After the first half of the Jazz’s preseason and training camp, it looks like Ronnie Brewer has earned himself the starting shooting guard spot. While Jerry Sloan would be quick to deny this, and there’s still the possibility of trade (really now, Kobe?) or injury, Ronnie Brewer should start the season as the team’s two-guard while earning some serious minutes.
Fans saw flashes of potential in Ronnie Brewer last season — mostly on the defensive side of the ball aside from a few dunks and other athletic plays. This preseason, however, Brewer has averaged 21 points per game while shooting at an incredibly accurate percentage and stealing the ball 2.3 times a game.
There are several “guards” that could have been considered to start for the Jazz this season. One possibility was putting Kirilenko at shooting guard to allow the team to start Paul Millsap. For now, Millsap will continue to be a spark plug off the bench.
Because the Jazz’s two free agent guards are tweener who have yet to learn the offense, the team had three serious contenders for the job: Gordan Giricek, C.J. Miles, and Brewer. With Miles having shown very little improvement after holding out for a larger contract, and Giricek often in Sloan’s doghouse, Brewer looks like he’s the best option by a long shot.
Although he didn’t play much in his rookie season, Brewer never tried to publicly voice his displeasure or continually slack. Coach Sloan mentioned last season that Brewer didn’t always practice at the intensity level he was expected to, but Brewer played hard when he got on the floor.
After what seems to have been a tremendous offseason for Brewer, the Jazz may have a legitimate starting shooting guard. Not incredible, but better than the likes of Devin Brown, Raja Bell, Kirk Synder, and Sasha Pavlovic.
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October 15th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
I have loved the way that Brewer has shown up this pre-season. I still worry about his shooting… he is shooting well within five feet, but he needs to be able to hit the 15 foot jumper. Otherwise, the opposing team is going to stick their center on him, like they did several times last year.
October 17th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Better than Raja Bell? I wouldn’t go that far yet, although I sure hope I get proven wrong.
October 18th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
I love the emergence of Brewer this preseason. He adds a real different dimension to the Jazz team. The shooting percentage is great, but what I like most is the athleticism he brings, the ability to go to the hoop, and on defence, the threat of a steal and easy score. Derek Fisher never brought that to the table, and nor did Giricek. With his quickness, you think he’d be able to punish any team that tries to stick a center out on him.
The preseason has been interesting to watch. Seems to me that a few issues are sorting themselves out - many for the better and a few for the worse. Brewer’s emergence has been fantastic, and the starters have played well overall. Millsap looks great. I wonder, however, whether the rest of the guards are going to be a problem area for the rest of the year. Giricek is who he is, and will be serviceable, hopefully as the primary backup. Almond is a rookie who should be OK as the third shooting guard, but CJ has looked awful, and I cringe when he gets called into the game. Price and Hart have not impressed either. I’m beginning to think Fesenko will make the squad.
Actually, I’m curious about people’s thoughts about who will actually make the team. The top 7 in the rotation are automatic:
Williams
Boozer
Okur
Kirilenko
Brewer
Harpring
Millsap
You can probably add Giricek, Hart and Price because of their contracts. That makes 10.
My guess is that Almond will stay with the team, even though he might be better off playing for awhile in the D-League. If Brewer continues to play well, I find it hard to see where Almond will get many minutes this year. That’s 11.
The really interesting battle is between Collins and Fesenko. Everyone thought Fesenko would end up in the D-League, but that backup centre spot seems pretty wide open to me. I’m betting he stays with the team.
Still, if Fesenko stays with the team, I think his potentially erratic nature will have Sloan wanting Collins around as well, and that makes 13 players before you even consider CJ.
Personally, I think CJ is the odd man out here. Where he’s going to go, or whether he’ll just stay inactive on most nights like last year, remains to be seen. Assuming everyone stays healthy, my feeling is that the other odd man out is going to rotate between Fesenko, Price and Almond, unless either Fesenko or Almond goes to the D-League.
Just my thoughts….