Staff
Kevin O'Connor: For a guy who has stunk up the majority of his draft picks, he sure made up for them in quality trades. Fesenko has potential to be a starter/good rotation player, but the verdict is not out on Almond. He can score in the D-League, but is currently shooting 11% in the big league. The Korver trade was one to put on his resume. Great job so far Mr. O'Connor. GRADE: A-
Jerry Sloan: Signed a one year contract extension early in the season. While Sloan has done wonders for a group of less talented players, he seems to have lost his fire this season. He needs to realize that this team needs a little praise now and then. They are not season veterans who can take the constant criticism and not begin to play head games with themselves. He could say whatever he wanted to Stock and Malone, but they had been around the block enough to take it with a grain of salt and keep playing. Jerry's time may be up. GRADE: C-
Starters
Deron Williams: Talk about a guy who is so close to achieving stardom he can smell it. If only we could get him to touch it, embrace it, and take it to bed with him. While his scoring is up 3 points, along with all of his shooting percentages, his turnovers are also up .4 per game. As a co-captain I want to see more leadership out of him. His defense has been sub par in my eyes. While he should have been an All-Star lock at the first of the season, Deron will not dress in New Orleans this year thanks to his struggles in December. GRADE: B
Ronnie Brewer: We all knew he had it in him. I loved this guy since seeing him sport a Jazz blue suit on draft night. His offensive game has progressed much quicker than I anticipated. He has an amazing ability to get to the hole and flush down anything within 5 feet of the basket. His defense has been good at times, but he has a difficult assignment almost every night. Currently he is 12th in the league in steals. GRADE: A-
Andrei Kirilenko: After all of the off season trade speculation, I was worried as to which Andrei would show up this year. I have been pleasantly surprised with his effort. My knee jerk reaction to yell "Don't do it..." when he appears to be setting up for a shot is gone. Watching highlights of him in Euroleague made me think we needed to get him the ball more around the basket, I'm not so sure of that anymore. I seem to see him get blocked and stripped going up for layups more than he should. His three point percentage and assists are all up from his career average, but his blocks and steals are both well below. GRADE: B+
Carlos Boozer: Two years ago I actually took a full size poster to a game that read "Boozer leads our team in $teals". I was sure this guy was bending us over and laughing all the way to the bank. This is my cue to eat crow. He is a virtual lock for the All-Star team and has been the most dominant power forward in the NBA to this point. I love his offensive game, although I wish he would get a few more power dunks like last year. His defense on the other hand leaves much to be desired. You would think that with his ability to beat bigger, faster, taller guys on the big end, he would have translated that into ways to play better on the defensive end. Not so. He is a defensive liability for us. Carlos, meet your Achilles heal. GRADE: B+
Memhet Okur: The money man seems to be troubled with all of the sub-prime lending. I know babies are blessings and all, but little Melisa Okur has jinxed her daddy big time. I know the guy is slow, but when he takes the ball to the hoop he almost always converts. So why doesn't he do it more often? Go to the hoop Memo! His glimpses of greatness are often overshadowed by his lazy defensive court sense and lack of overall energy. If the Jazz hope to get back to last years form, I think this is the guy they need the most. GRADE: C+
So there are my grades for the first half of the season. Bench grades will be coming soon. They will be great for some, and straight up ugly for others. Here's to hoping our guys get their act together and put together a playoff push!
Real Players. Real Fans. Honest Bloggers.
My Utah Jazz!
