Percentages

From SLTrib:

Yep, it's all discipline. And Sloan doesn't intend to let up on that message. Take, for instance, when an opposing defense disrupts one of Utah's plays. The clock runs down below five, the ball winds up in the wrong hands, and a 20-foot prayer is the only choice. Right?
He's said it before, but Sloan reiterated over the weekend: Rash decisions are the most costly ones. And he expects his team to have the self-control to avoid them.
"We have to stay within our offense and take decent shots, even if the 24-second clock runs out," Sloan said. "If we don't, it's a fast break at the other end of the floor."

To be honest, I can't think of any intelligent commentary on this. When I read it, my first thought was: "Guh!" Then my eyes sprayed blood on the computer screen. But, as an attempt, three thoughts:

• Rash decisions are the costly ones? I can't think of anyone that would say shooting before the shot clock runs out is a rash decision except for our Coach of the Year here.
• If you're saying "stay within your offense for decent shots even if the shot clock runs out," you either need to redefine your concept of a "decent shot" or find a better offense to run. If you have the team so frightened of shooting the ball for 24 seconds because the shot isn't "decent" enough, I doubt you're going to make up for it by awesome set defense. Speaking of which...
• The problem here, apparently, isn't the offense, it's the fact the Jazz suck at fast break defense. If your solution to that problem is to cripple the offense, well...bad shots didn't start the fire, to borrow from Bordy.
• And my third point: the Jazz's SET defense sucks. Teams get secondary fast breaks on the Jazz 15 seconds into their shot clock. In other words, letting the other team have the ball so you can defend them better at the risk of losing two-to-three points on the other end is not a good move percentage-wise. Which leads to...

And that means easy baskets. The percentages say, take the turnover, Sloan emphasized. "At least I get my team set. You take a bad shot, you don't get your team set to defend at the other end of the floor. I'd rather have them set up. . . . I don't think our big guys are going to beat somebody off the dribble 20 feet from the basket."

*squirts blood*

I will give Coach of the Year five dollars and a coupon to Toys'R'Us if he lets us know what percentages he's using. My guess is that stat sheet was a piece of construction paper and the percentages were written on it in crayon.