Boozin', Buh-Buh-Buh Boozin'

Carlos Boozer has been playing like there are millions of dollars on the line. Oh, wait, there are. Regardless of how much money he's making (and how much he wants to make next year by testing the free agent waters), he has been playing extremely well the past few weeks. Last night, against the Charlotte Bobcats, he had 33 points and pulled down 16 rebounds. In the last five games, he is averaging 23 points, 16 rebounds, and more than 4 assists per game. As much as some Jazz fans (see: Mark Call) hate him, he has been the best power forward in the NBA these past couple of weeks. As a side note, the Jazz won the game last night, 102-93.

But it shouldn't be a side note, because it was a great game for a couple of Jazz players. Besides Boozer, Kyle Korver had a great game, finishing with 18 points, including 5-6 from the three-point line. He hit four three-pointers in a row in the fourth quarter, which cemented the game for the Utah Jazz. I'm glad he had a good game, because he hadn't been much of a factor recently until last night. Deron Williams had 20 points and 12 assists, and the Jazz needed all three of these guys to stage a second half comeback and put the game away in the fourth.

It will be nice to have Andrei Kirilenko back for tomorrow's game in Sacramento; he's a valuable asset to the team, even though I don't think he doesn't understand anything that Jerry Sloan says, and vice versa. As long as Carlos Boozer suits up tomorrow night against the Kings (and even if it's only Boozer that suits up), the Jazz will win the game.

House of the Rising Jazz

The Utah Jazz stayed hot last night with a 98-90 victory over the New Orleans Hornets. They are finding ways to win close games, even when they are as sloppy with the ball as they were last night (Utah finished with 22 turnovers). As ugly as some parts of the game were, they got a road victory against Western Conference playoff team. I think ESPN said it best last night: "Nobody wants to play the Utah Jazz right now, they are rolling."

Boozer and Williams got their double-doubles last night, but it was Paul Millsap that stole the spotlight for much of the game. He finished with 24 points on 11-13 shooting, had 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocked shots. He acknowledged that he had played timidly for much of the season, and he is making an effort to become more aggressive on offense. It was good to see both Millsap and Boozer have good games on the same night.

The Jazz have now won 15 of their last 17 games! It's a great time to be a Jazz fan. My confidence is up, I'm eating well, and I'm having positive conversations with those people around me, thanks to the current win streak. Assuming no last-minute trades happen today, we will be riding with the current Jazz lineup for the rest of the season--and that is a good thing. Next up: at Golden State on Friday. Get the house cleaned, invite friends over, pop some popcorn and start marinating the lil' smokies--it's going to be a good one.

Rocket, Yeah!

The Utah Jazz got back to their winning ways last night with a 104-95 victory over the Houston Rockets. It was nice to see the Jazz get a win on the road against a decent Western Conference team. I was waiting to see how Utah would come out of the All-Star break, and it seems like they still have the magic!

I didn't watch the game until the final minute, so I don't have a lot to say; but I'm glad Kyle Korver was in there at the end. He hadn't been playing much as of late, so it was nice to see him finish with 10 points, including a big shot to give the Jazz the lead with a couple minutes left, and a couple free throws to seal the deal in the final seconds. Hopefully Jerry Sloan liked what he saw from Korver and he gives him more playing time now.

Deron Williams played another great game, finishing with 17 points and 15 assists (including 10 assists in the first half). He has been playing with passion lately, and I think it has done him some good to finally join the ranks of the All-Stars. If you have a little free time, I would suggest reading this Deseret News article about his High School and college days--pretty interesting stuff.

We don't have much time to bust out the fine beverages and enjoy this win; the team has already flown over to New Orleans for a game against the Hornets tonight. The Jazz will be wearing their lucky green retro jerseys in honor of their New Orleans days. Utah is 6-1 in the greens this season, so here's hoping that luck continues tonight! Chris Paul (New Orleans' star point guard) is injured, so Williams should be the main man again tonight. Utah is going for their fifth straight road victory, which would be the longest road streak in two years. Make it happen, boys.

D-Will in Dallas!

Deron Williams had a good weekend in Dallas for the All-Star festivities. He finished runner-up to Steve Nash in the Skills Challenge, and he played well in the actual All-Star game. He came in during the second quarter, and he was all over the place. He had 5 assists in the quarter, as well as a huge dunk where he came flying in from the sideline. He also threw an alley-oop and caught one of his own and slammed it down like a real man. He put on a great performance in front of his homeslices (that's gangster for family and friends, since he is from Dallas and since he is probably a gangster). He finished with 14 points and 6 assists, and did his country, state, and team proud. Good work Williams.

Now it's back to business for the Utah Jazz. They have a game in Houston tomorrow night, then New Orleans on Wednesday, followed by a Friday night game at Golden State. If the Jazz are going to trade Carlos Boozer, it has to be fast, since the trade deadline is this Friday. It will be interesting to see if Utah makes a move, but I would be surprised if they do. They have been so hot lately, it might not be a good idea to shake up a good thing--we shall see. I'm ready to get back to real basketball; this week break feels more like a month!

I'm going to go hang the life-size poster of Deron Williams above my bed right now.

All-Stars and Nice Cars

We're into All-Star Weekend, with its challenges and shootouts and glamor and showboating. Sure, it's a lot of fun to watch the best basketball players in the world show off their talents for a couple of days. However, it reminds me of a little problem in professional basketball: these players are filthy rich. Not only that, but they seem to be greedy as well. Currently, there is conversation going on between the "Player's Association" and the team owners. The Player's Association is a group of NBA players designated as representatives for the league regarding salary, benefits, contracts, etc. These two sides have been debating over salaries, and they are at a standoff right now. The group of team owners has just ripped up the Player's Association's new offer, and neither side is willing to budge at this point. This means a lockout (where nobody plays) could be in the near future. It would be the first NBA lockout since 1998-1999, when the regular season didn't start until February 5.

Let's take a step back and look at this. The average NBA player's salary is over $5 million! That is more than I am planning on making in my lifetime (unless the secret inventions I'm working on actually come to fruition). The highest-paid player this year, Tracy McGrady, will make $22.9 million (and he has only played 6 games this season due to injury). Sure, they are extremely good at playing basketball, but they are playing basketball. With the way the economy is hurting right now, and with major businesses and programs struggling to stay out of bankruptcy, it makes me a little sick to see all this money going to NBA players.

There's nothing I can do about it, and to be honest, I hope the players and owners come to an agreement soon, because I LOVE watching the NBA. I will probably sit in front of the TV tonight and watch Nate Robinson throw down some impressive dunks, and I will be very pleased. But in my sleep tonight, some small part of me will be squirming, knowing that I support and love some of the most overpaid people in the world. But it will only be in my sleep.

And the Smile Slowly Fades.....

You think there was any chance that this shot went in? No. You think the Jazz had a shot to win against the Lakers, even without Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum. Nope. Utah wasn't really in the game after the Lakers went on a 12-0 run to end the first quarter. Say goodbye to the 9-game win streak, and now we have a week to think about this game.

I'll admit, I recorded the game so I could watch it after a "previous engagement" tonight, but when I came into my apartment, the game was on and the Jazz were down by 19. So, I don't really know why Utah lost this game; however, a quick look at the box score and you will see that Pau Gasol had 22 points and 19 rebounds, and Lamar Odom had 25 and 11. Nobody could match up against those guys to keep them out of the paint.

Andrei Kirilenko had 17 points, and Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams each had double-doubles, but it wasn't enough to slow down the Best in the West. Let's all just pretend this game never happened, and enjoy the All-Star break. Congrats to D-Will on finally making the cut; let's hope he makes us proud!

The Coma has Ended! And the Jazz are Rolling!

I have a lot of apologies to all my loyal readers that have visited my blog multiple times a day for the last year, because I haven't posted anything. I have recently come out of a long coma, so I'm ready to start feeding you all once again. Thanks for not giving up on me; the only thing that has kept me alive through this ordeal is the knowledge that you have been checking this blog, waiting for new material. It's time we saddle up and ride!

Oh, by the way, the Jazz are in the middle of a 9-game win streak.

I won't even try to catch up on what has happened this season, but it would do you all good to review in your minds the roller-coaster ride that we as Jazz fans have been on since late October 2009. Or, on second thought, just go back to mid-January (you will feel better about it that way). The Jazz have now won 13 of their last 14 games, including wins over the cream of the crop in the NBA.

Speaking of cream of the crop, the Los Angeles Clippers (cough) were the latest victim to the surging Jazz. Last night, the Jazz overcame a late-game deficit to beat the Clippers 109-99. Besides Deron Williams' 13 points and 11 assists, the Jazz got a huge game from Carlos Boozer, who finished with 34 points and 14 rebounds. He even admitted to having a chip on his shoulder after being snubbed by David Stern, who chose Chris Kaman as an All-Star reserve instead of Boozer. This apparently motivated Boozer; he was driving strong to the hoop, crashing the boards like a madman, and actually playing tough defense most of the night.

The best thing about last night, however, had nothing to do with Boozer, Williams, or even the recently-resurrected Andrei Kirilenko. The heroes of the night were Ronnie Price, C.J. Miles, and Wes Matthews. Price finished with 11 points on 4-4 from the field (including 3-3 from beyond the arc), and he was the leader of a 10-1 run in the fourth quarter that put the Jazz up for good. C.J. Miles had 9 points, as well as some nice assists late in the game. He played tough defense that shut down the Clippers and prevented a comeback. Matthews had 8 points, including a huge three-point play late in the game that sealed the deal. These three backups were crucial down the stretch for this victory.

Tonight is a huge night for the Utah Jazz. They host the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers in the EnergySolutions Arena at 7 PM. The Lakers may be playing without Kobe Bryant (he's a game-time decision), and they are definitely going to be without Andrew Bynum. If the Jazz can pull out a big win tonight, they will head into the All-Star break on a 10-game win streak and they will be able to rest and relax for the next 5 days. If Williams and Boozer are on top of their game tonight, I like our chances. Everybody clear their schedules -- cancel any homework, hot dates, or geneological library appointments. The Lakers are in town and we're going to give them the ol' how-do-you-do!!!!