Sunday, December 30, 2007

A Farewell to Giricek

Jazz guard Gordan Giricek has never seemed to fit in with the Utah Jazz. After being traded to the team at the end of the 2003-2004 season, it seemed like he never fit in.

The Jazz play a style of basketball that is based on precision passing, and Giricek's lapses did nothing but anger coach Jerry Sloan. It was so bad that on the last Utah roadtrip he was sent home.

Those days are over as the Jazz announced that Giricek was traded off to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Kyle Korver.

As for Giricek's contributions to the Jazz, there aren't any memorable plays or events that come up. Quite frankly, he never seemed to fit in with the team and it's best to see him move on. So what can Korver do?

He can shoot the three pointer like woah. Two points if you remember Black Rob. He's shooting 35% this season; 40% for his career.

A reliable swingman that can shoot from the outside is something that the Jazz need, especially since rookie guard Morris Almond isn't ready yet. One of the reasons why the Phoenix Suns are so deadly is that the Steve Nash/Amare Stoudemire pick and roll frees up outside shooters. Deron Williams/Carlos Boozer are great at the pick and roll, and either of them driving can free up Korver for an easy shot.

Defensively Korver isn't too impressive, but think of this lineup the Jazz can now use:

Williams at the PG Korver/Ronnie Brewer at the SG or SF Andrei Kirilenko at the PF Carlos Boozer at the C

This lineup can score and rebound the ball well. It also allows Kirilenko to play more in the paint which is something that he wants. He's also a great help defender and can help if Korver's man slips by.

While this isn't the most spectacular trade, it's one that's worth a shot and can help get the Jazz back on track in the new year.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Burnt By The Suns, lose 103-98

Lately it seems like the Utah Jazz like to lose. They lost again last night on the road to the Phoenix Suns, 103-98.

The worst part about last night’s game was that the Jazz fought there way back through the second half of the game, even having a six point lead.

The Suns made a run in the fourth period, and the Jazz answered by Paul Millsap and Deron Williams missing some key free throws. For the night, the team was 17-27.

"As it turns out, we missed a lot of free throws coming down (the stretch), and you'd like to have those back," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "We're a young team trying to figure out what we are sometimes."

Think about that. The Jazz missed an opportunity to score an extra ten points. Compare that to the Suns, who shot 19-21 from the line.

The Suns, a team not necessarily known for their defense, did a good job holding Carlos Boozer from having a monster game. He scored 24 points on 12-24 shooting. They made it difficult for him to score and were smart, not fouling him. Boozer didn’t have a single free throw attempt on the night.

The Suns were lead by Steve Nash, who had 29 points and 11 assists on the game.

Unfortunately for Nash, he had a run in with Boozer’s elbow that broke one of his front teeth. The awful irony is that Boozer’s basketball idol, Karl Malone, did the same to Nash back on December 4, 2003.

The Suns were also helped out by Steve Marion (26 points, 15 rebounds, 5 blocks) and Amare Stoudemire (18 points and 9 rebounds).

Paul Millsap had a big night for the Jazz, stepping into the starting lineup as center Mehmet Okur is out with a shoulder injury. He had 20 points, 13 rebounds on the night.

Andrei Kirilenko had 17 points, 6 rebounds for the night. He showed that his shooting lessons with Jeff Hornacek are paying off, shooting 2-2 from three point land.

Deron Williams shot himself out of the game, shooting 7-17 and had 18 points, 6 assists.

All in all, it was a rough game for the Jazz. Tomorrow night they travel to Portland to take on the Blazers.