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.