Jazz lose to Hawks, I blame Collins

Go Jazz go!

Good grief, will the bad times never end? After losing to Atlanta tonight 116-111, the Jazz have lost seven of their last eight games.

Not impressive, especially considering the Hawks haven't beaten the Jazz in five years before today.



You can point to a few different factors when trying to figure out this loss.

Deron shot 3-12 from the floor.

Boozer, despite racking up 39 points and 12 rebounds, shot only 9-14 from the line. That's 64%, Booz. The team as a whole shot 69% on the night. Not good enough.

Four Hawks players scored 15 points or more. That's offensive efficiency the Jazz haven't seen in I don't know how long.

But a major and long-term problem the Jazz face?

Jarron Collins.

Up front, let me be clear that I have no problems with Jarron as a person. From all accounts, he is an intelligent, friendly, and wonderful guy.

But on the court, he's horrendous.

For 2007, Collins is averaging two points, two rebounds, and a tenth of a block in twelve minutes a game.

Tonight, Jerry Sloan gave him many of the injured Mehmet Okur's minutes, and Collins responded by scoring six points and hauling down three rebounds, while going 1-4 from the field, in 30 minutes.

With all of this evidence at his disposal, Sloan said yesterday that the Jazz "execute pretty well when [Jarron's] out there, and he passes the ball and tries to play the game the right way."

Did I mention Collins dished out two assists tonight?

When Paul Millsap, object of many a Jazz fan's mancrush, is averaging eight points and six rebounds a game in 20 minutes, I'd rather have him at the five than Collins, even if Paul does give up three inches to the Stanford graduate.

The handy site Basketball-Reference.com puts Millsap's per-40-minute stats for last season at 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Collins recorded nine points and seven rebounds per 40. Considering Millsap was a rookie is only going to get better, I know who I'd choose to play on my team.

Millsap has a supernatural sense for where the ball is going to come down. He was the only player in NCAA Division I history to lead the nation in rebounding for three consecutive years, starting when he was a freshman at Louisiana Tech.

Meanwhile, Collins is at his best when taking a charge.

Excuse me for not being overly impressed.

Looking ahead, the Jazz's next five games are against Charlotte, Orlando, Miami, Dallas, and the Lakers.

That's Okafor, Dwight, Shaq, Diop/Damiper, and Bynum, if you're interested. Utah will need solid play from their 5-spot if they want to win these games, and Collins is not the answer.

Until Sloan gets over his irrational Jarron-love, the Jazz are going to be trouble for the foreseeable future.

Of course, even when Okur is healthy, the Jazz don't get much from the center position. The need for a Utah to make a trade seems more and more clear every game.

We'll see if anything happens.