[BobboFitos]

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[censored] jazz game

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[rant] Jerry Sloan Jazz teams tilt me so bad, especially on the road, because:

1. They play not to lose, not to win. My theory is that everyone's afraid of getting in Sloan's 'dog house' if they do anything that doesn't fit into his 'system,' which includes taking a shot before 20 seconds have elapsed, taking a 3, etc.

This is particularly true if they get a lead. Everyone just holds the ball like there are 30 seconds left in the game, even if it's the 2nd quarter. They play their best when they're down 5-8 points, imo, because players are willing to take some chances and use their talent. Once they get the lead, everyone just freezes and waits for the other team to catch up.

2. He'll always play a veteran who 'knows the system' over a rookie. Look at Ronnie Brewer, who he kept buried on the bench in favor of Giricek (sp?), who can't guard anyone and is an inconsistent shooting specialist. Even Paul Milsap got limited minutes, even though he's the only interior player who can block a shot and makes very few mistakes (which you'd think Sloan would like), in favor of Jaron "the statue" Collins, a vet whose work ethic Sloan likes, but simply has no game, and would be hard-pressed to make most NBA squads.

3. He emphasizes 'toughness,' that old school philosophy of making opponents pay for driving the lane, which simply doesn't work in the post-Jordan NBA, where the game is geared to promote backcourt scorers. All Sloan's approach does is give the team a bad reputation with referees, so you get what we saw last night--Derek Fisher and Kobe driving the lane, throwing their bodies into anything they can find, drawing little or no contact, and still getting 3-point plays. Why? Because everyone knows the Jazz always foul players driving to the hole.

4. Anytime someone locally talks about finding a replacement for Sloan, everyone starts talking about how well respected he is, one of the best 5 coaches, bla bla bla.

5. Personally, I don't think he's horrible. If you want to win a bunch of regular season games, more than expected usually, he's your guy, because he has a very regimented, predictable system that teams have trouble against it pressures them to play defense for a long time, makes it hard (in theory) to get easy buckets, and challenges the opposition physically.

However, once you get to the post season, there are no more surprises, other teams don't mind getting physical with you, and they figure out your 1-dimensional system over the course of a series.

When the Jazz beat the Rockets in the 1st round last year, I think that was the 3rd time a Sloan team had beaten a higher seed (even though they had the same record) in 20 (?) post-seasons. I think that's pretty revealing, and I think that's why there will be no championships in Utah as long as Sloan is coach.

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Well, I love Jerry Sloan, but you raised some interesting points.