How will the Jazz fare without Ronnie Brewer?
With Ronnie Brewer off to Memphis, I thought it would be interesting to analyze how the move will affect the Jazz. Here it goes:
First of all, by replacing Brewer in the starting lineup with either Wesley Matthews, CJ Miles, or Kyle Korver, the Jazz will definitely be improving on the offensive side of the ball. Each one of these guys is not afraid to shoot the ball, and they can all hit a jump shot better than the often offensively-challenged Brewer could.
Specifically looking at Kyle Korver, I think that he helps improve Utah’s 3-point shooting tremendously. I find that the Jazz normally struggle when it comes to 3-pointers, and they don’t rely on them too much in general. Korver can be a guy who solves that issue, and he will make the Jazz tougher to defend in the process. Now that the Jazz will be playing a guy who is a 3-point threat, their offense will be stretched out, which should open things up for everybody on the floor.
The way I am making it sound, the Utah Jazz are a team that needs help offensively. That, of course, is not the case at all, as they have been averaging well over 100 points in their recent 15 out 17 hot streak. Even so, adding Korver to an already potent scoring lineup makes them that much better because of the added dimension that he brings to the game.
As for Wesley Matthews and CJ Miles, I think both guys have a lot of talent, but they need to become more consistent before Jerry Sloan can count on them in a starting role. But even if they don’t start, they should get an increase in playing time, as their positions on the bench have gone up. The added playing time will be good for their overall development, and maybe one of them or even both of them can be considered true threats come playoff time.
Overall defensively, I think that the departure of Brewer will hurt them, as he was one of their best on-the-ball defenders. Here is where one of the 3 guys (Korver, Matthews, Miles) really needs to step up and earn their minutes. In my opinion, that guy will end up being Wesley Matthews. He is a rookie, which means that there’s a good chance that he will be willing to learn and dedicate his time to becoming a better defender. (He feels like he still has to earn his position as a lowly rookie.) Also, I think that Matthews is the most gifted, athletically speaking, out of the 3 guys.
Of course, even though Matthews may be the best defender of the 3, there should be a noticeable downgrade on the defensive side of the ball. Teams will try to exploit the mismatch, and it may be tough at first. The rest of the team just needs to be aware of this, and they must help out if necessary. As long as everybody is on the same page (chemistry), the transition shouldn’t take too long to adjust to.
If I had to rank the trade on a scale from 1-10, I would give it a 7. I would say 7 because I think that there is definitely a boost that they will get on offense, especially from the 3-point line where they have been weak. And also, I think that the defense will get over to the Brewer loss faster than most people expect. Defense is something that is very team-oriented, and I feel that the Jazz are great when it comes that. Everybody looks to help each other out, and everybody is accountable (they don’t play the “blame game”).
At the end of the day, I trust that Jerry Sloan will make the decision that best suits his system. And as long as that is the case, I am not going to be too worried about the Jazz.