<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">15 - If Jazz miss the playoffs again, that would be four straight trips to the lottery. Tough to imagine Jerry Sloan going out that way, but the West could well be that brutal.</div> <div align="center">Link</div>
The Jazz have had the worst luck with injuries the last 4 seasons and have yet to play a full season with their key players on the court at the same time. If the Jazz stay healthy I think can compete for the WCF this season. I've always liked the makeup of this team and Jerry Sloan is one of the better coaches in the league. His coaching style is designed for post season success, unfortunately the Jazz haven't had a chance to get there because of injuries. The Jazz are dangerous because they don't rely on one star player to carry them in a game. They have skill players at each position and everyone of their starting five can go for 30 points on a given night. The Jazz have a balanced roster and should be one of the best rebounding teams with Boozer and AK on the frontline. The Jazz are my sleeper team this season. Reading about their dedication in the offseason in a recent article reminded me of the work ethic the Championship Laker and Bulls teams had. Usually a handful of players really focus on basketball during the offseason, but when you have an entire team conditioning for the upcoming season it makes a huge difference. If the Jazz get off to a quick start and build confidence they'll walk away with the Northwest Division title and make some noise in the post season.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">The Jazz have had the worst luck with injuries the last 4 seasons and have yet to play a full season with their key players on the court at the same time. If the Jazz stay healthy I think can compete for the WCF this season. I've always liked the makeup of this team and Jerry Sloan is one of the better coaches in the league. His coaching style is designed for post season success, unfortunately the Jazz haven't had a chance to get there because of injuries. The Jazz are dangerous because they don't rely on one star player to carry them in a game. They have skill players at each position and everyone of their starting five can go for 30 points on a given night. The Jazz have a balanced roster and should be one of the best rebounding teams with Boozer and AK on the frontline. The Jazz are my sleeper team this season. Reading about their dedication in the offseason in a recent article reminded me of the work ethic the Championship Laker and Bulls teams had. Usually a handful of players really focus on basketball during the offseason, but when you have an entire team conditioning for the upcoming season it makes a huge difference. If the Jazz get off to a quick start and build confidence they'll walk away with the Northwest Division title and make some noise in the post season.</div> Shape has tons of great points, we've struggled with injuries the last few years, the 1st year we lost Harpring and almost made the playoffs with scrubs, then injuries slowed down AK and Boozer for the last 2 years. The one player I hope stays healthy is Giricek though, he's a big part of our success even though he doesn't seem like it. He's been our only real good shooting threat, and when he's on he's on. I sure hope Sloan doesn't pry away his confidence this year though. Shape is right about anyone in the starting lineup can score 30 any given night, but I see our SG spot being a bit weak with inexperience and confidence. Giricek is good, but he always gets in Sloan's doghouse, I think Fisher just would hurt us on defensive end, and Brewer & Miles are inexperienced. I'm reading a book about Utah's 97-98 season (last year we made championship) and it mention how so many guys came in out of shape. Like Ostertag, B. Russell, and Carr, Malone was pissed, but it took time for them to get into shape. If people come in and are ready for the season, that's a big advantage IMO It's like this, to make cookies you have to make the cookie dough, but instead of having to make the cookie dough aka getting into shape, they can start baking the cookies like already prepared cookie dough aka plays and team chemistry. I sure hope Utah can make the playoffs this year, I believe the Northwest will be a 2 man race between Denver and Utah, Utah has dominated Denver when they have Boozer and AK healthy. I think the winner of the Northwest will be in the 3 seed and loser will be in 6th or 7th during playoff time.
