| Jazz Mid-Term Report Authored by Ben Wilkinson - February 27, 2005 - 2:41 pm
Remember how you felt in high school, or even college when a teacher/professor mentioned that mid-terms were coming out? At my high school, we had to carry around these pieces of paper and give them to our teachers. They would then give us a grade of either Passing or Failing and then briefly comment on what we had to improve on. After all of our teachers had filled out the mid-term, we had to take it to our parents and have them sign it. If you were doing well in school, no big deal, you showed it to your parents, had them sign it, got a pat on the head, and returned it to school the next day. If you were doing not so well, you spent most of mid-term day trying to come up with a way not to let your parents see your mid-term grades.
In college the word mid-term took on a whole new meaning. When the words “mid-term” came out of the professor’s mouth it meant a week of cramming and praying to do well enough so that you would lose your scholarship or in an even more drastic scenario, so your parents didn’t cut you off.
At the mid-point of this NBA season, the Jazz would be in the latter of the two scenarios described above. Overall, the Jazz’s season Grade would be a solid D. After a promising 6-1 start, they have gone down ever since. Currently, they are the third worst team in the Western Conference and they have the fifth worst record in the league. They’re heading for their second straight year of not playing in the playoffs.
As you know, basketball isn’t an individual game, but it’s a team made up of individuals who are ideally playing as a team. To grade the Jazz players so far this year, I used a simple efficiency equation, which is as follows: ((Points + Rebounds + Assists + Steals + Blocks) - ((Field Goals Att. - Field Goals Made) + (Free Throws Att. - Free Throws Made) + Turnovers)). After all, when it’s all said and done, and owners are discussing with agents how they can justify paying players these enormous sums of money, doesn’t it come down to numbers? So, in no particular order, here are my mid-term grades for the Utah Jazz:
1-Andrei Kirilinko: Andrei has an efficiency rating of 20.78 in 27 games this season. His average efficiency rating over the course of his career is 17.34. AK47 is averaging more points, assists, blocks and steals per game this season than he has averaged for his career. It appears there is a correlation between what an athlete is being paid and how hard they try. The only downside to his season so far has been the amount of time he as missed do to injury this season. Grade: A
2-Carlos Boozer: Booz has an efficiency rating of 20.10 while his career efficiency rating is 18.80. He is averaging more points and assists this season than he was in Cleveland last season. His FG percentage, FT percentage, rebounds, steals and blocks are all lower than what he was averaging in Cleveland last season. Is that verbal attack he received from owner Larry Miller deserved? Perhaps. Booz is one of the most versatile players the Jazz have. Questions still remain about how much desire he has while he’s out on the floor. Grade: B-.
3-Matt Harpring. Matt is coming off a tragic knee injury that limited him to 31 games last season and possibly kept the Jazz out of the playoffs. Matt has an efficiency rating this year of 13.96 while his career efficiency rating is 13.49. Matt’s across the board numbers are consistent of his career numbers. So far this year he is averaging 13.1ppg, 6.1rpg, and 1.8apg. Unfortunately, when you’re on a team like the Jazz and you’re simply averaging your career numbers, it’s not going to help your team get anywhere. Grade: C.
4-Mehmet Okur: Mehmet is coming off a Championship season with the Detroit Pistons. This season has been a difficult lesson in futility. So far Mehmet is among the best players on the team with an efficiency rating of 15.64 while for his career his efficiency rating is 7.88. By far, this is the biggest margin of improvement for any Jazz player. Mehmet is averaging more points, assists, rebounds, and blocks than his career averages. He is also playing on average a full four more minutes than he was playing last year in Detroit. The return on this investment is paying off huge. Why he isn’t starting is perhaps the $70 million question. Grade: A+.
5-Keith McLeod: The Jazz are showing a great amount of trust in this second year player. Keith came to the Jazz from Minnesota where he only appeared in 33 games last season and didn’t start one. This season, McLeod has played in 26 games so far and started 23 of them. McLeod’s efficiency rating for this year is 8.62 while for his career it’s 5.54. McLeod’s numbers are up in almost every major category, most of which can be contributed to the fact that his minutes per game have doubled since last season. Unfortunately, he hasn’t appeared in enough games this season to help the Jazz improve upon their woeful record. Four words for Jerry Sloan: Play this guy more!! Grade: B
6-Gordon Giricek: Gordon has been a big disappointment for all involved with the Jazz organization from fans to management. His efficiency number for the season is 8.05 while for his career it’s 9.29. This is backed up by his slumping production across the board. His points per game are down two full points from his career averages, as are rebounds, assists and blocks. As a side note, it should be mentioned that he is playing almost a full nine minutes less than he was last season. Grade: D.
7-Raja Bell: Raja has definitely been a bright spot for the Jazz this year. His efficiency rating stands at 9.77 which outweighs his career efficiency rating of 6.16. Raja is averaging five full more points per game than his career average of 7. He is also averaging more assists, rebounds and steals than his career averages. Unfortunately, when you’re a point guard and you’re only averaging 1.4 assists per game, the point is really moot. Raja needs to take some advice from his predecessor John Stockton and pass the ball rather than shoot. Grade B.
8-Howard Eisley: This year is Howard’s second stint with the Jazz. He played a back up role to John Stockton in the Jazz’s “glory years”, and then decided to seek greener pastures outside of Salt Lake City. Howard’s efficiency rating this year is 6.17 while for his career it stands at a bleak 8.88. While averaging the same amount of minutes as he has throughout his career, his FG percentage, 3P%, and FT percentage are all well off his career averages. What’s more telling is his points per game, rebounds and steals are all below his career averages. Grade: D.
9-Curtis Borchardt: Curtis has been a bright spot in the Utah’s never-ending search for a Center. Borchardt has played in 46 games so far this year for the Jazz and is averaging 2.9ppg, 3.2rpg, and .54bpg. His FT percentage and FG percentage is up while his playing time is going down. His efficiency rating this year is a meager 5.34 while for his career it is 5.40. Grade: C-.
10-Kirk Snyder: Rookies are hard to figure out. The transition between the college game and the pro game is one of the toughest things for a youngster to do. Kirk has been a decent pick up for the Jazz. He started five games for them, is averaging 4 points a game and 1.5 rebounds in 11 minutes. His efficiency rating is 2.95 which is better than what Kirk Humphries 2.54 rating, but doesn’t compare to say Emeka Okafor (17.59), or even Ben Gordon (10.15). Grade: D+.
11-Kirk Humphries: Like that which was mentioned above, it’s really hard to compare rookies mostly because their rookie season is a transition year, and some people are better at transitioning than others. Kirk H. is averaging 2.9 ppg, and almost 2 rpg in 39 games this season. He has started 1 game and is averaging 9.5 minutes. His efficiency rating this year is 2.54, which is the lowest on the team and possibly one of the lowest in the NBA. Grade: D-
12-Raul Lopez: News Flash: Raul Lopez is hurt again! Why the Jazz picked this guy after his history of knee injuries is a mystery on the level of the Bermuda Triangle or why hasn’t Vince McMahon been prosecuted for steroid abuse. Although Lopez is currently the best point guard that the Jazz have (which is saying something when he has a bad wheel), he still only has an efficiency rating of 7. In terms of efficiency, Raja is better than Raul, but in terms of floor leadership and team cohesiveness, Lopez is the guy. Grade: C-.
Unfortunately for the Jazz and other teams in the league, efficiency isn’t the standard by which the NBA measures success. Success is measured in wins and losses. With a current record of 17-37, the Jazz are nowhere near being playoff contenders and they need their players not only to produce more, but to be more efficient while they are playing. Can the Jazz do it? Absolutely. But it will take more than this collection of players has
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