Comments about ‘Utah Jazz: Paul Millsap not worried about Jefferson's arrival’

It will be interesting to see who Sloan starts, I think Okur will not be healthy enough to start when the season starts and therefore AJ could start at center and Milsap at PF, but I'm hoping Fes comes back ready to contribute more and forces Sloan to start him and bring MIlsap off the bench. Fes needs PT to get comfortable and confident. If Fes can get meaningful minutes, and improve, it will be a big boost to the team.
I hope CJ comes ready to start at the 2 spot , Raja will be tough and competitive and who ever plays the best Sloan will probably start but CJ is the 2 of the future for the Jazz (I hope and I think the Jazz are planning)and I hope he is working hard to prove that when camp starts. He thinks he should be able to produce at least as much during the regular season as he did during the playoffs and he scored 14+. I think he's looking at at least 15 pts and improving his rebounding.
I'm ready for the new season to get started sooner rather than later. Go Jazz.

Millsap is my boy. He works as hard as anyone and has the humility to accept any role on the floor. Frankly, I see him staying in the reserve role. His size is a major factor. He's shown flashes of brilliance with his shooting last season and I hope he can continue his development. My preferred lineups would be the following:
Starters: Williams, Bell, Miles, AK-47, Jefferson/Okur
Bench: Gaines, Price, Hayward, Millsap, Okur/Jefferson/Fesenko

Of course, there would need to be some adjustments made with AK playing some SF minutes and Hayward SG, possibly. But my lineups offer strong combination of Defense and Offense. With AK and Bell on the floor, you have strong scorers in D-Will, CJ and Okur/Jefferson. Millsap would offer defensive presence for second unit, and hopefully Fesenko will do the same.

The Jazz will have the luxury to decide who starts and plays a lot in any particular game, based on matchups and who is playing well. All three players will get plenty of minutes.

I guess the Jazz are waiting to see if any other team will give Fess an offer. I hope this doesn't backfire and the Jazz end up without him.We need his big bod in the middle against certain teams and situations.

I think paul should start this season he has proved to be worthy!Jefferson still has to prove himself to me !As far as Okur who knows !

I predict Al will do wonders for Fes. Someone to truly bang against in practice and, more importantly, to teach foot-work.

If Al starts at center, Milsap starts at PF for sure. I want to see Fesenko getting at least 24 minutes a game at C though...he needs the work and it will help his confidence to equally share C minutes. I think Kirilenko's minutes will fall a little bit as Hayward is gradually picks up more and more minutes. I still think Hayward will start the year in the D League. Milsap is a key player for the Jazz, and the jumper he talked about will be key, too, to the Jazz spreading the floor. Thanks for your efforts on the court, Paul, have a great year!

AJ will start. No matter what Okur says he wont be 100% until 2011. Sap is better than Okur anyway on a day to day basis. You have 96 minutes between PF and C. The big three should get between 25-30 min each. AK about 7-8 and Auggie to mop up the rest. For those who think Fess will be a force better hope he gets at least a ninth grade attitude instead of eighth grade attitude. Hope for the best but prepare for the same old Fess.

Boozer and Okur often seemed to be slow starters, which would hurt the Jazz. I would hope that Jefferson comes out of the gate a bit faster and would therefore start. It would be nice not to need to climb out of a hole. Millsap is bundle energy whenever he is in the game; that is what makes his talents even more useful. It will be interesting to see what plays Sloan develops for the Jefferson/Millsap, low-post/high-post, combo. That might decide who starts.

Why do Jazz fans have to list the Jazz roster in posts...do you not think people know who play for the Jazz...come on!

On paper Jefferson is a better fit for Utah than Boozer was. Boozer was a true PF who was forced to play center to accommodate Milsap, Jefferson’s style is closer to a center than PF and he’s at the right size to play both.

I expect Milsap to play 30 min a night at PF and about 3 or 4 at the SF, Jefferson would then play about 18 min at PF and 15 min at center. That leaves 33 min for Okur and Fess. When you take injuries into account Okur will probably end up averaging 25 min a game and Fess around 15 to 20.

The Jazz really need to bring back Fess, Okur’s days of averaging 30+ min a game are over and I think he’s exactly what the Jazz need down low. Al, Okur, and Fess will be one of the best center combinations in the NBA and they compliment each other so perfectly it’s scary.

I didn’t think it was possible but the Jazz are better right now than they were last year (on paper at least).

Re Maverick:

Because we're bored, excited about the season, and most importantly we all think we're smarter than all the other Jazz fans.

If Jefferson at 100% is better than Boozer at 100% and he will be very popular with the Utah Fans. It may be the slickest move of the summer. On paper the chemestry on this team should be amazing. If Paul can get his minutes, this should be a very good year.

I hope the coaching staff and Fess take advantage of the fact that Okur will probably not be able to play high minutes to start the season and give Fes 20 plus minutes per game so he can develop and become a significant productive and even invaluable part to the success of this team.

I bet you're going to see more of Paul this coming year and he's going to be getting a lot of double doubles. Having three strong players to rotate through those two spots is great especially especially when Memo is a threat to hit the perimeter shot. Who do you plan on double teaming when you always have some combination of those three players out there? You put Raja out there and it opens up everything underneath. I've heard that D-Will kid can also hurt you from anywhere and then there's always AK and GH on the other wing. There's not question we're a stronger team now.

I dont get the Fesenko bandwagon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When Memo is ready he won't be able to go more than 15 or 20 minutes a night for a long time and should come off the bench. Starters AJ and PM at the power spots. The 3 spot is up in the air, but I think you need to start AK.

I don't get it...AK still very important to this team in my opinion. Best defender on the court every year for several years. Can run with D-Will on the break. High avg for steals. Was better at power forward before Boozer came along. I still think he's one of the most important guys on this team. What I don't get is the lack of credit the fans give him. Too many people down on him. Honestly I think Boozer got in the way. Glad he's gone.

I could see Memo losing his starting job. I see AJ and Fes at C, Millsap and Memo at PF, (Memo could be an effective backup at PF. He did well at that position when Loozer was hurt most of one of their first years together ), AK and Hayward at SF, CJ and Bell at SG, and D-Will and Price at PG. That's a pretty solid starting 5and second unit. The biggest need now is for a better backup PG. Price plays out of control and isn't a great shooter. Gaines plays more controlled, but can't hit his freebies. I see them keeping Price as their 3rd PG, but Gaines will go since his contract isn't guaranteed. They should bring in a serviceable vet at PG who can play controlled and is a decent shooter. Then add Evans and Jeffers to fill out the roster. That would give them a very solid roster this year, and flexibility next year once AK is off the books.

How strange to see several posts taliking about Fesenko as if he were about to become another Kevin McHale. If only his stats could justify that kind of talk. Lots of opportunities to fill in this past year and lots of games showing close to zero stats to show for it. The post where Okur will probably lose his starting role and Fesenko is listed as a starter is amazing.

The guys screaming at the draft a few years ago because the Jazz didn't take Pavel Poldkozine in the lottery seem to be quite active on this board.