Utah can create points just by executing their sets, but when Williams and Boozer are stymied, do the Jazz have any other player who can create a shot for himself with the shot clock running down?
Worse, with the departure of Derek Fisher, the Jazz lose not only a steady backup point guard, but a clutch shooter who always stepped his game up when it mattered.
Can Morris Almond (almost certainly not) or Ronnie Brewer (possibly) accelerate his growth enough to be the third option the Jazz need?
If not, they’ll have trouble against teams that don’t lose their cool against Utah's patient approach.
2) Denver Nuggets
Denver has a lot of explosive pieces that make them a dangerous team in the Western Conference.
Unfortunately, the team is still far too undisciplined to pose any real threat of winning a championship.
First, the positives.
Over the past year, Carmelo Anthony has matured into an unstoppable force, especially since he's now able to beat double teams by patiently reading the defense and making appropriate out passes.
Not coincidentally, Anthony’s growth has been helped in large part by the acquisition of Allen Iverson. Having Iverson on the other side of the court keeps defenses from ganging up on ‘Melo, and Iverson gives the Nuggets the second scorer they’ve needed so desperately the last few years.
If he ever stays healthy, Nene will become one of the better post scorers in the league.
Marcus Camby remains one of the premier weakside shot blockers in the NBA, and his shot-blocking and rebounding help ignite a potent Denver fast break.
But while there are plenty of positives, the Nuggets have too many flaws to survive the rigors of the postseason.
For starters, any team with Allen Iverson as a starting point guard is doomed to simplicity. Because of Iverson’s penchant for constantly overhandling and only passing when he sniffs assists, he's limited to running rudimentary offensive sets.
As often as Iverson fires away from long range, he must think he’s an exceptional jump shooter—but he isn’t. And because Iverson and Carmelo aren’t used to deferring to anybody, neither of them really knows how to play without the ball.
In fact, despite their magnificent point-making talents, rarely will Iverson and Anthony run any plays in tandem with each other. Instead, they’re more likely to be on opposite sides of the court, with little in-game interaction.
They just aren’t synchronous talents.
Also, there's the issue of defense. J.R Smith, Iverson, and Carmelo form the worst perimeter defensive lineup in the league, with Chucky Atkins and Linas Kleiza not much better.
Yakhouba Diawara is the only respectable defensive wing on the roster, but his offensive game is so limited that he’s a liability on the other end of the floor.
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