By Johnathan Kendrick
Last year the Jazz extended Deshawn
Stevenson’s contract. Many people were excited. Many people wondered
why. One thing everyone will agree on is Deshawn’s career in the NBA
has not been what anyone had hoped. He has had a couple of shots –
brief shots, but shots that ended due to coaching staff decisions.
Whether they say mistakes or question marks, it's hard to say.
What’s easy to say is that the shots he has been given, for one
reason or another, just didn’t go in.
It's not easy for anybody to fail, let alone an athlete with
millions watching. It's not necessarily right to look at some one
who did their best and say they failed. All those points aside –
when given second chances, who will come up short again and who will
make the next shot count.
Friday night, the Jazz opened their annual summer league. This year,
as with last year, Stevenson is a leader on that team. It's an
important role considering nearly half the regular season roster is
on the revue roster as well. It's Stevenson’s team this year, it's
also another shot.
In some ways life can be ironic and symbolic. We will live through
many small foils of our life as we take life’s journey. Perhaps
Stevenson did Friday night.
Stevenson took 30 shots making 12 of them. That’s 40% shooting from
the field. Not a great percentage. 18 shots were missed – enter the
parallel. The important part of the lesson and the message of the
story isn’t the 18 misses, the 18 chances that came up short. It’s
what happened after them. 12 shots were made. A lot of them were
made on second efforts, on not giving up on a shot or on a play. The
Jazz outscored the Suns 29-6 in second chance points, and collected
19 offensive rebounds to the Suns 6.
Leading the comeback early in the fourth quarter, Stevenson got his
shot blocked just inside the 3 point line. Most blocked shots take
place under the basket. Shots are rarely blocked that far out.
Embarrassment, fatigue, and desperation, are usually the first
feeling to hit someone who has had their shot blocked especially
form outside. Keeping your cool rarely wins out over trying to get
the ball back and fouling the man who just stuffed you. On this
occasion Stevenson remained cool, collected the ball then collected
himself before the defender could, took and made the same shot that
was just blocked.
On several occasions Friday night, Stevenson drove through the key
to the hoop and got blocked or missed the shot. With the clock
winding down and the Jazz down by 2 points. Deshawn dangerously went
down the middle again. Having taken the shot before and missed,
having learned, he made the shot when it counted and sent the game
to overtime.
Stevenson had control of his team and the crowd as well, using them
in the vital stretch of the comeback to give the summer league team
a true home court advantage. Missed shots were followed by second
efforts. Stevenson had 5 offensive rebounds on the night because he
didn’t let the shot go without being in position to shoot again.
When the game ended Stevenson lead his team in scoring, shots taken,
and assists. He was the second highest rebounder in the game.
Most people who watched saw some nice plays, some rushed shots, and
an impressive line at 27 points 8 rebounds 4 assists and 1 steal to
2 turnovers. Those who watched closely saw determination, resolve
and a story that might very well match the story of his career. Was
it just a game? Or were Stevenson's second efforts making it game
that foreshadows his destiny. Destiny is a strong word, but if
Stevenson wants a long and prosperous career, he better hope his
career goes a lot like the Fridays game, where playing under control
– the next shot was going in.
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