Shouldn't We Be More Excited??

The season ended last night for the Utah Jazz, and they are headed to the first round of the playoffs against the Denver Nuggets--starting this Saturday. That's all of the good news we have, for now at least, because the Jazz got spanked mercilessly last night in Salt Lake City by the Phoenix Suns. It was embarrassing. I need to take a few minutes to go throw up just from thinking about it again.

And now I need to say a couple things. The Jazz played with no heart last night. This is speaking generally, because there were one or two players who looked like they were putting everything they had into the game; but for the most part, Utah didn't look like a team fighting for 2nd place in the Western Conference going into the playoffs. Passes were sloppy, defense was lazy, Phoenix was blocking every shot taken inside the paint, and Carlos Boozer was in a suit and tie behind the bench (more on that later). It was not a good night to call yourself a Jazz fan.

I have to pause to say that Mehmet Okur played very well last night, and looked like Larry Bird in a Turkish body. He was hitting everything, and kept the Jazz in the game--for the first 10 minutes. After that, I was looking for any sharp object I could find. Deron Williams was turning the ball over like Greg Ostertag, Paul Millsap's couldn't get anything past the Suns' shotblockers, and Carlos Boozer was in a suit and tie.

Which leads me to my next complaint: Carlos Boozer was in a suit and tie! He had a very mysterious "stomach muscle strain" in the previous game against the Golden State Warriors, and it was such a "sharp pain" that he felt it wise to sit out the season finale against the Suns. The season finale! With playoff seedings on the line, Boozer felt it prudent to sit and watch his team trip over themselves and then get run over by a herd of stampeding wildebeasts. I was falling in love with Boozer this season (in a purely platonic way) until he pulled that stunt. I'm pretty sure Stockton and Malone would have played with half of their intestines hanging out of their stomachs, much less a "sharp pain" coming from their rib sections.

Anyway, I was disappointed with the performance last night, but I'm as excited as ever to watch the playoffs. It's going to be tough without homecourt advantage, but I think we can stick it to the Nuggets if we can man up and play with a little heart.

Who Wants to Play the Jazz?

The Utah Jazz have been playing pretty dang well. On Monday, they beat the Boston Celtics, who have been one of the hottest teams in the league as of late. They did it with some great shooting from beyond the arc, as well as hard-nosed defense that would make Jerry Sloan slobber on himself. Which, thanks to HD, I notice that he does every game actually.

Utah took care of the Toronto Raptors pretty easily tonight, cruising to a 113-87 victory on the road. Seven different players scored in double figures, and seldom-used players (e.g. Kosta Koufos, Kyrylo Fesenko, Sundiata Gaines, and Othyus Jeffers) got a chance to finish up the last part of the game. Deron Williams owned the court; he finished with 18 points and 16 assists. He had great vision and took very good care of the ball tonight. I think he's at the height of his career right now, which is great news for any Jazz fan. With the win tonight, the Jazz have secured their 23rd winning record out of the last 24 seasons, which can be attributed to Jerry Sloan. And John Stockton, Karl Malone, Williams, Carlos Boozer, etc. But mostly just Sloan. We're lucky to have that old ornery cuss, and we're going to miss him when he finally has a massive coronary while chasing Dick Bavetta out of the arena.

I'm excited to see what happens with the rest of the season, because the Jazz are hot and the Western Conference playoff race is as tight as ever. As of right now, Utah is tied with Denver for 4th place, with Dallas only 1/2 game ahead. And, once the truth comes out about Pau Gasol being a woman on steroids, the Lakers will be disqualified, and the Jazz can take over as the best in the west.

4th Quarter Magic

What a game last night! The Jazz beat the Suns 116-108, but that doesn't tell you anything about how good of a game it was to watch. It was a late-night TNT game, so I took a nice, hot shower, settled into my blanket, grabbed the milk and Oreos, strapped on my adult diaper, and I was ready to roll.

The Suns were leading most of the game; in fact, the Jazz didn't have the lead at all in the first three quarters. They weren't playing that bad, it was just some hot shooting by the Suns and lazy defense by the Jazz. We might as well fast-forward to the fourth quarter, because that was when my diaper finally came in handy.

Utah was still down by 11 going into the final period. Every true Jazz fan knew, however, that they would do something magical by the end. The magic, this time, came from beyond the three-point line. The Jazz hit 7 of 11 three-pointers in the fourth quarter alone! Tell me the last time a Jerry Sloan team has done that. Don't tell me, actually; it would be a waste of your time. Deron Williams hit a couple threes, Mehmet Okur made two huge ones, C.J. Miles drained one (and had a three-point play the old fashioned way), and the Jazz came back, took the lead, and took all the joy out of the lives of every Suns fan in the world. It was a sweet victory.

Good show overall on national television for the Utah Jazz. I'm beginning to see very good potential going into the homestretch of the season, and if the Jazz can play at the top of their game, they will get the home-court advantage and hopefully make a good run in the playoffs.

Clipped!

Well, the Jazz fell to the Clippers last night in Los Angeles. It is never good for the ol' self-esteem to drop a game against the Clippers, and last night was no different. It felt like a red-hot steak knife being jabbed into my chest, and that's not being dramatic. I was actually able to watch the whole game, live and in beautiful HD (high definition, if you have been living in a rock for the past 10 years, or if you are older than 65 years of age). I was ready for a nice thumping of the Clippers as I have become accustomed to over the past 789 years, but it was not so last night. The Clippers actually really deserved to win; they played hard, they shot very well--especially in the first half, and the Jazz were cold for much of the game. Utah actually never led the entire game!

That's not to say it wasn't exciting, because it was. Utah caught back up and was only down by two points with 40 seconds to play. The Clippers had the ball, but Carlos Boozer stole it and lofted it downcourt for Deron Williams. Williams drove to the basket, hung in the air, and was fouled. He had two free throws, giving the Jazz the chance to tie it up with less than 30 seconds to play. As a Jazz fan, you can't ask for anything better: your star guard on the free throw line with a chance to tie the game and possibly send it into overtime! However, much to my dismay: clank, clank, and the game was over. And I had to go purge in the bathroom sink.

March is going to be a tough month for the Jazz, with several road games against good teams. They are going to have to play better than last night if they expect to remain at the top of the Western Conference heading into the homestretch of the season. Let's hope they cinch up their diapers and get to work!

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.