Do you think they can keep up this hot start or will they cool down a lot? I predict they'll win 50 games and lose in first round.
If they can keep this up and avoid injurys throughout the season then I expect a 60 plus win type of season from them, no doubt.
at the begining of the season I would have thought 50 wins a stretch, but now not winning 50 games would be a disapointment. I still dont think they'll win 60, especially if they cannot figure out how to break a zone.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NickD @ Nov 30 2006, 09:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>If they can keep this up and avoid injurys throughout the season then I expect a 60 plus win type of season from them, no doubt.</div>They are for sure not going to get 60 wins this season. I think the only team that has a chance to get 60 wins this season is Dallas. I think this is a season where there are ALOT of teams that get around 55 wins.But I think the Jazz are for real. They have beaten some good teams this year, and they have shown that at home, they are absolutley dominant. They have a boat load of talent, a great coach, and the best rebounding team in the league. I dont think they will make it to the finals, let alone the WCF, but that doesn't mean they arent "for real". They are a top 5-8 team in the league this year....and IMO that is for real.(Teams that are better than them IMO)San Antonio SpursDallas MavericksDetroit Pistons Cleveland CavaliersMiami Heat(when they get Shaq back)
I didnt forget Phoenix. I think that Utah would beat them in a 7 game series. Utahs rebounding would overpower Pheonix IMO.I was contemplating whether to put Houston or not. I think that they are pretty even.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ballerman2112 @ Dec 1 2006, 04:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I didnt forget Phoenix. I think that Utah would beat them in a 7 game series. Utahs rebounding would overpower Pheonix IMO.I was contemplating whether to put Houston or not. I think that they are pretty even.</div>I disagree. Utah=Seattle a couple years ago. Seattle started real hot but eventually lost in second round. If Phoenix has Amare close to 100% they should beat Utah in 6 games.
Utah is nothing close to Seattle. That is an awful comparison. Utah has by far the best rebounding team in the league, and a good offense. Also, Utah has a decent amount of good defenders on their team as well. Seattle was an awful defensive ball club, no real inside presence (unless you count Jerome James as an inside presence), and were strictly a jumpshooting team. Utah has one of the best starting lineups in basketball, and alot of depth as well. Utah could have and would have been good in the past if it wasnt for the injuries of AK and Boozer. Utah is nothing like Seattle.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ballerman2112 @ Dec 1 2006, 04:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Utah is nothing close to Seattle. That is an awful comparison. Utah has by far the best rebounding team in the league, and a good offense. Also, Utah has a decent amount of good defenders on their team as well. Seattle was an awful defensive ball club, no real inside presence (unless you count Jerome James as an inside presence), and were strictly a jumpshooting team. Utah has one of the best starting lineups in basketball, and alot of depth as well. Utah could have and would have been good in the past if it wasnt for the injuries of AK and Boozer. Utah is nothing like Seattle.</div>Seattle was the best rebounding team in that year. Utah lacks a physical defender inside and a go to guy. Hot starts do happen just like when Denver got hot when George Karl first became coach. I expect Utah to cool down. They are nothing special. Also you consider Cleveland better than Phoenix? Give me a break. :no1:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mavsfan1000 @ Dec 1 2006, 01:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Seattle was the best rebounding team in that year. Utah lacks a physical defender inside and a go to guy. Hot starts do happen just like when Denver got hot when George Karl first became coach. I expect Utah to cool down. They are nothing special. Also you consider Cleveland better than Phoenix? Give me a break. :no1:</div>That is a complete lie that they were the best rebounding team that year. I researched "1" team from that season (The Spurs) and they averaged 2 more RPG than the Sonics. If you dont want to call Carlos Boozer a go to guy, I dont know what is. He is having an amazing season and he scores with a very high percentage. The ONLY reason you can make for not having a "go to guy" is because they have so many guys to go to.....I said that Utah was a top 5-8 team in the league. That IS expecting them to cool down considering they have the best record in the NBA right now. Why is having Cleveland above Phoenix such a bad thing? Phoenix started the season of horribly and they are just now playing pretty good. Also, any team with Lebron on it is capable of being that high in my power rankings. He is just that good...
Funny, I said the same thing about the Tigers in baseball. I said they will start to lose like always. Check them out, they made the WS. Now, I'm not going to say nothing about the Jazz but good luck to them. IMO they will fall a lil...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ballerman2112 @ Dec 1 2006, 06:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>That is a complete lie that they were the best rebounding team that year. I researched "1" team from that season (The Spurs) and they averaged 2 more RPG than the Sonics. If you dont want to call Carlos Boozer a go to guy, I dont know what is. He is having an amazing season and he scores with a very high percentage. The ONLY reason you can make for not having a "go to guy" is because they have so many guys to go to.....I said that Utah was a top 5-8 team in the league. That IS expecting them to cool down considering they have the best record in the NBA right now. Why is having Cleveland above Phoenix such a bad thing? Phoenix started the season of horribly and they are just now playing pretty good. Also, any team with Lebron on it is capable of being that high in my power rankings. He is just that good...</div>Oh so the first 15 games of the season decides which team is better? I guess Miami isn't a playoff team with that logic. Phoenix is going to be a top 5 team despite the bad start. I don't consider Boozer as a go to player. He is more of a garbage player on rebounds.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mavsfan1000 @ Nov 30 2006, 07:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Do you think they can keep up this hot start or will they cool down a lot? I predict they'll win 50 games and lose in first round.</div>If they can get some post All Star game momentum, definetely the Jazz will go past round 1. No question at all. They would be facing a team like the Warriors and Rockets, and definitely advance. Deron Williams, Boozers, Okur, Martin are having pretty amazing seasons if you ask me.On the other hand, lets say they lose the momentum, I see them still finishing in 8th, but face a team like Dallas, and would be a very exciting series if you ask me, and they would take them to 5 games Im sure. Its easy to lose momentum, but when players are playing great towards the middle of the season (which they will hoepfully) they usually dont stop.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ballerman2112 @ Nov 30 2006, 09:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I didnt forget Phoenix. I think that Utah would beat them in a 7 game series. Utahs rebounding would overpower Pheonix IMO.I was contemplating whether to put Houston or not. I think that they are pretty even.</div>I disagree. The Suns are still pretty small but their rebounding has been much better with Amare back and their usually winning the rebounding battle with KT, Amare, Marion and Diaw. I love Kurt Thomas teaching Amare how to rebound, it's great. I think they Suns would beat both the Jazz and Cavs in a series. But with that said, I think the Jazz are for real. I think they will finish as the 4th best team in the conference, and league. Their only problem in the past was injuries but if they can stay fairly healthy, especially in the playoffs, they will get far and maybe upset one of the big 3 teams in the 2nd round. Their front court is great and Deron Williams has turned into a pretty good point guard really soon.
I'm moving this to General NBA. It would get more talk.I don't think they are for real. They have the right pieces to make the Finals, but AK-47 and Carlos Boozer are both injury prone. This team has been hit by injuries left and right. If they can stay injury prone, I expect them to get to the second round of the NBA playoffs and lose.
I think they're for real..they have a star point guard and a top 5 big man (at least the way hes playing now)they were killin it without AK47 and with him back they should be crazy..it would be amazing if they won 60..I see them winning 50..60 is just too far fetched nowadays where there's so many competitive teams in the West
In the NBA if you have three guys like Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur in the frontcourt your going to win a lot of games. Not to mention one of the better coaches in basketball with Jerry Sloan...and Deron Williams playing really well. What they are missing is a SG/SF that can give you 17 points once and a while and get to the rim. Ronnie Brewer, Calvin Miles and Matt Harpring all get average minutes. If they can stay healthy they should win around 50 games.
THe Jazz will be ok without a shooting guard, they haven't had one since Jeff Hornacek retired. they've tried their hand with about 15 differnt guys and none of them have really done much. the Jazz biggest problem with 2 though isn't scoring, its defense. the two spot has let up 2 50+ point games already this year, and in this game were the shooting guard is the best player on most teams the Jazz despartly need someone to stop the opposing twos. they try using AK47 on the perimiter, but he isn't a great one-on-one defender, he's a great help defender. Miles gets burned by everyone in the league right now, Brewer is still learning NBA defense, Harpring has bad knees, and Giricek is your steriotypical no defense European player.The Jazz however should win 50 games easily. they'd need to win only 37 more game to reach 50 as is. I highly doubt they can't win 37 out of their next 65.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mavsfan1000 @ Nov 30 2006, 06:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Do you think they can keep up this hot start or will they cool down a lot? I predict they'll win 50 games and lose in first round.</div>that's probably right, I think they are overachieving they have a good team, but I don't think they are legit threats in the west, I don't think they can beat the spurs, mavs, suns, or even the rockets, in a 7 game series
The way they're playing, I think they're for real. Boozer is playing out of his mind, and Deron Williams is turning into one of the top point guards in the NBA. Even when I went to the Celtics/Jazz game, I didn't think the Jazz were that good. Deron Williams was amazing in that game, and if he plays half as good as that every game the Jazz have a great shot to be a top team this year. He was hitting literally every kind of shot. Runners, floaters, threes, mid-range, layups, anything. I believe he is the key to this team and that if he keeps his current play up, the sky is the limit, and come playoff time, they will be a tough out for the big guns in the West.
