| Jazz Trying To Shoot Loaded AK-47 With Safety On Authored by J.T. Magee - January 27, 2006 - 5:12 pm
Utah has had a bit of hard luck trying to build around Andrei Kirilenko. One of their main acquisitions, Carlos Boozer, has yet to play a game this season. Mehmet Okur is having a career year but is playing out of position due to Utah’s lack of a quality (healthy) power forward. They have not had a lot of luck. At this point, though, does luck have anything to do with it? Nope.
The Jazz, as well as Salt Lake City and the state of Utah, were used to winning when Stockton and Malone ruled the pick & roll. They had these two players to build around and brought in role players that could fill certain voids like Jeff Hornacek, Shandon Anderson and Byron Russell. Since then, though, they have not been back to the playoffs. The Jazz realized that Kirilenko was the player to build around, but so far, their plans have not worked out.
Most of their draft picks, excluding Deron Williams, have not panned out. Sloan does not like shoot-first Kris Humphries. Kirk Snyder, considered a defensive stopper with a shot coming off a big NCAA Tourney, was dealt after just one season with Utah. Aleksander Pavlovic, their ’03 first round pick, is playing in Cleveland. Their second round pick that year, Maurice Williams, is a dark horse candidate for the 6th Man Award for the Bucks. Their ’01 first rounder, Raul Lopez, isn’t even playing in the NBA anymore. Excluding the ’05 Draft class, only one out of the past five picks are playing for the Jazz. See a pattern?
How can a team build around one guy when they decide that their draft picks aren’t worth keeping? They could have kept Maurice Williams before he jettisoned to Milwaukee before the ’04-’05 season. While he is a score-first point, he’s still a guy that can score and could have helped ease the offensive load that was, has been and will be put on Kirilenko. It may be unfair to say they could have had this guy and that guy in the draft, but here are some of the names, just at the positions the Jazz need help in, that they passed on:
Al Jefferson, J.R. Smith, Kevin Martin and Anderson Varejao, all drafted in 2004, when they selected Humphries and Snyder. Leandro Barbosa, Boris Diaw and Zaza Pachulia, all drafted in 2003, when they selected Pavlovic. Nenad Krstic and Dan Gadzuric who was drafted in the second round of the ’03 Draft. Utah’s first round pick, Ryan Humphrey, is not in the NBA. Samuel Dalembert, Trenton Hassell and Bobby Simmons, all drafted in the ’01 class. Utah’s pick was Lopez.
I can admit that this is quite a bit unfair since they did not have a crystal ball and do not know who is going to be good and who isn’t going to pan out, but it does say something when almost every single pick they drafted is not on their team. Utah may have had some bad luck as far as their picks not panning out, but their luck is running out. Kirilenko is still relatively young, but he is not getting any younger and the injury-prone label that has been unfairly branded on him is starting to become fact. It’s not just the fact that their picks haven’t become more helpful. Their free agency coups have not been helpful either.
Excluding Okur, some of their free agent pickups have been bad. To start, Carlos Boozer had trouble written all over him before he even donned a Jazz uni, because of Boozergate. It’s probably unfair, but he spurned a great situation for $20 million. Anybody would have done the same, but in sports, it gets analyzed like a dead body on CSI. Ever since then, he has not panned out like the Jazz expected him to. After fracturing his foot a little over halfway into the ’04-’05 campaign, Boozer has had a hamstring injury that has not timetable for a return. At the PG spot, they’ve tried to fill the role by consistently signing backups to one-year deals. Keith McCloud, Milt Palacio and Howard Eisley are the first names that come to mind. They have had journeymen like Mikki Moore, Ben Handlogten, Paul Grant and Michael Ruffin man the 5. Inconsistency is never good for a team trying to regain the prominence they once had.
Although this team has had its fair share of bad signings and trades, they also must have a team that can at least contend night in and night out when Kirilenko is hurt. Their record this season when he has been out of the lineup, two wins, eights losses. In ’04-’05, when he sprained his right MCL and missed the rest of the season due to a broken wrist, their record without him was 11-30. Not the recipe for winning basketball. Again, it may be unfair to say that they should be able to contend night in and night out against NBA teams without Kirilenko, but its obvious how much he means to their squad.
What the Jazz need to do is build around him by getting a shooting guard. Raja Bell was the perfect shooting guard to play alongside Kirilenko, but everyone knew that he wanted to go to Phoenix. Even if the Jazz were offering him the same contract, he would not stay. It hurt the Jazz a lot more that they thought because Bell’s perimeter defense is hard to replace. Granted, Bell may allow big nights from some of the superstars here and there, but he is the defender that Gordan Giricek can ever be. I’m not trying to knock Giricek, but the Jazz aren’t going anywhere when he’s playing 30+ minutes a game.
Stats also play a big part in how the Jazz are with and without Kirilenko. With him on the floor, they are at +0.6 as of January 27th, which means that they have almost a two point advantage with him on the floor. But when he sits, they are at -10.1. In those limited minutes that he’s on the bench, the Jazz are taken advantage of, being brought out to the shed for a whooping’. They put up three more free throw attempts when he’s on the floor and make two more.
Here are a few more stats to back up why he is so important to them:
When he shoots 50%+ from the floor: 11-3.
When he grabs more than 10 rebounds: 8-4.
When he dishes out at least five assists: 10-5.
When he blocks at least three shots: 10-5.
When he gets at least two steals: 10-4.
In other words, the ball needs to go in his hands. The only problem is he can’t do it alone. Okur has been stellar for the Jazz, but who else has stepped up and helped them get over the hump? Utah plays a team oriented offense, but when a couple guys on the floor aren’t hitting their shots and give a couple baskets here and there, they lose. Even when they are hitting, they are only in the game. They do not have a team that can blow out opponents, even here and there. Their first round draft pick, Deron Williams, has been relegated to being the 3rd string point guard. Granted, he is a rookie and Head Coach Jerry Sloan wants him to earn the starting job. He needs the playing time in order to get better. He and Kirilenko already have nice chemistry between the two, even Sloan has commented on this. So why aren’t they playing together?
In all of this, the most important stat of all: Record without Kirilenko, including last season, is 13-38. They need a team that can contend when their star player is hurt or missing for a game. An example of a team that contends without their star, or stars, is the Indiana Pacers. Last season, they lost Ron Artest, Jermaine O’Neal and Stephen Jackson for most of the season, among other players. They finished two games away from the Eastern Conference Finals. This season, they are currently 5th in the playoff picture and that’s without Artest for most of the season, O’Neal for a bit of time and without a healthy and full lineup in over two years.
The point being is that without their star players, Head Coach Rick Carlisle has found ways to put a team on the floor that can play against almost anyone and play winning basketball. They are in an easier conference, but the East is starting to become the better conference. They have more losing teams, but they are becoming more and more competitive. What makes matters worse for Utah is that they play in arguably the worst Division in the NBA. They are under .500 and they are 3 ½ games out of first place. This team needs consistency and more help. Boozer should be close to coming back, but can they count on a player who may get hurt in the first minute of his return?
Kirilenko can do everything for a team, but he needs help. Can the Jazz find a player or two that can play at his level of intensity and help get this team over the hump? When Boozer returns, they will no doubt become a late playoff contender, but they need more than that. They need their first round draft pick to pan out. They need their bench to play with hustle and intensity. They need more for Kirilenko. Once they find it, the safety can be turned off and everyone can see exactly what type of player AK-47 can become with a little help. |
