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Back on Track and Okur Still "Money"
By Travis Heath
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Jan 22, 2007, 00:40
Losing Streak? What Losing Streak?
Remember when the Utah Jazz had lost four games in a row and the sky was
falling? Oh how quickly things change.
The Jazz have rebounded to win the last three games of their road trip and
look to be back on track once again.
"I never did say that we didn't play hard for the most part -- we had a time
or two that we didn't play hard -- but we had two tough games and you can't
do anything about that," head coach Jerry Sloan said after Saturday's win in
Chicago. "The biggest thing you can do is try and come back and play, and
we've done that. Just that's the way it's supposed to be. I don't understand
why if you lose it's supposed to continue."
Apparently his players didn't understand, either, as they looked confident
down the stretch against the Bulls. The Jazz received a particularly solid
effort from their bench on Saturday as well.
"When we ran our offense we got good shots and they weren't getting the fast
breaks," Sloan continued. "Even our second group came in and did a nice job
of keeping us within what we wanted to do and consequently we got some
baskets inside."
The Jazz have now reached the halfway mark of their season with a 27-14
record. Not too bad you're saying, right?
So is there anything Sloan would have changed about the first half of the
season?
"Yeah, we could have won those three we just lost," Sloan said with a chuckle.
"I would have been happy with that. I wish I could turn that around, but
that's the way it is."
Would the coach consider the first half of the campaign a success?
"I don't know, I'll let everybody else judge what's going on. That's not my
job. We just try to do the best we can and move forward."
If the Jazz can move forward with the same number of wins in the second half
of the season they were able to muster in the initial half, it could mean a
special postseason in Utah for the first time in years.
Memo Still Money
Mehmet Okur has been shooting lights out this season and his marksmanship has
been a big part of Utah's success. Not only has he been making shots, but
he's been making shots when it matters most. As a result, his teammates have
affectionately started referring to him as "Money."
"I hit a couple of shots at the end of the game and they started calling me
'Money.' I have no problem with that," Okur told me recently with a smile.
However, Okur credits many of the open looks he has gotten to the dominant
play of Carlos Boozer down low.
"Boozer is playing on the block and I'm staying on the perimeter. He's
creating open shots for me and so are my teammates. I try to work on my shot
everyday, and now I feel good about it."
Okur's work has clearly paid off in the form of team and individual success,
and if the team can stay healthy, Okur expects nothing less in the season's
second-half.
"Finally everybody is healthy after a couple of years. Our chemistry is
great right now. So far so good. If we continue to do what we do, we will
surprise many people out there."
While it most certainly means a lot to perform the way he has in front of
the Jazz faithful this season, he admitted he derives the most meaning from
inspiring young basketball hopefuls in his native Turkey.
"It means a lot. It means a lot to my family also. There a lot of young kids
over there who follow me right now. I try to set a good example for them."
And don't be surprised if Turkey's next generation has a couple of
representatives who follow Memo to the big time.
"You know, our new generation is great, under 20-years-old," Okur boasted
with pride. "Hopefully like three or four players will have a chance to play
in the NBA if they work hard. I think if they work hard they are going to be
here one day."
If indeed they do make it, they can thank the "Money" man for the inspiration.
Moving Up the Charts
With Saturday's win, Sloan surpassed Larry Brown for fourth place on the all
time NBA wins list adding to the coach's long and storied career. As you
might have guessed, though, these individual milestones mean little to the
old ball coach.
"That's not one of my goals," Sloan said when asked about the milestone.
"Never has been, never will be and I could care less -- other than it's nice
to still have a job. Beyond that, it's not a matter at all. I don't care
about it at all."
Newslines
Deseret Morning News: "Swatting them away as if he were sliding over from
the weak side to reject a layup inside, Andrei Kirilenko on Friday deftly
deflected disparaging remarks made Thursday by Jazz owner Larry H. Miller.
"I understand Larry, and I'm very respectful to him, because he's really a guy
who's worried about the team," Kirilenko said while sitting in the visiting
lockerroom at Air Canada Centre prior to Utah's 102-94 victory over Toronto."
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650224547,00.html
Deseret Morning News: "Veteran guard Gordan Giricek was on the receiving end
of Miller's flak too. "I think Gordan could (play shooting guard) on a lot of
teams. I'm not sure on this team that he'll fit in," Miller said of Giricek,
who has been with the Jazz for nearly three full years and was rewarded with
a four-year, $16 million contract in the summer of 2004."
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650224546,00.html
Deseret Morning News: "Jazz coach Jerry Sloan did some rejecting of his own
Friday. "We're not looking to trade anybody," he said. "I will say this:
When you come into this business, I think everybody is susceptible to the
possibility of a trade. If they aren't, then we aren't trying to do our job
to try to make the team better. But, on the other hand, I don't have any
intentions of trading Andrei. My job is to get him to play well."
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650224547,00.html
http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_20493.shtml
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