• It doesn’t matter that this win was against the 19-62 Clippers. This game was about the Jazz and coming together as a team.  Sure, this win is not gonna erase the dismal last 2 weeks but it was key in building some confidence and improving the body language of the players.  Not sure if I have ever seen such troublesome body language by a Jazz team as I saw during the loss to the Warriors. Tonight, there were more high-fives, was more bench cheering and more team chemistry.  
• Matt Harpring started in place of injured C.J. Miles and provided the spark that Jerry Sloan was searching for. Harpring had 6 points in the early minutes and the rest of the Jazz began to feed off his energy.  Matt also mixed it up with Baron Davis resulting in a double personal foul and also a technical on Davis.  Predictably, the ESA crowd booed Davis each and every time he touched the ball for the rest of the game. 
• Brevin Knight sparked the Jazz defensive effort with a pre-game talk. Could Knight be the experienced voice that this team desperately needs? Not sure about that but the team responded by playing their best defense in some time and holding the Clippers to 85 points on just 43.8% shooting. The Jazz were full of energy from the tip and had 21 first half deflections, a clear sign of active play.   
• Memo left just before halftime and did not return with a mild strain to his hamstring. There is a decent chance that Okur will miss the Laker game but hopefully he will be near 100% by the time the playoffs start on Saturday or Sunday.
• The Cavs clinched the best record in the NBA on Monday night meaning that the Lakers do not have anything to play for (seeding-wise) on Tuesday against the Jazz.  The Lakers can however influence how the bottom of the Western Conference playoff bracket will finish up and thus their effort on Tuesday may be partially dictated by whether or not they want to play the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs.  Although I think that the Lakers would rather not play Utah, I also don’t expect them to come out and simply roll over for a loss. 
• So, the Jazz are still alive for the 6th and 7th seeds but must take care of business against the Lakers. If the Jazz lose, they are guaranteed the 8th seed and a first-round match up with the Lakers.  If the Jazz win, they can move up to the 7th seed with either a Dallas loss at home against the Rockets or a Hornets loss at San Antonio.  The Jazz can even climb up to the 6th seed if they win and both the Mavs and Hornets lose. 

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. 

The Jazz lead by 24 early in the third quarter and then, almost as if sensing what the fans expected but wouldn’t say, allowed the New York Knicks to come all the way back to take the lead.  Maybe they are challenging themselves. Maybe they want to keep the fans interested.  Maybe they are just toying with our emotional state.  Maybe this experience will turn out to be a positive come playoff time.

In the end, of course, the Jazz rallied down the stretch just as they had done against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night.  Check out the gameflow from this win over New York:

Now compare it to the win over the Phoenix Suns:

Take into account that the game-flow from the Suns game included overtime so it is condensed a little more than the New York game-flow.  All in all, these two games were two games that Utah should have coasted to, but at the same time, were lucky not to lose.  But in the end all that matters is that the Jazz head to Portland with two home wins under their belt and will try to correct their road woes against the Blazers on the second night of a back to back.

• Andrei Kirilenko had to leave the game after jamming his finger in the rim, AK was in street clothes for the second half after only playing 9 minutes.  It doesn’t appear too serious but given the quick turn-around for tomorrow’s game it is any body’s guess whether Andrei will be in the lineup or not.
• Deron Williams had another fantastic game with 24 points and 13 assists.  Deron really has been turning it on when needed the most hitting clutch jumpers and pushing the ball when it matters most. D-Will is itching closer and closer to Chris Paul for the NBA assist title: Paul 10.9 assists/game, Williams 10.6 assists/game.  
• Carlos Boozer had a relatively good game, although I am not really sure what that means these days.  Booze had 21 points and 11 boards on 8 of 13 shooting.
• Brewer and Millsap were the energy for the Jazz when it was needed most. Paul came up with a few huge buckets and rebounds when the Knicks threatened and Brewer was up to his usual hustle, generating multiple layup attempts.
• Memo Okur was in foul trouble for much of the game and never really got into the flow.  Memo finished with just 8 points in 21 minutes.  Perhaps he can follow with a big game in Portland since he played relatively few minutes tonight.
• The Jazz finish the season at 15-15 against the “weaker” Eastern Conference while they are currently 31-12 against the “stronger” Western Conference… Kinda makes you scratch your head. The positive is that if the Jazz end up in a tie-breaker that comes down to conference record, they will win it.
• No other meaningful games for Jazz fans on the scoreboard Monday night.  Tuesday is a different story with the Mavs, Spurs, Nuggets, Hornets and of course Blazers (vs. Jazz) all in action.

Do you think the Jazz can breakthrough on the road against the Blazers?

The Phoenix Suns veteran dropped a pass out of bounds with 25 seconds left allowing the Jazz to force overtime with a Deron Williams jumper over Steve Nash.  In overtime, the Jazz put the Suns playoff hopes on ice with strong play by Deron and a four point play by Andrei Kirilenko.

It had to be a demoralizing loss for Phoenix that could be comparable to the Jazz collapse in Miami earlier this month.  The Suns had battled back to go up by 7 with 2 minutes left but could not hold on as the Jazz outscored them 9-2 to close out regulation.

Despite walking away with the victory, the Jazz perhaps produced more questions than answers as the playoffs near.  Utah lead Phoenix by 21 early in the third quarter but were extremely fortunate to be able to force overtime.  

• Mehmet Okur had a great first quarter to get the Jazz rolling.  He was cutting to the hoop and making deep jumpers on his way to 26 points on 10 of 15 from the field.  Memo hit the shot of the game (no disrespect to AK’s 4 point play) with 51 seconds left to pull the Jazz within 2.  It was a deep three over Steve Nash and without it going down the Jazz would have been toast.
• D-Will had another great game against Nash.  21 points and 13 assists and two clutch shots in the final 30 seconds of regulation.
• Boozer didn’t play in crunch time and was benched in favor of Millsap for overtime.  
• The Jazz had 23 turnovers leading to 26 Phoenix points. Deron had 7 turnovers at home whereas he had zero giveaways on the road versus this same Phoenix Suns team.
• With the Jazz down one halfway into the overtime period, Andrei Kirilenko hit a three pointer and was fouled by Grant Hill to complete the first four point play of the year for the Jazz… Phoenix would never see the lead again.
• If the playoffs started today (Monday) the Jazz would face Denver in the first round with the Nuggets having home court advantage.  The Nuggets have to be one of the more favorable match-ups that the Jazz could realistically hope for but there is so much that could happen over the remaining 10 games that this match-up is not likely to remain.  
• The Jazz are now 11th in this weeks ESPN NBA power rankings by Mark Stein, 7th in the computerized Hollinger power rankings and 9th in the Jeff Sagarin NBA rankings.

• Player of the game was Ronnie Brewer. Ronnie had 17 points on only 7 shots from the field and played with an enormous amount of energy that was contagious to the rest of the team.  Gotta love Ronnie’s second half reverse dunk as well, kinda reminded me of Dwight Howard’s “Superman” dunk, how he really threw it in rather than dunking it.
• If not for hot three point shooting by the Rockets, this would have been a blowout.  Houston was 10 of 26 from downtown, 38.5% which was actually better than their overall percentage of 34.8%.  They really found their groove at the end of the second quarter and carried it into the early third quarter to come back on the Jazz and even take a brief lead (see game flow above)
• The Jazz bench has got to look scary to opponents with Andrei Kirilenko, Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap.  Really the Jazz have 8 starters right now as all three of those guys could be on the floor in crunch time.  Think about it, it is perfectly reasonable to see a lineup of AK47, Korver, Millsap and Deron Williams along with either Boozer or Okur at the end of a big game.  Deron is really the only player that has got to be in there, the other “pieces” are quick interchangeable and Sloan can throw many different effective lineups out there. Kyle Korver was +16 and Millsap was +12 against Houston.  
• If the Jazz happen to draw Houston in the first round for the third straight year, I think that Jazz players and fans would feel quite confident even if Houston had the home court advantage again.  If I were a Houston fan, I would be routing for just about any other 1st round match-up, it would be demoralizing to lose to Utah for the 3rd straight season.
• Pretty sure the Jazz are now 6-0 on national TV this season, but I am guessing that all of those games were played in Utah.  The Jazz have another national TV game tonight in Phoenix on ESPN to make an attempt at 7-0.  This very well could be the first time that the Jazz have played on national TV on back to back nights.
• After years of lobbying, the Jazz have been selected to play in Europe this upcoming preseason.  Utah will take on the Chicago Bulls in London on October 6 and will play at least one more game in a yet to be named city as part of NBA Europe Live 2009.  Jazz players and management have been trying to play in Europe ever since their scheduled preseason trip to Russia was cancelled in the wake of a terrorist attack at a school in 2005. 
• At halftime, Charles Barkley was complaining that Karl Malone set an illegal pick on the Stockton shot that won the 1997 Western Conference Finals. I have seen that play hundreds and hundreds of times and I still get goosebumps from that play.  I have seen that play hundreds and hundreds of times and I have never heard anybody mention Malone’s screen.

Memo Okur was lighting it up early for Utah but had to leave after he was poked in the eye by Chucky Atkins of the Thunder. Memo had 12 points in 12 minutes when his night was ended with blurry, double-vision.  The Jazz were able to pick up the slack and had a good defensive effort leading them to the victory.

• The Jazz seemed in control for the duration of the game and never let the Thunder get the sellout crowd too excited. The key was the 19 turnovers that were forced by the Jazz leading to 23 points.
• Booze was only 7 for 19 shooting but seemed to be getting into the flow of the offense better, finding his way for quite a few easy buckets.
• Apparently, the Kyle Korver twitter feed is not really him but @KyleKorver is still fooling hundreds of people.  Better to be like @jerrysloan when it is obviously not him.
• I’m not sure who is responsible but I am beginning to despise FSN Utah and/or Comcast.  Somebody forgot to flip the switch to the Jazz-Thunder game until 1 minute into the game and completely missing the 40 or so minutes of pregame.  This is far from the first time that this has happened over the years because FSN Utah is basically a sub-channel of FSN Rocky Mountain.  Was anybody watching on DirecTV, did this happen to you?
• Russell Westbrook looks like he is going to be a fine player for the Thunder (22 points, 4 assists). He is quick and has a decent jumper but needs to work on getting his teammates involved (only topped 10 assists twice in last 33 games) if he is going to become a top-notch point guard.
• Andrei Kirilenko had the play of the game when he received a pass from Korver as he cut through the lane.  AK subtly dropped the ball to Boozer yet continued up for the layup without the ball. Boozer was left with a easy finish. Love it when AK is making those type of plays.
• This season’s got to be tough on Matt Harpring and you can’t help but feel for him. Matt battled back from injuries at the beginning of the season but has not found his way into Jerry Sloan’s rotation. The Jazz are so deep at the 2/3 position that Harping has only logged 15 minutes total in the last 4 ball games including a DNP against Oklahoma City.  Matt definitely still has some game in him if his body can hold up but it has got to be tough on Kevin O’Connor and the Jazz having Harp on the books for $6 million this season and $6.5 million next season.
• I wonder how the reception was for Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune in his first trip back to Oklahoma City following his remarks that pissed off many of the OKC’ers.  It’s interesting how defensive people can get about their city, of course anybody who has ripper Salt Lake City has found that out as well.   

This season it doesn’t really matter what the name on the front of the jersey says because the Washington team is just not very good. Don’t tell that to Jerry Sloan and the Jazz though, who lost in D.C. giving the Wizards their only victory of their first 11 games this season.  Another such loss could have been catastrophic to the Jazz team which is still trying to recover from the debacle on South Beach this past weekend.    The Jazz managed a victory but if you ask Jerry Sloan that is about the only thing they did right.

• The Jazz would not have beat many teams with their play Tuesday night, the Wizards were just really, really bad. Of course, Washington was missing Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler but that is the norm for them, not the exception.  The Wiz are 0-14 in their own division, ouch. I can’t help but think of a article I recently read (sorry can’t recall where) that talked about the no-care attitude that the Wizards locker room has regardless of win or lose… Apparently Darius Songaila is the only player taking things seriously and other players and the team could benefit by following his lead.  Reading stuff like that makes you appreciate what the Jazz have with Jerry Sloan and the team culture.
• Ronnie Brewer was replaced in the starting lineup by Andrei Kirilenko after Brewer showed up late to the team’s 10 a.m. shoot around because he slept late.  Ronnie had a decent game with 13 points on 6 of 10 and logged 24 minutes.  
• Utah started out by shooting 40% in the first half but finished the game at 50.6%.  Washington shot an atrocious 35.6%, it is hard to imagine how bad the Jazz would have had to play to get beat.
• D-will had 8 turnovers to go along with his 8 assists and stuggled with his jumper going 0-5. Deron scored all 4 of his buckets on layups or dunks. 
• Although the Jazz were only +4 while he was on the court, Kyle Korver seemed to be the catalyst in putting the game out of reach.  Kyle was 6-9 shooting and led the Jazz with 15 points on his 28th birthday.

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?

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.

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.