Utah Jazz Blog

“Hey kids, this here Karl Malone.”

Karl Malone think that Jimmy Kimmel does good impression of Karl Malone on The Man Show on Comedy Central. Karl Malone wish Jimmy Kimmel done more make fun of Karl Malone cause Karl Malone get famouser and famouser.

Note: Karl Malone think RSS readers, whatever the heck that is, need to click through if video no show up.

Karl Malone on Aliens (The Man Show)

Karl Malone on the Movies (The Man Show)

Karl Malone Loves the Ladies (The Man Show)

Karl Malone on History  (The Man Show)

Santa Karl (The Man Show)

Karl Malone looks for Beanie Babies (Crank Yankers)

Now of you find any more Karl Malone clips from the Man Show, Karl Malone ask that you kindly link to them in the comments, thats that funny little box down there at the bottom.

“Until next time, this here Karl Malone.”

Popularity: 100% [?]

Congratulation to John Stockton and Jerry Sloan! On Monday it became official, both Stockton and Sloan are headed to the Hall of Fame as members of the class of 2009.  

They enter the basketball Hall of Fame with Michael Jordan, David Robinson and Rutgers women’s coach C. Vivian Stringer in what may be the greatest Hall of Fame class ever.

Obviously, there was never any doubt that John Stockton was a first-ballot Hall of Famer.  Jerry Sloan’s status was a bit more undecided but it was no surprise to learn of his upcoming induction. Stockton was in Detroit during the NCAA championship game when the official announcement was made. Jerry Sloan did not make the trip to Detroit as he continues to mourn the death of his brother and prepares the Jazz for their final five games.

As a John Stockton fan, I have witnessed many of his greatest moments in person including when he broke Magic Johnson’s assist record, when he broke the steals record, when his number was retired, game four of the 1997 NBA Finals against the Bulls (Stockton’s long pass to Malone), many games winners, etc. I still get chills every time I see his game-winner against the Houston Rockets, probably the greatest single moment in Utah Jazz history.

Of course, the NBA championship eluded John Stockton, Jerry Sloan and the Utah Jazz.  They are one of a handful of teams in the modern era that competed at a championship level for at least five straight season without winning the title: 

Utah Jazz (1991-2003)
Playing during the Chicago Bulls era of titles is not exactly an excuse. Just ask the Houston Rockets. Most teams on this list do not have nearly as long a window, as the key group of players were not with the team for as long as in Utah’s case.  From 1984 to 2003, the Jazz made the playoffs each season, but reached the Finals just twice. Some may argue that the true window to win a title began when Jerry Sloan took over as head coach during the 1988-89 season, and while Karl Malone and John Stockton had been paired up since the 1985-86 season, the Jazz did not make it to the Western Conference Finals until 1992. That’s when they became title contenders.  As we all know, Stockton’s career consisted of dishing out over 15,800 assists, which is over 5,000 assists more than Mark Jackson, who is 2nd on the NBA’s all-time assists list.  Karl Malone, meanwhile, went on to finish 2nd on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.  To have that kind of talent for so long and not come away with a title is almost unimaginable, if not crushing to a franchise.  The window came to an abrupt close in 2003, when Stockton retired and Malone went to the Lakers in a last-ditch effort to win a title. The ultimate kicker?  Between 1991 and 2003, Utah’s 632 wins were the most in the NBA. 

Source: A.B.C. Teams: All But the Championship [Truehoop]

I disagree that the Jazz run began in 1991, it really began during the 1988 NBA Playoffs when the Jazz took Magic Johnson and the Lakers to a seventh game in the Western Conference Semi-Finals.  That series put Stockton, Malone and the Jazz on the map. 

Once again, congratulations to John Stockton and Jerry Sloan!

Popularity: 19% [?]

There has been speculation recently that there has been issues in the Jazz locker room. Now, I can’t help but wonder if that turmoil is centered around Carlos Boozer.  

Yet Boozer still sat the entire fourth quarter in favor of Paul Millsap, with Jazz coach Jerry Sloan suggesting before the game that he has considered starting Millsap and bringing Boozer off the bench as he makes a slow return from knee surgery.

“Yeah, I think about it every day,” Sloan said. “We need guys, and maybe Boozer will get himself together a little bit more coming off the bench. That’s something we’re thinking about, but we’ve got to try to win the game today starting the way we are.”

Boozer was unequivocal about his preference — “I’d rather start, period,” he said — as well as his desire to be on the floor in the fourth quarter.

“It’s the worst thing in the world, especially when you’re a dude like me,” Boozer said. “But it was fun to see us play that way. We moved the ball so well, we scored, we won by a huge margin.

[Source: The Salt Lake Tribune: Boozer off the bench?]

What was shown on the Jazz postgame show was more alarming than this though as there was no “would rather”. When asked by Craig Bolerjack about coming off the bench Boozer said, “I am a starter, period.” Bolerjack said, “Period?” and Boozer replied “Period.”

Popularity: 13% [?]

Ronnie Brewer and the Utah Jazz finally showed up in an important road game and thrashed the New Orleans Hornets.

The Jazz jumped on the Hornets early with a near-perfect 41 point first quarter. The Jazz scored on 19 of 23 possessions in the quarter and that includes a Memo Okur 40-foot heave at the buzzer (not really a possession).  That may have been the best offensive quarter that Utah has had, home or away, all season long.

The Hornets were able to hang with the Jazz for the first 5 minutes (tie game 12-12) but then New Orleans was outscored 29-7 to close the quarter out as the Jazz got active on defense.

The Jazz lead ballooned to 30 in the second quarter and the Hornets would never get closer than a nine-point deficit near the end of the third quarter.

This has to be the biggest win of the year for the Jazz. Not just because it was their first win over a Western Conference playoff contender, but because the Jazz seemed to be losing confidence.

• Ronnie Brewer was the clear player of the game for the Jazz. Brew started the Jazz off right with three buckets on the first three possessions on his way to 23 points on 11-16 shooting. It is not a surprise that Ronnie had the highest +/- on the team at +16. When Brewer is able to get to the bucket AND hit his jump shot, the Jazz are tough to beat. 
• You gotta love watching Deron Williams and Chris Paul battle.  Statistically, they virtually cancelled each other out. Deron had 21 points on 8-10 FG, 11 assists, 3 steals and 0 turnovers.  Chris Paul had 19 points on 7-12 shooting, 12 assists, 1 steal and 4 turnovers.  The Jazz are now 11-2 against the Hornets when they play each other.
• Great move by Byron Scott leaving Chris Paul in the game when he picked up his fourth foul with 5:28 left in the third quarter. The Hornets really had no hope if CP3 went to the bench at that point down 20. Instead the Hornets made their run to cut the Jazz lead to 9 near the end of the quarter and Paul didn’t pick up his 5th foul until one minute into the fourth quarter when Brevin Knight stepped in front of him and drew a charge.  I am definitely a fan of leaving guys on the court in that type of situation.
• Andrei Kirilenko started in place of C.J. Miles who dislocated a finger against the Timberwolves on Friday.  AK brought some much needed energy and defensive presence and continued to shoot the ball well from outside. You can’t help but wonder if AK’s move to the starting lineup is a permanent one. 

Popularity: 19% [?]

The Jazz have only played 4 games decided by 3 points or less this season and are now only 1-3 in those close games after their 103-102 loss at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Their lone win came at Minnesota in December.  Only the New York Knicks (1-4) have as few wins in close games.  By contrast, Indiana has played 21 close games (9-12) and San Antonio has played 18 (11-7).  The best teams? Portland and New Orleans are both 8-1 in close games. 

Why have the Jazz played so few close games this season? It could be partially due to Sloan’s “fight and foul until the bitter end” mentality, where a 2 point loss turns into a 8 point loss in the final moments. But that doesn’t really explain the lack of close wins. Any ideas?

Keep in mind that the Jazz have played a triple-overtime game (at Miami), two double-overtime games (at Detroit, at Houston) and a overtime game (vs. Phoenix), but none of those games ended with a margin or 3 points or less.

Will this lack of close games hurt the Jazz come playoff time?

Popularity: 9% [?]

This wasn’t supposed to happen.  This game really was more important than the Portland or Denver games because a Jazz loss would mean uncertainty in the one place the Jazz were certain, Energy Solutions Arena. 

But it isn’t the end of the world either.

Minnesota did not play like the 21-54 team that they were supposed to be.  They fought behind the good play of Rodney Carney, Ryan Gomes and Sebastian Telfair.  Mike Miller was huge down the stretch. Surprisingly, Kevin Love only had 2 points and six rebounds but the Timberwolves were +16 in his 26 minutes on the floor. 

It’s really hard to see where this one went wrong by only looking at the box score, but if you saw the game you know it was the lack of Jazz defense.

Minnesota out-shot Utah 53.3% to 48.0%. And even more surprising, the Timberwolves had 5 more assists than the Jazz, 27-22.  The Jazz almost always dominate those two statistics at home.

Somehow the Jazz managed to lose despite the Timberwolves committing 13 more turnovers and despite the Jazz making 13 more free-throws. Carlos Boozer continued to struggle, shooting just 1-9 (although his one make came at an opportune time, a 19 footer that put the Jazz up 3 with 3:45 left).  

Andrei Kirilenko found his shot that was so absent in Denver and had 13 points on 6 of 7 FGs and also contributed 3 blocks.  Andrei’s jumper was flowing and he didn’t attempt a single three-pointer (AK is only shooting 25% from behind the arc this year so missing three-pointers often just ruins the confidence in his overall jump shot). 

The Jazz had the ball with 2.3 seconds left and Deron Williams had a shot to win the game. Was he fouled??? Maybe. But that really doesn’t matter because you can’t expect that to be called in that type of situation.  I couldn’t help but rewind the Tivo a few times to see if Deron had enough time to pass it to Korver in the corner.  Korver’s man had slid back a bit on Deron’s drive.  With about .8 seconds left D-will could have passed Kyle the ball for a quick but more open shot.  Was there enough time for that, I don’t know.

You also can’t help but wonder if things would have been different with Sloan at the helm, better or worse (not a knock on Phil Johnson at all).  

Sure you could write off the Jazz after this HOME loss to one of the worst teams in the league, or… you could embrace the fight for the 6th/7th/8th seed and be happy that you are not a Phoenix Suns fan on the outside looking in.

Popularity: 28% [?]

Well, that happened.

The Utah Jazz were able to jump out on the Denver Nuggets by 11 in the first quarter… and then J.R. Smith started raining threes. Smith was the dagger in the side of the Jazz as he dropped 28 points on 8-13 behind the arc… but he was hardly the only problem the Jazz had in this “Monumental” game.

Carlos Boozer, Memo Okur and Andrei Kirilenko were a combined 10 of 45  (22.2%) and Deron Williams had a very marginal game as well (but his stats were somewhat padded at the end of this one).  

According to Deron, “That’s probably the worst 18 points, 10 assists I’ve ever had in my life.”

It is really amazing, actually remarkable, that the Jazz were able to have several chances to cut the lead to 4 in the final minutes of this one. 

Looking back at my preview of the Jazz-Nuggets game yesterday, I mentioned the issues the Jazz have with shot-blocking teams:

Block Party?

One concerning stat is that the Nuggets are second in the NBA with 5.9 blocks per game.  The Jazz (Carlos Boozer in particular) struggle against teams that block shots.  Utah is just 11-12 (.478)  in games versus teams in the top ten teams in blocks.  Conversely, the Jazz are 35-16 (.686) against the rest of the league.  Including the Nuggets game, five of the Jazz final eight opponents are among the top ten in blocks (@Denver, @Dallas, Golden State, L.A. Clippers, @L.A. Lakers).

Hmm… well, Chris “Birdman” Andersen finished with 8 (eight!) blocks on the Jazz and the Nuggets had 10 as a team.   More worrisome than the Nuggets stats is the fact that Carlos Boozer was blocked 6 times himself. 

Carlos seemed to have a HORRIBLE game and the Jazz seemed as though they would be better off without him but looking at the final box-score, the Jazz were +4 with Booze in the game and -22 with Millsap in the game.  Millsap (14 points on 7-10 shooting with 12 boards) along with C.J. Miles and Ronnie Brewer, seemed to be the only Jazz players that had decent games.

• The Jazz started the game very nicely with 3 made jumpers by Ronnie Brewer, a couple of jumpers by C.J. and a nice D-Will dunk. The Jazz were up 22-11 before J.R. Smith hit his first (26 foot) three pointer. 
• The Nuggets outscored the Jazz 10-2 over the last 2 minutes of the first quarter and closed the second quarter on a 19-8 run.
• Deron Williams was called for his 4th foul midway through the third quarter really killing the Jazz chances.  Jerry Sloan didn’t like the call and delivered a bit of a jab at the Nuggets after the game, “They’re cute with the way they play and that’s what happens.” It will be fun if these teams meet in the playoffs, I suspect you would definitely hear more of that quote.

Popularity: 23% [?]

The “Jazz Dancer” featured in this YouTube video is becoming quite the Internet celebrity.  Pretty sure that this is the same guy that the Jazz broadcasters super-imposed Craig Bolerjack’s face on a few games ago.  The video has over 30,000+ views on YouTube and is only gaining momentum.

Wow. There is something really creepy about that video.  Pretty sure it’s the eyes, or the Larry H. Miller body or the retro Karl Malone jersey… or everything lumped together into one train wreck of a dance video. 

I can only think of how the real Jazz dancers must feel.  All of their sweat, tears and hard work and whenever anyone Google’s “Utah Jazz Dancer” in the future, they will be met with nothing but this guy.

Popularity: 37% [?]

About the Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are hot, having won 9 of 10 to take over the top of the Northwest Division standings heading down the stretch.  However, the Nuggets have benefited from a relatively easy schedule lately and only two of those wins were really impressive (@New Orleans Hornets and @Dallas Mavericks).

Carmelo Anthony continues to shoulder the load for the Nuggets and has scored at least 29 points in 5 straight games. Chauncey Billups struggled against the Jazz in Salt Lake earlier this month scoring only 12 points on 17 shots with just 2 assists.  Wild-card players that could kill the Jazz are Linas Kleiza (41 points against Utah in a game last season) and J.R. Smith.

About the Utah Jazz

If the Jazz want to win the Northwest Division, this is a near must-win game.  The Jazz usually seem to come back well after embarrassing losses such as the Portland game so I expect them to have a shot in this one.  Denver has a good home record (29-8) but the Jazz never seem to intimidated by the atmosphere in Denver, in fact they have won 4 of their last six in the mile-high city.

Block Party?

One concerning stat is that the Nuggets are second in the NBA with 5.9 blocks per game.  The Jazz (Carlos Boozer in particular) struggle against teams that block shots.  Utah is just 11-12 (.478)  in games versus teams in the top ten teams in blocks.  Conversley, the Jazz are 35-16 (.686) against the rest of the league.  Including the Nuggets game, five of the Jazz final eight opponents are among the top ten in blocks (@Denver, @Dallas, Golden State, L.A. Clippers, @L.A. Lakers).

Prediction

JAZZ WIN.

I predicted that the Jazz would lose in Portland but I really think they have a shot in Denver. Don’t let the blowout in Portland fool you, the Jazz are still plenty capable and this will be the game they finally win against a Western Conference power on the road. If nothing else, a win will certainly make the division race interesting with Denver set to play at Portland on the final day of the regular season.

Interesting Note

I hadn’t heard about this but in the Denver vs. Golden State game last Saturday, Jamal Crawford of the Warriors converted two four-point plays…. and they were back to back!

History made before our very eyes

I mentioned in my game recap that Jamal Crawford made back to back four point plays in the third quarter and I wondered if anyone in the history of the NBA had ever done that before.  Well, I fired off an email to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN and ClipperBlog and Henry Abbott of TrueHoop.  Kevin then forwarded me some data he received from Elias.  Elias only found three other players in the last ten years who even scored two in a game and none were back to back.  Here is the complete list:

• 11/12/2003 Tracy McGrady, ORL 97 vs MEM 107 - 3rd, 7:02, 4th, 2:30
• 03/17/2007 Gilbert Arenas, WAS 125 vs NOK 103 - 3rd, 1:05, 4th, 9:12
• 12/14/2007 Mike Miller, MEM 91 vs LAC 98 - 3rd, 7:02, 4th, 2:30
• 03/28/2009 Jamal Crawford, GS 116 at DEN 129 - 4th, 9:26, 9:14

It is certainly possible someone has hit back to back four point plays before, but I bet Crawford was the first to do it. 

[Source:Roundball Mining Company]

Andrei Kirilenko’s four-point play was that same night (and the only four-point play by the Jazz this season).

One Big Happy Family

Jazz fans are always curious of the off-the-court friendships of the players, so hear is an interesting bit of info:

There was one comment asking about behind-the-scenes problems with the Jazz. From what I can tell – - remember my access is limited – - I have seen nothing to suggest that. Even the guys who seldom play seem to understand and accept their roles.

    If anything, the Jazz might be too close. I think four players – - Deron Williams, Kyle Korver, Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko – - went on vacation together to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, over the All-Star break. That says everything.

[Source: The Salt Lake Tribune Jazz Blog]

I have always been curious how Deron Williams and Andrei Kirilenko got along since the summer of 2007 when AK wanted out from the Jazz and D-Will had some tough words for him on the radio. But if they’re spring-breaking in Mexico together then everything sounds fine.

Popularity: 19% [?]

The Portland Trail Blazers shot 61.8% from the field.   It was the fourth highest shooting percentage that the Utah Jazz have given up since the 1986-87 season.  Not only that, it was the highest since the Jazz allowed Houston to shoot 62.7% in the 1994-95 season.  Utah has never won when allowing opponents to shoot 57.9% or better, the Jazz are 0-24.

61.8% (47 of 76) was also the 11th best shooting game for the Trail Blazers since the 1986-87 season (all Blazer wins).  Not since a 2003 game has Portland had a better night from the field.

It was a barrage of Portland three pointers and alley-oops with little Jazz defense mixed in.  It is of very little surprise that Jerry Sloan was ejected, in fact, it is almost a miracle that he lasted nearly until the 4th quarter. The funny (or scary) thing is, the Jazz could have been crushed much harder had Carlos Boozer not somehow found his jumper.  Booze was nearly the only offense that Utah had in the first quarter and was 10-12 with 20 points before he was inexplicably ejected along with Joel Przybilla of the Blazers.

This game was virtually over from the tip.  Immediately it was visible that the Jazz were just going to be thrashed.  In the first 4 minutes the Jazz gave up 15 points on 6-8 shooting for the Blazers.  But it wasn’t just the defense of the Jazz early that was the issue, the offense was out of sync  and were making a countless number of bad passes.

Gotta give a lot of credit to the Blazers as well. Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge were a combined 20-30 with 51 points and I thought the Steve Blake played a fantastic game against Deron Williams.  The Blazers outscored the Jazz by 35 in the 29 minutes that Blake was on the floor.

For the record, I predicted on Twitter that the Blazers would get this game from the Jazz (much to the dismay of many Jazz fans).  The Blazers have been just about as good at home (31-7) as the Jazz (32-6) this season so it is wishful thinking perhaps that the Jazz could correct their road woes in such an environment on the second night of a back to back.  Sure the Jazz didn’t show up tonight but it’s just one game, it just happens to be at an inopportune time.  A loss is a loss, just like a win is a win.  So there is no need to over-analyze what went wrong. If anything I expect this game to have a positive effect on the Jazz for their game at Denver on Thursday more than a 2 point loss would have.  

• As Sloan was clearly trying to find something that would spark the Jazz, Matt Harpring started the second half for the Jazz in place of C.J. Miles.  Matt scored a 17 foot jumper just 15 seconds into the half. It’ll be interesting to see if C.J. remains in the starting lineup or if there is a shake up.
• The highest FG% game in the NBA since the 1986-87 season was 69.3% by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1997-98 season. 

Popularity: 17% [?]