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Utah Jazz Blog-o-Table - What has surprised you the most
November 30th, 2010
Each week I will ask the numerous terrific Jazz experts on our staff a single question about the Jazz and usually one about the NBA for the Utah Jazz Blog-o-Table.
This week the question was only Utah Jazz centric -
What has surprised you the most about the Utah Jazz?
TOM NISSALKE
The biggest surprise to me was the success the Jazz had on the first Eastern road trip. I had watched a good share of the pre-season schedule and wasn't impressed with what the teams I saw were doing. There were a few exceptions of course, Boston, LAL and the Spurs BUT the teams in general didn't seem to have a foundation that could be added to. The Jazz with their returnees and additions seemed to have the potential to be a "work in progress", which meant continuing tweaking could push them to the elite level. Jerry has continued to be consistant as always in his methods of "selling" what he wants done and all are "buying" into it. In the NBA as you know, it doesn't always work that way. In short, no great surprises.
CRAIG BOLERJACK
Gordon Hayward....after thriving in pressure situations at Butler...his inability at this time to earn more minutes off the bench. I thought he would be aggressive in earning a regular rotation of 10-12 minutes off the bench....
PATRICK KINAHAN
My biggest concern for the Jazz going into the season was the bench. Having already declared Deron Williams as the game’s best point guard, I figured the team would get solid contributions from the other starters and C.J. Miles.
The likes of Earl Watson, Ronnie Price, Francisco Elson and Gordon Hayward were a mystery. My fears were realized through the first two weeks of the season, as only Miles was a significant producer off the bench.
Even in victory, the bench was practically invisible. Citing the Jazz’s first win of the season, against Oklahoma City, Hayward was the only bench contributor besides Miles. Interesting, Hayward has dropped from the rotation.
As recently as Nov. 10, one night after the Jazz needed overtime to beat the Heat, Watson never got off the bench against the Magic. But since then, his minutes have steadily increased in harmony with his production.
The same can be said for Price and Elson, both of whom have played vital roles in the Jazz’s fast start.
BEN BAGLEY
To me the most surprising thing to me has been the growth of Deron Williams. He is a different person this year. Not a different player, but a different person. And it's paying off, on the floor.
Deron now knows that this is his team and it is on him to show his teammates what is expected on and off the floor. He's the undisputed leader. He knows it, and so does his teammates and everyone around the team.
The way he interacts with teammates in the locker room is just a little different. The highs aren't as high, and the lows not as low for Deron. He's the first to point out the team still needs improvement after a win and is quick to point out there still will be bumps in the road.
Right now, Deron Williams is in the midst of one of the best streaks of his career. Not just numbers wise, but the way he makes his teammates better. The combination of the two things (numbers and leadership) have this team gelling together in a way few expected at this point.
DAVID LOCKE
The Jazz 4th quarter defense has been remarkable this season. Jerry Sloan said he was surprised the Jazz have been able to shut people down without a shot blocker in the middle. I never imagined that nearly 20 games into the season the Jazz would be the #1 defense in the NBA against the shot. The additions of Watson, Elson and Bell have added a tremendous amount to the Jazz defensively. A healthy AK and a more minutes for Paul Millsap are all adding to the equation of this team being elite defensively against the shot. In addition, Deron Williams doesn't have the big steal numbers of a Rondo or Chris Paul but he is one of the best in the NBA at keeping the ball in front of him and he has increased his defensive efforts a great deal. If the Jazz could start rebounding on the defensive end they have a chance to be a top 5 defensive team and that is what wins.
SCOTT GARRARD
In all honesty, what hasn’t been surprising about this Jazz team? From the 4th quarter defense, to the emergence of Ronnie Price as a player that you actually feel comfortable with on the court, this team has been full of surprises.
However, the biggest surprise has been the efficiency of this Jazz offense – and how quickly they have made that happen. The question mark after the loss of Carlos Boozer was could the Jazz run their offense through Paul Millsap? Could Deron Williams and Al Jefferson get on the same page? These were all reasonable concerns, and they were legitimized when the Jazz struggled offensively at the beginning of the season. We all assumed that this team would eventually get there –after all this team is coached by Jerry Sloan – but nobody in their right mind would have thought that this team would have gelled and become one of the most efficient offense in the NBA.
Remember when this team couldn’t score 40 points in the first half? They averaged nearly 48 points in the first half over the past 10 games. Remember when they were 22nd rated offense earlier in the season? They’re now 6th.
The Jazz live or die by their offense, and right now, life is very, very good.
THURL BAILEY
Biggest surprise (pleasant surprise) is how consistently well the
reserves have responded game after game. Even sometimes compensating
for the starters deficiencies.
DAVID JAMES
I have been shocked by what a good defensive team the Jazz have become. They lead the NBA in FG% defense, holding opponents under 43% shooting. Obviously, Carlos Boozer is gone and he was a lousy help defender and yes A.K. is playing with a lot of energy in a contract year, but still, there is no way I would have predicted they would be number one.
One other factor, the Jazz turnovers are way down, which can mean fewer fast breaks and easy baskets. They have had several games with less than a dozen turnovers. The league average bounces around 13-14 and last year they routinely committed 20 turnovers in a game. Again this is surprising and I can't pinpoint why they are so much better, but if they beat Indiana Wednesday they will be 15-5 and on pace for a 61 win season, well in front of the 52 victories I predicted for them.
