McLeod the Lucky Charm for Utah??

[ZiggyZoomba]

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_3376659

Jazz win streak coincides with McLeod
Good timing: The point guard's return to the starting lineup has produced promising results

Keith McLeod Jazz are 9-3 with McLeod as a starter
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - If lucky charm was an NBA position, Keith McLeod would be All-Pro.

The third-year point guard finds himself guiding the Jazz through another hot streak, this one five games long and counting, heading into tonight's road-trip opener against the Grizzlies (6 p.m. MST, KJZZ). It's a position that McLeod is getting used to even if he doesn't quite understand it himself.

"I don't know what it is" that turns the Jazz into winners when he returns to the lineup, McLeod said. "I'm pretty much just doing what I'm asked to do, same as ever. If that's what's helping us win, then that's great. But I don't feel any different."

Yet the Jazz somehow play a little different when McLeod is in the starting lineup. With his team playing poorly after a difficult road trip, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan inserted the soft-spoken guard, who had missed nearly a month with a back injury, into the lineup five games ago.

Voila - Utah hasn't lost since.

Call it coincidence, call it luck. Maybe it is. But this isn't the first time McLeod's presence has triggered a hot streak. He quarterbacked the Jazz through the first seven games of the season. Utah opened 3-1, and was 4-3 when he got hurt.

Same thing last season. McLeod was a starter for the Jazz's first seven games, six of them wins; they went 2-10 once he lost his job to Carlos Arroyo. When McLeod returned to the lineup after a groin injury, the Jazz won three straight a couple of games later, their last such streak of the season.

In fact, Utah has won back-to-back games without McLeod in the lineup only three times in two seasons, and they have no streaks longer than that without him. Utah is 9-3 this season with McLeod as a starter, and 7-13 when he's not.

"That's not bad. I like being associated with winning," McLeod said with a laugh.

With numbers like those, you would think the 6-foot-2 guard must be carrying the Jazz to victory, but McLeod's statistics reflect only marginal improvement as a starter. He makes 42.7 percent of his shots as a starter, and 36.8 percent off the bench. His assist rate is only a nothing-special 2.9 per game as a starter, and he scores 8.5 points compared to 3.3 off the bench.

But those numbers are largely a product of increased minutes, not greatly improved play. And rookie Deron Williams, who started all but one game McLeod missed, has generally better statistics - but a 6-13 record as a starter.

Even Sloan can't explain McLeod's magic touch. He does see some positive attributes that contribute to it, though.

"One thing about Keith, he's always encouraging his teammates," the coach said. "It always helps a lot knowing the other guy's pulling for you rather than pulling against you."

OK, McLeod has noticed one big difference this season: Andrei Kirilenko. The Russian forward has played every game McLeod started, while missing 10 of Williams' 19 starts. So it's not such a coincidence.

"Andrei's doing a lot right now," McLeod said. "He's probably got a lot more to do with our winning right now."

Still, even Kirilenko has noticed the difference in his teammate since returning from his back injury.

"He lost a little bit of confidence when he's out. It's impossible to be the same player when you're on a treadmill," Kirilenko said. "Now he is better, and he is a great point guard. He can score, he can run, he is aggressive defensively. He can do everything, and we need that. He is unbelievably more confident now."

Even when he screws up. "Some guys make mistakes, it's usually somebody else's fault," Sloan said. "Keith has never been that way."

Nope, he's just lucky. Or quietly effective.

[Jacobs4Heisman]

That is awesome -- hopefully that will build into a reputation for Keith. Guys labeled as "winners" can always find a home. I'm really excited to see one of my BG favorites sticking in the league. Now if we can just get Brandon Pardon a tryout somewhere, life will be perfect

[Germainfitch1]

That is awesome -- hopefully that will build into a reputation for Keith. Guys labeled as "winners" can always find a home. I'm really excited to see one of my BG favorites sticking in the league. Now if we can just get Brandon Pardon a tryout somewhere, life will be perfect

When thinking of McLeod I would say remember Chauncey Billups. Skills wise I am not sure how much they compare but I think that their careers could be similar. Serviceable PG who can score gains experience and then becomes more of a scoring threat, ends his career as a compelte player who is very important on a very good team.

McLeod is learning to be a team player now, he has to. He is also learning to be a PG. I think he will remember how to score in bunches once he gets the rest in order and is comforable in the league. .

[BGGrad01]

That is awesome -- hopefully that will build into a reputation for Keith. Guys labeled as "winners" can always find a home. I'm really excited to see one of my BG favorites sticking in the league. Now if we can just get Brandon Pardon a tryout somewhere, life will be perfect

When thinking of McLeod I would say remember Chauncey Billups. Skills wise I am not sure how much they compare but I think that their careers could be similar. Serviceable PG who can score gains experience and then becomes more of a scoring threat, ends his career as a compelte player who is very important on a very good team.

McLeod is learning to be a team player now, he has to. He is also learning to be a PG. I think he will remember how to score in bunches once he gets the rest in order and is comforable in the league. .

I really hope that Keith can become an MVP candidate in the NBA, but I don't see it happening. A comparison to Chauncey Billups is unfair.