Analysis After 4 games of Jazz Basketball
By Tyson Newman
October 31, 2012; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz point guard Mo Williams (5) shoots a free throw during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at EnergySolutions Arena. The Jazz defeated the Mavericks 113-94. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-US PRESSWIRE
Well Jazz Fans we got our feet wet. We’ve played our first 4 games of the season starting with a win at home followed by 3 losses on the road. We defeated Dallas at home 113-94 the night after Dallas handed the Lakers their first of 3 losses they had their first week (BOOYA Lakers). Then we went on the road and didn’t fair so well, losing to the Hornets, Spurs and Grizzlies 86-88, 100-110 and 94-103 respectively. So after 4 games what are the things we can take away and what are good and bad things we are seeing from this team?
First thing is first, Alec Burks is not getting off the bench. This is probably making many Jazz fans angry as I think we all love Alec and want to see what he can do with some extended minutes. Personally Alec is one of my favorite players the Jazz have on the roster and I absolutely think he has the potential to be a great great player in this league. I have an opinion on the matter that many Jazz fans might not want to hear. Corbin has a deep roster and there is no doubt about that and if I was in his position what would I do? I would put the players on the floor that I believe would win me basketball games. So if the Jazz put W’s in the win column then I am in no position to question Coach Corbin’s decision. I’m not going to complain about this until I see if this Jazz team is for real or not and I think we should all give Coach Corbin the benefit of the doubt for the time being.
I attended the first game at home when the Jazz beat the Mavs. The 3rd quarter was electric and had to make every Jazz fan excited. I realized something while I was at the game that I did not expect. I have been on record saying that I do not think that we have a log jam of big men and having Jefferson, Millsap, Favors and Kanter on the roster will be a advantage on other teams. While I’m not backing away from believing that it can work I do think differently because of that game. While watching I couldn’t help but to think that Al Jefferson was more of a liability to this team then he was helping. Our defense is so much better with Favors on the floor and it actually gives me hope this team can be good. Watch how many times Al will just stand there during that game and watch a opponent lay it up without him even contesting. It’s sickening. I was also surprised to see Favors make a couple of moves in the post. He had 2 turn around jump shots that I had never seen Favors make before and it was great to see from him.
Last thing I think we all can take away is that Mo Williams is a great great GREAT pick up for this Jazz team. He really has taken it upon himself to lead this team in whatever way they need him to. He scores points, gets assists and is a leader for these young players on the floor. I think Mo will probably be in a Jazz uniform for a long time and I think it’s great that we brought in a guy that wants to be here. Against the Spurs Mo scored 29 points and had 9 assists, we all knew that Mo could score points but the 9 assists show that he isn’t selfish and he wants to make his teammates better. As the season goes on I think we will begin to see how much better Mo Williams makes this Jazz team and it’s good to feel like we have a great point guard in Utah again.
Those are my early takeaways from the first couple games of the season. I know the record isn’t where we would like it but looking at the schedule we have in the first month of the season I’m hoping we come out of it with a winning record and that I think would be a accomplishment. Jazz play the Lakers tonight at home and I think every Jazz fan will have their hopes brought back up if the Jazz can shake off that crappy road trip, pull out a win against Kobe and company and then get back to that .500 mark with a win in Denver. Let’s hope the Jazz show up in full force tonight and make Lakers fans crazy with how badly their “Superteam” has started the season.