Comments about ‘Where's 'Tag when Utah needs him?’

actually do change the interior defense. They are not a lot of help on the offensive end. If the Jazz had a 3 guard offense they could afford to play both Fez and Koufos together. That would stop the inside game for opposing guards.

I am not sure who would do the scoring but the defense would improve a lot.

Maybe AK, Mathews and DWill with Fez and Koufos assuming that AK and Mathews were hot. Fez and Koufos could rebound and plug the inside while the other three could shoot outside or penetrate. Moving Brewer to 3 with Mathews and DWill might also be an option.

The Jazz just do not have a lot of good combinations right now for breaking a zone or defending outside shooting/penetrating guards.

I agree there is 10 fouls there 5 hard fouls between them (fes and koufos). Why isn't Sloan using them. Instead he runs the legs off the starters. The 4Th quarter is where they lose the game. Okur is not a good defender,and he would be better at the 4 and use booz between the 3 and 4. These would make these team alot longer.

Watch and 1997 game 6 semi final vs. Houston and watch Ostertag shut down Olajuwon and maybe that will change your statement that he wasnt much of a defender. He was one of the top low post defenders in basketball for many years. It is a shame that so little focus was put on his defensive ability when he played.
The fact that people think because Okur and Boozer score a few points, that Utah can win with their hideous efforts on defense is almost unbelievable.
Sloan has always been a hero of mine, but the fact that he just leaves Okur and Boozer on the court when they DONT EVEN TRY ON DEFENSE is really making it kind of difficult to understand what he is thinking.

great article! All for it, if he is in shape I agree he is a much better low post defender than given credit for. Then again is Fez and Kous are not used, then who really knows what they can do with valuable minutes

Whats wrong with Fes and Koufos? Jerry couldn't coach Ostertag either? DUH!

so far tonight Erick Dampier has 14 points and 19 rebounds vs Houston He is playing well for several games now. He is expensive but maybe we could have trade ak or Boozer in off season as part of a trade but salaries would have to closely offset.

Bottom line i want more FEZ

I've always supported Ostertag, even though his hands may be the worst in the history of the NBA. At least he took up the paint.

The fans would appreciate this I am sure. The mizerable feeling of watching Okur and Boos stand flat footed while the opposition makes easy points drives me up a wall. Please Jerry, Fez gets major minutes until he either proves his worth, or fails.
Do something now. Coach him, train him. Tomorrow night would be a goode time to face up to it. We need him with our injuries. Something has to be done anyway so why not do it now. Why did we hire Fez anyway?????????

My prediction is Boston would beat the Jazz by 25 points. Not only are the Celts good offensively, they are a lock down defensive team.The Cavs would probably beat the Jazz by only 15 points simply because LeBron would be chucking up too many 3-point attempts that he would miss. Zone D would be the Jazz opponents' simple game plan. Maybe the Jazz can get Bruce Bowen out of retirement? He plays defense AND shoots threes rather well.

I don't know, Ak can be horrible too, there are those times when he only shoots and doesn't play D. That's when the jazz get wasted. Not to mention the fact that Boozer plays no defense at all. fez could make a difference. It's sad but true bring tag back.

I'll be breaking this down further on Oracle, but here's a couple of quick Fess Facts. Fact: when he left the game against the Kings, the Jazz were up by 12 and the Kings were having a hard time getting inside. Fact: No sooner does Fess leave the game than Tyreke Evans starts taking the ball to the hoop. Not saying that Coach has to turn the team over to the big youngster, but 20 minutes a game with him plugging up the inside could do wonders for the Jazz defensively. Plus, with his minutes going down in the last few games, the confidence he was playing with earlier might be squandered. Hope that doesn't happen.

Peace out from the Jazz Oracle!

Tag would play hard, but only when he felt like it. This year's team seems to have the same work ethic so I will join them and only watch when I feel like it.

I guess if the Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins still have fans, so will the Jazz. But I have a feeling this is lottery year.

I agree with Chuck Nunn.

Fesenko has improved and with more playing time might improve a lot more. Jerry just has to accept the fact that Fes is going to make a few mistakes along the way.

In the meantime, if the Jazz lose a few games while Fes and Koufos improve ... then so be it. I'd rather have them both playing well by the playoffs then have to throw them in the Lion's Den when Boozer, Millsap or Okur get hurt.

It amazes me that the Jazz keep looking for a veteran BIG when they've got two young guys they could develop into the defensive presence they need over the next year or two.

Bite the bullet Jerry ... give Koufos and Fesenko as much playing time as possible!

Final word ... Don't bring back Ostertag! With him in the lineup it will just hold back the development of Fesenko and Koufos.

Boozer at 3? Did you really think before you posted that?

Did you watch the Knicks game? Al Harrington would bring Boozer out on the perimeter and easily drive past him. 3's would eat Boozer alive. He is too big to try and guard threes.

if our only answer is bring back Ostertag.

Remember the good old days when he would swat the ball against the backboard five times in a row so he could get credit for 5 rebounds. He swatted the ball around everywhere. He even swatted it out of the hands of his own team. The big fly swatter. The reason he was good on D is because everyone backed away. They didn't want to lose an eye.

You can't change the makeup of this team but you can change the coach.

I do remember a couple of Delta Center games where the Jazz were down in the 4th and started a run. Tag wouldn't let anyone near the front of the rim. And lets remember, he did that against really good players and not rookie guards slipping by and finding the front of the rim. Tag had a lot of weaknesses as a player (though not many as a person of character) but he did clog up the middle and on occassion, he made a difference.

Yes, it's frustrating to watch Okur and Boozer take every other play off on defense, just watching as someone prances by them for an easy bucket. It's like they think that putting a body on someone, or putting their hands up, is going to hurt them or something. C'mon guys. We know Sloan is preaching defense. You either aren't listening, don't have the ability to play defense, or simply don't want to play defense. All three are good reasons for finding other players who will. Malone, Stockton, Carr, even Ostertag would CONSISTENTLY put a body on their man, get their hands up in his face. You guys do this sometimes, but you aren't consistent doing it. If that doesn't change soon, it's time for the Jazz to make some big trades.

The best part of TAGS shtik was listening and watching him needle ZIPPY on the golf course.

The only person more bored by his basketball skills was TAG himself.

The whole NBA thing was good for the money but bad for the soul.

Jazz stink! Injuries are going to be an excuse AGAIN. I say they are they expected norm. Everything needs to be evaluated on down to the conditioning, training, and trainer. Maybe in 2012, the Jazz can bring back the same roster. The thinking is that they could fight the end of the world if they are healthy. Let's see what this team can do when healthy eh?