2009-10 NBA Preview: Utah Jazz

Utah Jazz

2008-09 Record: 48-34

Anticipated Starting Five

PG- Deron Williams
SG- Ronnie Brewer
SF- Andrei Kirilenko
PF- Carlos Boozer
C-   Mehmet Okur

Key Reserves: Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, Eric Maynor, C.J. Miles, Kosta Koufos

Biggest Strength: Offensive execution and field goal shooting

Every Jerry Sloan team is extremely efficient and precise on offense.  This leads to great jobs more often than most teams.  That will continue this season as well.  The Jazz ranked third in field goal percentage last season and that’s even with Deron Williams missing the beginning of the year and with him starting very slow when he did come back.

I expect the Jazz to be in the top 10 in offensive rating and field goal percentage again this season.

Biggest Weakness: Road performance/mixed bag

I was trying to pinpoint one major weakness.  If you forced me to pick one I would say road performance.  They have habitually terrible on the road (15-26 last season) and extremely good at home.  You need better balance if  you want to go deep in the playoff as an underdog OR you need to win some more regular season road games so you lock up home court throughout the playoffs.

Then I thought defense but noticed they ranked 9th in the NBA in defense so they aren’t that bad.  Where they struggle is with their field goal percentage defense.  They ranked 20th last season.  On top of that they were a below average defensive rebound team as well.  That combination is quite bad when you think about it.  First teams shoot above average against them from the field, then they fail to finish off a possession at a good rate when teams do actually miss.  They make up for all that though by forcing the 2nd most turnovers in the NBA last season.

Finally they were 27th in the NBA from behind the arc.  Deron Williams played a big part in that last season as he took the 2nd most threes on the team while connected at only 31% (more than 4% below his career average).

Key Player: Andrei Kirilenko

Kirilenko had a down year last year in almost every category.  He is Utah’s energy, their defensive stopper and when he is really going well adds another dynamic to their offense.  When he is at his best, Utah is at his best.  Sloan needs to figure out the best way to use him and the young wing players they have like C.J. Miles.

Biggest Question: Wasn’t Carlos Boozer supposed to be traded?

First he was going to the Heat for Shawn Marion, then to the Pistons for Rip Hamilton, then to the Bulls for Tyrus Thomas. Then he had a talk with the Jazz and they told him they wanted to go in a different direction and were going to trade him. Then the Jazz re-signed his replacement, Paul Milsap, to a lucrative deal. So… why is Carlos Boozer still in Utah? Your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps teams don’t want to trade for him given the fact that he might bolt right when his contract is up, but it also seemed like there was no way that the Jazz could pay both Milsap and Boozer. Right now, he’s still on the team, but who knows for how long.

Best Individual Season of All-Time: Karl Malone, 1989-90

31.0 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.6 BPG

In 1989-90, Karl Malone sported the only season in the “steals era” where a player who went for 31 points and 11 boards a game and was also athletic and active enough to get 1.5 steals per game as well. And if you want to talk about filling it up with efficiency, only a young Kareem Abdul Jabbar ever put up 31 and 11 while shooting over 56% from the field. Malone played all 82 games and set had career highs in PPG and FG%. This was his 2nd year in a row on the All-NBA 1st team, starting a ridiculous streak of 11 straight years.

Pete’s 2010 Outlook: 3rd place, Northwest division /  7th place, Western conference /  10th place, NBA

I thought about having this team miss the playoffs, but I realized I would only do that because I found them boring. It’s not even that the players are boring – Deron Williams and Kyle Korver are fun to watch – but it just seems like many of Jerry Sloan’s Jazz teams, there isn’t much new to talk about. They were hip a couple years ago when Williams came into his own, but now you know exactly what you are going to get from this team, and to me, that’s makes them somewhat boring. They’ll make the playoffs, and perhaps be a tough out in the first round, but this seems to be a franchise that will always be just short of a championship.

Dannie’s 2010 Outlook: 3rd place, Northwest division /  7th place, Western conference /  11th place, NBA

I really have nothing else to add that Pete didn’t already state.  It’s Jerry Sloan.  It’s the Jazz.  That means pick and roll with a great point guard and very good PF.  That means structure and consistency on offense.  But that also means second fiddle (at best) when it comes to championship contention.

You look at this team and the talent they have and wonder why they play so poorly on the road and why they can’t reach a conference finals.  Are they one piece away or do they need to be rebuilt and refocused?  My opinion…

I think they are missing a game changing defensive player in the front court.  The Jazz would have been the perfect team to try an go after a Marcus Camby, Emeka Okafor or Tyson Chandler type of player this summer.  Boozer is weak defensively as is Okur.  Millsap is tough but undersized.  How good would this team be with Deron Williams at the point who is a stud on both ends of the floor.  Kirilenko who can defense 3-4 positions and a guy like Marcus Camby to anchor the defensive paint but also is decent in the pick and pop.  Or even Chandler who has been running the pick and roll effectively with Chris Paul all this time.

See all 2010 NBA team previews

September 10, 2009