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Jazz vs Thunder | Monday November 15th @ 7:00pm

Just watched the replay, the momentum just completely shifted with about 6 minutes to go in the 2nd. OKC goes on a 9-0 run after a questionable call on Earl Watson. I just felt sick after watching that. You could see OKC's bench get fired up and they were on fire through the 3rd.
 
The Jazz had no room for error and just couldn't hit shots in crunch time. Too many easy misses and a couple of turnovers. OKC is a good team when Westbrook is shooting well. ...And when Ibaka is scoring, that's pretty tough.
 
Yep down the stretch DWill had a couple of TO's, Millsap had a bad TO and AJ missed several shots, not to mention Millsap and AJ not rebounding very well throughout the game.

AK didn't have a great game but I thought he made Durant work hard and contested most of his shots and DWill and AK came out with great energy to start the game.

I'm actually not as upset as I am after most Jazz losses just because of everything that had to go OKC's way to win and the Jazz still had a chance to win.
 
LjJazzman said:
This ones on big al, no doubt about it. At least he has the balls to keep trying and shooting even when they are just missing....
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How much 'balls' does it take to keep shooting? IF that's the case, than CJ has the biggest sack on the team. (Courageous Jumpers, anyone?) More impressive would be playing on both ends of the court--and making your shots, not just keeping on shooting them. Or better yet, passing the ball if you're shooting col.

You know what takes more balls? Sitting down a starter--at least for a possession or a few--when the starter isn't defending.

You know what takes brains? Sitting down a starter when it's clear that your backup center--maybe either of them--is having a more positive effect.

Jefferson's underperformance and the backup centers' readily visible effect on stopping the bleeding and facilitating the offense (by stopping the bleeding) is a repeated theme in almost every Jazz loss this season. Definitely clear in the GSW loss, when AJ wasn't even trying to box out (sufficient basis for benching under Coaching 101 protocol). In the Phoenix game, Hakim Warrick went off, and it's common knowledge that he can't shoot, rendering obvious a change to a player who can defend the paint--maybe even Evans to defend Warrick specifically. Hakim the Dream scored most of his points from the paint and the line.
 
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So it's okay to get Fesenko minutes for the past three years for the sake of development, even if it hurts the team, but getting Jefferson used to the system/team/learning to win is NOT okay, even if he hurts the team sometimes. I understand. You're definitely not a blind anti-Jefferson, anti-Sloan homer at all.
 
Marty McFly said:
So it's okay to get Fesenko minutes for the past three years for the sake of development, even if it hurts the team, but getting Jefferson used to the system/team/learning to win is NOT okay, even if he hurts the team sometimes. I understand. You're definitely not a blind anti-Jefferson, anti-Sloan homer at all.
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Jefferson is getting something like 40 minutes per game. We would kill to give Fes an average of 15. Come on.
 
Marty McFly said:
So it's okay to get Fesenko minutes for the past three years for the sake of development, even if it hurts the team, but getting Jefferson used to the system/team/learning to win is NOT okay, even if he hurts the team sometimes. I understand. You're definitely not a blind anti-Jefferson, anti-Sloan homer at all.
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Fes got about 12.2 seconds per game over the last 3 years. How much time is Big Al getting? Any significant differences there?

Lets look at another factor: is one a very young raw prospect and the other an established multiyear pro? Hmmmm. Nope, no differences there.

Myself, I know that Big Al will need time to adapt and we need to give it to him. But I still gotta wonder if he can make the transition. Can a big guy who has never had to pass, never had to run the P&R, never had to move around much in a complicated offense, adapt now? We're gonna find out I guess.
 
i thought watson did a pretty ok job in this game, i already believe he's gonna be a better contributor than hart or milt;
hayward looked more comfortable but there's room for improvement and;
lately, Big Al not having that consistent 'touch' with his shot (put) - except in the Orlando game

i still do cringe as CJ shoots sometimes awkwardly but either through luck or talent, it seems like his shots are going in more often.
 
I was ok with the game until the last 35 seconds. The Jazz simply didn't know what the hell they wanted to do. Deron came down and pushed the ball like he was going to go 2-for-1. Then the plan seemed to be to try to get a 2 and then foul, which is a terrible plan given that everyone on OKC is excellent from the line.

Sloan should have called a timeout. Sure, OKC could have set their defense, but why not have Millsap or Deron try to get a quick 3, then play defense on the other end. There would have been enough time to get a 2-for-1. Just a poor decisions to close out the game.
 
siromar said:
Jefferson is getting something like 40 minutes per game. We would kill to give Fes an average of 15. Come on.
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I'm down with Fes playing. I love the kid. S2M is acting like benching Jefferson is going to magically make him play better. The very thing he criticizes Jerry for.
 
Marty McFly said:
I'm down with Fes playing. I love the kid. S2M is acting like benching Jefferson is going to magically make him play better. The very thing he criticizes Jerry for.
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If you see that Fes is questionable for the Nets game, dont believe he was able to play in the second half anyway, but come on Jefferson got hit your shots when it counts. He is definitely a defensive liability compared to Fes so if he cant hit the big time shots should he be in there at the end. The Orlando game did show that he can though. But, what about when "the money man" is back?
 
I don't think playing Fes in the 2nd half would've made a difference because the majority of OKC's 3rd qtr FG's were penetrate and kick for mid-range jumpers. Fes wouldn't have taken away any of the mid-range jumpers Kristic and Ibaka were getting and it's doubtful he would've improved defensive rebounding any since he's not a good individual rebounder himself.

Fes is effective against teams that a) get to the rim b) have a low-post scoring center c) you can play zone against...and none of those attributes are true of the Thunder.

As far as Jefferson goes, he had monumental struggles defensively but he's never been a good defender so that shouldn't be suprising. The big thing is he fumbled passes and missed a bunch of easy shots 8-feet and in. Whether he knows the offense or not, he should be able to catch a pass and make a 5-foot shot, and if he can't anchor the low-post game against Kristic then he's not much use on the floor because of his defensive struggles.
 
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