Couple of concerns

[Stifle Tower]

The Jazz have ran a lot with two point guards this year, using Deron as a 2 guard. He plays the position very well, and is incredibly accurate on catch and shoots I noticed. I wouldn't be worried about the assists at all.

Probably running the 2 PG sets because our SG's suck. Raja may be a good veteran presence to have on the team and an asset in the locker room, but he's absolutely turrible. Not Derek Fisher turrible; I mean he's not giving up 40 pts to every opposing off-guard, but Bell's got very little left in his tank. He can't hit his shots consistently and he's a half-step slower defensively.

And CJ...well the CJ lovers are going to give me negative rep for this, but Miles is NOT the answer. As Sloan once said, the Jazz need a "making guard." When your wings are all hitting around 42%, that's just not good enough.

 

[jimmy eat jazz]

Deron playing 2 shouldn't diminish his ability to make others better. It just adds an angle to the offense that makes it more dynamic and harder to defend. The idea that plays have to be made in one pass from the PG is erroneous. Being a secondary ball-handler facilitates shots that come within the flow of the offense, not PG stat-padding.

I disagree. This is not about PG stat-padding, it's about the flow of offense and getting teammates involved and distributing the ball. If you think that's what I'm talking about, you badly misread me. Being a secondary ball handler facilitates shots--for Deron mostly and less so for others. Deron's a far better distributor than Watson, and I think we're a much better team when he's distributing, rather than the primary scorer night in and night out. I don't mind it in stretches, particularly when the match-ups are favorable, but I don't like it as a routine game strategy. There is a difference between playing off-guard and PG and it does affect things like flow, distribution, scoring, etc. To argue there's little difference, as you seem to be arguing, is what's erroneous. Now, whether it makes an actual quantitative difference, I'm just guessing based on casual observation. If anyone has any stats on this (not a good expenditure of my limited time), I'd be curious and happy to change my mind if shown wrong.

 

[NUMBERICA]

I disagree. This is not about PG stat-padding, it's about the flow of offense and getting teammates involved and distributing the ball. If you think that's what I'm talking about, you badly misread me. Being a secondary ball handler facilitates shots--for Deron mostly and less so for others. Deron's a far better distributor than Watson, and I think we're a much better team when he's distributing, rather than the primary scorer night in and night out. I don't mind it in stretches, particularly when the match-ups are favorable, but I don't like it as a routine game strategy. There is a difference between playing off-guard and PG and it does affect things like flow, distribution, scoring, etc. To argue there's little difference, as you seem to be arguing, is what's erroneous. Now, whether it makes an actual quantitative difference, I'm just guessing based on casual observation. If anyone has any stats on this (not a good expenditure of my limited time), I'd be curious and happy to change my mind if shown wrong.

One of us is wrong, but that doesn't change that being the secondary ball-handler doesn't mean anything besides that he gets the ball later in the play. Whether he has a higher, lower, or same assist rate doesn't change that.

I trust that if there's a pass that can lead to an easier bucket (or a bucket that is of likely equal difficulty) Deron will go for the pass. He's a pass-first PG with great scoring ability. This team has no one that can create on their own or for others with any consistency, and he has great ability. With this roster, it's in the team's best interest that he's the primary scorer, much to his and our chagrin. If Al can learn to consistently finish a ****ing motion play and/or we can get a wing to cut and finish, Deron's assists will go up significantly.

 

[Harcher]

Vslice said it correctly. Additionally, this is not Deron's 'fault.' It is that he's doing what needs ot be done to win. I think the Jazz would be better off if he was called on to do the assisting more than the scoring. - This assumes the other team members were able to be the scorers like we neeed...

 

[Stifle Tower]

One of us is wrong, but that doesn't change that being the secondary ball-handler doesn't mean anything besides that he gets the ball later in the play. Whether he has a higher, lower, or same assist rate doesn't change that.

I trust that if there's a pass that can lead to an easier bucket (or a bucket that is of likely equal difficulty) Deron will go for the pass. He's a pass-first PG with great scoring ability. This team has no one that can create on their own or for others with any consistency, and he has great ability. With this roster, it's in the team's best interest that he's the primary scorer, much to his and our chagrin. If Al can learn to consistently finish a ****ing motion play and/or we can get a wing to cut and finish, Deron's assists will go up significantly.

Good points. I also think a healthy Okur would greatly add to Deron's assist totals. Deron and Memo were great at running the pick and pop two years ago when Boozer was injured. That's also when Millsap had his string of double-doubles. Coincidence? Nope. Having Okur as a 3pt threat brought the opposing big out and opened up the middle. Deron could drive to the hoop and then hit a cutter or throw it outside for the 3. I'd like to see Okur paired with either Jefferson or Millsap. As much as I like both of those guys, the Jazz just need another outside threat in the starting unit. And we certainly aren't getting that from Bell or AK.

 

[Sneakers]

How can anyone say its cause Boozer's gone? D-will was having no problem racking up the assists earlier this year. Its just a matter of not finishing by teammates.