Utah Jazz winning because of, not despite, Al Jefferson


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SALT LAKE CITY - The Thunder are pretty good. They are currently the the reigning Western Conference Champion with two bona fide All-Stars and Al Jefferson recognized it.

The Jazz traveled to Oklahoma City in the middle of a road trip after a win in New Orleans to face a hot Thunder team. They had to start a new lineup with Marvin Williams hurt to stop Kevin Durant. And in the end the Jazz lost 106-94, then the real battle began.

"I don't feel bad at all about this loss," Jefferson said. "I think we did a great job against all odds."

Losses happen, in any game there is a winner and a loser, but saying that as an athlete can set off a firestorm of biblical proportions. Fights started on Twitter on whether or not Jefferson's attitude was appropriate.

All the Jazz fan Twitter all-stars had their own opinion.

David Locke and Steve Luhm tweeted about Jefferson's remarks in comparison with how Jazz legend Karl Malone reacted after a game 7 loss in the playoffs.

Even the LostTacoVender got into it, "The way some of you overreact to even the slightest misspeaks by Al, Booze or Malone says a lot more about you than anything they ever said."

Jefferson has had some foot-in-mouth moments including last year's playoff quote of the Spurs being somewhat unbeatable. But, where would the Jazz be without Jefferson, the grass seems greener outside the Jazz fan base.

John Hollinger wrote "Top first-time All-Star candidates" for ESPN Insider about players who could breakthrough into All-Star status, and sure enough Jefferson makes the list. Here is an excerpt for those without Insider.

"Right now Jefferson has everything in his favor for a fringe All-Star pick -- he's playing on a team that's likely to be slightly above .500 by then, which has an insanely dramatic impact on his chances; he's seen as a go-to guy for his club, and he's already led Utah to a playoff appearance. Basically, he passes all of the coaches' little 'tests.'"

His PER, or Hollinger rankings have gone down quite a bit this year, but he still leads the team with it. But his advanced stat "Value Added" had him as the 14th most valuable player in the league and adds 3 wins per season. That would have changed the Jazz from a playoff team to a lottery team last year.

What he lacks in other areas, defense, should be made up for by support players. It is for the most part. When players like Derrick Favors and Marvin Williams get hurt and miss time the odds go significantly against the Jazz.

NBA.com's Power Rankings wrote, "It's no coincidence that Saturday's Favors-less loss in Houston was the Jazz's worst defensive game of the season."

Jefferson might have said something dumb, it probably happens to most people, but the Jazz are winning because of him, not despite his lack of motivation and hatred of winning. After the Nuggets game last Monday he sat quietly with a fire burning as he answered questions.

He wasn't jubilant in victory, but he seemed to enjoy it. Earl Watson once said, "You can't pay me enough to lose." Jefferson surely agrees. His post game comments against the Nuggets at home showed that he didn't feel good about a win. It was a win, but he knew they needed to get better.

Against the Thunder he said he didn't feel bad. It wasn't a bad loss. They finish a long stretch 9-9. ESPN's Power Rankings sum up the first month or so for the Jazz, "Al Jefferson continues to be the most efficient member of Utah's deep frontcourt after playing through a recent ankle sprain and leads one of the league's three remaining unbeaten teams at home (along with Miami and New York) into a welcome stretch of three in a row in SLC after a road-heavy start."

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Jarom Moore

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