Story Created:
Nov 12, 2009
Story Updated:
Nov 12, 2009
Utah Jazz
Change is coming, warns Jerry Sloan.
The morning after the Celtics embarrassed the Jazz, who didn’t compete much in the second half Wednesday, their Hall of Fame coach indicated he and his staff are pondering changes to the rotation. This weekend – starting Friday night in Philadelphia - could be interesting, if Sloan follows through and revamps the starting lineup.
“It’s not too early,” Sloan told reporters, including 1320 KFAN’s David Locke, at Thursday’s practice. “We’ll see what happens.”
Beware Carlos Boozer, you’re on notice.
The whipping boy for most of his time with the Jazz, Boozer could suffer the humiliation of starting the game on the bench. Boozer got a taste of what may come during the game in Boston, when Sloan replaced him early in the first quarter with Paul Milsap.
From my vantage point on the couch, the Jazz big men repeatedly allowed the Celtics to stroll down the lane for lay-ups. The next hard foul they commit might be the first one this season.
“Defensively is where the effort comes in,” Sloan said. “I don’t think there’s a player out there that didn’t get beat.”
As Jazz fans continue to pile on Boozer, who deserves a lot of the grief for multiple ill-advised comments the last year, they need to spread around the blame for a 3-5 start. As Sloan says, there are many culprits.
By benching Boozer, Sloan would send a strong message that would sweep through the team. But he shouldn’t stop there.
Defense starts from the inside and extends out. In other words, look at the center in addition to the power forward.
In the last game, Mehmet Okur had more turnovers (4) and rebounds (3) in 25 minutes. He had a total of one measly rebound on defense – the same number little Eric Maynor managed.
Granted they played in garbage time, but Kosta Koufus and Kyrylo Fesenko each had four rebounds. That’s not to say Okur and Boozer are bums, but there’s nobody else to bench, at least not until C.J. Miles and Kyle Korver return from injuries.
If Sloan is interested in getting the team’s attention, he needs to go bold. Starting Milsap only manages to irritate one player. Time to put everybody but the ballboy on alert – you hear me, assistant trainer?
It’s not like the Jazz have anything to lose beyond what they’re already losing. As fan base, we’ve got to see more spirit.
Even Deron Williams would agree.
“We’re not putting up much of a fight against good teams,” he said.
As a side note, having Locke cover the Jazz – in addition to his play-by-play duties – is a major benefit for the team’s fans. Expanding his duties to include being a reporter, Locke is side-by-side with beat writers.
Only difference is he can post the interviews on 1320KFAN.com and the Jazz website within minutes of talking with players and coaches. Forget the middle man.
Really, there’s no need to go anywhere else for the most relevant and timely Jazz news.
