Questions going into this season I want answered?

[Park Bites]

1st and foremost is will Marvin the Martian be the answer at sf for this young core? His age will and could make him a very important building block for the future. If he is the answer at sf all the jazz need is a young pg to make this team set.

2nd will mo Williams run the offense better the Harris and will that translate to more wins? 6th > seed or bust for this team.

3rd how much better is favors going to be? The jazz are banking that he is the future face of the franchise.

4th is Hayward's shot going to be more consistent?

5th is Alec burks going to have a break out year?

6th who is going to emerge as the 6th man on this team? (see #5)

7th how is Corbin going to improve? The team expects players to improve I expect the coach to improve. Personally I am looking for less rigidity and more game flow management.

8th Jefferson vs millsap who is going to still be standing by season end or maybe neither. I think one of them needs to be retained unless another big is brought in in a trade.

Feel free to discuss these or add your own.

 

[orangello]

1st and foremost is will Marvin the Martian be the answer at sf for this young core? His age will and could make him a very important building block for the future. If he is the answer at sf all the jazz need is a young pg to make this team set.

2nd will mo Williams run the offense better the Harris and will that translate to more wins? 6th > seed or bust for this team.

3rd how much better is favors going to be? The jazz are banking that he is the future face of the franchise.

4th is Hayward's shot going to be more consistent?

5th is Alec burks going to have a break out year?

6th who is going to emerge as the 6th man on this team? (see #5)

7th how is Corbin going to improve? The team expects players to improve I expect the coach to improve. Personally I am looking for less rigidity and more game flow management.

8th Jefferson vs millsap who is going to still be standing by season end or maybe neither. I think one of them needs to be retained unless another big is brought in in a trade.

Feel free to discuss these or add your own.

Great questions. What are the answers? I am not good at tests.

 

[Stifle Tower]

All very good points.
A key question...but not one I think gets answered this season, is if Kanter can become a quality starter.

As much as I like Millsap, I think he's the more expendable when it comes down to Al vs. Paul.

1) We know Favors is ready to start at PF. Starting alongside Jefferson means he has no pressure to score, especially with the improved outside shooting of Mo and Marvin.
2) Picking up a quality PF in either FA or in the draft is a lot easier than drafting a good center.


I really think KOC will offer Jefferson a contract. Millsap and his uncle were difficult to deal with last time. I think it's only 50/50 that he stays. And do we want to give him a 5/$55M contract? If so, he really has to be a starter.

Kanter is going to take another couple of years to develop a good offensive game. And as he does it, there's no problem having him come in behind Favors and Jefferson. He can still get 30 mins/per...once he proves he can play that many mins at a high level. In the meantime, Jazz can draft or sign a PF to play 10-15 mins behind Favors.

 

[Thee Jazz Fan]

All very good points.
A key question...but not one I think gets answered this season, is if Kanter can become a quality starter.

As much as I like Millsap, I think he's the more expendable when it comes down to Al vs. Paul.

1) We know Favors is ready to start at PF. Starting alongside Jefferson means he has no pressure to score, especially with the improved outside shooting of Mo and Marvin.
2) Picking up a quality PF in either FA or in the draft is a lot easier than drafting a good center.


I really think KOC will offer Jefferson a contract. Millsap and his uncle were difficult to deal with last time. I think it's only 50/50 that he stays. And do we want to give him a 5/$55M contract? If so, he really has to be a starter.

Kanter is going to take another couple of years to develop a good offensive game. And as he does it, there's no problem having him come in behind Favors and Jefferson. He can still get 30 mins/per...once he proves he can play that many mins at a high level. In the meantime, Jazz can draft or sign a PF to play 10-15 mins behind Favors.

I think it might be good to get rid of both and build around Favors. Favors will not be happy being the primary starting C. If we keep Millsap, and I have a hard time believing Favors can become our franchise player with Al still around.

Basically Millsap needs to leave because he's not a future starter on this team and he'll want to get paid like one.

Al needs to go so Favors can blossom into the star we want him to be. With Al around the team will depend on him, they need to learn to depend on Favors so he can develop a leadership roll on this team.

 

[Thee Jazz Fan]

Favors won't have the responsibility to be the man till they are gone. With the money we save from letting them walk we can resign the young 4 and put some roll players around Favors and Hayward. Those two will be a great tandem for years to come

 

[infection]

I think it's only 50/50 that he stays. And do we want to give him a 5/$55M contract? If so, he really has to be a starter

Flip this around. Do we want to give a 5 year / 55 million dollar deal to Al? If we do, he will be a started. There's no way that guy comes off the bench. To do so strips him of the largest component of his game: being the center-point of the offense. Of course, you may be implying that we need him to be our starter. I think, as does most everyone on the forum, that Millsap is more versatile and complementary being able to play with Favors/Kanter/Millsap. You may also be implying that we need Jefferson because we don't think the odds are that good of Kanter developing in any significant way. Assuming that to be the case, wouldn't it make more sense to get rid of Kanter rather than Millsap, if we don't think Kanter even has a ceiling as high as Millsap?

 

[Park Bites]

An interesting idea for 2013 in addition having 2 first round picks I would love to see the jazz go after tiago splitter to play center next to favors. I think their games compliment each other.

This season will be interesting as some of these questions get answered.

 

[Stifle Tower]

You may also be implying that we need Jefferson because we don't think the odds are that good of Kanter developing in any significant way. Assuming that to be the case, wouldn't it make more sense to get rid of Kanter rather than Millsap, if we don't think Kanter even has a ceiling as high as Millsap?

No, because even IF Kanter doesn't develop rapidly, he'd still be a fantastic backup on a very cheap rookie contract. I'm counting on Kanter to get 30 mins/per in 2-3 years.

I don't think a Favors/Millsap combo is a good starting unit. You insert Favors at a position he's not going to dominate. And you still have an undersized PF in Paul.

Keep Big AL and there is absolutely no pressure on Derrick to be a scorer. He can concentrate 100% on his defense and rebounding and take offensive opportunities as they arise...particularly playing off the double teams that Jefferson draws.

Jefferson isn't standing in the way of Favors starting, Millsap is. Paul probably has the most trade value and is the least likeliest to re-sign wth Utah, given what happened last time around with his uncle. If an extension can't be reached, and he won't agree to come off the bench, KOC needs to Deron him, getting value back instead of having him leave for nothing.

AS for Big Al, I think we undervalue his contributions. How many "complete" centers are there in the NBA? No, Al isn't a defensive stopper, but he's pretty good at what he does. Amongst centers, Jefferson was:

1. Third in PPG at 19.2 (Howard was 1st at 20.6, followed by Lee at 20.1).
2. Eighth in RBG at 9.6 (Howard was 1st at 14.5).
3. Tied for 9th in blocks at 1.9 (McGee was 1st at 2.2).
4. 39th in turnovers per game at 1.0.

And Mr. "Black Hole" are you ready for this...

5. Had the HIGHEST ASSIST TO TURNOVER RATIO among centers at 2.2. Brad Miller and Jerome Jordan were next. The best "significant" center after Jefferson was Gasol, who was sixth at 1.7.

Let me repeat that, the guy we claim is a complete Black Hole led all centers in assists vs. turnovers. Hmmm....now just imagine what he can do with better outside shooters who are properly positioned to catch and shoot on the kick out. I agree Al is sometimes slow to recognize the double teams. But it appears he's better at it than every other center. At least that's what the statistics are telling me. Mo and Marvin could be in for a lot of great looks this season. And if they can hit some shots, unlike Raja, CJ, etc., the assist totals for everyone are bound to increase.

 

[framer]

Can someone explain to me why Favors can't dominate at center? Who is there to stand against him in the west? If you get rid of Milsap, you are banking on Enes becoming a starting center shortly. Favors-Milsap-Kanter is the safe route. If Favors is going to be the star, that is the only group that makes sense. Favors needs MAJOR minutes this year, he has earned them and it is good for the team. I would like to see him play both C AND PF to create mismatches and Enes + Paul allow him to do that.

 

[Weezur]

These are great questions.

Let me just time warp into the future for a second so I can answer these.

BEEP BOP BOOP BEEP BEEP BOOP BOB

 

[Qman]

Can someone explain to me why Favors can't dominate at center? Who is there to stand against him in the west? If you get rid of Milsap, you are banking on Enes becoming a starting center shortly. Favors-Milsap-Kanter is the safe route. If Favors is going to be the star, that is the only group that makes sense. Favors needs MAJOR minutes this year, he has earned them and it is good for the team. I would like to see him play both C AND PF to create mismatches and Enes + Paul allow him to do that.

Simple. Because Favors doesn't want to play Center.

 

[cowhide]

1st and foremost is will Marvin the Martian be the answer at sf for this young core? His age will and could make him a very important building block for the future. If he is the answer at sf all the jazz need is a young pg to make this team set. I think it is too early to tell. I like his potential and think he will fit nicely in the Jazz system. I think at worse he can be an important reserve on a championship team. If he isn't the guy then his contract is short enough that the Jazz can just let him walk or trade him.

2nd will mo Williams run the offense better the Harris and will that translate to more wins? 6th > seed or bust for this team. I was/am a big Mo Williams fan. I never wanted him to leave but I have my concerns about his ability to be the PG the Jazz need to run the team. Where I think he improves the team is with his toughness, leadership and his outside shooting. I don't think Mo is that much better than Harris at running a offense. However, he is familiar with what the Jazz do so I think Mo will help us win a few more games. I do not think he is the PG of the future. I see his role as more as a Vinnie Johnson type of role coming off the bench.

3rd how much better is favors going to be? The jazz are banking that he is the future face of the franchise. The answer to this is how much more court time wil Favors get and will Ty make him a starter. Will Ty allow Favors to play through his mistakes? I think Favors will only get better with playing time.

4th is Hayward's shot going to be more consistent? Well it better if he wants to be a starter. The Jazz need Gordon to be more assertive offensively. I think Gordon is going to have a very good year this season. Just a hunch.

5th is Alec burks going to have a break out year? Burks is more than capable if he gets more playing time and is allowed to play through his mistakes. He does need to be more consistent with his effort and not allow his mistakes to get in his head. I think the best role for Burks is to be one of our go to guys off the bench. He gets to the free throw line a lot. His shot needs to have improved if he wants consistent minutes. Even play him at PG so he can have the ball in his hand. If Ty put both Millsap and Burks on the bench they could be the focus of our offense.

6th who is going to emerge as the 6th man on this team? (see #5)Burks, Millsap or Hayward or M. Williams depends on who starts

7th how is Corbin going to improve? The team expects players to improve I expect the coach to improve. Personally I am looking for less rigidity and more game flow management. I actually thought Ty did a pretty good job with his substitutes except for the Atlanta game. I want Ty to be more committed to playing the young guys. Last year he would say Burks or Favors need to play more. Well Ty you are the guy dividing minutes. I just think he needs to define the roles of the players and then make adjustments when needed.

8th Jefferson vs millsap who is going to still be standing by season end or maybe neither. I think one of them needs to be retained unless another big is brought in in a trade. In my book this is the BIG decision, the Jazz need to decide who they are committed to for the future. They're both good players and the arguments for keeping both have merit. I think the Jazz have to decide soon who they are going to keep. I like Millsap but I would be ok with AJ. It is not an easy decision. It might come down to $$$$, how much do they want to be paid and are they willing to except a secondary role. I wouldn't be surprised if both where shipped off to get more assets if both are against coming off the bench. Besides the fact if the future plan is to have them come off the bench then why would be pay them starter money? This decision could move the franchise forward or set it back for years.

Feel free to discuss these or add your own.

 

[Chad Feldheimer]

Who starts? Favors, Jeff, Marv, Mo, Gordo?

You could have Burks and Millsap fighting for 6th man of the year.

 

[Deleted member 848]

Will Marvelous start right off the bat? That's an interesting question. I know JoHo didn't, but he did later on. For the first starting lineup, we could well see the "big-three" again, just until things are figured out.


Mo
Hayward
Sap
Fave
Al

Tinsley
Burks
Marv
Pogo
Enes

I fully expect Marv to fight his way into a starting role, however, effectively pushing Hayward to the 2. At this point, Ty will have evaluated to send Millsap to the bench, presuming Favors has continued his progress. Anything could happen, really. I just think that all three big men will start ahead of Marvin from the get-go

 

[Park Bites]

Will Marvelous start right off the bat? That's an interesting question. I know JoHo didn't, but he did later on. For the first starting lineup, we could well see the "big-three" again, just until things are figured out.


Mo
Hayward
Sap
Fave
Al

Tinsley
Burks
Marv
Pogo
Enes

I fully expect Marv to fight his way into a starting role, however, effectively pushing Hayward to the 2. At this point, Ty will have evaluated to send Millsap to the bench, presuming Favors has continued his progress. Anything could happen, really. I just think that all three big men will start ahead of Marvin from the get-go

Interesting.