Utah Jazz Blog

Karl Malone has never been afraid to speak his mind about anything, including politics. Karl Malone is not afraid to “slap around” a few senators or congressmen.  Karl Malone doesn’t know what facetious means.

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Jerry Sloan and the bunch rolled into Atlanta looking for win number 13 in a row, they left the court with loss number one in a row.

• Horrendous start by the Jazz. This is what usually leads to Utah road losses; they find themselves down 14-4 halfway through the first quarter as they did on Tuesday night and spend too much energy fighting back.  Lately, Memo Okur has been the first quarter offense for the Jazz but he was hit with 2 early fouls against the Hawks and forced to the bench just a few minutes in.  Although the Jazz did fight back to take the lead with a huge third quarter, it was no doubt their slow start in the first quarter that cost them their 13th straight victory.
• The third quarter has one of the best of the season for the Jazz and allowed them a chance down the stretch.  Utah outscored Atlanta 33-18 in the quarter and hit 11 of their final 13 shots of the quarter.
• What is up with Atlanta’s fan base? The Braves have always filled their stadium or am I wrong? The Hawks are different though, they consistently have some of the lowest attendance in the league, even when the Hawks are having a good season as they currently are. Atlanta is XX-7 this season at home; imagine if their fans actually gave them a real home-court advantage. Last night’s announced attendance: 13,112 (the Jazz are not necessarily a top draw but they did come in with a 12 game win streak).
• I am still wondering about the Josh Smith play in the third quarter where he was fouled and his dunk (no doubt after the shot clock expired) was counted as continuation.  Can anyone verify the correct rule on this?  It does not seem logical to me that the shot should have counted.  What if it was the same scenario with the game clock rather than the shot clock? If the foul happens before the clock expires, does the foul take the clock out of play for continuation? To me, this was the turning point of the game as the Jazz were on a roll at the time and up 5. It appeared to be Jazz ball after a shot clock violation (the foul was not obvious and appeared after the shot clock as well); instead, Smith converted the three point play to pull the Hawks within 2.  A few seconds later Joe Johnson made a blind-side steal from a careless Carlos Boozer and all of the sudden it was a tie game.
•  Got to mention the play Deron made, I believe in the third quarter.  On a fast break, Deron somehow got through an uncalled foul at half-court then made a spectacular behind the back dribble to himself before dishing it to Millsap for a layup.  I watched this play about ten times on my Tivo.  In slow motion it looks like a very simple move… at full speed it is something that only a handful of players on Earth can do.
• It could have been a worse night for Utah but the Rockets and Blazers were both knocked off at home.  The Jazz did lose ground to the Nuggets, Hornets, Lakers and Mavericks. 
• Can the Jazz recover and find victories in Florida? The team was riding an emotional high during their win streak so it will be interesting to see their body language, confidence and energy as they take on the Heat.  Miami tends to give the Jazz issues and D-Wade is having a fantastic season.  If Wade is able to score more than 25 or 30 points as Joe Johnson did, it will be very hard for the Jazz to win.

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The Utah Jazz have struggled mightily all season long when playing on the road.  Tuesday night they got relatively low output from their two Olympians: Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer.  Despite this, the supporting cast was able to pick up the slack and leave Conseco Fieldhouse with their 12th victory in a row. 

Deron Williams had his worst scoring game in recent memory scoring just 5 points on 1 of 9 shooting, although he did contribute with 12 assists and 5 steals.  Carlos Boozer scored just 11 points on 4 of 13 shooting while struggling against the length of Roy Hibbert and the interior defense of the Pacers.   It didn’t matter though, the Jazz were able to pull through with big games by Paul Millsap, Memo Okur, Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver.

Jazzspin MVP

Ronnie Brewer. Brew was consistently deflecting balls with the Pacers attempted to drive or drop it into the post. His 5 steals paced the way to 16 thefts for the Jazz leading to numerous fast break chances resulting in many easy points for the 3rd year pro.  The Jazz ended up scoring 26 points off the Pacers turnovers, the key factor to staying ahead of Indiana all night.

Somebody Guard That Guy

Troy Murphy was on fire… for the first half. SEVEN first half threes by big Troy kept this game from getting out of hand.  Murphy consistently found himself wide open from deep as Boozer and Millsap struggled to fight through screens and stay up on him.  I am sure Jerry Sloan let them know how he felt about that at halftime and Murphy’s hot hand only got him a pair of free throws after halftime.

Millsap/Boozer

Paul had a fantastic game. 22 points and 9 rebounds in less than 30 minutes.  His energy was at its usual level and his 12 to 15 foot jump shot was falling all night.  Boozer, on the other hand, struggled mightily as he often does against tall, lanky defenders such as Roy Hibbert.  Hibbert’s long arms and 5 blocks kept Booze from putting the ball in from point-blank range and his 3 turnovers felt more like 6.  Carlos is certainly not all the way back from injury but he occasionally gets a match-up, which for whatever reason, it seems every shot he puts up is blocked (I am specifically remembering a game against Minnesota a few years ago).  It is amazing the luxury that the Jazz now have when both Millsap and Boozer are available as it is unlikely that both will struggle on the same night. 

Memo’s Hot Starts

Memo Okur has been leading the Jazz out of the gate recently, a huge key to their current 12 game winning streak.  It started just 19 seconds in against the Pacers as Memo converted a 3 point play on his way to a 12 point first quarter.  The Jazz are very hard to beat with Okur scores 15 or more.  Prior to the streak, the Jazz often would bury themselves on the road with a dismal opening quarter which they can’t recover from.  Now, they seem to be playing from the front and Memo is the catalyst. 

Kyle Korver, Not Just a Shooter

I really don’t think Kyle Korver gets the credit he deserves for his all-around game.  Ever since coming to Utah last season, I have been consistently impressed with Kyle’s hustle, overall defense, help defense, movement without the ball, etc… No player of the Jazz sacrifices his body more for the team, which is saying a lot with guys like Paul Millsap and Andrei Kirilenko around. Kyle is constantly diving for balls and taking brutal charges.

The Real Test

Now come the harder games as the Jazz travel to Atlanta, Miami and Orlando.  I could almost pick any of these three games to be the toughest.  The Jazz should be able to take Atlanta, but it is the second night of a back to back against a rested team and Atlanta has been great at home this year. Jerry Sloan’s team always seems to struggle against D-Wade, probably a factor is the 20 trips to the line he is sure to get against the foul-happy Jazz. Orlando will be a tough game as they present a inside-outside game and will be the end of a long road trip for the Jazz, and also the second of a back to back.

Will the Jazz streak run to 13 against Atlanta?

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Utah Jazz 97, Denver Nuggets 91

With 2:40 to go before the half Nene converted a three point play to but the Denver Nuggets up by 19, the next 2:30+ won the Jazz their 10th straight game.  Deron Williams and the Jazz pushed the tempo leading to 3 layups, 1 dunk and 1 free throw to close the quarter on a 9-0 run and cut the lead to 10 heading into the locker room. Utah came out with the same fire, extended the run to 17-0 and the home team never looked back.

It didn’t start out well however… When the Jerry Sloan offense gets out-of-sync, it usually hits at such a catastrophic level that the Jazz find themselves down 25 or 30 never to recover.  It’s amazing how the Jazz offense completely falls to pieces when they’re a split second slow: the ball gets passed to the usher in the second row, fumble-itis sets in, turnovers on every other possession.  It is a realized drawback to the finely tuned offensive system that Utah has had for the last 20+ years that is always near the top of the NBA in FG% and assists.

Game balls go to Deron Williams (25 points, 11 assists), Ronnie Brewer for his incredible hustle, energy and athleticism (yes I seem to mention that after every game, see reverse layup with foul) and C.J. Miles for hitting 2 three pointers in the last 31 seconds of the 3rd quarter sending the Jazz to the 4th with a 4 point lead. 

Jazz now depart for a 5 game Eastern roadie, but they couldn’t be leaving on a better note. Nuggets (now containing Jason Hart) leave town with their division lead trimmed to .5 games and most likely a severely deflated confidence level. Nuggets contributors were primarily J.R. Smith (quiet 27 points) and Carmelo Anthony (20 points). Surprisingly Chauncey Billups had only 12 points and 2 assists while the Nuggets were -14 with him on the court.   

Interesting moment in the second half when Deron William and Dahntay Jones got into it a little bit, kind of head-butting a bit as they got in each others face, heads bumping, arms swinging a bit, words flying.  Double technicals called.  Not sure if I have ever seen Deron get into it like that but he was about to back down.  Deron’s confidence level is so high at the moment and he has turned into a true leader for Jerry Sloan and the Jazz.

So the Jazz now look forward to @Toronto, @Indiana, @Atlanta, @Miami and @Orlando on their final Eastern swing of the season.  Can the Jazz keep the streak going? What game do you think it will end? Let me know in the comments.

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After a month of solid basketball (winning 12 of 13), the Jazz have their shot tonight to leapfrog the Blazers and tie Denver for the division lead before heading out on a 5 game road trip.  It will be a late tip at 8:30PM to accommodate ESPN but that will allow Jazz fans across the country to catch a glimpse of the streaking Jazz.

In today’s Daily Dime at ESPN.com, Tim Legler favors the Jazz to win “NBA’s most competitive division”:

1. Utah threatens the Lakers — and the Spurs, too. When the Jazz are healthy they compete consistently on defense, which is something you have to do against the Lakers especially. You can’t play lackadaisical defense against them because they are going to score 115-120 points on you. You have to come at them with more focus at that end of the floor.

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan has tons of experience and, with all that he’s been through in Utah, he will have them ready. I actually think Utah will catch Denver for first place in the Northwest Division and end up with the three-seed in the West, thereby avoiding a potential rematch with the Lakers until the West finals.

For both the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets this may be the most important game of the season.  The Jazz cannot afford a home loss right before the head out on a 5 game Eastern roadie, they desperately need to carry the momentum that they have built in order to conquer their road woes.  Denver on the other hand may not be able to recover from letting a Jazz team fly by them in the standings when not long ago they owned a 6 game lead over their Rocky Mountain nemesis and looked to be cruising toward the division title.

After tonight there will only be 3 remaining head to head games between the Northwest division elite.  The Jazz and Nuggets face each other again on April 2 in Denver, a few days earlier Utah will be in Portland on March 31.  Denver has one remaining game at Portland to close out the season on April 15, which could be a huge game with the Jazz finishing up at Lakers the night before.

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Utah Jazz 101, Houston Rockets 94

It was a barometer game. Sure Houston was playing for the second night in a row.  Sure it was another home game for a team that struggles much more on the road.  But no doubt about it, this was a telling game. The Rockets were nearly as hot has the Jazz, having won 8 of their last 9.  It was a test for this finally healthy Jazz team against the premier defense in the NBA. It was a test that the Jazz passed en route to their 12th win in their last 13 outings, adding Houston to the list of heavy-weights taken down during that stretch (Lakers, Celtics, Hornets, Dallas… and now Houston).

Despite 20 turnovers (14 in first half), the Jazz were able to push the tempo and share the ball to the tune of 50% shooting and 25 assists on 40 FGs.  Utah was able to recover from a brutally tough start of the game where they started out ice cold and turning the ball over at will.

Boozer Shows Rockets He is Back

It was Boozer’s 5th game back and Carlos looks to be getting healthy and returning to All-star form.  He out rebounded Houston by himself in the first half 13 to 9 and ended up with 20 pts and 17 rebs.  Boozer was hitting his fade away shots over Yao and finding his rhythm.

Deron Took Over

D-Will continued his strong play and imposed his will on the Rockets with 26 pts and 14 ast.  It was a complete game and it appears that Deron Williams is developing into one of the great team leaders in the NBA.  Deron put the dagger in the Rockets with 20 foot jumper with 21 seconds to play to put the Jazz up 5 after, somehow, Ron Artest gave the Rockets hope by banking in a three ball.

Respect for the Rockets

That team came to play.  They hustled, they defended, and they kept themselves in the game when Utah could have run away with it in the third quarter up by 13.  Yao is great (19 pts/7 rebs/6 ast/5 blk) but he seemed to completely lose his gas halfway through the 4th quarter… probably a factor was his 7′6″ 310 lbs. frame playing at altitude on the second night of a back to back against the physical Jazz.  Ron Artest did not seem to impose himself so much defensively but had 25 pts including 5 from downtown.  Kyle Lowry kept the Rockets in it with his strong play which kept Aaron Brooks glued to the bench for all much of the second half.  Houston definitely has a solid team that will be a tough match-up for anyone in the 1st round given their superior defense.  Part of what gives the Jazz a competitive advantage against the Rockets (and has generated to playoff series wins against them) is that their offense is not run through a great shooting guard such as Kobe, D-Wade, Brandon Roy, etc… This cancels out some of the defensive greatness that Shane Battier brings to the table.  Battier is fantastic about getting a hand in the shooters face and denying dribble penetration, however his skills are not as effective against a team that passes as well as Utah and the find-an-open-spot, dunk-happy Ronnie Brewer (19 pts).

Whats Up with Rockets Fans? 

Are they still bitter from the Stockton shot? Or being bounced by the Jazz from the playoffs for 2 straight years despite home court advantage? Jazzspin was on Twitter during the game and noticed many “hate Jazz” type tweets.  Add to that this little tirade from The Dream Shake:

Do Jazz fans know what basketball is?  Contrary to their belief (the collective belief of Energy Solutions Arena’s inhabitants) it is not a combination of rugby, MMA, and British “diving-is-a-bloody-part-of-the-game” soccer.  It’s basketball, and flopping and taking charges off the ball isn’t a part of the game.  Jazz fans consider it an integral part of the game, and they boo their butts off whenever a call isn’t made.  To add to that, they’re straight up classless.  But back to the basketball vs. flop-sketball argument.  Here’s what angered me the most: When Yao Ming came off the court in a typical Shaquie Chan rage, it wasn’t because his sixth foul was on an elbow to Boozer or yet another incredibly stupid charge attempt of his own, but because frickin’ Ronnie Brewer picked the spot on the floor where Yao would be next (which happened to be a whole first-and-ten away from the ball) and waited for the Ming Dynasty to collapse on him.  What a pathetic way to play the game.  Pathetic.  We’ll go sign Carlos Tevez before our next Jazz game and have him run around solely trying to get his ass kicked.  But wait – Sloan doesn’t need professional soccer players to flop.  He gets professional floppers to flop!

Hmm…. well, if anything is “straight up classless” it may be this argument or when they referred to Utah as the “hell-hole of all hell-holes.”  Regarding the Yao charge play, in an interview Ronnie Brewer described that the Rockets had run the same play about 3 times in a row, so how do you stop it? Answer: you get in Yao’s path and let Yao run over you.  That was no flop. That IS smart basketball and if Battier had done the same to Boozer, Rockets fans everywhere would have rejoiced.

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Jerry Sloan Named NBA Coach of the Month for February

Coach took a small step toward the elusive COY award by taking home the award for the month of February.  But really how could he not have won it… the Jazz finished the month with only 1 loss (best record in the NBA and a new franchise best for Feb.), Jazz dealt with major injuries to Boozer and Kirilenko, Jazz dealt with death of Larry H. Miller, Sloan also dealt with deaths of former teammates Kerr and Van Lier at end of month. Deron Williams was somehow overlooked when it came to Western Conference player of the month, that honor was given to Pau Gasol (and Dwayne Wade for the East).

Competition in Action

The Mavs lost to the Thunder giving the Jazz a ounce of breathing room over Dallas.  On the flip-side, both San Antonio and New Orleans picked up W’s.

If the Jazz can win their next two home games against Houston and Denver, Utah has the potential to be at or near the third seed by the start of their Eastern road trip.  By the time they take the court in Toronto on Sunday, their are a potential 17 losses that could be had by the other Western Conference playoff contenders and of those 17 their are 6 guaranteed (for example, Portland at Denver on Thursday).

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Utah Jazz 112, Golden State Warriors 104

Don Nelson is a great coach. You don’t stay in the league as long as he has if you are not great. Don Nelson is also just a little bit crazy. 

As part of Nellie’s new strategy, a healthy Stephen Jackson was forced to watch in street clothes as the Jazz pushed their winning streak to 8 games. Combined with a Denver loss, Utah sits just 2 games out of the 3rd spot in the west and their own division.

Sharing the Ball

Just as was the case on Saturday when the Jazz beat the Kings, ball movement against the Warriors “Defense” was the key.  As a team, the Jazz assisted on 36 of 43 made field goals, an amazing 83.7%.  Deron Williams shot was not dropping so instead he started dropping dimes, 20 of them.  The Warriors free-wheeling style created for many transition opportunities… Deron & Co. took advantage and found the open man. The highlight was Deron at the end of the first half – crossing over about 4 times in a row, then spinning and dishing to Memo for a rainbow shot at the buzzer.  Doesn’t get much better than that.

Memo on Fire

Memo Okur continue his hot streak and in my opinion won the game for the Jazz with his 17 point first quarter.  On the second game of a back-to-back, the last thing the Jazz could afford to do was fall behind early, we have all seen where that leads.  Memo’s brilliant first quarter not only keep the Jazz even from the get go, but actually allowed them to escape the 1st quarter with a 5 point lead.  Memo finished the night with 23 points on 7 of 11 from the field.

Korver is Back

After struggling for a few weeks, it is now safe to say that Kyle Korver has officially rediscovered his shot.  Surely, some of his struggles were due to nagging injuries but it also appeared to be a lack of confidence at times.  Kyle was 7 for 12 and 3 of 4 from deep doing most of his damage in the second quarter.  The Jazz were +19 with Korver on the floor as opposed to -11 with the struggling C.J. Miles.

Important Stretch

The Jazz have a couple days off before a couple of huge home games against Houston and Denver before they head out East on a road trip.  Houston is playing on Tuesday night at home against the Raptors and Denver will be playing back to back as well as they take on Portland at home on Thursday.  The Jazz could find themselves in a far different position than their current 7th place in the West standings when they take the floor Sunday afternoon in Toronto.

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The Jazz found themselves in the ONION (America’s Finest News Source) a couple of days ago:

Report: Majority Of Utah Jazz Players Have Never Heard Of Themselves

SALT LAKE CITY—In a USA Today poll of NBA players and fans published Tuesday, four out of five Utah Jazz players admitted to never having heard of their team, their teammates, or themselves. “Wait, who the hell is that guy?” Utah forward Paul Millsap said while looking at a picture of Jazz forward Paul Millsap. “I seem to remember the Jazz playing pretty well for the past few seasons, and they always have a bunch more white guys than other teams, but I don’t know any of their names or what they do. Ostertag’s not on the team anymore, is he? Though to be honest, it’s not like I’d know him if I saw him.” During last night’s game against the Warriors, the Jazz were charged with their 49th consecutive delay of game penalty when no one got up from the bench after coach Jerry Sloan announced the starting lineup.

[Source: Report: Majority Of Utah Jazz Players Have Never Heard Of Themselves]

The Jazz may never break the stereotypes and relative anonymity that have been cast upon them so might as well enjoy the laugh.  It seems that most the country still thinks the Jazz are same team went to the finals in ‘97 and ‘98… hey, why isn’t Greg Foster in the lineup tonight?

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Utah Jazz 102, Sacramento Kings 89

After an emotion day of paying tribute to Larry H. Miller, the Jazz had to keep the energy high to survive the NBA’s worst.  The Jazz played with bursts of energy that built leads followed by inevitable letdowns allowing the Kings to hang around into the 4th quarter.  In the end it was the hot shooting of Okur and the athleticism of Ronnie Brewer that put the Kings in their place.

31 Assists on 40 Made FGs (77.5%)

For the season, Utah has assisted on 64.5%… when the Jazz assist on over 75% of their made field goals, it is almost a given that they are going to win.  The Jazz lead the league in assists per game at 24.66 and assist differential +5.47 (+17 vs. Kings).

Ronnie Brewer is More Athletic Than You

At least a couple of times every game, Ronnie Brewer makes an athletic play that makes you go “Wow”.  Brewer must have eaten his Wheaties on Saturday because his athletic ability scored him 26 points (career high), 7 boards and 4 steals.  Off the top of my head, I distinctly remember a ridiculous rebound and a double-clutch dunk (that I was sure he was going to lay in, instead turned into the NBA.com dunk of the night).  Brewer is only a 3rd year player that most casual fans around the league have never heard of, but I am beginning to believe he could be an all-star in a few years.  I also wonder if he flourishes much more under the Jerry Sloan/Jazz system than he would anywhere else, much like Shandon Anderson did.

Memo is Heating Up

Lost in all of the Jazz injury woes this season is the fact that Memo Okur is having maybe his best season.  He is now shooting 49.8% FGs for the season (previous season best is 46.8% in 2004-2005) he is making 47.1% of his three pointers (previous season best is 38.8% last season).  Last night Memo had 26 points on 9 of 12 shooting including 4 for 4 from deep…. can’t ask for much more shooting-wise than that.

Within Reach

The Jazz now find themselves only 1 game out of the 4th slot in the West after winning 7 straight and 10 out of 11.  They finished up February with a 10-1 record and look to avenge their lone loss against the Warriors tonight in Oakland and this time they will have Boozer (Warrior killer) and AK.

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