Booze or Sap?
Oh I can’t believe we’re back to this whole debate.
Who am I kidding, of course I can believe it. Year in and year out it seems the Jazz need to find themselves a whipping boy to get them through the roller coaster ride of the regular season. Greg Ostertag was the perfect example of this. Yes, he was quite the easy target, and really didn’t do a ton to help himself over the years, but it seemed like Jazz fans found a little too much comfort in thrashing the guy. Even Karl Malone, half of the reason this team was ever able to survive in this market, was the constant outlet for Jazz fan frustration. Now Carlos has done much to frustrate me over the last few season, I’ll be the first to admit it, but I always took the “wait and see” approach with the guy. When they introduced him on opening night, I didn’t boo, I didn’t cheer, I just waited to see what he did next.
While he pressed a bit too much to start, eventually what he did next was become the most consistent player on the team, and the obvious on the court leader. Still, we all saw the writing on the wall, and as the Jazz struggled through the first couple months of the year, many of us (myself included) were adamant that a change must be made in order for the fortunes of our Jazz were to turn around. So, with the off season fresh in many fan’s minds, Boozer was always the centerpiece in that trade. None of the rumors ever gave me belief that the trade would benefit the Jazz in either the short or the long run, so I was glad to see that none of them ever came to fruition, but I was constantly told I was being foolish.
Then came the streak. Booze finally started getting cut some slack, and we all just started to get caught up in the pandemonium of it all.
Then the calf.
Then Millsap goes off v the Kings, and the Jazz win an exciting game in Dallas.
So here we are, right back where we started. Boozer haters feeling justified to start shouting, and Boozer apologists deflecting as many arguments as possible.
I don’t feel I truly belong in either camp, I think that barring anything completely unforseen, Booze is gone at the end of the year so the notion that getting something is better than getting nothing has creedence. I also think that the Jazz overpayed for Millsap. Yes he’s had a couple monster games since Booze went out, and I truly hope he can keep that up when the starting job is his full time, but just on a hunch I looked at the last few games the Mavs and Kings have played and they gave up the following inside performances to opposing bigs:
Dallas:
v. Portland – 21 points to LaMarcus (and of course the 52 to Andre Miller – I don’t have the stats to back this up, but I’m going to go out on a limb and guess most of those weren’t jumpers)
v. Phoenix – 22 points to Amare and 13 to Admunson
v. Milwaukee – 32 points to Bogut
Sactown:
v. Denver – 24 to KMart
v. Charlotte – 38 to Gerald Wallace (4 jumpers, rest in the paint)
v. Miami – 21 to Michael Beasley
So yes, Paul was fantastic in the games v Sacramento and Dallas, but I’m not ready to say “who needs Carlos?” quite yet.
So I want to hear from all of you on this one. Boozer haters, Boozer…non-haters (I was going to say lovers, but wasn’t sure that had become socially acceptable around here yet), and the rest. Please sound off and let us know what you think. Should we trade Boozer? If so, why?
You should follow us on Twitter here & become a Facebook fan here.
Justin
I've been a Jazz fan for well over two decades now, and I can safely say that my fandom only grows with each passing year. Yes, the Jazz have the power to ruin my mood for longer than I should probably allow, but they have also been responsible for some of the fondest memories I've had throughout the course of my life. To those of you who have found the ability to read through any of my long-winded Jazz rants in their entirety, I say a fond and sincere thank you.
September 7, 2010