Okay, we've seen nearly every matchup conceivable run through this board in the last couple of weeks, so I'm suprised no one has pointed this out yet. I mean, seriously, who is our arch-nemisis from the days of glory? Who do we all loathe and despise with a passion un-feigned? Why not go with the obvious team comparison that will really make us all happy? Think about it. Our current lineup features Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and Mo Taylor - all young, talented, and rising stars at the very positions which Utah fields it's old, talented, and aging stars. (I have taken the liberty of promoting Hornacek-replacement Starks to psuedo-star for the purpose of this matchup) Here's the matchup: Francis/Stockton: You gotta believe that Francis will give the Jazz trouble this year. I mean, how long can they keep cheating and getting away with it? The NBA loves Stevie, so I'm betting they're going to stop giving Old Man Stock his breaks. EDGE: Slightly Rockets Anderson & Mobley/Starks: C'mon... Anderson is a former Jazz player, so he'll be out to get them. And Cuttino won't be stopped by anyone they have with his speed. Starks... need I say more? (aside: Early word is that DeShawn Stevenson looks good, but he's a late first round rookie, so a non-factor in my eye) EDGE: Rockets Wizard/Russell: Streaky shooter, poor defense in Walt. Streaky scorer, decent defense in Russell. Tough call. EDGE: Even Mo/Malone: Should be fun to watch, but no matter what Mo says about not being soft, he's going to get clobbered by Malone in the post. That is unless they start calling the fouls that actually get committed, as opposed to the ones that Karl draws with his Broadway auditions. EDGE: Jazz Polynice & Ostertag/Olajuwon & Cato: This should be fun to watch. The veterans are in the twilight of their careers, not much gas left in the tank. The younger guys are underacheiving journeymen, who foul out a lot in their zeal to get blocks. Still, I'd rather have Hakeem over Polynice, and Cato over Ostertag. EDGE: Rockets Bench: Quincy Lewis? Jacque Vaughn? David Benoit? Scott Padgett? Hello future of the Jazz. I don't know how this can not make ANYONE's day unless you're actually a Jazz fan. The only guys worth their salary in my opinion are DeShawn Stevenson and Donyell Marshall. We counter with Mobley, Langhi, Cato, Thomas, Moochie, and Collier. Again, this is a case of youth/talent vs. age and/or lack of talent. EDGE: Rockets Coaching: Rudy T is fantastic. But like him or not, Jerry Sloan is no slouch himself. He's got the longest stint with any current NBA franchise. EDGE: Even Experience: HEAVILY in the Jazz's favor. Result? There's no reason why we shouldn't be able to beat the Jazz THIS YEAR. All they really have on us is experience and Malone. Which is what makes my day. Because they will never be any better than they are today for at least 10 years. Mark my words. Of any team in the NBA, I can't think of ONE that has done a worse job of setting themselves up for the future. The day Stockton and Malone retire, (and it will be the same day) it will mark the end of the Jazz reign of terror for YEARS to come. How can that not make your day? ------------------ "There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and STATISTICS..." - Mark Twain - [This message has been edited by DarkHorse (edited October 09, 2000).]
Wouldn't it be funny to try to watch Stockton play w/o Kung Fu Karl. I would probably have to get NBA League Pass or something because it would be the most hilarious show on TV. It would be like when a quarterback drops back to pass and one of his receivers is in double coverage, the other falls down and he is facing a seven man rush. Too sweet. ------------------ David Stern calls me now and says, 'I apologize for all the things I said to you in the past. Dennis is a lot worse than you are.' -- Charles Barkley
As much as I hate those cheatin' cheap shot artists, the Jazz sure know how to run the half court offense better than anyone. The Rockets will have to play excellent TEAM defense to beat these guys. Also, the Rockets have to outlet the ball quickly and run when possible. You know that this year the Jazz will do everything possible to slow the game down, and not let the Rockets run. Man, I hate the Jazz. ------------------ What a slam dunk!!
Calling Walt equal to Russell is a joke. Russell tends to choke in the clutch, but otherwise is a very, very good all-around player. Walt is not in his league. Otherwise the individual match-ups are on target. The problem is the Jazz always play better than the sum of their parts, and Malone is still a dominant force we have no answer for. But by next year, surely by 2 years, the Jazz will be left in the dust. [This message has been edited by Desert Scar (edited October 09, 2000).]
I disagree on this one point. I think Malone will last 2-3 years longer than Stockton. ------------------ Save our children from the TAAS test: TAAS test report card TAAS test fact sheet
It's just good to see Steve continue to rivalry with the Jazz. I was worried it would die out when Dream retired and all the players who developed the rivalry during the 90's were gone. I guess Steve managed to catch an elbow or two. Hopefully, the Jazz will find new "dirty" players to continue the tradition beyond Malone and Stockton. Hopefully, Dream will try to see that "good overcomes evil" in this, his final season. Let's get it on! ------------------ "I'd like to be going down Fourth Avenue in a parade with all the graffiti coming down on our heads." -- Patrick Ewing, showing off that Georgetown edumacation.
Thank you Dark Horse!! The reasons you stated are exactly why I believe this could be the year the Jazz fall from grace. Don't be suprised if its Houston, Utah, Dallas and Sacramento battling it out for the last 2-3 playoff spots. I just don't see Utah being any better than a 7(maybe 6) seed. ------------------ Too often, we lose sight of life's simple pleasures. Remember, when someone annoys you it takes 42 muscles in your face to frown, but it only takes 4 muscles to extend your arm and pimp-slap the mother****** upside the head!
Stockton has said publicly that he wants to play another 2-3 years himself. Let's hope the "pasty gangsta" and Karla hang it up before that. I doubt they will, but let's we can always hope. ------------------ Too often, we lose sight of life's simple pleasures. Remember, when someone annoys you it takes 42 muscles in your face to frown, but it only takes 4 muscles to extend your arm and pimp-slap the mother****** upside the head!
Well being as I LIVE in Utah, I (unfortunately) get to see the Jazz play more than I'd like. And frankly, I'm just not impressed with Russell's game. I mean, he doesn't suck, but he's not the guy I'd go after on my fantasy team. His jumpshot isn't great, but he finds ways to score anyway, which is why I designated him a scorer instead of a shooter. He does play pretty good defense though. In fact, my initial inclination was to give this edge to the Jazz, but as I thought about it, I think Walt has bigger games when he's ON than Russell does, thus negating to a point Russells better defense. Anyway, that was my reasoning. And I agree that the Jazz are perhaps the #1 team in the league when it comes to team synergy, where their performance is greater than the sum of all their parts. A lot of that is just plain experience, which you will note I stated was heavily in Utah's favor. However, some of that experience and chemistry will be lost with the departure of Hornacek, and with the addition to Starks, Marshall, Manning, Stevensen, etc... ------------------ "There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and STATISTICS..." - Mark Twain -
What is this NBA league pass I keep hearing about? ------------------ My dream job is to be a Houston Rockets towel-boy.
NBA League Pass is a Satellite TV deal you can get (maybe digital cable now, too?) so that you can watch every NBA game in the league on any given night, except of course for the local team which is blacked out. But then, you should just be able to watch that on a local station (in theory). There's also an NBA league pass at NBA.COM that allows you to LISTEN to all of the games for any team throughout the season on real audio for $19.95... ------------------ "There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and STATISTICS..." - Mark Twain -
Wow... cool. Wish I had a dish. ------------------ My dream job is to be a Houston Rockets towel-boy.
How do you give the coacching credit to Utah? Talk about a team that played better than the sum of its parts, how about the Rockets in their two championship years. Rudy had the team playing their hearts out. So I think I will just go ahead and give the coaching edge to the Rockets. ------------------ Kenny Thomas had a foul called on him in the Western Conference Finals.
As far as team coaching...it's all about the system and having the right players for the system. Look at Utah's 'Flop and Pop' style of play. All of their players fit perfectly into the pick-and-roll game. Same thing with the Lakers and the triangle. All good coaches are pretty much on the same level. The difference between Phil Jackson and Lenny Wilkens is the system and the players in that system. When Houston won their championships, they had a system that was primarily inside-outside, with Hakeem being the focal point of the offense. If Rudy were to take his system to another team, he would need a dominating center to anchor it and a number of supporting players to utilize around the center. Most Hated Team - Utah Jazz Most Hated Fans - JazzFan (followed closely by myopic Knick fan) === Dan Langhi for Prez!!!
The rocks could beat the Jazz at home but when Utah plays in the Delta Center their a different team. Those spycho fans they have pump them up and they raise their game. It would take a hell of a game from the rockets to win at utah. ------------------
I think TB3 has it right on the money - the Rocks absolutely have to step up the team D to start the breaks. This plays to the Rocks strong suit. The Jazz are too d***ed good at the half-court offense to let them repeatedly run it with success. ------------------ GATER
THANK YOU DARKHORSE! I have been making this argument for years. The one worry I have is that we have often looked much better on paper than the Jazz, yet they find ways to beat us. I don't doubt that we can beat them, but I also don't doubt that we could have beaten them in the past, too. Also, on a side note: Many Jazzfanzzzzz that I know have interpreted Larry H. Miller's comment that "Marshall was too talented to keep off the floor" as a statement that Marshall will start. It has been proposed by many (including local sports anchors) that the Jazz will go with a lineup of the following: C Ostertag/Polynice (does it really matter?) PF Malone SF Marshall SG Russell PG Stockton Any thoughts? I think that this change would only make the Jazz more susceptible to teams that run with the ball. ------------------ Jazzkiller
slcrocket - That lineup actually makes a lot more sense to me, which is why I'm skeptical. Picking up Marshall was a great move for them, and I like Stevensen a lot. But getting Manning and Starks? The Jazz are 8 injuries waiting to happen. Course, if they're at full power, they'll be very difficult to stop. They're just that good at what they do... But they're clearly on the decline. There's no question we'll be able to dominate them in the future. My point is that because of their decline, and our improvement, and because of the matchups, we stand a good chance of being able to take them out NOW, which is a lot sooner than I had originally hoped... ------------------ "There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and STATISTICS..." - Mark Twain -
