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The Big Question for this season - Crunch Time

Q

Qman

Well-Known Member
I believe this team has enough talent and depth to keep most games close and reach crunch time in striking distance.

To close out these games we need to get stops (questionable) and find a way to consistently create open shots when the other team's D focuses.

We have three good players (Millsap, Jefferson and Harris) and two very talented 2nd year players (Hayward and Favors). We need someone to step up and be our go to crunch time option.

Millsap against certain matchups and on certain nights will be able to carry this load. Unfortunately against teams with good length and talent he gets buried (except on magical night a la Miami.)

Jefferson when his push shot is going can get it down against anyone in single coverage. However, smart teams will double him and force him to pass. He hasn't shown the ability to do this. If he can do that he might be our best crunch time scoring option.

Hayward isn't a very good isolation player but in a pick and roll with Favors he was very effective in crunch time. So maybe at the start of a shot clock he can get an opportunity with Jefferson as a backup option later in the shot clock. Also he is a excellent spot up shooter which should help our post options. Defensively he gets beat sometimes by the best players but so does everyone else.

I don't believe Favors has the confidence in post to be our primary crunch time option. But his rebound and defense greatly helps our ability to get stops. He is also a good roll man and finisher in late pick and rolls. However his free throw shooting will need to improve a lot.

As a side note Bell helps to space the floor and isn't afraid to take open shots. Also defensively he get respect from the refs and is a smart defender.

So I think our best crunch time lineup will be Harris, Bell, Hayward, Millsap and Jefferson against most teams. Teams will more size we should go Howard for Bell and Favors for Millsap to give us a better chance to get stops. I hope that Hayward and Jefferson get most of the touches-- this gives us the best chance to convert our possessions.

Harris is a inconsistent outside shooter. On some nights he is on and becomes a very good option. Also defensively he has lost a little quickness but is still capable of making some important defensive plays and we don't have a better option at the point.
 
From Locke last night:

"Jefferson's 59 FG% in games within 4 with 2 minutes left is #1 in the NBA (min 20 FGA attempts)"

"7 players in NBA were above 50% in final 2 mins of close game (min 20 FGA) - Jefferson, Scola, West, Gay, Thorton, Millsap, B Lopez, Amare"
 
That's a great stat from Locke. I still like running the play through Gordon anyways. He makes good decisions.
 
Jazz finish with:

Jefferson - if he's not performing I just hope Corbin has the stones to send him the occassional message and sit him down the stretch like Sloan did a few times last year.

Okur - if he's healthy he should finish. He presents match-up nightmares and is a proven clutch performer. Jazz also need a finisher that can stretch the defense. However depending on the game situation, Favors might better the better choice in this spot.

Millsap - having him at the 3 could present some match-up problems; but I don't think you can take him out of the lineup either. Playing less minutes this year should make him more effective during crunch time.

Howard - I think he will get an opportunity to finish but I think Hayward could own this spot at some time during the season. Miles and Bell shouldn't even be allowed to step on the court within the last 6 minutes.

Harris - I know Watson is a cult hero around here; but he's not a finisher. I think Harris is in this spot almost every night.
 
I came home from my mission in June of 05. The 05/06 Jazz team was good, but couldn't win games in the final five minutes. The 06/07 team was something like 10-1 when games were within 3 points... the difference? Deron Williams learned how to use Memo.

Memo was the difference maker. He helped the team win games. I felt like the 10/11 team was similar to the 05/06 team...they were close during a lot of games but could not finish.

I'm curious to see if Memo can play that role again. All he has to do is stand around the perimeter and hit big three pointers (do you remember how exciting the 06/07 season was? EVERY GAME Memo hit a big 3)

I'd say down the stretch it should be

Harris
Bell (I could go for Hayward, but Bell does bring great defense. If he can hit a shot this year he'll be okay. If not, bring in Hayward)
Howard (maybe Millsap)
Jefferson
Okur
 
Depends on matchups. For example, in the victory at Staples against the Lakers the crunchtime lineup was Watson, Hayward, Millsap, Favors and Jefferson (keep in mind AK and Harris were both out due to injury and despite the victory - our halfcourt offense did bog down in the final 2-3 minutes).

Big Al needs more experience at playing in a game's pivotal moments - it's one thing to put up 20&10 in losses and another to develop the competitive greatness to deliver when your team needs it. Great example is the Boston game last February. It's 98-94 w/3 min remaining when Al and KG go jaw-to-jaw (which btw I loved seeing from Al) and are assessed double-tech's. We go directly to Al on the left block and he travels.
Later, w/less than 20-seconds remaining and Boston up 4, Harris gets to the FT line for a chance to cut the deficit to 2 and enable us to play the foul game (1 FT miss and you have a chance to tie) - but he misses his own FT which essentially ices Boston's win.

The Deron-Boozer-AK-Memo teams had an uncanny knack for executing offensively down the stretch, scoring on every must-score situation and then after trading score-for-score, getting that 1 stop to give them the advantage in the final minute.

Little things like that are how you sieze control of a game or how you give yourself a shot at winning games at the end, and it's not just going to magically fall into place with this team or with a lineup - whoever we put out there is going to need to grow together as a 5-man unit and it's going to take some time, but the hope is 2011-12 will be the season it's learned rather than just experienced.
 
Not sure I buy the premise that this team is good enough to usually be in it at the end. We are very young and unless a few players really step up and stand out, we likely aren't a playoff team. Most teams are have a lot of potential from a preseason perspective. Seeing if we have guys who can consistently finish will be a good problem and one I hope we have.
 
you have to have Millsap in there somewhere. He's one of the best closers we've had since Stockton. Al is in there, too, but that is contingent on his defensive rebounding and passing. If that isn't happening -- it's just iso, iso, iso -- he gets yanked. I'd have Hayward in there at the 2 or 3 depending on whether Howard, Memo, or Favors is in. You can't deny what Favors athleticism can do in crunch time; it adds an indefensible element that we lacked in the Williams-Boozer era. You saw this in the win at Staples; he's just distracting for the other team.
 
Every year we all try and guess who will be in at the start of games and whos in at crunch time and its pretty amazing how 90% of us are usually wrong.

I think the only two players that are a safe bet to say will be in at crunch time is Harris and Jefferson. I think a lot of people forget really how great memo used to be in crunch time. Not saying he will be his old self but if he is even close to it then he will be in the game. But then Sap has also been really good so do we play the giant lineup with Jefferson, memo and Sap? I'd hope so but who knows.
 
I've envied what the Spurs have been able to do in crunch time. The defense focuses: this is where they know they're going to win. The offense does something different (even if predictable): if they can't get a transition bucket, then they execute a grind-it-out two-man game with Manu and Duncan, where the opposing team had set their rhythm to stopping Parker for the game's previous 42 minutes. It's a brutal off-speed pitch, even if you know its coming. It's also brutally simple and difficult to stop.

We've talked about the Hayward-Manu comparisons. . . I hope his playmaking is capitalized by being unveiled in similar circumstances. Don't let the batter see this pitch until he's already tired, it's late in the count, Hayward closes. Smart players like Millsap and Favors are perfect complementary pieces for this concept.

my closers:

Harris
Hayward
Howard (if he returns to form, especially as a reasonable 3-pt threat)
Millsap
Favors (especially if he develops a go-to move)

if Howard isn't panning out, then slide Millsap to 3 and put Al in.
 
JFFR said:
I came home from my mission in June of 05. The 05/06 Jazz team was good, but couldn't win games in the final five minutes. The 06/07 team was something like 10-1 when games were within 3 points... the difference? Deron Williams learned how to use Memo.

Memo was the difference maker. He helped the team win games. I felt like the 10/11 team was similar to the 05/06 team...they were close during a lot of games but could not finish.

I'm curious to see if Memo can play that role again. All he has to do is stand around the perimeter and hit big three pointers (do you remember how exciting the 06/07 season was? EVERY GAME Memo hit a big 3)

I'd say down the stretch it should be

Harris
Bell (I could go for Hayward, but Bell does bring great defense. If he can hit a shot this year he'll be okay. If not, bring in Hayward)
Howard (maybe Millsap)
Jefferson
Okur
Click to expand...

This is best, imo. But you misspelled "Hayward" as "Howard" for some reason. Otherwise, right on. It may change as the season progresses, but you gotta start off with guys that have been there, done that for the most part, and Okur, AJ, Bell have all shown at one point to be able to close out games. You absolutely cannot overstate Okur's value with the 3 pt threat and stretching the D to allow AJ to work down low. Defense could be an issue with this group, but that is where Bell, Harris and Hayward come in to pressure the ball and disrupt the ball handlers on the other team. I could also see Burks supplanting Bell at some point.

Of course, with the compressed season and developing young guys I could see this changing with some frequency during the course of the season.
 
This is something that you realistically believe will simply sort itself out. If the Jazz can't be confident on their starting lineup yet, then predicting closers is next to impossible. We'll simply have to see who plays well and in what circumstances.
 
So I think our best crunch time lineup will be Harris, Bell, Hayward, Millsap and Jefferson against most teams.
Click to expand...

Think you are forgetting the Money Man. He has been pretty clutch over the years.
 
My2Cents said:
From Locke last night:

"Jefferson's 59 FG% in games within 4 with 2 minutes left is #1 in the NBA (min 20 FGA attempts)"

"7 players in NBA were above 50% in final 2 mins of close game (min 20 FGA) - Jefferson, Scola, West, Gay, Thorton, Millsap, B Lopez, Amare"
Click to expand...

That is a great stat.

It's going to be a tough decision with the bigs. How can you NOT have Favors in the game with his defensive ability?
I think if there's any way to go big, Corbin will use Favors, Jefferson, Millsap, Hayward and Harris. That lineup is probably unstoppable offensively, but can they get stops?
Also believe, eventually (maybe next season), Burks will force his way into the "crunch time" equation. He's the only one who can create his own shot. As Harris' career winds down, maybe a Burks/Hayward back court is not out of the question - not on a full-time basis, but I think Alec will become a great combo guard for the Jazz - something Utah has never really had.
 
Jeffrey32 said:
Think you are forgetting the Money Man. He has been pretty clutch over the years.
Click to expand...

Given that defense is also very important during crunch time, I'm not psyched about Okur being in at the end of games. I think we can get other shooters on the floor. If Okur is shooting lights out, that's one thing, but then we'd need someone who can be a help defender, like Hayward or Evans to help pick up the slack on the defensive end.
 
Considering we don't even know who the starters will be at this point, I'm sure Corbin has less of an idea about who will finish. I can almost guarantee Jefferson and Harris will be out there, everyone else may depend on who is playing well that game.
 
SalmonHobo said:
Play who's got the hot hand, busting their *** in all phases of the game, not making dumb plays, and the match-ups.
Click to expand...

I think that is how it may play out in the short term, but having a consistent line-up for the finishing crew is a much better long term idea.
 
Most of the time, putting your best 5 on the floor is the way you do it. This season, with all the fatigue issues, we'll see more changes in the crunch time minutes. But you want to see the same basic guys closing halves and games. That's going to be Harris/CJ/Hayward/Sap/Al most of the time. But there will be times when Memo or Favors gets plugged in, and times when Bell gets plugged in.
 
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