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.

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.

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.

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.