Jazz @ Clippers: Manic Depression

It's impossible to find any silver lining anytime you lose to the Clippers. You just pretend like nothing happened and you hope nobody was looking. The Jazz had a horrible game from the field (they finished the game 0 for 13 from the three-point line...) and they had no energy on defense. You can look in any number of directions trying to place the blame, but this loss has to sit squarely on the shoulders of the Jazz starters for not coming to play. Sure, Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams both ended up with double-doubles once again, but the team as a whole was missing-in-action. The frustration just kept piling on throughout the game, and it resulted in some hot tempers toward the end of the game (Boozer, Paul Milsap, and Jerry Sloan each picked up a technical foul). I read post-game comment written by an irate "fan", calling tonight's officiating the worst he had EVER seen, and that he had watched his last NBA game. I can understand being a little disgruntled after a depressing loss like this, but that's probably a little rash. Then again, I was about to commit suicide in the middle of the fourth quarter until some friends came over and reminded me of all my good qualities.

The Jazz still lead the Northwest Division by a game and a half over the Nuggets, and they stay in 4th in the West. Insane stat: 17 of the 20 losses this year have come on the road! At home: 23-3 (tied with Dallas for best in NBA); our home field goal percentage, assists per game, and steals per game are all best in the league. We are untouchable in SLC! Let's just hope things get shaken up a bit before the playoffs, or else we'll be facing the Spurs in the first round. We'll find out tonight if this game was a small hiccup for the surging Jazz, or if the flames that fueled our near-perfect January have died out.