Jerry Sloan Resigns: Will Utah Jazz Make Playoffs Without Head Coach?
It seems that 23-years is enough for the Hall of Fame coach of the Utah Jazz; Jerry Sloan is resigning after signing a one-year contract extension only a few days ago.
The Utah Jazz are 31-23 overall and the sixth seed in the Western Conference right now.
They have stumbled as of late and are only 9-12 since Jan. 1.
According to reports there was an altercation between Sloan and star point guard, Deron Williams, at halftime of their loss to the Bulls.
This was also not the first time these two have not gotten along and reports cite that the relationship has been falling apart for some time now.
Williams has always been known as a fiery leader with a strong will to win games and obviously some of the things done by Sloan and/or Williams has not gone over well with the other.
Franchises are typically known to side by their star player, especially when losing, and I believe Sloan was sensing this as well.
The question now remains; will the Utah Jazz make the postseason without Jerry Sloan?
Yes: Deron Williams Is Too Good
1 of 5
The speculative reason why Sloan is packing it in is because of the rift with Williams.
The star point guard is far and away the Jazz's best player and averages 21.6 points per game, 9.6 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.16 steals per game in nearly 38 minutes.
He elevates everyone around him and can carry a team by himself at times.
In addition to stellar regular season play he has excelled in the postseason.
He has enough experience to take this team as far as they can go and is determined, driven and talented enough to do so.
No: The Hole At Shooting Guard Is Too Much
2 of 5
While Williams' play at the point is tremendous, as always, starting shooting guard Raja Bell is a bit of an underwhelming performer.
Bell, known for his three point shooting and defense, has given small offensive production with only 8.5 points in 30.4 minutes per night along with 2.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.82 steals.
His three point percentage is down from 40 percent to 36 percent and he is averaging two points less per game.
The Jazz are in the middle of the road in scoring at 99.6 points per game and give up the same amount of points defensively per night.
Bell is the sixth highest scoring player on the team while C.J. Miles, who has started only one game this season, scores 12.6 points per game in only 23 minutes per night.
Now Bell is not expected to light up the scoring card every night but the Jazz are not a good enough team right now to not have a legitimate shooting guard that can actually shoot.
Yes: They Do Not Have a Lot Of Teams Chasing Them
3 of 5
Utah is one game out of the five seed right now and hold a half game lead on Denver, a two game lead on Portland and a three game lead on Memphis.
The Nuggets' playoff run will hinge on the Carmelo Anthony trade saga and if he leaves they will take a noticeable hit in production across the board.
Portland will be there, and they can get hot at almost any minute, but they are not the type of team that can chase down the top teams in the West consistently and will not do so with the players on their roster.
As for Memphis, they are a bit of a wild card that is not a better team than the Jazz with or without Jerry Sloan.
The teams directly behind that—Phoenix, Houston and Golden State—all have losing records at the moment.
Phoenix may or may not deal Steve Nash but with him on the roster he could carry a team to the postseason and be dangerous; they are not the same team we are used to seeing though.
Houston is a completely disappointing team that may not get it together and Golden State has some weapons but may not push anything towards the postseason.
No: They Will Continue To Slide
4 of 5
This could be a kill shot to the Jazz at this stage in the game.
We're closing in on the NBA All-Star game and following that weekend, a team's season can be broken quickly.
Sloan has been on the Jazz sideline for a long, long time and even with a veteran point guard that had an issue with the previous coach at the helm, this could hurt Utah down the stretch.
Veteran coaching experience heading down the stretch and into the postseason could prove crucial for this team.
The month of March will feature trips to New York, Chicago, Memphis and Oklahoma City as well as home games against Denver, New Orleans and Dallas.
The final seven games of the season will be rough with home games against the Lakers, Blazers and Nuggets and road games against the Kings, Lakers, Spurs and Hornets; five of which are likely to be Western Conference playoff teams.
Deron Williams is good but his team will have to play much better basketball if they want to play ball with the best of the West.
Conclusion: Yes, But They Will Not Win
5 of 5
The Jazz are a good team this season, but good will not cut it in the postseason.
Because of the teams chasing them and Williams' talents, they will make the postseason but likely stay where they are in seeding or even drop a spot or two.
They do not rebound the ball well at all and Jefferson's lack of postseason experience will be huge against other postseason bigs.
If they do no better than the sixth seed, they will likely draw the Lakers, Mavericks or Spurs and they are a combined 1-5 against those three teams this season.
The other possible teams ahead of them right now would be Oklahoma City and New Orleans who they are a combined 2-3 against so far this season.
With or without Jerry Sloan the postseason was going to be a difficult road for the Jazz.
Now they must face it without him for sure and the team they have on the court will not stand up to the opponents they face in the postseason no matter how good D-Will plays.
