Last night during the first half of the jazz game I was contemplating what to write for my first post on DNP-CD, I was going to use this first piece of writing to introduce myself as a sports fanatic! As the game progressed, I noticed, while flipping back and forth from the TCU v. BSU game, Devin Brown was about to reach his career high against his former Utah team. Look, we all know the Jazz are soft on the inside, and although play above average help-side defense, we seem to lose track of a player who isn't really a "threat" on the opposing offensive end. BIG MISTAKE!!! I just don't understand how so many players, both good and bad and some really really bad, put up career numbers against the jazz? I just want to show you a couple examples...I will start with the big names, that might not be surprising and probably could have happened to any team in the league considering their talent. First, the silky smooth southpaw Michael Redd drops 57 points on the Jazz in 2006. Second, Ray Allen rains down on the Jazz with the former Seattle Supersonics for a cool 54 points back in 2007. Now here is where some of the players are hardly recognizable, unless you are an NBA/NCAA basketball junkie! Jonny Flynn of the Minnestoa T-Wolves hurries to a quick 28 points and two of those points being the game winner in 2009, oh and did I mention he was/is a rookie in the league this year. Another rookie that I had to wikipedia just to make sure he actually played in the NBA was Toney Douglas from the NY knickerbockers, who???-exactly!!! Douglas came off the bench to record his career high of 21 points, this was in 2009 and he also is a rookie! Now being from Utah I have watched Chase Budinger down in AZ and knew who he was, but for all of you who don't he was the tall, awkward, ginger that had his face stomped on by an opposing player in the NCAA tournament last year. Although he didn't score more than 30 or even 20 for that matter, he hardly plays, he scored 17 points this year against the jazz, oh and did I also mention it is his first year in the National Basketball Association as well. Now this last guy I am gonna mention ripped my heart out and most of the jazz nation, his name is Linas Kleiza. Kleiza who onced played for the division rival Denver Nuggets scored an unbelievably awkward, ugly, unathletic 41 points!!! I can't quite grasp this concept, a very consistent,Jerry Sloan coached team, highly respected around the league for being very physical and relentless, and these rookies are coming into the ESA like it was there own backyard. This is beginning to become a very bad habit for the Utah Jazz and now when the Boston Celtics come into town, we don't need to worry about Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, or even Sheed.....we need to worry about Brian Scalabrine!!!!!
First off, everyone needs to worry about Scalabrine since he's obviously the bizarro Dave Cowens. If you'll look back all these guys are twos or killed the Jazz with outside shooting. I was actually thinking about doing a post on the problems with the Jazz's perimeter defense and lack of shut down, close out 2 and 3 play.
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