|
|
Last Season’s Rank
23
|
Projected 2013/2014
Finish
12
|
Last
season’s Team Statistics and League Rank
|
Returning
Individual Statistical Leaders
|
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Projected
Starters Based on Talent, Tenure, Paycheck and Potential Impact:
|
Second Unit Roster Order Ranked on Talent, Tenure, Paycheck and Potential Impact:
|
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Analysis:
It looks as if the Minnesota Timberwolves will be ready to finally climb out of the pit of despair where they have wallowed in for the last eight years and return to the post season once again. Gone is their accursed GM whose wasted first round picks and poor free agent signings had set back the Wolves for a few years and replacing him is a familiar face who fans in Minnesota remember fondly. Flip Saunders had coached Minnesota through its glory years where he led the team to eight straight playoff appearances from 1997 to 2004 until he was unjustly fired in 2005 by GM at the time +Kevin McHale who did so to cover his own backside. Now after a six year hiatus which had extreme ups such as reaching the Eastern Conference Finals three straight times with +Detroit Pistons and downs such as his regrettable three year stint with the +Washington Wizards, Flip has return to the place where his career started in an effort to revitalize a once proud franchise that has recieved more of its share of cuts and bruises. Last season, Minnesota struggled due to its roster being decimated by injuries and failed to reached the playoffs for the eighth straight season; however, with a healthy roster and some key off season additions, Both Flip and the Timberwolves look to turn things around as they have a team that not only looks that it will not only make the playoffs, but may just also challenge the +Oklahoma City Thunder for the Northwest Division crown. It all starts at the team's core foundation of Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio who were both hampered by injuries last season as they missed games and played below their capabilities. Love was lost as early as the preseason last year and after a failed stint where he just played 18 games had to pack it in and sit out the rest of the season while Rubio's rehab of injury that cut his rookie season short had taken longer than expected. Once he finally stepped on the court, Rubio could buy a basket as he shot a woeful .360 from the field and by the time he arrived, it was already too late for the Timberwolves. Now with both of them healed up and ready for the start of the opening tip off, Timberwolves fans will finally get a chance to see what they have been waiting for the past three years--the combination of Rubio and Love finally coming together for the very first time. Hopefully Lady Luck will bless and protect those two as all of Minnesota's playoff hopes rest on the shoulders of those two players and if even one of them gets hurt, it will set the Timberwolves back once again resulting in yet again another disappointing regular season finish. To ensure that something like last season never happens again, Saunders went about acquiring a suitable supporting cast that will most definitely act as an insurance policy if heaven forbid, the worst may happen. He started by adding a solid back court partner to Rubio signing veteran Kevin Martin who had come off a rather successful stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder as he came off the bench to post 14 points per game while shooting .426 from beyond the arc. At thirty years old, Kevin Martin can be considered as one of the top scoring shooting guards in the league as he has averaged nearly 18.0 points per game over his nine year career which included stints with the Thunder, the +Houston Rockets and +Sacramento Kings. He will most likely be paired with Rubio in the back court and will not only provide the perimeter scoring that the Wolves sorely lacked, but also provide that second scoring option to take the pressure off Kevin Love over the course of the season. Thankfully for the Wolves, Saunders got a capable scorer and creator of Martin's caliber at a rather fair price of just 6.5$ per year for four years which should be considered as a virtual steal by NBA standards. Along with Martin, Flip acquired a player who was originally was drafted by the Timberwolves who has a reputation of being a lock down perimeter defender along with providing a suitable offensive punch coming off the bench. When Corey Brewer originally played for the Wolves, he struggled greatly especially with his hot and failed to live up to his being selected seventh overall in the 2007 NBA Draft. Once he arrived in Denver, however, Brewer became a key player that came of the bench for the team helping the Nuggets reach the playoffs for two straight seasons thus convincing the Wolves to give the player that they had once given up on a second chance. Brewer will most likely either back up Kevin Martin off the bench or even challenge Chase Buddinger for the starting small forward spot and at 6'9" with a myraid of basketball skill, he will be dangerous whether or not he gets the starting nod. Also as the case with Kevin Martin, Saunders got Brewer at a very affordable price tag of 5$ million per year thus giving the Timberwolves one of the leagues deepest and most talented second units consiting of JJ Barea, Derrick Williams, and Dante Cunnigham to name a few. Last but certainly not the least, Saunders retained the player that carried the Wolves through the turbulent last season as he led the team in points, rebounds, blocked shots, and minutes played per game. Unlike his teammates in the starting five, Nikola Pekovic managed to stave off the injury bug longer playing 62 games and was rewarded for his effort with a five year 60$ million extension. With the return of Love in the lineup, Pekovic will certainly not be posting the 16 points and 9 rebounds per game as he did last season, but he will definitely give Minnesota's a sure fire second scoring option in the paint to keep opposing defenses on their toes. Altogether, the Minnesota Timberwolves come into this upcoming season with a new roster and a new attitude with one of the league's deepest and most talented team to go along with the potential All Star combination of Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio. They will certainly be one of the most intriguing teams to watch with their rather impressive roster to say the least and if the team remains moderately injury free over the duration of the regular season, they will certainly be a force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference. |
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Showing posts with label number 12. Show all posts
Showing posts with label number 12. Show all posts
Monday, October 7, 2013
SDH's 2013/2014 NBA Worst to First Previews and Predictions: 12. Minnesota Timberwolves
Friday, July 5, 2013
SDH Presents the 2013 End of Season NBA's Worst to First: 12. Los Angeles Clippers
|
Overall
Win/Loss Record (At Season’s End): 56-26,
first place Pacific Division
|
6
|
At
Season’s End:
12
|
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Team
Statistics and League Rank (At Season’s End)
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Individual
Statistical Leaders (At Season’s End)
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Taking a Look Back at the Season that Once Was . . .
|
SDH Player of the Year:
Chris Paul 
This is putting it bluntly, but Chris Paul has been the franchise's savior for the past two seasons and he Clippers would be nothing if it were not for this man. He has single handily turned a team that has been regarded as a laughing stock in professional sports into one of the NBA's most reputable teams. This season he has outdone himself as he has led his team to its first division title in franchise history along with home court advantage in the first round in the playoffs. Too bad his ambitions were put in check by an upstart Memphis Grizzlies team, but that unfortunate loss should be considered as a speed bump in the road to a bright future. As long as the Clips have Paul, the sky is the limit; however, if they do not manage to sign him long term, all their successes will be a distant memory.
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Analysis:
It was such a magical time in the 2013 NBA regular season to see a team that was so historically terrible as the Los Angeles Clippers arise to finish with not only the most ever wins in franchise history, but also their first time ever finishing first place in their division. So when the Clippers had been shockingly upset by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, it was met with a rather harsh sense of irony where despite such a history making season, fate would still cruelly hold the Clips back yet again. The Clips started the series winning the first two games at home Grizzlies, giving many the justification to wrote Memphis off; however, Memphis bounced back winning four straight thus cutting their season short once again. LA's first round collapse certainly deflated the impact of their history making season as fate would once again stand in the Clippers' way only allowing a team that has seen so much heartbreak suffer that stinging pain of defeat once again. Unfortunately it would not be the worst humiliation that the Clippers would have to suffer as it experience an even worse slight during the course of the regular season. Despite putting up their most earth shattering performance in franchise history, the Clippers still remained with the stigma as LA's "other team" taking the back seat once again to their hated nemesis, the Los Angeles Lakers, who had been struggling to say the least. Unlike the Clippers, even higher expectations were placed upon the Los Angeles Lakers who had picked up two of the off season's most prized gems in Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. Combined with Lakers star Kobe Bryant and All Star big man Pau Gasol, folks in LaLa Land had already chose to don the purple and gold once again as they prepared for another championship run. How shocked the denizens of LA were when their Laker team fell WAY short of expectations as they saw it scratching and clawing to survive in the West while on the flip side, the Clippers who had been under the Lakers' mighty shadow would outperform their one time tormentor and become the alpha males of the Staples Center. Sadly, instead of receiving the recogntion, love and admiration that they had so longed for, the Clips would yet again be forced to take the back seat to the Lakers as fans and the media concentrated more on the Lakers' failures rather than their own success. People were more drawn to the fact on how poorly the Lakers had been playing rather than the fact that the Clippers were playing their best ball ever in franchise history which certainly must have felt like a hard slap across the face. So imagine how the Clips felt when they not only were upstaged yet again by the Lakers despite having a far better season, but also that they would join them watching the rest the NBA playoffs at home. It was as if both the cruel hands of Fate and Destiny intervened to ensure that the Clippers not only advance in the playoffs, but also remain at the same level as the team that had tormented them for so many years. From riding so high as one of the league's most improved teams of the 2013 regular season, the Clippers crashed down back to Earth and returned to being the object of shame and ridicule once again. The Clippers' wounds probably sting even more knowing that had they managed to maintain their 2-0 league and pass the Memphis Grizzlies, they probably would have faced the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. After they had eliminated Memphis, they would have faced the same shorthanded Oklahoma City Thunder squad in the second round which the Grizzlies handily defeated and that would have been a far better series to watch than seeing the Spurs make short work of Memphis sweeping them in four games. Talk about being kicked while they were down: LA would have to forever live with the regret that they, in the words of cinema great Marlon Brando, ". . . could have been a contender, (they) could have been somebody." It is bad enough to be a terrible team that routinely missed the playoffs and found itself in the lottery year after year, but to play so well in the regular season just to finish so poorly can be considered far worse. At least when the Clippers were terrible, they had the draft to look forward and although they have botched it quite a few times over the years with poor selections, it was still a highlight of their season; however, now the bar has been set rather high and the Clipper have no other choice but to go "championship or bust" where good id no longer good enough. That's is why the team's front office chose not to extend head coach Vinny Del Negro's contract as once their season ended, despite him coaching the team to its best performance in its history. For those who considered the Clippers letting Del Negro take the fall as somewhat unjust, in the eyes of the Clippers to top brass it made perfect sense because they made no allusions to who truly was responsible from the team resurgence--and it certainly was not due to Del Negro's coaching. The true source of the Clipper's recent windfall of prosperity was a player that they traded for in the lockout shortened 2012 season and who has become an unrestricted free agent once the team was eliminated from the playoffs. Chris Paul has been the catalyst for the Clippers' renaissance and with numerous teams courting him for his services, the Clippers will need more than the fact that they can offer him the most money. They also need to convince him that his staying for the long haul will lead to a potential championship down the road and if it means firing a good coach in order to get a great coach to keep their star happy and in LA, then so be it. It is certainly refreshing to see this new winning attitude for a team that has spent much of its history settling for mediocre and not aspiring for anything greater. Once they manage to lock down Paul for the next five or six years, there will be no stopping the Clippers, a team that is on their way to rewriting their own history. |
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Thursday, April 25, 2013
SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for January and and February: 12. Golden State Warriors
|
Overall
Win/Loss Record (as of February 28th) : 33-25 (second place, Pacific Division)
|
8
|
This Month:
12
|
Team
Statistics and League Rank (as of February 28th)
Points Scored:
101.2 (7th)
Points Allowed:
101.6 (25th)
Team FG%: .456
(10th)
Opponent’s
FG%: .441 (8th)
Team FT%: .799
(2nd)
Team Three
Point FG%: .398 (1st)
Rebounds per
game: 44.8 (3rd)
Opponents
rebounds per game: 42.9 (23rd)
Turnovers per
game: 15.3 (26th)
Opponents
turnovers per game: 13.2 (29th)
|
Individual
Statistical Leaders (as of February 28th)
Scoring (ppg):
Stephen Curry (22.0)
Rebounds per
game: David Lee (11.2)
Minutes per
game: Stephen Curry (38.0)
Assists per
game: Stephen Curry (6.5)
Field Goal
Percentage: Carl Landry (.531)
Free Throw
Percentage: Stephen Curry (.910)
Three Point FG
Percentage: Stephen Curry (.455)
Steals per
game: Stephen Curry (1.7)
Blocked Shots
per game: Andrew Bogut (1.6)
|
|
Worst Player
of the Month: Andrew Bogut
 To think this guy was the number one overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft still boggles the mind. Andrew Bogut must be considered as one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history after wasting his entire career in Milwaukee before being traded to the Warriors last season. In the past two months, the man has played a grand total of seven games missing most, if not all of the regular season due to injury. What's worse is that the Warriors are basically stuck with this loser for another year at nearly 14$ million making him all but untradable. At least his absense has not his team as the Warriors are currently holding onto second place in the Pacific Division trailing the LA Clippers which makes his presence, or lack thereof, on the team more bearable. |
First Player
of the Month: David Lee
 Forget about that overhyped and overrated piece of garbage who currently sits on the end of the Minnesota Timberwolves bench. David Lee should be truly be more deserving of all the praise that so called superstar Kevin Love has received as unlike his so called peer, actually plays like a true power forward. Unlike Kevin Love who spends his time mostly around the three point arc doing a very poor Larry Bird impression, David Lee actually plays the way a power forward should, with his back to the basket and getting his points down low in the paint. He is rarely flashy and is often overshadowed by his higher profile teammate, Stephen Curry, but David Lee is the true backbone of this resurgent Warriors team. Gladly NBA coaches recognized that as well as they selected Lee over Curry to represent the Warriors in the 2013 NBA All Star Game. |
|
Analysis
The Golden State Warriors have certainly been one the pleasant surprises in the 2013 NBA Season going from perennial Western Conference cellar dweller to becoming a playoff contender. Many were shocked when the Warriors started the season with a startling 9-6; however, from the Warrior's previous and rather pitiful history, most believed that it certainly would not last. So imagine the shock and amazement of fans from the Bay Area and beyond when the Warriors would not only continue to win, but also arose to become one of the best teams in the league finishing 2012 with 21-10 record. Some may say that it was a given that Warriors would play so well--after all they did come into season sporting one of the deepest and most talented young rosters in the NBA; however, this is the Golden State Warriors we are talking about. They could have 12 All stars on their roster and still bomb a season simply because they have been virtually cursed for most if not all their entire history.
Remember all the failed draft picks, all the unwise free agent signings to go along with all the rotten luck that can ever befall a franchise. The Warriors were in the same boat as their fellow perennial loser neighbor, the LA Clippers as both teams simply seemed forever destined to remain wallowing at the bottom of the season standing. Now all of that has changed as the entire Pacific Division has been turned on its head as two of the divisions are now sitting up atop the conference while the the two team that have dominated the division for so many years, namely the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns find them selves scrounging on the bottom. To quote an old biblical phrase, It seems as if that at least in the NBA, the meek have finally inherited the Earth, as two of the teams that were once considered laughing stocks have now risen to center stage to the relief and amusement of their fans. So much so, that one can go as far to say the Warriors rise from the dank depths is probably one of the most monumental events not in the NBA, but all of professional sports as well. It has been so long since Golden State Warriors fans had something to cheer about after having to endure one losing season after another. Now they find themselves in a strange and unfamiliar place with the team finally on the opposite end of the loss column and it is almost seems that sooner or later they would soon wake up and this would all be a cruel dream. Unfortunately for Warriors fans, it looked as if the good times were coming to an end as their home stead would start the new year stumbling out of the games after a rather impressive performance to finish 2012. Golden State started January losing five of its first seven games, but managed to right the ship finishing the month winning six of their last eight. Sadly the momentum of that 6-2 run did not last as they would have a treacherous February losing six of their first seven games and finishing the month 4-8. What was worse about February was not how many games the Warriors lost, but its was the manner in which they lost as the Warriors simply did not lose to their opponents, they simply got clobbered. They lost by an average margin of 15.1 point per games getting thoroughly blown out losing half by 15 or more points. Golden State lost their first game in February against the Rockets at Houston by an unfathomable 31 allowing the Rockets to outscore them 140 to 109 (2/5/2013). They then followed that lackluster performance by an equally horrendous effort at Oklahoma City where they would get simply abused by the Thunder by 21 (2/6/2013). After those two humiliating loses, the Warriors would put up a solid effort yet lose a close one to the Memphis Grizzlies by just six points (2/8/2013); however, Golden State would then lose horrendously to the tune of 25 points at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks (2/9/2013). Such devastating loses certainly gave fans an about face watching their team that looked so good throughout the season get beaten so badly; however, they still should not lose hope. Although the Warriors have gone through a rather rough patch for the past couple of months, they still have not lost much ground in the Western Conference standings. They still rest upon second place in the Pacific Division with a healthy lead over the third place Los Angeles Lakers and still remain rather respectable with a record of eight games over .500. Unfortunately, with a little over a month in the regular season left, the Warriors will have really dig deep to get themselves out of the hole they have dug themselves before it is too late. With the Lakers starting to find their stride late in the season, Golden State may soon no longer have that comfortable lead that they have enjoyed throughout the season and if they continue losing at this pace, they may find themselves up the creek without a paddle falling out of playoff contention thus shattering the hope and dreams of all of their home fans. For the sake of their fans, hopefully the Warriors can pull themselves of this nosedive and salvage what's left of their season, because their fans deserve so much more than what they have been getting for so many years. |
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Monday, February 11, 2013
SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for December: 12. Houston Rockets
|
Overall
Win/Loss Record (as of December 31st): 17-14, third place Southwest Division
|
18
|
This Month:
12
|
Team
Statistics and League Rank (as of December 31st):
|
Individual
Statistical Leaders (as of December 31st):
|
|
Worst Player
of the Month: Royce White
 Once considered a draft day steal, Royce White has went from a potential building block for a franchise to a team pariah and has also managed to insult and diminish those who suffer mental illness. He has allowed his anxiety problem to cause friction and disharmony in the Rockets forcing the team to suspend him because of his rather public antics. White has become less of an advocate for those who suffer from mental illness and more of a mockery as his behavior not only has painted him, but all who suffer and struggle with mental illness day in and day out in a rather non-flattering light. Much of the blame has to go to the Rockets, however, for drafting a player that had so many red flags to begin with and allowing for the situation to deteriorate to the point it has. Hopefully, White can get his head straight for his own sake because so far he has his personal demons to alienate and isolate him instead of doing the right thing and face them head on as those with problems such as his continue to do each and every day. |
First Player
of the Month: Omer Asik
 Okay, granted, he is no Hakeem Olajuwon nor is he any where near being Yao Ming, and he is not even close to resembling Ralph Sampson when he was at the peak of his career; however, Omer Asik has put on a stellar performance thus in his first season as the Rockets' starting center silencing any doubters who criticized the Rockets for signing him to a three year deal worth an estimated 30$ million. From spending the bulk of career as a backup for the Chicago Bulls, Asik has shown that he has the goods to be an elite center in the NBA averaging a double double in points and rebounds along with a defensive stalwart in the paint leading the team in blocked shots per game. His most surprising asset as been his ability on the offensive end which many had criticized was far from adequate for an NBA started as he not averages above 10 points per game, but also leads the team in field goal percentage as well. Asik has certainly made opponents think twice about leaving him alone in the paint while focusing their energies defending perimeter threats such as James Harden, Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons. It is still too early to determine Asik's cieling as he continues his phenomenal play, but hopefully he can provide even more surprises in the future. |
|
Analysis:
It looked as if the Rockets would be heading straight down after following up a 7-8 November by starting December losing three of their first five games. In those first five games, the Rockets impressed many showing their ability to put up points on the board as they averaged 111.6 points per game; however at the same time, they many many avert their eyes to them as they allowed their opponents to score 117 against them. Nonetheless, in spite of their rather shamefully porous defense, Houston managed to finish the month rather strong entering 2013 winning eight of their next eleven games in rather impressive fashion beating their opponents by a average margin of 15.4 points. Through the month of December, no team was able to hold Houston back on the defensive end as the Rockets were unstoppable scoring at will with games of 100 or more points in all but four in December. What is even more impressive was not only the way the Rockets manhandled their opponents, but also who they humiliated and where they did it.
This team who boasts one of the youngest teams in the league managed to easily dismantle a seasoned veteran and one of the Eastern Conference's best, New York Knicks, right on their home floor in Madison Square Garden (12/17/2012). The Rockets also waltzed into the renown fortress in the Windy City, otherwise known as the United Center, and simply crushed one of the league's best defensive teams, the Chicago Bulls scoring an unfathomable 120 points on them (12/25/2012). Houston also held their ground on their home floor simply swatting away such foreign invaders as the Boston Celtics (12/14/2012), Philadelphia 76ers (12/19/2012), Memphis Grizzlies (12/22/2012) and Atlanta Hawks (12/31/2012)--all by an average margin of 19.5 points. Houston could have even gotten 10 out of eleven if they had managed to hold on to beat the Toronto Raptors on the road (12/16/2012) and another road game against the San Antonio Spurs where both teams simply lit up the score board as they accumulated a total of 238 points altogether (12/28/2012). After that terrible 2-3 start where they simply laid down defensively, the Rockets woke up and tightened their defense allowing just 98.0 points per game--a nine point drop from the 117 that they allowed at the start of December. To the untrained eye, allowing 98.0 points per game from an opponent does still seem pretty high by NBA standards; however, it is only that high because of a couple of lopsided contests where the Rockets allowed the Spurs to score 122 points and a blow out loss at home at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder (12/29/2012). Otherwise, the Rockets managed to hold the rest of their opponents to just 95.9 points per contest--a far more respectable number--with them only being able to score 95.3 in that eight win stretch that finished 2012. They also kept their opponents to .439 shooting in those eight games as well which by casual observation, looks as if this will continue to be a positive trend for the future as the season progresses. And if that is the case and they manage to continue winning at the same pace, expect the Rockets to surprise the league and ring in their first playoff appearance since 2009 with a roster that many believed would be headed back to the lottery once again. Other than a couple well known names and a questionable free agent, the rest of the team's roster remains relatively unknown, inexperienced and relatively untested to say the least. Primarily, the team's fortunes have rested solely on the shoulders of James Harden, who last season came off the bench of the NBA Finalist Oklahoma City Thunder and spent most of his young career remained in shadows of the team's two superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Although he is currently having an All Star caliber season, no one can really call him a household name just yet as he has not really had the media exposure since the Rockets are currently considered by most standards as a fringe team. The player that actually came in with the most fanfare was actually Jeremy Lin, whose underdog story has been immortalized thanks to his amazing performance which can be classified as one of the greatest moments in sports history. Unfortunately, Lin has yet to live up to all the hype that was generated last season as his performance has been far from stellar to say the least compared from last season. Although his numbers did improve from the previous month, he has yet to live up to the high expectations put upon him or played well enough to justify the Rockets giving him a contract that will pay him up to 15$ million in its final year. Other than those two, the rest of the team consists of virtual unknowns--players who were selected either rather low in the draft or not at all and have not really performed well enough to garner any real attention. The majority of the players seem to overlap one another as none of them really have a defined position making it even harder to differentiate any one of them at any given time. Seven of the team's players are forwards that fall in the "tweener" category who have all the skills and abilities that allows them to play in the front court decent enough; however, their skills and abilities are at best average and far from exceptional enough to set themselves apart from the rest of the league. With such a team, it is hard to see how the Houston Rockets can separate themselves from the pack in a rather stacked and highly competitive Western Conference and will most likely end the season yet again just a game or two shy from making the playoff and headed to the lottery for a low draft pick to look forward to. Fortunately for the Rockets, they have youth on their side as all but four of their players are under 25 years of age and have enough intriguing pieces to perhaps entice a possible trade partner to fork over a game changing player that will finally take this team over the top once and fall. So as the season progresses, it will be important to keep an eye on the Rockets as they might make a move, whether they be on or off the court, that will possibly change the face of not only the future of the season, but the very fabric of the NBA . . . |
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Thursday, January 3, 2013
SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for November: 12. Utah Jazz
|
Overall
Win/Loss Record (as of November 30th): 9-8, second
place Northwest Division
|
17
|
This Month:
12
|
Team
Statistics and League Rank (as of November 30th)
|
Individual
Statistical Leaders (as of November 30th)
|
|
Worst Player
of the Month: Alec Burks
Once
considered the Jazz’s shooting guard of the future, Alec Burks have now been
relegated to the bench after following up a successful rookie season to
complete sham of a sophomore season.
Burks went from averaging 7.2 points per game last season to just 1.7
and has thus far shot a rather meager .176 from the field, compared to the
.423 that he shot last season. He
certainly must a disappointment to Jazz fans who expected him to possibly become
the starting shooting guard and give the Jazz the offensive punch from the
perimeter that the team severely lacked last season. Now he sits at the end of the Jazz’s bench
buried under the roster with little or no chance of coming back up. In the span of a couple of months Alec
Burks went from exciting rookie with a promising future in the NBA to
becoming another tragic failure whose future has been cut short.
|
First Player
of the Month: Earl Watson
Pretty strange
pick considering that he is a backup point guard and has only played just
four games this month, but they were a rather efficient four games, however.
In just 14 minutes per game Earl Watson shot .556 from the field and dished
out an average of four assists per game.
It is also important to note that the Jazz won three of the four games
he had played which included an eight assist performance against the New
Orleans Hornets on the road. Unfortunately with his age, he is heading
towards the twilight of his career and this will probably be the peak of his
production for the entire season; however, at least for this short time, he
can hold the honor of being the hero for this short time before slipping away
back into obscurity.
|
|
Analysis:
Coming into the season, not very much was expected from the Utah Jazz--sure they reached the playoffs last season, but that was more of a fluke that anything else. Now the Jazz would be entering the season with not one, but two teams to compete for second and third place giving Utah Jazz fans very little optimism for their home-team's chances to return to the playoffs. They would have to face the same Denver Nuggets who narrowly swiped second place in the division; however this time they returned with one of the league's premier defenders in Andre Igoudala. Utah would also have to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves, who were not only returning with their dynamic duo of Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love, but also with a newly revamped roster which included former Jazz player and defensive stalwart Andrei Kirilenko, and former NBA All Star Brandon Roy to name a few. With the odds stacked up against them, the prospects of the Jazz seemed rather bleak at best in their much stronger Northwest Division.
Fortunately for the Jazz, the team had started the season with plenty of good fortune as a result of their competitors misfortunes. The Denver Nuggets started the season stumbling out of the gate losing their first three games and finished the month of November with a woeful 8-9 record. The Timberwolves suffered even worse misfortune as they lost Kevin Love to injury in the preseason along with re-retiring of Brandon Roy, and a host of injuries that would decimate whatever depth their roster had. Minnesota, due to their severely depleted roster, would also struggle finishing the the month of November losing six of their last eight games right after starting the season 5-2. It was due to the misfortunes of its two biggest rivals that gave the Utah Jazz enough momentum to silently slip into the Northwest Division's number two spot right behind their omnipotent division leading Oklahoma City Thunder. Similar to what happened last season, Utah's success has primary been the result of not so much of their good play, but rather the poor play of other. Their earning the final spot in the Western Conference Playoffs last season had to do more with the collapses of their chief rivals, who at the time were the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets, collapsed allowing them to simply slip into the post season. The same thing has happened again as the Jazz have managed to slip under the radar yet again to nab second place in the Northwest division swerving past the rubble left behind from a underwhelming Denver Nuggets team and a decimated Minnesota Timberwolves. As it stood on November's end, all three teams--the Jazz, Wolves and Nuggets--were locked up in a three way battle for second place in the Northwest Division with only a game and a half separating the three teams. Right now, nothing much really separates four of the five teams in the Northwest as the Portland Trailblazers have also kept with an earshot from the Jazz, Nuggets, and Wolves making second place up for grabs as the season progresses. As a team, the Jazz's start has not been spectacular as they came into the season losing four of their first six games; however, Utah bounced back and followed up their slow start by finishing the month of November winning seven of their next eleven games. Although that may seem impressive, upon closer inspection, one would see that the Jazz's November schedule was rather light and all of their wins came from sub .500 clubs. Three of those wins went down to the wire against teams that the Jazz had no business losing to such as the overtime game in which the Jazz allowed the Toronto Raptors, one of the league's worst offensive teams, to score 133 points (11/12/2012). They only managed to beat the league's worst team, the Washington Wizards, by just seven points as they were only able to score just 83 points (11/17/2012) and just scrapped by perennial Western Conference bottom feeder, the Sacramento Kings, by just 2 points (11/23/2012) only to lose to them the following day (11/24/2012). This certainly does not resemble the Utah Jazz of old that averaged 50 win seasons and were always among the upper echelon of their Conference and the league. In fact, one can go as far to say that the Jazz are on the verge of collapse; however, unlike most teams that simply just sink like stones in the water, the Jazz have managed to keep themselves afloat thanks the teams sinking around them. Even if Utah does manage the make the post season again, it will not be because of the Jazz's performance, but more so of the collapses of the teams around them. As a result, the Jazz will remain in a sort of limbo where they will neither be bad enough to be a lottery team, yet not good enough to go past the first round of the playoffs. And although it may suit coach Tyrone Corbin just fine as his team is performing well enough for him to keep his job, it does not suit Utah Jazz fans who have been accustomed to their team who always set a standard for excellence. Until the front office decides to take the necessary action to break the team up and start from scratch, the Utah Jazz will just continue going nowhere and give their fans the run around. |
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