Utah Jazz

Starting Five		Player Rating
C	Mehmet Okur	6
PF	Carlos Boozer	8
SF	Andrei Kirilenko	8.5
SG	Matt Harpring	6.5
PG	Carlos Arroyo	6
		35

* Player Rating on a 1 to 10 Scale. 10 denotes best at position in the NBA with no weaknesses, 5 would be average player who holds his own etc.

Reserves		Position Rating
C	Jarron Collins	4
PF	Curtis Borchardt	4
SF	Gordon Giricek / Kris Humphries	6
SG	Raja Bell / Kirk Snyder	6
PG	Raul Lopez	5
		26

* Ratings based on ability of bench to fill in a position. More than one backup at a position would influence the rating as would one player's ability to play multiple positions.

Sep 04

Carlos Arroyo is the man! At least at the Olympics. Lets see how consistent he is during the NBA season. Don't forget, last year Raul Lopez was taking major minutes away from him.

I'm not sold on Okur but with Kirilenko and Boozer alongside him, he can concentrate on offense and should put up good numbers. Kirilenko's offensive numbers should improve too now that defensives cannot focus entirely on him. Boozer is the only one who may not match last year's production especially on the boards, with better rebounders next to him.

I still think this team is that one offensive star away from being a true contender though I wouldn't want to play them in the playoffs. Arroyo's Olympic performance upgrades them to a 52-56 win team.

 

Old Post - June 04

Needs:
This team is making waves! After inking Okur to a contract that Detroit cannot match, they go and sign Boozer. Don't know where this puts Boozer -- one of the good guys, a hard worker who came from oblivion to the brink of being an All-Star -- after he got Cleveland to tear up the last year of his deal where they could have kept him for less than a mill and then walks out on them. Leaving character issues aside, Utah is sitting pretty. Depending on just how good Okur really is, they could win between 48 and 55 games.

Point Guard
Suddenly the expectations from this team have just gone through the roof and Arroyo may not be enough at the point. Look for Utah to go after someone with experience who can play Sloan's game.
Potential Candidates: Derek Fisher, Eric Snow