This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Jimmermania: dead, for now.
The Jazz's playoff hopes: fading, suddenly.
Derrick Favors' stat line: legendary, for the wrong reason.
After absolutely the weirdest, wildest night of the season at EnergySolutions Arena, the Jazz again have fallen below the playoff cut in the Western Conference with 14 games remaining.
Friday's 104-103 loss to Sacramento was barely Jimmer Fredette's fault, but certainly damaging.
All the bounces that went the Jazz's way during a recent six-game winning streak seemingly caught up to them in this game — not counting Al Jefferson's tipped shot that finally fell in, having been delivered after the buzzer sounded to conclude a stunning defeat.
Just to complete the bizarre sequence of events, the final official shot was Favors' tip attempt that was statistically recorded as both a rebound and a miss. He finished undoubtedly the strangest performance in NBA history with 0-for-13 shooting (a franchise record) and 14 rebounds.
After the Jazz attempted 52 free throws, they lost via a free throw, naturally. Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins made his second attempt after missing the first try with 3.8 seconds remaining.
The Jazz's final play started with Gordon Hayward's drive, but there would be no repeating his last-second shot in the lane that gave Brownsburg High School an Indiana state championship four years ago. He missed wildly, then Favors swatted the ball off the rim and the game ended before Jefferson could knock the ball into the basket.
The Jazz (27-25) will remember this loss as much as Sunday's four-overtime defeat at Atlanta. They led by six points with barely more than four minutes remaining, but never could subdue the Kings. Houston and Denver both won Friday, adding to their agony.
"You've got to learn how to play and close out ballgames," said Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin. "We've taken some steps forward; we just didn't demonstrate it tonight."
The only consolation? No regret about not being able to draft Fredette.
Just the same, Jazz rookie Alec Burks partly ruined that angle by missing a 3-point try late in the game and losing the ball out of bounds on the Jazz's next-to-last possession. Corbin went down the stretch with Burks, who was available to the Jazz at No. 12 in last June's draft, two picks after the Kings took Fredette.
It also is logical to suggest that the Jazz would have found a way to use Jimmer, considering they're second to last in the NBA in 3-point shooting.
Fredette temporarily sent the Kings ahead with a baseline shot early in the fourth quarter, his only basket since the first period. He finished with four points in 16 minutes, even missing two free throws.
This is not the kind of month that Jimmer enjoyed in his BYU days. In eight March games last year, Fredette scored 275 points — including his 52-point game against New Mexico in the Mountain West tournament and strong showings in two NCAA Tournament victories. He's scored 89 points in Sacramento's 16 games this month.
Fredette often cites similar struggles during his freshman season with the Cougars. The difference then was nobody was wondering what was wrong with Jimmer or why he wasn't playing much — in Utah, anyway. "People back home [New York] were, so it just depends where you're from," he said.
Even as the No. 10 pick, Fredette is "right on schedule," said Kings coach Keith Smart. "I know it's not what everyone wants, but he's going at the right pace and he's going to be a nice finished product."
The Jazz's playoff hopes cannot be pronounced finished yet, either, but this loss hardly helped the cause.
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