Monday, October 20, 2008

Point Guard Dilemma

“And now, folks, it's time for…Who do you trust! Hubba, hubba, hubba! Money, money, money! Who do you trust?”

Now that our superstar point guard has fallen on hard times (an ankle sprain which will keep DWill out for a minimum of two weeks), who can the Jazz trust to run the point guard position?
The Jazz are gonna have to trust a new floor general to lead the team. We, as fans, know how important and vital the point guard position is to the Jazz system. The point guard runs the show! He gets the team into the offense, distributes the ball to the right players, directs traffic on the floor, and sets the tempo of the game. Indeed, Dwill has been the ideal floor general for us.


Coach Sloan, in times of need, has attempted to try out different point guards during the preseason and during past seasons. While it seems that Ronnie Price and Brevin Knight would obviously get the nod at the point, both have been limited because of preseason injuries as well. Thus, Jerry has experimented with CJ Miles and Andrei Kirilenko running the show from the backcourt. Will this trend continue during the regular season?


In his first attempt at point guard, CJ was rather impressive, collecting 5 assists in his brief PG stint against the Denver Nuggets. AK47 has certainly been counted on in the past to bring the ball up the floor for the Jazz. Most notably, he gathered extensive playing time a couple seasons ago during the 2007 playoffs against the Golden State Warriors. Kirilenko’s PG debut abruptly came when Dwill had foul trouble, Derek Fisher had been attending to his child’s illness, and Dee Brown had suffered a spinal cord injury because of a nasty player collision. Needless to say, Andrei played admirably despite the circumstances. In my opinion though, I’d rather not see either one of these guys getting extensive minutes running the point.


That leaves us with the recovering injured reserves, and our true back-up point guards, Ronnie Price and Brevin Knight.


Clearly, the pressure and responsibility of the point guard position will fall upon the local hero, Ronnie Price. Price will be able to bring intensity, enthusiasm, and energy to the position. He has tremendous athletic ability and loves to push the pace of the game. He’s a natural scoring guard and athlete, meaning…he’ll be able to get into the paint practically whenever he desires. Price also plays tenacious defense and will always be anxious to take a defensive charge or dive for a loose ball. The question for Ronnie will be…can he hit the open jumper, direct the team into its offense, or be able to make the open pass?


On the other side of the bench is Brevin Knight. Brevin provides everything that Ronnie may not. He’s a fantastic passer, ball-handler, and team player. He’s got the experience to run the team and its offense. Will he be able to handle bigger guards on defense? Will he be able to hit the open shot when it’s given him? Perhaps his lack of ideal size and strength will be balanced out by his impressive court IQ and experience.


Joker: “Me? I'm giving away free money. And where is the Batman? He's at home, washin' his tights!”

I wish we had the Batman…our Batman, out on the floor directing traffic, hitting the jumpers and making the no-look passes. Deron will soon be back. But, in the mean time, we’ll have to rely on other players and wait for him to overcome a bum ankle injury. That sucks!

10 comments:

Pasty Gangsta said...

I can't imagine Jerry going with anyone but Price at this point (no pun intended). He knows the system and played well for us last year. I'm sure Knight will get a lot of minutes and CJ may have to slide over from time to time, but I think most of the burden is going to fall on Ronnie.

Tucker McCann said...

I just keep thinking, "better now than in April or May."

Also, pasty gangsta, i don't get your pun.

Orlando said...

I believe the pun relates to "price point." If I am correct, I rank it the TCG Worst Pun Ever.

Also, let's not even talk about CJ Miles or Andrei playing point guard.

Tucker McCann said...

what is price point? I have heard of power point, the price is right, priceline.com, but never price point.

Orlando said...

Pricepoint (n): The retail price of a product, usually when viewed as one of a series of possible competitive prices. Now do you get it?!?!HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I say we go with Golden Griff's fellow UVSC alum, RONNIE PRICE!!

Anonymous said...

Point as in "Point Guard" Hello people

Pasty Gangsta said...

Exactly. Thank you anonymous. Please disregard the foolishness of my co-writers Booner and Crotty.

Tucker McCann said...

Wow, still, that pun was fatally flawed from the outset. Really really crappy.

Orlando said...

Much better than price point, I concede. Still, lame as they come.

Can we fly Keith McLeod in from Russia to suit up for 2 weeks?

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