May
31
SAX ON THE BEACH!
Filed Under Loose Balls
Jazz on Summer Break as Terrific Season Comes to an End with Spurs Reaching Fourth Finals in Nine Years
After having its deepest playoff run since 1998, the Utah Jazz’ surprising run has come to an end with a 25-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game Five of the Western Conference Finals. While the Jazz and its loyal fan base may be down in the dumps right now, they should be extremely proud of the team’s success this year. Coming into the beginning of this season, not many people would have had the Jazz in the playoffs, let alone the NBA’s Final Four. Point guard Deron Williams and power forward Carlos Boozer showed in 2006-07 that Utah has a solid foundation to build on for years to come.
With that said, Jazz fans should be realistic about the team’s expectations for next season. Utah will have a very tough time getting back to the Western Conference Finals as it was lucky to avoid Dallas in the second round. As this series against the Spurs showed, the Jazz are nowhere near the team of San Antonio at this point.
If Utah wants to solidify its spot as one of the top teams in the Western Conference, it needs to make a big splash this off-season. The best way to do this is to package Andrei Kirilenko for another scorer. While a great defensive player, Kirilenko’s time with the Jazz has seemed to reach its end, with his up-and-down confidence and emotions throughout the playoffs especially revealing of this point.
Kirilenko’s value as a guy who can get a quadruple double (double digit points, rebounds, blocks and assists) and be a defensive game-changer around the rim is too hard to pass up for a lot of teams. In turn, Utah can bring in another scorer (perhaps a Jason Richardson or even a Rashard Lewis) and give Williams and Boozer the help they need.
While losing Kirilenko would be tough at first, Jerry Sloan-coached teams are known for their defense and will quickly regain their form. Adding a perimeter scorer would allow the Jazz to put Derek Fisher to the bench for valuable minutes as a backup point and defender and allow someone like a Gordon Giricek or Matt Harpring to step into the starting lineup.
While it would tough for Utah fans to see Kirilenko go, sometimes you have to make a big deal to get over the hump. Utah has a great core, now can they improve this team and get better this summer?
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