Exactly. Like I've said before, I love Novak, but if he's not going to be shooting, then he shouldn't be in there at all. Plain and simple. He should be taking more shots. Also, you're not going to win many games when you're shooting percentage is in the 30s.
The reason we lost this game besides the obvious pulling of Mutumbo when we had that great momentum going was: 1. Brooks, BJax, and Scola had very poor shooting nights. 2. We got outrebounded 3. The Jazz took away our first option (T-Mac) We need our PG's to run the offense and pass the ball. We need our guys to finish. We need our bigs Deke, Scola, Landry to be on the court. We need to give Shane Battier more shots. Above all we need to make our shots.
I think the key moment was when Scola had the offensive rebound and Deke cleared out of an easy Scola layup and Scola went for the reverse on the other side for a Utah block, steal, and layup to tie the score. Give me a high jumping athletic intelligent power forward all day. Carl Landry should start with Deke and bring in Scola off the bench to replace Deke.
Adelman's rotation was horrible at times...i preferred when JVG would tighten up our rotation in the playoffs (to an 8-man rotation) as opposed to experiment with various combinations...we had 11 players get minutes at significant junctures in the game...at one point in the 2nd quarter we had a horrendous lineup in the game (brooks, harris, hayes, head, battier)...not to mention the start of the 4th quarter when we went down 12...
This unfortunately doesnt work on two accounts 1. JVG had a healthy roster with clear cut rotation players and clear cut players that should never set foot on the NBA floor (bar bonzi) 2. We lost that series too
I thought the Jazz did a pretty good job covering Novak. They definitely weren't leaving wide open. The other thing was that they did a good job pressuring the Rocket with the ball, making it harder to pass out to Novak or other shooters. The one shot at the three-point line Novak had during the game, he was open but the pass was slightly off target. He had to corrall the ball in, set his feet again and then shoot. It messed up his shooting rhythm and he missed. They need to find ways for Novak to get open, but in general, I think they need to figure out how to create breathing room for their ball handlers so that they can make good passes.
