Fizer’s Take: Utah Jazz

So bored here so I decided to finish the last two Fizer’s take.

The Utah Jazz have almost reached the Mount Olympus for the third time in franchise’s history way back in 2007. That was the year were Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams showed their Malone and Stockton replication. But that was a couple of years ago… This year was a bit different. Boozer is on his contract year, D-Will has just received a long-term deal a season ago and the Jazz have loads of weapons that could have made this team a devastating team. Don’t believe me? Paul Millsap, Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko are proofs of that. Not to mention energy guys like Ronnie Brewer and Ronnie Price emerging from the spotlight. So what’s wrong with this Jazz team? Simple… Injuries. It has bitten them time and time again this past season. With Boozer not playing, Okur and Millsap filled in their roles beautifully but when Boozer was back healthy, another major piece would go down. As a result, the Jazz had a choppy chemistry which led them to a 8th seed in the West despite an incredible 48-34 mark. But their team was not good enough against the mighty Lakers led by none other than Kobe Bean Bryant as they fell 4 games to 1. Though D-Will had a solid season despite the injuries he had early on, it wasn’t enough even for Booze who played in just 37 games.

The NBA Draft was a good one in terms of their acquisition in the first round. They did draft the best player available at 20. Eric Maynor is one of the most underrated players in the draft and you could always consider him as a good back-up for Deron Williams. You could also say that he is one of the reasons why this draft is a bit deep in terms of point guards because he is one solid PG. He is a smart player capable of both setting up his teammates and score. With Jerry Sloan (who could be dubbed as the greatest coach never to have won the COY) mentoring this kid, I expect nothing but improvement from this VCU product. Goran Suton was a player that most draft analyst would have written off but not me. I thought he was a second-round pick worthy but still, people were surprised to see him get drafted. I think it was probably because of his very impressive performance in the NCAA Tournament which got him a nod for the Jazz front office. He is a solid 6’10 player who has a soft touch from mid-range to long range but as expected, his game is more of Euro-type of basketball and was subsequently waived by Utah just before the season begins.

The offseason moves by the Jazz was full of drama. First, Carlos Boozer opted “in” with his final year of his contract after knowing that no team would probably sign him with that big of a money. Kyle Korver did so too. Mehmet Okur signed a 2-year contract with the Jazz which could still give them the same amount of chemistry for this team. Paul Millsap signed a contract with Portland but was immediately matched by Utah. This indicated that Boozer could be traded within the offseason or just before the trading deadline in February 2010. Boozer has flirted with different trade options with teams such as Miami and Chicago but no one made any moves for it. I think teams were chickening out because having Boozer could prove risky in more ways than one. Still, the Jazz will be fighting once again in the Western Conference. They will be in the hunt for the playoffs but with so may teams improving like the Lakers and the Blazers. It’s tough to call where they’ll be at. But one thing’s for sure. The Stockton-to-Malone in Williams and Boozer still lives on, at least for this season…

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NBA Draft Grade: B

NBA Offseason Grade: A-

Predicted W-L: 47-35

This is just a writer’s opinion… Anyone care to comment, I am open for it^^