferson is one of the rare centres in the league who can actually post up and get his shot off pretty much at will. He's also not as bad passing out of the double team as he is made out to be. He's not Eddy Curry. You can give him the ball with a minute left in a close game and know he'll get a decent shot off. That's something, because there's no one else on this team you could say the same thing about.
Millsap can occasionally get into a zone where he's channeling Paul Pierce and taking guys off the dribble in the clutch and driving to the hoop, but that option disappears the moment someone quicker or longer is on him. Now, if we had a point guard who could penetrate and dish out, that could be another good option instead of giving it to a player to create one-on-one, but we don't. I love Jamaal, but g-d bless him, he's not that player. If he was, it would instantly turn Randy Foye into the most dangerous man of the floor in those situations, but this is ifs and buts. If we get rid of Al right now(and especially if Millsap also follows), then every late game situation will look like the Gaines shot. Hot potato until someone has to heave it. And as my dad would say, it ain't Christmas every day. Most of the time, the unheralded D-League pickup will not make that shot.
The good news, however, is that Hayward is almost there. I believe that in a year's time, Gordo will be the guy with the ball in his hands in the clutch. He still needs more confidence and a little more control, along with some better decision-making, but I believe he's only a season away. When that happens, we won't need Al. Until then, we either replace him with someone who can close games or we hang on to him until the summer. Else, our already sad late-game strategy will get even sadder.
Every team needs closers. It's one thing to be able to score points and have a great shooting percentage when you are able to pick your spots, but it's a whole other story when you have to force the issue. Kyle Korver shot 54% from the three his last year here. Do you recall him having the ball in his hands much in late-game situations? Hell no, he's a spot up shooter. If he caught and shot, he was money. If he took even one dribble, he'd probably miss. Watch the Gaines three against the Cavs again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yawMyj4zQU
Most of that play, the Jazz have 5 players outside the 3-point line. Not one could create. Two great spot up shooters, two athletic chuckers and one D-Leaguer we knew nothing about at that point. Deron went down, Andrei was useless by this point, and Boozer couldn't do PnR without Deron. Notice how Korver passes up the shot the moment he's challenged, Ronnie Price tries a move even I could defend, and the game of hot potato finally ends with everyone deciding that they should let the D-Leaguer take the blame for missing the shot. Except, of course, he makes it, but if you repeated this situation 10 times, the Heat would win 10 times.
You got to have someone who can create in the clutch, and for most teams, that's a guard or a small forward. Couple of reasons. One is that teams pack the paint in the clutch, and the other is the dearth of centres who are anything more than complimentary players. Look at the all-star centres this year. Noah, Chandler, Howard? Would you give any of them the ball in the clutch and ask them to put points up on the board? Hell to the no. If they don't get stripped or commit a turnover otherwise, you're looking at an awkward heave from 15 feet out that may just draw iron. We are lucky, in that Jefferson is one of the rare centres in the league who can actually post up and get his shot off pretty much at will. He's also not as bad passing out of the double team as he is made out to be. He's not Eddy Curry. You can give him the ball with a minute left in a close game and know he'll get a decent shot off. That's something, because there's no one else on this team you could say the same thing about.
Millsap can occasionally get into a zone where he's channeling Paul Pierce and taking guys off the dribble in the clutch and driving to the hoop, but that option disappears the moment someone quicker or longer is on him. Now, if we had a point guard who could penetrate and dish out, that could be another good option instead of giving it to a player to create one-on-one, but we don't. I love Jamaal, but g-d bless him, he's not that player. If he was, it would instantly turn Randy Foye into the most dangerous man of the floor in those situations, but this is ifs and buts. If we get rid of Al right now(and especially if Millsap also follows), then every late game situation will look like the Gaines shot. Hot potato until someone has to heave it. And as my dad would say, it ain't Christmas every day. Most of the time, the unheralded D-League pickup will not make that shot.
The good news, however, is that Hayward is almost there. I believe that in a year's time, Gordo will be the guy with the ball in his hands in the clutch. He still needs more confidence and a little more control, along with some better decision-making, but I believe he's only a season away. When that happens, we won't need Al. Until then, we either replace him with someone who can close games or we hang on to him until the summer. Else, our already sad late-game strategy will get even sadder.