What's new
By:

Some Things to Consider-- becoming the 04 Pistons

Good post, Troy, and very astute, if ya ax me. I would just point out one thing. You said:

Troy: But to reach that level, the Jazz first have to accept that the ONLY WAY to compete one day for the title is to play suffocating defense as a group.
Click to expand...

"Group defense" is "team play" in my book, so I wonder what you mean when you say: "Detroit was not a "team oriented team."
 
Most players and coaches who I've seen discuss the issue seem to agree that, while good defense takes talent," it is really primarily a question of effort and commitment as much as anything. It's even possible, I suppose, that Spain played better defense than the USA in that gold medal game.
 
How far can heart, desire, resolve, intense effort, and courage take you, I wonder?

In military affairs, the conventional wisdom seems to be that, in any given battle, the defender has a natural advantage, all else being equal. This is especially true when the battleground is the defender's homeland.

A squad of draft-inducted soldiers ordered to attack an irregular vietnamese unit in its home village, where the wife, kids, mothers, fathers, relatives and lifelong friends of the soldier's live, will encounter an enemy that is extremely motivated to resist by any means and at all costs. Much more determined than the grunts who are simply trying to comply with orders. Can the natives' steel determination overcome superior firepower? Well, it may primarily depend on how "superior" the firepower is. They probably couldn't effectively resist a nuclear strike, for example.
 
Last edited:
In the days preceding the outbreak of World War II, Churchill's precedessor, Neville Chamberlain, specialized in "negotiations" which made concession after concession to Hitler in order to maintain "peace in our time."

Churchill hadn't been Chamberlain's replacement for long before he sent Hitler a new message:

"Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail.

We shall go on to the end,
we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall NEVER surrender..."

And ya know what? By God, he MEANT it.
 
Last edited:
With the cap space we should have next summer, go after Horford and Perkins next summer. Neither will break the bank and both are very, very good defenders and tough as nails.

Williams-Price-
Matthews-2011 1st rounder
Miles-Hayward
Horford-Millsap-Tomic
Perkins-Okur (expiring)-Fes
 
If Matthews and Miles and Hayward can continue to develop some, this could be a hell of a team. Horford, at his more natural position of the 4, with a better point guard and more touches could be excellent here. Perkins is an enforcer.
 
Joker, I wouldn't say Kosta is just terrible. If he plays like he did in the summer league, he'll be getting minutes ahead of the Fes that played in the playoffs. You can tell he is working hard. He has bulked up some and his body looks very cut now.
 
Hopper said:
I've made this (or similar) comment(s) many times on this board, but I will do it again, just for the hell of it. Miami now has 3 of the top ten players in the league, which is obviously very favorable for them. But guess what? The Olympic team probably had at least 12 of the top 15 players in the whole NBA, and arguably, in the world. But they still barely beat Spain in the championship game. Why is that?
Click to expand...

Because it was one game and played under International rules. Did you forget the first game when the USA blew out the Spanish team. Besides, Spain had a lot of NBA talent too. So it's not like we were playing against the Spain team that had no NBA talent. However, i get your point that it is possible for the less talent team to beat a "superstar" team. In the NBA it is just a lot harder because championships are not one game events.
 
cowhide said:
Spain had a lot of NBA talent too. So it's not like we were playing against the Spain team that had no NBA talent.
Click to expand...

Spain had Gasol, admittedly a top-tier NBA player, but, really, who else? Caulderon was injured and didn't play. Rudy Fernandez? He doesn't even play starter minutes for Portland and averages less than 10 pts/g. I always sense a double standard here. If I suggested, as you do, that the reason the Jazz have a chance to beat the Lakers is because the Jazz have "NBA talent," the only response I would expect would be along the lines of "Are you tryin to say that Memo is as good as Gasol!? That Matthews can match up with Kobe!? That Boozer is a match for Bynum/Odum," etc. In other words, the very same reasoning which is advanced to explain why Spain can compete with team USA is used to conclude that the Jazz CANNOT compete with the Lakers.

cowhide said:
However, i get your point that it is possible for the less talent team to beat a "superstar" team.
Click to expand...

Well, most would concede that even highly improbable events are at least theoretically "possible." I'm really looking for explanations as to why Spain was able to fight team USA to the end and have a legitimate shot at actually winnin. It has been noted that the US beat Spain rather handily, even when Spain had a full roster, earlier. Isn't that just all the more reason for Spain to "pack it in," ala Lebron James, and quit trying? I mean, isn't it more dignified for Spain to concede the game, and not look like fools tryin hard to win--thereby givin the appearance that they are so stupid that they think effort will make any difference against all that talent? Who wants to look foolish?
 
The best team the Jazz can field by a year from now, barring some miracle trade, would be:

Tomic/Gortat
Millsap/AK
AK/Miles
Matthews/Hayward
Deron/TBD

Several of these players are young and still improving. Tomic is the best chance for the Jazz to have their own version of Pau Gasol. But picking up Gortat or Marc Gasol is not a bad idea. If the Jazz can pick up a decent PF/C along the way, they ought to do that as well.

Oh, and while that's a decent team, I'm not sure it would necessarily beat the Thunder, the Heat, the Lakers, Dallas, or Orlando. I think it's a playoff team though -- 1st or 2nd round. We should be on par with the Bulls and the Hawks.
 
Last edited:
Catchall said:
The best team the Jazz can field by a year from now, barring some miracle trade, would be...and while that's a decent team, I'm not sure it would necessarily beat the Thunder, the Heat, the Lakers, Dallas, or Orlando.
Click to expand...

Assuming that the Jazz re-sign Matthews, I see the new "core" of this team as consisting of Deron, Matthews, and the Paperboy--all fierce competitors who don't quit. I think Matthews is a natural leader, even at his young age. Millsap leads by example, if nuthin else.

AK, Fess, and Memo are soft-*** Euro's with skillz (well, potential skillz in Fess's case), but not enough heart. Honzward is promising to fit in well with the Deron/Matthews/Millsap crew, though. Price busts his *** and his hustle has helped us get back into a few games. If the Jazz can pick up a mean-***, competent center and otherwise parlay AK's expiring contract into some tough, hard-working players, the Jazz could be a very promising team.

With Sloan's system in place, and Deron runnin it, offense really shouldn't be a serious problem. It doesn't even require outstanding one-on-one skillz for it to work. Defense, commitment, and effort, from the WHOLE team, not just a few key members, is what has been missin most (this includes Boozer), if you ax me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page
Back
Top