Jerry Sloan is unsure how he’ll replace Carlos Boozer
With the NBA preseason underway and three weeks left until the regular season begins, now’s the time when coaches start to decide which players will earn a starting spot or be moved to the bench. Throughout the League, there have been a lot of position battles — most notably Caron Butler vs. Shawn Marion in Dallas, the three-way fight for SG in Minnesota, and most recently, Andrei Kirilenko vs. Paul Millsap in Utah.
Both Jazz players are competing for the starting spot at power forward left vacant by Carlos Boozer when he signed with Chicago in the offseason. Kirilenko brings a multi-positional defensive playmaking presence, while Millsap’s energy and rebounding in the paint is unmatched. Judging by head coach Jerry Sloan’s quote in the Salt Lake Tribune, he’s having trouble figuring it out.
“That helped us win a lot of games,” Sloan said, in reference to Millsap’s production off the bench last season. “Are we going to get that out of another player? Or is Andrei going to play that position? All that stuff is just guesswork. I don’t think any of it’s in stone.”
Sloan added: “I’ve got to worry about who’s going to finish more than I worry about starting.”
With the addition of Al Jefferson this offseason, the Jazz have a legit 20-and-10 threat at center, and can stash Kirilenko at the four, which would create a defensive-minded frontcourt. A second option would be to start Jefferson, Millsap and AK-47 at the same time, but with the losses of Kyle Korver and Wes Matthews, who’s going to be that sixth man to lead the second unit? Rookie wing Gordon Hayward comes to mind, but I don’t believe he’s at the stage where he’s going to make a huge splash just yet, and Raja Bell is more defensive-minded than offensive.
In nine seasons with the Jazz, Kirilenko has missed a total of 121 games and hasn’t played a full season since his rookie year. Millsap’s time on the court has been rather consistent, having only missed six games in four years. Being a bit undersized for a power forward, Millsap makes up for it with his hustle and crashing the boards — he tied for 31st in the League last season in Rebounding Rate with 14.5 per 48 minutes.
AK-47, on the other hand, has the height (6-10), length (7-4 wingspan), and versatility on defense that makes up for his rebounding deficiencies. Although, both players average about the same amount of points — Millsap averaged 11.6 points per game last season and Kirilenko dropped in 11.9 — Millsap shoots a better percentage from the field (53.8), and is more efficient on the court (PER of 16.73).
So who starts? Only Jerry Sloan knows for certain, but my guess is that I don’t see him putting Kirilenko on the bench due to their personnel losses, which makes Millsap more valuable and better suited as a sixth man for the time being.
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October 7th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Knicksfan84 says:
Does it matter really for the Jazz??? No matter what this team is destined for at least 45 wins. They could start Elmo at PF and they’ll still win their games. It’s a tribute to good coaching by Jerry Sloan
October 7th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Joe's Momma says:
Elmo needs to work on his defensive rebounding, but Sloan would get him to be tougher in the paint. Tell him to bring Katy Perry too.
Once Memo is healthy I expect him and Al to play the 4 and 5. Al can man the paint while Memo can float around the 3 pt line.
What Sloan really needs to do is teach Al how to pass. He sees double teams all the time yet can’t pass out of them. This Utah system might help him out though, plus he finally got some real talent to play with.
Milsap and Al together in the front court will be undersized against everyone. Not saying it won’t work, but it will be hard.
AK should start at the 3. But he needs to stop shooting so much. Slash baby, slash. Thats how you got that fat contract along with that crazy good defense.
Don’t matter, D Will gonna make them all look good.
October 7th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Bizz says:
Throw Hayward directly into the fire, bring AK off the bench. Millsap and that contract are poised for a breakout, which was why Boozer never saw any Utah re-up money the previous offseason. Hayward’s got a good system in Utah to be protected in, so he can either sink or swim. Once Memo does actually come back, the real decisions on the lineup will have to be made then, in which you can probably put Millsap along with Hayward off the bench, which would pretty much resemble last year’s cast.
October 7th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
AllthatJazz / Amar says:
This is better, but still far from perfect factually.
Andrei is 6’9, not 6’10. Pairing him with Jefferson doesn’t make a defensive minded frontcourt. Have you ever seen Jefferson play? Honestly, have you? A double double doesn’t mean you are a good player, neither does a 20-10. Look at some of the frauds who get them: Z-Bo and Booz.
Sloan is also learning on starting Raja Bell (a Sloan fav from when Bell played in Utah), and bringing CJ off the bench.
Sloan is reported to say that depth inside is an issue. It makes more sense to start AK/Sap/Al, and then when Sap goes out, put AK in as the back-up 4, rather than the starter.
Listing fg% is good, you’re using stats. That’s what I want to see. What you also need to show, though, is eFG% which takes better account of the type of shots on guy takes. Jefferson can only exist in the paint. Paul has said that it is a bit crowded in there right now. At least AK has the ability to hit a jumper — floor spacing is going to be the thing to watch for the Jazz this season.
You are getting better man, feel free to do a bit more research before writing though. (check out Jefferson on mysynergy sometime, or heck, 82games.com, for starters) The Jazz fan community is always willing to help — all you gotta do is ask. (The internet has free communication on it, not taking advantage of it is just being lazy and writing sloppy)
October 7th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
AllthatJazz / Amar says:
*leaning on . . . not learning
October 7th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
RC says:
Jazz would still get into the playoffs not matter what. They have a legendary coach in Sloan and a good system that makes any decent player perform well. Plus Deron is gonna carry this team on his shoulders whatever happens he knows it’s his franchise.
October 7th, 2010 at 11:45 pm
sonic says:
Start Al, Sap, and Ak together.. when memo comes back bring him off the bench. always good to have a defensive minded starting front court… all memo does is shoot
October 13th, 2010 at 2:17 am
UTJazzBlog says:
Sloan may not know “how” yet, but the fact of the matter is Boozer will be more than replaced. A starting front court of Jefferson, Millsap, and Kirilenko features plenty of offensive firepower, rebounding, and shot blocking. While Big Al has never been known for his defense, he can’t be any worse than Boozer. At the very least, he’s taller and will block/alter more shots. Boozer will not be missed in Utah. His matador defense and persistent injuries are Chicago’s problem now.