Who's going to step up against the Spurs? Who's going to falter?

I think Millsap, Jefferson, and Harris are going to be the guys that step up and really lead the Jazz. Maybe not all of them in the same game, but overall they will be the guys that will come out and perform.

I worry about Favors, mostly because of foul trouble. Foul trouble has a way of taking players, especially young players out of their game.

I think Hayward will do the same thing he has done all season. He will play good D, make solid contributions as a facilitator, and give 100% while he's out there. That stuff is pretty much a given, because even when his shot is not falling, he ALWAYS does that stuff. Regardless of whether he disappears offensively, he's going to be a key for the Jazz because he's likely going to be guarding Ginobili. But I do think on top of that I think he will be excellent offensively, even if he doesn't get a lot of oportunities.

I think Tinsley will give some solid minutes, but I think Burks and Carroll will struggle.

I think Howard and Bell may be big off the bench, but I worry about Howard's tendency to chuck up shots with that second unit, if he's not hitting, that second unit gets in trouble fast.

I agree for the most part.
I think Jefferson and Millsap will come up big.
Devin Harris...I'm not sure what we will get out of him, but I think he will step up.

I think that Burks, Kanter, & Carroll will be awful. I think Hayward will disappear, and I think Favors will be star struck and work himself out of the rotation will silly fouls.

I think Bell & Howard (I can't believe I am saying this)are actually going to help us out and will end up absorbing most of Carroll's minutes and some of Hayward's.

That is all...

My biggest concern is Harris guarding Parker. If he consistently gets past Harris and into the paint. That will cause huge problems for the Jazz. Other than that I see Milsap an Al carrying the load for us as usual.

Well Harris did not show well in this first game his 3 pt shooting is his best asset he has to offer the Jazz and if he is not hitting that shot things will be tough for the Jazz in the rest of these games, lets hope he can turn things around. He also has to step it up with his passing those lazy passes that where deflected pretty easily won't cut it there is no excuse at all for those kind of passed from a PG none, a few of the bigs also made some of those lazy passed this team has to get their heads into the game and those kind of things should not keep happening.

dongibby wrote:

Well Harris did not show well in this first game his 3 pt shooting is his best asset he has to offer the Jazz and if he is not hitting that shot things will be tough for the Jazz in the rest of these games, lets hope he can turn things around. He also has to step it up with his passing those lazy passes that where deflected pretty easily won't cut it there is no excuse at all for those kind of passed from a PG none, a few of the bigs also made some of those lazy passed this team has to get their heads into the game and those kind of things should not keep happening.

I half agree. Harris had 5 TOs, which sometimes isn't horrible. I really only have a problem with one of his passes. I screamed at the screen when Devin lobbed a pass on the perimeter to another perimeter player (and, it was stolen). Lazy. No excuse. The other TOs were from penetration dishes where the recipient of the pass was beaten by the man guarding him.

I think the Jazz as a whole did a poorjob of perimeter passing. We passed into double coverages that either resulted in a TO, or waisted 5 or 6 seconds of our offense.

I don't think Devin's D against Parker was bad. I think he consistently made the right choices. In this game, some of Devin's correct choices were to force Parker into a circus-style shot. Devin did this, and Parker made the circus shots. Devin also forced Parker to pass on penetration rather than letting him go to the rim, and, even though Parker ended up with 8 assists, this helped the Jazz.

With all due respect I 100% disagree with everything you said. Did you not see Parker shake Harris probably 20 times at the three pt line. Harris looked lost out there. Parker didn't shot one 3pt shot and ended up with 28 points. Yeah he had like 3-4 circus shots but the rest were pretty uncontested shots or got to the line and got fouled.

All those points in the paint were a result of out pgs not staying in front of Parker and him either scoring or one of the other guys had to come over to pick Parker up and there guy had an easy shot in the paint.

Harris wasn't the only PG to blame. JT couldn't stay in front of him either. At least JT had the offense moving better than Harris.

Devon was absolutely horrible on both ends of the court tonight. Maybe he was trying to hard or something. I'm not sure. I've never seen Harris play that poorly. Hoping it was just one game thing. Otherwise we are gonna get swept.

Hmmmm, well I think the biggest glaring item missing from this discussion is how many screens Tony Parker ran off of. Devin Harris and others were getting picked almost every time. More than a few times, Tony Parker got a triple pick. No PG in the world can fight through and defend against a triple pick.

Devin is the only Jazz player on the team that is quick enough to even stay with Tony Parker. What needs to happen is the Utah Jazz need to up their Team Defense to aproximately 5x what they showed tonight. Devin can't defend Tony Parker when he's going 1 on 2,3 or 4.

Mutangclan wrote:

Hmmmm, well I think the biggest glaring item missing from this discussion is how many screens Tony Parker ran off of. Devin Harris and others were getting picked almost every time. More than a few times, Tony Parker got a triple pick. No PG in the world can fight through and defend against a triple pick.

Devin is the only Jazz player on the team that is quick enough to even stay with Tony Parker. What needs to happen is the Utah Jazz need to up their Team Defense to aproximately 5x what they showed tonight. Devin can't defend Tony Parker when he's going 1 on 2,3 or 4.

True, but Parker is the kind of player you don't have to play up on. There is no need to try to go over screens with him. He will never kill you from 3.

That is the main reason that Favors needs to be playing 35+ minutes or until he fouls out. That is the Spurs game. Get to the basket. You can't beat them unless you have a player that can protect the basket. Favors is the only player the Jazz have that can do it.

The players that stepped up were Burks, Favors, Millsap, Hayward and Tinsley.

The players that faltered were Harris, Howard, & Jefferson.

Tinsley struggled against Parker's speed but he ran the offense effectively. Burks was aggressive and got to the line (Ty needs to play him more cause Howard sucks men nipples). Hayward got to the line a season record 12 times. Millsap was decent Millsap.

i[m]M.V.P. wrote:

The players that stepped up were Burks, Favors, Millsap, Hayward and Tinsley.

The players that faltered were Harris, Howard, & Jefferson.

Tinsley struggled against Parker's speed but he ran the offense effectively. Burks was aggressive and got to the line (Ty needs to play him more cause Howard sucks men nipples). Hayward got to the line a season record 12 times. Millsap was decent Millsap.

Agreed, with the possible exception of Jefferson, I don't think he was bad, but he wasn't good either.

Gotta love those young guys stepping up though. Can't take that for granted, that trio of Burks, Hayward, and Favors is just going to get better.

I thought Big Al was pretty decent overall, and was more productive in the second half than first half (have not verified this though), although I was yelling at at the screen once when he let TD outrun him back up the floor for a TD layup. LOL. I suspect Jefferson will step it up in game two and give us twenty or better in game two now that he has his first playoff game in seven years under his belt. I can hope anyway!!

We need to start going to Jefferson and Millsap in the paint from the get go imo. Our first shot last game was a missed Howard three ball with eight seconds left on the clock. I don't think that is the shot we want for our opening shot.

I would like to see the Jazz go with the line up that was a big reason they even made the playoffs from the start of the game and that's with Big Al,Favor's and Milsap in the front court and Hayward and Harris as the guards, I think this line-up gives them their best chance to win in this series. With Burks and Tinsley the first 2 coming off of the bench then who ever is playing better out of Howard and Carroll gets to back up the 3 spot. The Jazz has a up hill battle trying to win against this Spurs team and it is not going to be easy for them to win even 1 game but as long as they leave it all on the court and give it their best then I would be satisfied but they can't let the game get away from them like it did in this last one they are a better team than that IMO.

dongibby wrote:

I would like to see the Jazz go with the line up that was a big reason they even made the playoffs from the start of the game and that's with Big Al,Favor's and Milsap in the front court and Hayward and Harris as the guards, I think this line-up gives them their best chance to win in this series. With Burks and Tinsley the first 2 coming off of the bench then who ever is playing better out of Howard and Carroll gets to back up the 3 spot. The Jazz has a up hill battle trying to win against this Spurs team and it is not going to be easy for them to win even 1 game but as long as they leave it all on the court and give it their best then I would be satisfied but they can't let the game get away from them like it did in this last one they are a better team than that IMO.

I don't necessarily think they need to start that unit, I think starting is way overrated. But I do think they should go to it far earlier in the second half and lean on it heavily. All 3 of those bigs should be playing 35+ minutes.

I still have hope for Harris. I think he will give us at least one or two games that will make people remember why he was once an All-Star.

I'm a broken record, but Devin needs help. He can't guard Tony Parker when he's getting picked sometimes 3 times on one possession. Guys need to rotate, Favors needs more minutes. After that, just rebound; offense will be there.

Mutangclan wrote:

I'm a broken record, but Devin needs help. He can't guard Tony Parker when he's getting picked sometimes 3 times on one possession. Guys need to rotate, Favors needs more minutes. After that, just rebound; offense will be there.

For me it's not as much about the D, Parker is going to do what Parker does, I mean it's not like he was ridiculous in game 1, he was just pretty much what he has been all season. To me it was about Harris' overall energy and willingness to create and play his game offensively. He came out strong, and then kind of just disappeared. They need 35 minutes of strong from him, not 10.

TheMagnus wrote:

Mutangclan wrote:

I'm a broken record, but Devin needs help. He can't guard Tony Parker when he's getting picked sometimes 3 times on one possession. Guys need to rotate, Favors needs more minutes. After that, just rebound; offense will be there.

For me it's not as much about the D, Parker is going to do what Parker does, I mean it's not like he was ridiculous in game 1, he was just pretty much what he has been all season. To me it was about Harris' overall energy and willingness to create and play his game offensively. He came out strong, and then kind of just disappeared. They need 35 minutes of strong from him, not 10.

Yea, but we haven't gotten 35mins from him all year. Its been PG by committee, can't expect it now.....Parker will do what he does, sure. But everybody has to pick up their D. Parker got picks, penetrated and then still had the option to dish. That can't happen. Only thing I think Devin needs to do is starting racing again, attack the basket. Transition buckets....

I agree with transition buckets. When Memphis beat the Spurs last yr in the playoffs i remembered a lot of the game being wide-open, not half court sets. when they couldn't get a quick look, Randolf was huge for them that series.

Push the ball Devin and Favors SHOULD be given minutes, as much as Al and Paul. The Jazz are such a long shot of beating the Spurs it makes sense to let Favors get tons of experience... not to mention he's their best shot blocker.

As far as defense. There's two days rest between game 1-2 and 2-3. Bet they'll be looking at film bigtime.... not sure it'll help cause the Spurs are more experienced and have some good role players. They're just smart with the ball.

The funny thing is. That's the kind of play Devon is best at. He's not a half court pg. Push the ball and get the Spurs on their heels. The Jazz are a young team and have the legs to play that style.

Mutangclan wrote:

Yea, but we haven't gotten 35mins from him all year. Its been PG by committee, can't expect it now.....Parker will do what he does, sure. But everybody has to pick up their D. Parker got picks, penetrated and then still had the option to dish. That can't happen. Only thing I think Devin needs to do is starting racing again, attack the basket. Transition buckets....

Harris averaged 32 minutes per in April, and played his best ball of the season averaging 16pts/5.5ast/2TO per game. If we can't expect that then we can't expect to win.

I was actually surprised to hear Corbin telling the Jazz to slow down and focus on the half court game in timeouts. At first I was like "what? why?" but I think it makes sense...sort of.

I think it makes a lot of sense with the first unit, and when the three bigs lineup is out there, but not with the second unit. Harris is great but he can attack in the half court as well as in transition, he just doesn't do it sometimes. And there is no question that in the half court the three bigs lineup with Hayward and Harris is very tough executing in the half court.

The problem arises with the second unit. Whether it is Carroll or Howard playing SF, that group not only should run, but HAS to run to be effective. They suck balls in the half court, none of them can create their own offense and none of them are great shooters, so when you put them in the half court they all just kind of run around and end up taking tough contested shots.

Maybe the solution is to go to Tinsley earlier in the first and third and give Harris run with the second unit at the start of the 2nd and 4th?

TheMagnus wrote:

Maybe the solution is to go to Tinsley earlier in the first and third and give Harris run with the second unit at the start of the 2nd and 4th?

I like this idea. Harris can be more of the offensive focal point, not need to facilitate as much & run with the young legs.

TheMagnus wrote:

Mutangclan wrote:

Harris averaged 32 minutes per in April, and played his best ball of the season averaging 16pts/5.5ast/2TO per game. If we can't expect that then we can't expect to win.

I was actually surprised to hear Corbin telling the Jazz to slow down and focus on the half court game in timeouts. At first I was like "what? why?" but I think it makes sense...sort of.

I think it makes a lot of sense with the first unit, and when the three bigs lineup is out there, but not with the second unit. Harris is great but he can attack in the half court as well as in transition, he just doesn't do it sometimes. And there is no question that in the half court the three bigs lineup with Hayward and Harris is very tough executing in the half court.

Maybe the solution is to go to Tinsley earlier in the first and third and give Harris run with the second unit at the start of the 2nd and 4th?

Yea, maybe Tinsley would be a better PG with that big 3, but Devin with that 2nd unit would absolutely be better with them, if he would get them running. Burks is a great finisher, DC does well too. I think either way, Devin when he's on the court has got to run. And the big 3 has to all get 30+.
Man, can't wait for game two just to see where we're at.

Just a point here: Have someone noticed how great was Hayward defense against Manu? Manu was 3/10 FG, 0/2 3P; 7pt, 4ast, 3reb in game 1. They just need to find a way to stop Parker. As much I see Hayward playing defense, as much I'm really impressed.

RookieJazz wrote:

Just a point here: Have someone noticed how great was Hayward defense against Manu? Manu was 3/10 FG, 0/2 3P; 7pt, 4ast, 3reb in game 1. They just need to find a way to stop Parker. As much I see Hayward playing defense, as much I'm really impressed.

Yeah for sure Manu was a non factor in that game. Hayward plays very good D for a second year player. Hell he plays good D for a 5-7 year vet.

The answer to the title of this thread: No one is going to step up, because if you do it coach won't play you

outerspacefan wrote:

The answer to the title of this thread: No one is going to step up, because if you do it coach won't play you

Ouch! That was harsh, although I do see why you would say that. I'm really hoping that the team feeds off the crowd & plays with some heart & energy. We really need to see a heavy dose of Favors.