Jerry Sloan has a quality team in his hands, but it hasn't yet developed like it should. The Jazz are doing better on the road than they are at the Delta Center, something that has to concern owner Larry Miller. For the second straight year they started off okay, but have fallen shortly after. Can the Utah Jazz return to their former glory? Utah hasn't done much right this year. They are only scoring 88.1 PPG, 27th in the NBA. Turnovers, 15.8 a game, have been a problem. Really when it comes right down to it, Utah isn't meant to score. Kirilenko, Harpring and Boozer are all from a supporting cast. They don't have a go-to-guy, which they'll need if they want to win more close games. Devin Brown and Giricek are the Shooting Guards and can shoot if they have to, but neither can create their own shot. Utah is doing some things well. They're tied for 7th in the NBA in rebounding, which is crucial since they shoot the ball so bad (an NBA-low 41.8%). The injury to Keith McLeod allows Deron Williams more time to develop. While they don't score much, they are 7th in Points Allowed, so the Jazz are at least keeping it close. Bringing Gordan Giricek and Matt Harpring gives them mildly deep bench, but it's not at all long when the injuries pile up. The biggest blow to the Utah Jazz has been injuries, where already nearly everyone has been injured. Andrei Kirilenko is the do-it-all star of the team, and the team can't survive without him. And it's not just him; it's Boozer, Giricek and Harpring who are just as injury plagued. With Mehmet Okur injured, Greg "I can't believe he's still playing" Ostertag has to step in. We all knew that filling Karl Malone and John Stockton's shoes were going to be tough, but these injuries are setting them back to the point of regression. They might want to think about dealing away one of their numerous Shooting Guards. Jerry Sloan, like Larry Brown, has never been big on playing rookies, but is killing himself for not having a choice right now. If they could stay healthy, each and everyone of them, then maybe they would have a tiny iota at the playoffs. As of right now, the Utah Jazz don't even have that. |
