Taking Candy From a Baby

The Charlotte Bobcats came into town tonight. They are heading back to the airport as we speak. Somewhere in between, they played some basketball, but they didn't really need to. We're talking about the Utah Jazz playing the Charlotte Bobcats in Salt Lake City. As a side note, the Jazz won the game by 22.

Don't get me wrong, the Bobcats played tough. The kept it close for much of the first half, and cut a double-digit lead down to three with six minutes left in the game. You got the sense, however, that the Jazz were just toying with them. Suddenly Kyle Korver rips off three straight treys, Ronnie Brewer has a couple big baskets, and Jerry Sloan is high-fiving Andrei Kirilenko on the way to the bench. You can decide which of those three is a lie. If you're a Jazz fan, you didn't break much of a sweat tonight.

Game ball goes to Carlos Boozer. He had a solid night with 28 points and 13 boards. I can't believe I'm giving it to him after the obscene number of layups he missed in the first half, but he redeemed himself in the second half. He was driving to the hoop with, spinning and shooting with his right hand and his left, and crashing the boards on every play. He had a ton of help though: Deron Williams had 14 points and 15 assists, Kyle Korver had 10 points and 12 marriage offers, Mehmet Okur had 20 points, 10 rebounds, and one awkward post-game interview in a bright orange sweatshirt. In all, seven Jazzmen scored in double figures; when that many players show up in the EnergySolutions Arena, you might as well leave the bus running.

We're down to 10 games left in the regular season. If we start now, we still have a chance at the lottery. If we tank it right now, we might have a chance at a #5 pick in the NBA draft. But if not, we'll have to settle for a post-season run and hope that Michael Jordan doesn't come out of retirement.