Re: Jerry Sloan vs. Obie

[Kestutis.Kveraga@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Kestutis Kveraga)]

--- Mark Berry wrote:
(My comment... this is exactly my problem with Obie. Players come into Boston
and get worse. Rodney Rogers became a spot-up three-point shooter. Same with
Tony Delk. Now Raef Lafrentz and Jumaine Jones. Is he putting these guys in
position to succeed? No, he's trying to fit them into already defined roles.
Don't you think Sloan would find a way to get Lafrentz 12-15 shots a game from
18 feet and in?)
--- end of quote ---

To be fair (and I do try to be fair, even to Obie), you could say that Jiri
Welsch and Mike James have done things in Boston they haven't done anywhere
else. You could say that about Ewill and Blount, and perhaps even Erick
Strickland. Sure, it's not like Welsch, James, Ewill or Blount have played for
8 different teams each, but still....Jumaine saw some action last night and
looked pretty good, if somewhat rusty. His biggest problems are 1) Ewill 2)
Welsch. Of course, playing McCarty in front of him seems a little strange
(except to Tommy). Kedrick...it's possible that he could blossom under a
different coach, but while Obie doesn't help the situation, he's not THE
problem with Kedrick. LaFrentz has been injured the whole time, so it's
difficult to say how much of it is Obie's miscoaching and how much it's Raef's
not being 100%. 

Of course, last night Obie looked like a coaching genius and Sloan, not so
much. With that said, I'd take Sloan in a picosecond. I never thought that Utah
would be really bad this season because of 1) Sloan;  and  2) the guys they
have there, while ridiculed as a collection of white stiffs with funny-sounding
last names (Handlogten being everyone's favorite example), know how to play
team basketball, work hard, and generally fit in. That won't win you a
championship in the NBA, but it's enough to be mediocre. 

So why did they lose to the "lowly" Celtics, then? (Don't you just love how
"lowly" is already back as a descriptive term for our team?)  I think the Jazz
were physically and emotionally drained after a tough loss to the Lakers the
night before, and had an off game last night. They were also athletically and
physically overmatched by the Celtics at every position but PF.  Even though
the rebounding numbers were pretty even, it seemed to me  that the Celtics got
most of the really important rebounds. Our guys also played very active.
Obviously all these things affect one another, so it's hard to definitively
identify one cause Utah's getting blown by such a "lowly" team. 

Anyway, I was thinking before last night's game whether Jiri had the handle to
be a full-time PG. But, at least against moribund Utah PGs, it didn't seem to
be a problem. And he certainly has the temperament to be one. As for the
non-pass to Kedrick, did he not see him, or just dis him? Though you'd think
that if there's one ability that Kedrick has it is to score on the break.
However, I thought that the combination of Jiri and James worked pretty well,
with James basically playing off-guard. He really could be a decent backup
off-guard/combo guard. It's interesting that he even got one of his highest
assist totals by playing a more natural position for him. 

Obie clearly thought that this was a good combo as well. However, he also must
have been either punishing Banks for something, or pulling passive-aggressive
crap with Ainge. If you are ready to play, but draw a DNP-CD during a 30-point
blowout, it's more than just a basketball decision. At one point, Obie was
playing five swingmen at the same time - Jiri, EWill, Jumaine, McCarty, and
Kedrick.  I thought it was a curious lineup. 

Pierce realized sometime in the 3rd that he had only scored in the low teens,
so he started pulling his one-on-five crap. Luckily, the game was getting out
of hand at that point and provided an excuse for Obie to yank him. 

Isn't it funny that, if you'd been told before the season that the Celtics
would go 2-0 on this trip, you probably would've shrugged it off as expected,
but today it looks like a heroic achievement? 

Kestas