Deron Williams and Company: The Utah Jazz Are For Real, Folks
When the 2010-2011 NBA Season began, the Utah Jazz seemed to be forgotten about as contenders in the league.
Most people talked about the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs as the likely top teams in the league.
After Utah lost its first two games against the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns, more people wrote off the Jazz. That was just an indication that the team would not be as good this year with the essential swap of Al Jefferson for Carlos Boozer.
Since those first two losses, the team has a 14-3 record, second only to the Spurs during that span.
Even more impressive is the fact that Utah has come back from double digit deficits six times so far in this young season:
Los Angeles Clippers – 18 points
Miami Heat – 22 points
Orlando Magic – 18 points
Atlanta Hawks – 11 points
Charlotte Bobcats – 16 points
Los Angeles Lakers – 19 points
Many of these games have been on the road, which is even more remarkable. The lesson from these victories is that no one can count the Jazz out of any game until the final horn blows.
There are several reasons why Utah is experiencing such success this year.
Good Offense, Better Defense
Currently the Jazz sport the fourth best point differential in the NBA at 4.2.
Led by leading scorers Deron Williams, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, the team has been potent on offense shooting .471 from the field (sixth-best in the NBA) and .803 from the charity stripe (third-best in the league).
The team also ranks second in dishing out assists at 24.47 per game, which is an indication that the ball movement among the Jazz players has been outstanding.
While these numbers are impressive, the team’s defensive performance has keyed its victories.
For instance, the Jazz lead the league in opponent’s field goal percentage at .423 and second in opponent’s three-point shooting percentage at .303.
If one were to re-watch all of the times Utah has come back from major deficits this year, one would quickly realize that the team’s defense clamped down so tightly that the opposing players seemed to go ice cold from the field.
If this happened once or twice, then it might be a coincidence. However, these cold shooting streaks keep occurring for opponents, and the Jazz defense must be given credit for this.
Jerry Sloan
The team’s defensive tenacity must be given credit to coach Jerry Sloan. A standout defensive player with the Chicago Bulls, Sloan has gone on to considerable success in the NBA as an underrated sideline leader.
He has astonishingly never won Coach of the Year honors. Yet, Jerry Sloan’s teams have always excelled defensively and have led to a stellar career record of 1,204 wins, good enough for fourth all-time among NBA coaches.
He has the longest tenure of any coach in North American professional sports and is the only NBA coach to ever amass greater than 1,000 wins with the same franchise.
In addition to teaching sound defensive fundamentals, Sloan is no slouch on offense. As he proved previously with NBA legend John Stockton and currently with Deron Williams, Sloan knows how to use his point guards to setup easy plays and open looks for teammates.
While his intensity seems so high during games that it seems as if he might have a heart attack, there is no denying that Jerry Sloan is one of the best teachers in the game of basketball.
Deron Williams
It’s possible that Chris Paul may be the best all-around point guard in the league, but Deron Williams is the most dominant point guard in the NBA.
A legitimate MVP candidate, Williams has had an impressive season averaging 21.9 PPG and 9.9 APG while shooting a respectable 46 percent from the field. He has a rare combination of size and speed among point guards.
With the current hand-check rules in the NBA, trying to slow him down is a daunting task for any team.
It seems that after being snubbed from past All-Star teams, Williams has played with a chip on his shoulder. That’s good news for Jazz fans and bad news for the rest of the league.
Trio of Bigs
With the emergence of Paul Millsap and the addition of Al Jefferson, the Utah Jazz now have one of the best three-man rotations at the power forward and center positions.
Along with Mehmet Okur, these three players rival the Lakers’ trio of Paul Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum for the best frontcourt in the league.
The frightening part is that Okur has been out with an injury this season. When he returns, he will provide his team with a unique dimension as he can spread out opposing defenses with his outside shot.
Meanwhile, Jefferson and Millsap have provided the Jazz with easy scoring opportunities. Few players have been more effective scoring this season than Millsap, who has made 57 percent of his shot attempts.
While other teammates have played their roles well this season, such as C.J. Miles, Raja Bell and Andrei Kirilenko, this trio gives Utah an advantage up front that few other teams can match.
One area that is of concern for the team, however, is rebounding. Currently opponents have out-rebounded the Jazz by a margin of 3.05 per game. Jefferson, Millsap and Okur provide Utah with some tall and long players. If they can take advantage of their size and secure a greater share of each game’s rebounds, then Utah will be even more difficult to stop.
Conclusion
In short, if you have overlooked the Utah Jazz so far this season, look no further. Amidst a tough and competitive Northwest Division, you are most likely seeing the division champions.
Even if that does not become a reality this season, Utah fans definitely have many reasons to be proud of their team.
