Al Jefferson at center is a losing proposition
- Thread starter Jazz4ever
- Start date
Sloanfeld
Banned
Sap should start when Memo comes back. He is a proven 20-10 guy in this offense as a starter. And unlike somebody I do think the OP makes valid points. It was pathetic watching Nene back Al down like that. People questioned Carlos' work ethic but he's way ripped compared to little Al.
InGameStrategy
Well-Known Member
Are you OK, KEK? You're proposing to start Fesenko? What has come over you?
I agree with the lineup--wouldn't even mind Elson starting instead--because to my surprise, Jefferson is merely a slightly taller PF than Boozer--not a better fill-in at the C spot. Toward the end of Thursday's game, he started to post up and seemed more effective there. I had hoped that Millsap-AJ would be a significantly more effective combo than Millsap-Booze. But it ain't so, and it's not clear to me that it's just because of the getting accustomed to the system. Both Millsap and Jefferson benefit from playing alongside some size, just like CB did.
I hate to say it, but Sloan's decisions on matchups has been bad. Now it's been two games of Utah letting the opposing team score way too much inside. The Suns had 44 points in the paint and another 30 from the trey--in no small part because the wings sag in because they (or Sloan, or both) think that the interior needs help. You but a real 7-footer in there (Fesenko, or Elson is probably close enough), and that interior D gets a bit better.
Millsap's stat line has been very respectable, but watching the game reveals that he was not containing the paint particularly well either. But AJ's confusion on offense and less-than-stellar paint control on D has made Millsap look less mediocre.
Gotta get some height in there. Utah never led in this game, and 13 of PHX's first 15 points were either layups (paint shots) or treys. Sloan, let the wings defend the wing, and put some height in there so they don't have to sag into the key. The Suns were very beatable, and playing Fes or Elson along Millsap or Jefferson (especially Jefferson) was done very little tonight, which is the same type of mistake that was done last year (playing very little of either of the 7-footers alongside Boozer).
carolinajazz
Well-Known Member
....I was watching Jefferson myself...and wasn't impressed at all. He's basically a board banger and little else. He has no real offensive moves for a post man other than trying to do a little head fake underneath move that fools virtually nobody. He's a turrible passer out of the post.....set's few picks and screens and is lost on defense. Other than that, he's a powerful piece of manpower!
Double-double, sure. Not 20-10.
For someone who hates to say that, you say it a lot.
Sloanfeld
Banned
Okay, he's very close to 20-10.
LifeOnaPlate
Well-Known Member
The second half looked a lot more promising for Utah, sans CJ's disastrous minutes, so I'm not worried yet. Just deflated about the ugly losses.
Its incredibly obvious.
InGameStrategy
Well-Known Member
Truth hurts sometimes. Still not enjoyable to say that Sloan's in-game strategy (e.g., substitutions, matchups) sucks. The information that the team doesn't watch game film together further suggests that not only the in-game strategy is subpar, but the game planning is also. It is absolutely preposterous that they don't watch game film together and don't discuss the game together. It makes me skeptical about how much even the coaches watch and discuss strategy together.
With better matchups, these first two games were winnable, despite the double-digit deficits that actually occurred. It's the strategy, stupid. You don't play two PFs together. It hasn't worked consistently in previous years, and it ain't working now.
If I made up a character who said things like this in a fictional world, no one would believe they were real.
InGameStrategy
Well-Known Member
P.S. Here's what the competition (the competition that matters) is doing.
Phil Jackson not only watches game film voraciously (something that a mentor taught him), he has real movies spliced into the film that he shows to the team. Gladiator was a movie theme a few years ago. Helped fuel a sweep.
https://lakers.ocregister.com/2008/01/27/phil-jackson-as-roger-ebert/544/
(I wonder if Sloan splices in scenes of midwestern cornfields for inspiration.)
In fairness, the Fakers download film into the players' laptops, so there is probably lots of individual viewing also.
https://www.thestar.com/sports/bask...son-embarks-on-his-first-game-7-in-nba-finals
Kobe sometime corrals teammates and even coaches to watch clips of relevance. Even though this is the coaches' job first, Deron needs to do this, too, even if the coaches aren't.
https://sports.espn.go.com/nba/play...st=macmullan_jackie&page=kobefilmstudy-100604
(This is a sign to me that DM doesn't want to stay around if the coaches aren't even putting forth the effort to bring the team together for film.)
Phil Jackson not only watches game film voraciously (something that a mentor taught him), he has real movies spliced into the film that he shows to the team. Gladiator was a movie theme a few years ago. Helped fuel a sweep.
https://lakers.ocregister.com/2008/01/27/phil-jackson-as-roger-ebert/544/
(I wonder if Sloan splices in scenes of midwestern cornfields for inspiration.)
In fairness, the Fakers download film into the players' laptops, so there is probably lots of individual viewing also.
https://www.thestar.com/sports/bask...son-embarks-on-his-first-game-7-in-nba-finals
Kobe sometime corrals teammates and even coaches to watch clips of relevance. Even though this is the coaches' job first, Deron needs to do this, too, even if the coaches aren't.
https://sports.espn.go.com/nba/play...st=macmullan_jackie&page=kobefilmstudy-100604
(This is a sign to me that DM doesn't want to stay around if the coaches aren't even putting forth the effort to bring the team together for film.)