There are no smiles on the floor. If you smile and have a good time Coach Sloan pulls you and you sit at the end of the bench. Simply put. Happy heart, happy feet. You need to be happy to have that extra energy to win. If we're gonna fix something, lets look for a coach with a positive mental attitude. Maybe Steve Covey could help?

Martin R. Mangum

Ivins

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Okur shouldn't shoulder the blame

Dear sir/madam,

Did Memo get enough playing time and support from his team mates (Harpring and Bell in particular) for us to judge whether he was worth it? It is apparent that Harpring and Bell are jealous of Memo's contract, and every time they go out on the court to play, they try to convey the message of "Huh, what does he have that I haven't got?".

Okur never gets any passes from any of his teammates. He usually has to go for the offensive rebound to get any posession of the ball at all. He plays great in certain games, enabling a win, but the game after, his playing time diminishes. Despite his success, he is not preferred for a starting spot — and come on, the guy is not a machine! Effort deserves reward, otherwise there is not point in exerting it. It is the job of the coach (Sloan) to motivate the players by rewarding and punishing them accordingly. Borchard a starter and Memo not?

Sloan juggles too much with the team setup. A team needs consistency to harmonize, but Sloan prevents that in trying something new every game. No one player knows what the other is up to, where he positions himself or what his next move will be, and even what he is or is not capable of.

I might be a little emotional when it comes to Memo as I am his countryman . . . but I do not believe that my views are a case for total dismissal. Yes, Memo made mistakes. Yes, sometimes he hasn't played aggressive enough, but I believe that all that can be traced to Sloan's mis-coaching. Memo played starter in Detroit and the team did very well with him quite a number of times.

I also believe that Boozer suffers from the same problem.

Yet I am very objective when it comes to Sloan's coaching and the selfish and egocentric performances displayed by certain players. I hope that Sloan (or anybody else) succeeds in making a team out of Utah and that Utah has one more reason to be proud of.

I wish the Deseret News team all the best.

Kind regards,

Baris Tuncsiper

Ankara, Turkey

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Jazz need to play to strengths, not weaknesses

Dear Sirs,