A New Style of Jazz

Article originally published at RealGM.com.

A New Style Of Jazz
Authored by Elliot Cole - 28th May, 2007 - 3:19 pm

The relentless pick and rolls, the tough guard screens, the constant physicality…the Utah Jazz are not a team that relies on solo performances to win games. Their system, which Coach Jerry Sloan has played to the tune of two finals appearances and 1035 regular season wins, is based on fundamentals, precision, and effort. It’s structured offense at its finest, and as long as the band is in rhythm, the Jazz can make some beautiful music on the court.

Deron Williams, however, seems to like the occasional solo.

The play of Williams and his 30.3 PPG through the first three games of the Western Conference Finals has almost single-handedly given the Jazz life against the once dominant Spurs. With role players like Mehmet Okur (7ppg in the series) and Andrei Kirilenko (8ppg) stifled by the suffocating Spurs defense, Williams has become something that Utah fans haven’t seen in a while: a one man show.

That’s not to say he isn’t distributing and involving his teammates (as made evident by his 9 assists a game through the first three games of the series), but rather than he has become the focal point of the Jazz offense. Whereas most Jazz point guards have been role players in the offense (even Stockton was never asked to dominate a game), Williams has morphed into a legitimate star, able to improvise his way to the rim or to dish the ball off to his teammates. He has a skill set that Sloan has never had before at the point: size, speed, athleticism, and the ability to finish amongst bigger bodies. He has the complete package, and even defensive stalwart Bruce Bowen has failed to shut him down.

Did anyone project the former Illinois star to be this good, this fast? When the Jazz selected Williams with the third overall pick of the 2005 NBA draft, he was regarded as a “system player”, a physical point guard that would fit well into Sloan’s style. Few projected him to be a potential All-Star, and even fewer expected him to be as good as fourth pick and Hornets guard Chris Paul.

“It’s hard to imagine Williams being anything greater than a 6th man or a fringe starter,” said one draft guru, who will remain unnamed (try Google, if you’re greedy). Others questioned his speed, weight, and athleticism.

Looks like those questions have been answered.

As it turns out, Deron Williams could turn out to be the best player in the 2005 draft class. Sure, Paul is special, and 19 year old Laker center Andrew Bynum has a lot of room to improve, but few players have the all the tools at their disposal the way Williams does. Operating in the structured Jazz offense, he has blossomed as a playmaker, clutch scorer, and go-to-guy. While Carlos Boozer may be the engine of the Jazz, Williams is the guy they count on to deliver with the game on the line.

With a trip to the Finals on the line, the Jazz will continue their structured play, but the improv show of Williams is become more and more evident, especially in his dominance of the ball in the half court sets. As the Jazz continue the attempt to come back and surpass the more experienced and savvier Spurs, Deron Williams may have to face a new sound: the expectations of being a star.

Elliot Cole is a contributor for RealGM and blogs at http://www.thesilverandblack.blogspot.com. Emails are encouraged at elliot.cole@yahoo.com

Game 3: (The Predictable Letdown Game)

Poignant Observations from Game 3:

- How does 19 turnovers to 17 assists sound? Eight of those turnovers belonged to Duncan, many of them a result of the Jazz guards coming down for a quick slap at the ball when he made his move to the middle of the court. Reminds me of how the Warriors went after Dirk Nowitzki. Duncan, however, is a low post guy. He needs to establish lower position so that the guards have to go further for that play on the ball, opening up shooters on the perimeter. Dirk, unfortunately, couldn’t get position on a blow up doll.

- Bruce Bowen, for all his defensive capabilities, has trouble guarding quick point guards. That being said, I don’t think a brick wall could stop Deron Williams right now. With Phoenix, the Spurs allowed Nash and Amare to pick them apart, but didn’t give the rest of the team a chance to get a rhythm. Do you start treating Williams and Boozer with the same respect, or do you take your chances with the Jazz role players?

- Francisco Elson seems to be providing less and less every game. His confidence could be shaken, or maybe he just isn’t used to the physicality, but at least 3 rebounds have fallen off his fingers and gone out of bounds in this series alone. Reminds me of the good ol’ days and the butterfingers of Malik Rose (although Elson has yet to master the “8 head fakes under the basket” maneuver).

- Remember that problem the Spurs have in dealing with big, physical small forwards? Matt Harpring does, and he started to go to work down low.

- Seven points and 3-3 from the stripe for Jarron Collins? Seriously? The Jazz bench went for 38 after being beaten around by the Spurs bench in games 1 and 2.

- Only two players on the entire Jazz roster shot under 50%. Only three players on the Spurs team shot over the same mark.

- Another great game by Tony Parker. He carried the team for stretches, especially considering Duncan was plagued by foul trouble. However, the key problem with Parker remains the same: when he is constantly going to the rim, the offense tends to fall into the occasional “watch Tony go” mode.

- Okur (0 points in 21 minutes) and Kirilenko (2 points and only 2 rebounds in 30 minutes) still looked lost. It took Okur about 4 games in the Houston series to get going, and Kirilenko didn’t show up until the second round, so don’t write them off just yet.

Spurs will make the proper adjustments, Duncan will stay out of foul trouble, and they’ll come out angry and efficient in game 4. I fully expect that the Jazz are in trouble. Generally, the Spurs drop one or two just to show the league that they aren’t a team of engineered robots, and it may as well have been game 3. The Jazz were making their shots and became aggressive at the right time, but keeping that tone up for an entire 48 minutes could be tough.

Substance Over Style: Fighting The “Boring Image” In The Street NBA

Article first published at Realgm.com

With 41 seconds left in the 1st quarter of the opening game in the Western Conference Finals, Manu Ginobili’s quick hands deflect a desperation pass by Jazz forward Paul Millsap, leading to a Spurs fast break. Tony Parker recovers the loose ball, only to throw on the brakes in front of the standstill Mehmet Okur.

What came next was pure Magic…as in Johnson.



Parker, without hesitation, throws a pinpoint bounce pass between the legs of Okur, making him look like King Kong swiping at the gnat-like planes circling around him. The pass meets Ginobili in stride, who outhustles the entire Jazz backcourt to the rim, floats above Derek Fisher’s play for the ball, and finger rolls it softly in the basket.

Meet the San Antonio Spurs; far and wide the most boring team in the NBA.

Why has a team with three championship rings, a premier highlight-reel-in-the-making-backcourt, and the best power forward been labeled boring? Tony Parker averages at least two stunning layups a game, and Ginobili can rock players on their ankles with the best of them. Duncan puts up stunning numbers, and they are the best three point shooting team in the NBA. Boring seems, at the very least, a misnomer.

But the truth of the Spurs’ mainstream perception has nothing to do with the game of basketball itself. The truth, which few television faces or radio voices will admit to, is that the perception that shadows the Spurs has more to do with the NBA image than NBA basketball.

That’s right; the “boring” label has nothing to do with the substance of the game, and everything to do with tattoos, trash talk, and attitude.

Much of the Spurs inability to grasp the attention of the casual NBA fan has to do with their foreign flair. Players like Parker and Ginobili will never garner the public acclaim of Mike Bibby or Carmelo Anthony. Both Parker and Ginobili are All-Stars, but you’d be hard pressed to find any casual fans that would say they are better than Bibby or Anthony. The difference? Ink, urban flair, and domestic familiarity. Bibby and Anthony are homegrown talents, and Anthony embodies the familiar “rags to riches” NBA storyline. We watched them in college, we love their tattoos and street image. We love Anthony’s commercials, we love the in-your-face heroics displayed by Bibby. Are they better than Parker and Ginobili? Debatably, but their ability to absorb the image of the NBA allows us a given familiarity, whereas Parker and Ginobili remain enigmas outside of San Antonio. Being “street” in the NBA is more than an image; it’s an identity that gives us a more intimate idea of who a player is, even if it’s an unfair judgment.


But Bibby and Anthony are only examples. Dozens of players will receive more hype or praise from the media and fans for the ability to mesh with the long-established image of street basketball. It’s not about highlight reel plays, but about who is making them. Carlos Boozer (Alaskan), Tim Duncan (Virgin Islands), or Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) will never have the marketable flair of the Iversons, Anthonys, or McGradys. It’s not a matter of race, but a matter of familiarity, nationality, and relativity to NBA image. Tim Duncan can make a great pass out of the double, and it’s ho-hum, whereas Lebron’s passing makes him an MVP candidate.

The NBA struggles with the balance of marketing a street image to its central demographic: young to middle age white America. For certain players (here’s looking at you, Kobe), there is a pocket somewhere between the two polarities, a street image that seems somehow forced, unnatural. For other players, we feel we know them better because of their street image. It makes it easier for us to pigeonhole the player, to identify him based on a larger crowd. Quick: what do Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson, Mike Bibby, and Stephon Marbury all have in common? Your first perception will probably have little to do with basketball, but more to do with a trained (and yes, perhaps unjust) grouping of “street” players. These players are adopting an image, and in doing so, they adopt the connotations that come with it. The likes of Parker and Ginobili, however, don’t have an outside-the-NBA image, and it’s far more difficult to identify and market them.

Until we are able to identify Ginobili and Parker on a national scale, they’ll never be as popular. Until we know Parker’s favorite American hip-hop or Ginobili’s favorite American shoot-‘em-up movie, they’ll be labeled “boring” no matter how many highlights they make. Boring players? Not even close. Boring personalities? Hardly. Boring image? Absolutely, and that’s why the Spurs have been tagged as a boring team in the image-focused NBA world.

Elliot Cole is a Spurs blogger at http://www.thesilverandblack.blogspot.com and welcomes emails at elliot.cole@yahoo.com

Spurs-Jazz Game 2: The Numbers Don’t Lie

- Predictably, Bowen was matched up against Deron Williams, and actually did give him a tough time. Most of the 26 points put up by Williams were in the open court, which negated Bowen’s defense.

- Tony Parker absolutely dominated the first half of the game. He didn’t miss a shot early, and when it was all said and done, he finished with 14 assists. Sure, he had 7 turnovers, many of which led to the Jazz getting back into the game, but he set the tempo in the first half with scrappy defense, smooth penetration, and smart distribution.

- How does 13-26 three point shooting sound? If you give a team with Tim Duncan the opportunity to knock down 50% from deep, you’ll lose, no matter if you’re the 2007 Jazz or the 95-96 Bulls.

- As much as the Spurs rode Tony earlier, when the game got tight Duncan took over. He had an almost quiet 26 points, 14 boards, 5 blocks, and 4 assists. That is, if it’s even possible to have a “quiet” 26 and 14.

- Nice to see Brent Barry make his first appearance in the series with 9 points on 3-4 shooting. But in case nobody noticed, Robert Horry has still thrown up a goose egg through two games.

- Francisco Elson had considerably more fouls (3) than rebounds (0). Oberto had a solid 14 points on 6-7 shooting, replicating his 14 points on 6-8 shooting in game 1. There should be no questions about who the starting center is for this Spurs team. The Elson experiment was fine for awhile, but this team works best with Oberto on the court.

- People assume Okur just isn’t playing well, but it’s obvious that the Spurs are making a conscious effort to shut him down. Parker lit into Elson after he failed to follow Okur on the pick and pop, and Popovich called an immediate timeout. Okur would finish 4-13, and that’s taking into account a desperation three and a long two while being fouled.

- Bench scoring was 28-8, just in case anyone was keeping track. Basically, you could take out Manu Ginobili and his 17 points, and the Spurs bench would still have outscored the Jazz bench.

All in all, game 2 was stunningly similar to game 1. Early lead, late run by the Jazz behind Williams, but the Spurs kick it back into gear late. The Spurs were -8 in turnovers, which gave the Jazz a chance to get back into it, but it’s obvious that they are just outmanned. The Spurs, and their average of 106.5 points a game through the series, are making a joke of the heralded Jazz defense. They are threading the needle on their passes, getting whatever position they want in the post, and outworking the Jazz defenders on their cuts.

The Jazz are a quality team, but their shortcomings are often masked by their stellar rebound dominance. The Spurs, however, actually outrebounded the Jazz 44-35 in game 2, negating the biggest strength of Utah’s frontcourt. Other than relaxing at the end of games, there is no facet of the game that the Spurs aren’t winning right now. They are more aggressive, executing better, and suffering far fewer lapses than a Jazz team that suddenly looks lost on the defensive end. Things may change in Utah, but for now, the series looks like JV against varsity.

(AP photo/Eric Gay)

First Impressions of the 2007 Draft Lottery

8:45 ET: I’m not insinuating that the 1985 NBA lottery was rigged, but we were never absolutely sure of the lottery’s legitimacy until the “ping pong” era. Pretty safe to say that, after consecutive years of Milwaukee and Toronto having the top pick, the lottery is completely secure, fair, and unrigged.

(That being said, does anyone actually believe Memphis will get the top pick? Is it even possible that the two most marketable players in years would land in the barren wasteland of Memphis? Don’t think so. I’ll pay everyone a dollar if either Durant or Oden go to Memphis.)

8:48 ET: The Clippers, the Hornets, and the 76ers…doomed to be drafting in the 8-14 slot for the next 5 years unless some major tanking comes along.

8:50 ET: Boston is doomed for years to come. Sorry, Celtics fans. Can’t wait to see what Bill Simmons has to say about this. Al Jefferson just became their franchise player by default. I’m sure Danny Ainge is trying to package Paul Pierce and the number 5 pick for a top 2 pick this very second, and the other teams are laughing at their Blackberrys (or would that be Blackberries? Anyways…).

8:51 ET: What did I say about Memphis? They never had a chance.

8:53 ET: If you’re a Suns fan, you’re entire offseason just changed. You just lost a potential lottery pick, which you would have taken from the Atlanta Hawks in the Joe Johnson trade had it not been top 3. Instead, Atlanta slides into the top 3…where they picked Marvin Williams over Chris Paul two years ago. More on this later.

8:55 ET: The Pacific Northwest should go nuts tonight. Portland and Seattle steal the top two picks, pushing out Boston, Memphis, and the Bucks. What a crazy lottery.

First impressions:

- David Stern and company cannot be too happy. Portland and Seattle? Are there two less marketable cities that could have landed Oden and Durant? This is like Timmy going to San Antonio all over again.

- Portland just got A LOT better. The question is whether this puts Zach Randolph on the trading block somewhere down the road for a good point guard. Whereas Brandon Roy, Lamarcus Aldridge, and Greg Oden make for a great core, the team is missing a point guard badly (sorry, Jarrett Jack). If they get a mature point, they’ll be in the playoffs by 2009.

- Jon Barry has lost his mind if he actually believes Portland should trade Greg Oden.

- The teams accused of tanking the most (most notably Memphis) dropped out of the top 2. Karma, Grizzlies, karma.

- If Seattle lands Durant, there is no room for Rashard Lewis on that roster. Say goodbye to Lewis, because Durant should be starting from game number one.

- The NBA gods are laughing at Atlanta. They had their chance at Paul, and they blew it. There should be a 5 year span before they are allowed to draft in the top 2 again.

- Phoenix just lost a lot of flexibility in the offseason. They can no longer package an early pick with Marion or Amare if they try to break up they core. Also, if they do get rid of Marion, they can’t find someone in the draft to replace him. After Boston and Memphis, Phoenix was the biggest loser today.

Game time for Spurs fans, look for articles regarding the Spurs/Jazz soon.

Articles of the Week

In what will be a weekly installment, here's a list of articles to check out for the week that was:

The Best: ESPN offers...let's call it questionable coverage at times, but their new guy, Henry Abbott, is worth reading every day. Scroll down to "We'll Miss You, Suns".

The Good: You get a death threat, a racist message, and a bomb threat over a foul, and you decide that it's time to announce you want to play another season. Kudos, Robert Horry. Buck Harvey at mysa.com

Also, credit is due to Gene Wojciechowski, who wrote a very...umm..non favorable story about the Spurs victory (most notable for the headline "Spurs Advance*" with a nice asterisk on the end). Today, he had the guts to write another article addressing Horry's position on the Nash foul and ensuing suspensions. Keep up the good work, Gene. "Old-School Horry..." at ESPN.

The Bad: If you're a Jazz fan, and you're looking for light at the end of the tunnel, are you really going to ride the "Rafael Araujo puts up a huge 4th quarter" bandwagon? Didn't think so either. Michael Lewis at the SL Tribune

The Ugly: How does Amare Stoudemire exemplify good sportsmanship, team play, and loyalty? By skipping a team meeting and stomping off the court after the Suns were eliminated by the Spurs. Yikes.
Doug Haller at AZcentral.com

Observations from the Suns/Spurs Series

While Phoenix/San Antonio may not be the most intense series this postseason thus far (I'll award that to Dallas/Golden State), it is most certainly the most volatile. As an NBA fan, I'm actually glad to see it over. Too much whining, too much defamation, too many media stories harping on a played out good guy/bad guy scenario. So I'm going to try to do something few people did in the past weeks...examine the series from a purely basketball perspective (gasp!). Here are some of the things that stood out the most throughout the six games:

- Leandro Barbosa was completely taken out of his game by the Spurs defense. He would continuously drive baseline, even though it's exactly where the Spurs wanted to push him. Smart move, doing exactly what the defense wants. Great athlete, but still has a long ways to go in learning the game. That 6th man of the year award isn't looking too bright after Manu's 33 point, 10 rebound game, is it? As good as Barbosa is, you can't run an offense through him. You can do that through Manu Ginobili, and when he's on, he's one of the best playmakers in the game.

- Steve Nash should have shot more for the Suns. They needed 22-28 points a game from him to win the series. After giving him a quick 10 straight points in the fourth quarter, Bowen finally came to his senses and defended the pull up 3 point shot. How do you even let him shoot that? It's his patented move...just like a Duncan bank shot or a Dirk Nowitzki pump fake. It took Bowen long enough to adjust, but once he did, the Suns run came to an end.

- When analysts talk about Tim Duncan's leadership, they say he simply "leads by example". That's a cop out. He's the quarterback of the team, constantly yelling, telling guys where to be, and giving out adjustments during timeouts. He absolutely laid into Finley after Finley blew an assignment that gave the Suns an open three. That's not just leading by example, that's vocal, in-your-face Jordan type of leadership. The guy has a competitive fire that nobody gives him credit for.

- Jalen Rose didn't play at all this series. Why not even give the guy a chance in game 5? You signed him for the playoffs, didn't you? He's your best passing guard behind Nash, and the team lost their secondary primary ballhandler in Diaw (who may as well have been suspended for 2 games after his 1 point performance in game 2). Rose has also been to the NBA Finals and played well there, so I doubt he would choke under the intensity of the series. At least give him 5 minutes to see if he can contribute early in the series before giving up on the guy.

- Speaking of Rose, he used to shout "Money" every time he shot a jumper before he even landed at U of Michigan. Gilbert Arenas and his "Hibachi" owe something to Rose.

- Speaking of Diaw, that offseason extension by the Suns is looking a tad sketchy, isn't it? Especially for a team that will be close to 10 million over the cap next year. Especially for a player that showed up out of shape this year and was pushed around by players smaller than him all series. Yikes.

- Say goodbye to Shawn Marion or Amare Stoudemire this offseason, because it's clear that they won't win with this nucleus, and Phoenix doesn't want to fall even deeper into the luxury tax. My bet is Marion. I may write another article about this in the offseason, because they are in cap hell.

- Who does Tony Parker think he is? Hitting clutch jumpers in two straight games? This guy used to be too shy to shoot in their old playoff runs. Good sign for Spurs fans, despite his 11-27 performance he stayed aggressive to the very end and only had 1 turnover (that's like David Hasselhoff having "one" drink).

- The Spurs won by going small. And trust me, Spurs fans hate to see their team going small. That's how ineffective Francisco Elson was (Oberto, on the other hand, played great but picked up foul trouble on several occasions).

- The Suns almost changed the outcome of game 6 on a great adjustment that they should have been doing since game 3. When it became evident that Parker was nailing his jumper, they decided to double Duncan from the weak side instead of the strong side (meaning doubling from the opposite corner instead of doubling with the guy closest to Duncan when he gets the ball). Good move, since the Suns are quick enough to rotate to the shooters, but why do you wait until game 6 to do it? Shouldn't this be done in every clutch 4th quarter for the entire series? On that same note...

- Popovich outcoached Mike D'Antoni. Game 2 was the only exception, but the game was so much of a blowout it didn't even matter. The difference? D'Antoni makes defensive adjustments at half time, Popovich does it during every timeout.

Getting Dirty: Why Amare and Diaw Deserved Suspensions

Getting Dirty: Why Amare and Diaw Deserved Suspensions (originally published on http://www.realgm.com)

For a team that has made a living by sliding under the public radar en route to three championships, the 2007 San Antonio Spurs are sure getting a lot of attention these days. Whether it’s the antics of Bruce Bowen, the accusations by Amare Stoudemire, or a hard foul by Robert Horry, the Spurs have suddenly become public enemy no. 1 to the casual NBA fan. And with that tag, a new perception has gained a chokehold on the team

But the modern Bad Boys? Really?

We are talking about the boring, milk and cookies Spurs, right? The team that’s best player is so ho-hum that his best nickname is the ever creative “The Big Fundamental”? The team with half a roster of foreign born players? A team that quietly ushers out all the knuckleheads that come their way (read: Dennis Rodman, Antonio Daniels, Stephen Jackson)?

It takes more than a kick to the shoe, a knee to the thigh, and a hip check foul to cement the Spurs as the Bad Boys. The difference in perception is a matter of media focus. Writers love to have a protagonist, and the Suns have become the darlings of the NBA (and why not? They are fun to watch and have recognizable faces). In the wake of front page suspensions after game 4, the Suns were able to parlay a “we were cheated” mentality into a near upset in game 5.

But let’s get a few things straight. You want to know the “dirty” little secret of the suspensions? How about this…they were completely justified.

Robert Horry wasn’t being rewarded for his hit on Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were being punished for ignoring a rule that his been in place since before they even came into the league. The rule was installed for a reason; it is difficult to control an altercation when 10 guys are running onto the court from each bench. Everyone knows this rule, so why didn’t Amare and Diaw?

I know what you’re thinking. “It’s a gut reaction…totally a natural thing to rush out to protect your best player”. This has been the main argument for those fans who feel the NBA cheated the Suns, and it’s completely wrong. It’s not a natural reaction to rush out onto the court towards an altercation. With 7 bench players on each team along with a few trainers, coaches, and players in suits, only two guys decided to run onto the court. Two. Out of more than 20, we’re talking less than 10% of the players had this “natural reaction” to an altercation. Why didn’t Jalen Rose, Pat Burke, Marcus Banks, or any of the Spurs players have this reaction? Because it isn’t natural. It’s strange, awkward, and in obvious violation of a longstanding rule.

The general outcry of the public has centered on how the Suns were wronged, how David Stern and Stu Jackson had followed the letter of the law too strictly in their suspensions. Analysts are asking for wiggle room under the rule. However, as David Stern says, you can’t judge intent. Did Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw run out onto the court to be peacemakers? Probably not, but we can’t know that. Neither can the opposing team’s bench. If one team is allowed to have players run to the court, the other team will do the same. All of the sudden 24 players on the court at the sight of any altercation…but no suspensions should be warranted because nothing was made worse and they needed some “wiggle room”. And all this bench activity will in no way will make an altercation worse.

Nope, not buying it.

You want someone to blame for the game 4 suspensions? Blame the players that broke the rules. That simple.

And if you want to pigeonhole the San Antonio Spurs as the new bad guys on the NBA, do so at your own ignorance. Few teams have been more influential in the city, donated more to their community, and been more loyal to their fans. For years the Spurs have been dedicated to fighting for children’s literacy, health advocacy, and at-risk youths through dozens of programs (many of which, you’d be surprised to know, are fronted by none other than Bruce Bowen). If that’s dirty, let the NBA have their martyrdom of the Suns, and I’ll take dirty any day of the week.


Elliot Cole can be reached at elliot.cole@yahoo.com

Welcome to "The Silver and Black"

The Silver and Black is a blog dedicated to the San Antonio Spurs, three time NBA champions. We’re making our inaugural post on May 18th, 2007, amidst the Spurs’ quest for a fourth ring and an embattled Western Conference Semifinals series with the Phoenix Suns.

So what makes “The Silver and Black” different from the rest of the blogosphere? Check here for up to date profiles of NBA draft prospects, game analysis, and raw, unmitigated opinions on all things Spurs. This is intended to be an open forum. I encourage all emails, and, if they’re good enough (or hilariously awful), they’ll be posted on The Silver and Black.