The Jazz really didn’t have a reliable shooting guard last year. Considering all of the good shooting guards and small forwards in the league, it seems strange that many teams can’t seem to find one that fits their system well, or can play consistently well at that position.
Here is what the Jazz had at that position last year…
Derek Fisher started for much of the year, but he was really more of a point guard trying his best to play shooting guard. He performed very well as a good locker room presence. His play at “shooting guard” was better than some other starting shooting guards in the league, but not as good as a high caliber team SHOULD have.
Gordan Giricek, who also started much of the season, was inconsistent as well (as he has been throughout his career), but much of it this past season seemed more easy to blame on injuries (which have also plagued him throughout his career) than from a lack of effort or conditioning. Jazz fans have constant been down on Giro, but I can’t say that there was much reason for that last year.
There was much hope for young C.J. Miles this past year. A great season finale and a stellar Rocky Mountain Review seemed to have him poised at the heir apparent at shooting guard. Unfortunately, Sloan never saw it that way. Was Sloan wrong? It’s hard to say. Needless to say, C.J. didn’t do much last year and doesn’t even have a strong showing at the Rocky Mountain Review this year to make a case for him to get picked up by the Jazz (which he still might be).
Ronnie Brewer was just a rookie. Rookies rarely get good time out of Coach Jerry Sloan. If I were a mathematician, I would tell you that that equates to Ronnie Brewer rarely getting good time out of Coach Jerry Sloan. And I would be right, in this case. It’s hard to argue, though, that Ronnie Brewer’s coming out year is this year because Paul Millsap did just fine as a rookie (against all odds). Ronnie is a nice slasher, but for Jerry Sloan’s offense, it’s hard to know if he will really be utilitized this year any more than he was last year (except that Sloan might have little choice BUT to give him a chance.)
The Jazz knew their weakness.
Their fans told them over and over that they had a weakness at shooting guard.
The sportswriters at the local papers told them over and over that they had a weakness at shooting guard.
So to correct that over the summer, they went about to pick up a spectacular shooting guard — the second coming of Jeff Hornacek — to take us to the PROMISED LAND.
Um…
Well…
Ok. Maybe they didn’t.
Who did they pick up to play shooting guard again?
Who is likely to start at shooting guard?
In addition to Gordan Giricek, Ronnie Brewer, and possibly C.J. Miles, the Jazz have added Jason Hart, Ronnie Price, and Morris Almond.
(The Utah Jazz missed out on Morris Peterson mainly because they were looking to the huge Deron Williams contract looming on the horizon. As fans, we don’t like it much. But we certainly would rather have Deron Williams than Morris Peterson, if that is our choice in two years.)
Jason Hart and Ronnie Price are both hard-nosed defenders, which very well may have been more important to pick up than a pure shooter (a la Ray Allen) would have been to a group where Deron Williams and Mehmet Okur can shoot very well and Carlos Boozer isn’t too bad either. It just doesn’t excite any of us too much.
Morris Almond, on the other hand, could be a very good shooter. But he’s a rookie. And just ask Ronnie Brewer how much time rookies get with Jerry Sloan.
So who are our likely candidates to start at shooting guard for the Utah Jazz?
The best candidate seems to be Gordan Giricek, who I think excites no one inside of the state of Utah. If he comes back in shape, he is likely the best shooting guard of the bunch. In spite of his inconsistency, he certainly has to be the best shooter of the bunch — Morris Almond is excluded because he is a rookie and doesn’t count while Jerry Sloan is the head coach. (Giricek’s contact ends after this year, so he might well be traded before then for some team seeking luxury tax relief.)
Look for Giricek, though, to be replaced as often as necessary with defense from Ronnie Price or Jason Hart, especially if Memo, Deron, and Boozer are shooting well to start off the season, and Giro is not. (And if Kirilenko is traded for a scoring small forward, look for Giro to be replaced in the starting lineup by the aforementioned Price or Hart.)
If I had to guess the depth chart for Shooting Guard this season, I would guess that it would be
1) Gordan Giricek
2) Jason Hart
3) Ronnie Price
4) Ronnie Brewer, and that Ronnie Brewer will get some of his time at small forward (and maybe a few minutes at point guard in a pinch), as well.
The funny thing about that depth chart is that the depth chart for Point Guard will look something like…
1) Deron Williams
2) Jason Hart
3) Ronnie Price
4) Ronnie Brewer
Inspire confidence in you?
Yeah, me neither.
