Mavs surprise Lakers in season opener

The Los Angeles Lakers regained their Western Conference swagger in the off-season when they landed Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, but they won't be going 82-0 this year.  At home, they lost to the Dallas Mavericks 99-91, even though the Mavs didn't have Dirk Nowitzki.

Nowitzki and Chris Kaman were both unable to play for Dallas, but the veterans on the team stepped up for a balanced attack.  Six players scored in double figures, led by Darren Collison's 17 points.

The Lakers went 0-7 in preseason, but head coach Mike Brown said he wasn't worried.  Perhaps now he'll adjust that after watching his team fall apart.  He saw how ineffective Steve Nash was without the ball.  He saw Dwight Howard go 3-14 on free throws.  He saw Metta World Peace throw up some of those infamous ill-advised three-point shots.  He was Kobe Bryant go an entire game without a free-throw attempt.  He saw his bench get outscored 37-17.

This was not a game they should have lost.  They had 31 free-throw attempts to the Mavericks' 18. They had a 46-40 rebounding advantage.  They were at home and healthy.

Utah Jazz Examiner

I have a new position as a Utah Jazz writer for Examiner.com.  It pays a tiny bit, so any Jazz-related news I feel like writing about will go there.

My first article here, on the signing of Randy Foye.

The NBA Offseason: Cleveland

2012 Picks: (4) Dion Waiters, (17) Tyler Zeller

2011 Picks: (1) Kyrie Irving, (4) Tristan Thompson, (32) Justin Harper

PG - Kyrie Irving, Daniel Gibson
SG - Alonzo Gee, Dion Waiters
SF - Omri Casspi, Luke Harangody, Luke Watson
PF - Tristan Thompson, Samardo Samuels
C - Anderson Varejao, Tyler Zeller

Not much buzz on the free-agent front yet. It makes me wonder if they see this year as another development year, and then they make a splash next year in free agency and shoot for the playoffs.  Cap space is a valuable thing, and they'll be thrilled when Luke Walton's off their books.

The NBA Offseason: Chicago

2012 Picks: (29) Marquis Teague
2011 Picks: (30) Jimmy Butler, (43) Malcolm Lee

PG - Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, Marquis Teague
SG - Richard Hamilton, Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver
SF - Luol Deng, Jimmy Butler
PF - Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson
C - Joakim Noah

It looks doubtful that Chicago will be able to keep Omer Asik. Some of this summer's free-agent signings make you wonder why they had the lockout in the first place, since owners and GMs can't help but throw too much money at free agents.

I haven't heard yet if the Bulls have picked up their options on Brewer or Korver, but I would think at least one of them will be dropped. The like Korver for his ability to spread the floor and make those 3's, but he's a liability on defense. Brewer's one of their better wing defenders, but he can't shoot from outside, and he's a poor free-throw shooter (56% last year). The Bulls are trying to see if they can get Courtney Lee, but with the recent addition of Kirk Hinrich, CJ Watson will likely not be back.

The NBA Offseason: Charlotte

CHARLOTTE

2012 Picks: (2) Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, (31) Jeffrey Taylor
2011 Picks: (7) Bismack Biyombo, (9) Kemba Walker, (39) Jeremy Tyler

PG - DJ Augustin, Kemba Walker
SG - Ben Gordon, Gerald Henderson, Matt Carroll, Reggie Williams,
SF - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Derrick Brown, Jeffrey Taylor
PF - Tyrus Thomas
C - Bismack Biyombo, BJ Mullens, DeSagana Diop

After the worst season in NBA history, the Bobcats have some work to do. The bright side for them is they had a good draft and now Walker and Biyombo will have an off-season to improve. The Cats have some room for free-agency moves, and they need another big man, but they'll have a ton of space next year, and with one or two first-round picks next year as well, it seems like 2012 is their year to not be the worst, and then 2013 will be their playoff push.

The NBA Offseason: Brooklyn

2012 Picks: (41) Tyshawn Taylor, (54) Tornike Shengelia, (57) Ilkan Karaman
2011 Picks: (25) Marshon Brooks, (36) Jordan Williams

PG - Deron Williams, Tyshawn Taylor
SG - Joe Johnson, Marshon Brooks
SF - Gerald Wallace
PF - Kris Humphries, Reggie Evans
C - Brook Lopez

Things are looking up for Jay-Z's team.  Deron Williams signed the big contract, they got Joe Johnson, and now there's still a decent chance they get Dwight Howard, since Dwight's making sure all other teams understand he won't re-sign with them.  They overpaid to keep Wallace, but this roster is already good enough to make the playoffs.

The NBA Offseason: Boston

2012 Picks: (21) Jared Sullinger, (22) Fab Melo, (51) Kris Joseph
2011 Picks: (27) JaJuan Johnson, (55) Etwaun Moore

PG - Rajon Rondo
SG - Jason Terry, Avery Bradley
SF - Paul Pierce
PF - Kevin Garnett, JaJuan Johnson, Sean Williams, Jared Sullinger
C - Brandon Bass, Fab Melo, Greg Stiemsma

I'd be surprised if Kris Joseph didn't make the team, simply because they need to fill their roster. The Celtics have some room to go after some free agents. I'm assuming they keep Brandon Bass and maybe give Jeff Green another look, but they need a couple more guards.  Jason Terry's a good replacement for Ray Allen.

With Kevin Garnett returning, Danny Ainge has sent a signal he's not ready to blow this thing up; he just need to find the right help for his new Big 3 of KG, Pierce and Rondo.  KG, meanwhile, can mentor all the young bigs they have and see if any of them turn out to be special.

The NBA Offseason: Atlanta

2012 Picks: (23) John Jenkins
2011 Picks: (48) Keith Benson

Current Depth Chart:

PG - Devin Harris, Jeff Teague, Jordan Farmar
SG - DeShawn Stevenson, John Jenkins
SF - Anthony Morrow
PF - Josh Smith, Jordan Williams
C - Al Horford, Zaza Pachulia, Johan Petro

The Hawks could've taken anyone in the draft, but here they've focused on outside shooting. The irony with the Hawks is that they still don't have much room to do anything in free agency, so they'll be shopping Josh Smith's expiring contract, and if anyone's foolish enough to take on the 4 years and $89 million left on Joe Johnson's deal........

UPDATE: Wow, new GM Danny Ferry is a genius.  They got rid of Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams, and now it's Josh Smith, Al Horford, Devin Harris, Jeff Teague, Zaza Pachulia, and all the pieces from the Brooklyn trade.  They may or may not make the playoffs this year, but next year they're ready to make a huge splash in free agency.

2012 NBA Draft Results

First Round

1. New Orleans - PF Anthony Davis (6-10) Fr

2. Charlotte - SF Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (6-7) Fr

3. Washington - SG Bradley Beal (6-5) Fr

4. Cleveland - SG Dion Waiters (6-4) So

5. Sacramento - PF Thomas Robinson (6-9) Jr

6. Portland - PG Damian Lillard (6-3) Jr

7. Golden State - SF Harrison Barnes (6-8) So

8. Toronto - SF Terrence Ross (6-7) So

9. Detroit - C Andre Drummond (7-0) Fr

10. New Orleans - SG Austin Rivers (6-5) Fr

11. Portland - C Meyers Leonard (7-1) So

12. Houston - SG Jeremy Lamb (6-5) So

13. Phoenix - PG Kendall Marshall (6-4) So

14. Milwaukee - PF John Henson (6-10) Jr

15. Philadelphia - SF Moe Harkless (6-9) Fr

16. Houston - PF Royce White (6-8) So

17. Cleveland - C Tyler Zeller (7-0) Sr (from Dallas)

18. Houston - PF Terrence Jones (6-9) So

19. Orlando - PF Andrew Nicholson (6-9) Sr

20. Denver - SG Evan Fournier (6-7) Int

21. Boston - PF Jared Sullinger (6-9) So

22. Boston - C Fab Melo (7-0) So

23. Atlanta - SG John Jenkins (6-4) Jr

24. Dallas - SG Jared Cunningham (6-5) Jr (from Cleveland)

25. Memphis - PG Tony Wroten (6-4) Fr

26. Indiana - C Miles Plumlee (7-0) Sr

27. Philadelphia - PF Arnett Moultrie (6-11) Jr (from Miami)

28. Oklahoma - PF Perry Jones III (6-10) So

29. Chicago - PG Marquis Teague (6-2) Fr

30. Golden State - C Festus Ezeli (6-11) Sr

Second Round

31. Charlotte - SF Jeff Taylor (6-7) Sr

32. Washington - SG Tomas Satoransky (6-7) Int

33. Dallas - C Bernard James (6-10) Sr (from Cleveland)

34. Dallas - SF Jae Crowder (6-6) Sr (from Cleveland)

35. Golden State - PF Draymond Green (6-7) Sr

36. Indiana - PG Orlando Johnson (6-5) Sr (from Sacramento)

37. Toronto - PF Quincy Acy (6-8) Sr

38. Denver - SF Quincy Miller (6-10) Fr

39. Detroit - SF Khris Middleton (6-8) Jr

40. Portland - SG Will Barton (6-6) So

41. Portland - PG Tyshawn Taylor (6-4) Sr

42. Milwaukee - SG Doron Lamb (6-5) So

43. Atlanta - PF Mike Scott (6-9) Sr

44. Detroit - SG Kim English (6-6) Sr

45. Miami - C Justin Hamilton (7-0) Jr (from Philadelphia)

46. Charlotte - SF Darius Miller (6-7) Sr

47. Utah - SG Kevin Murphy (6-6) Sr

48. New York - SF Kostas Papanikolaou (6-9) Int

49. Orlando - PF Kyle O'Quinn (6-10) Sr

50. Denver - C Izzet Turkyilmaz (7-1) Int

51. Boston - SF Kris Joseph (6-7) Sr

52. Golden State - C Ognjen Kuzmic (7-1) Int

53. LA Clippers - PF Furkan Aldemir (6-9) Int

54. Brooklyn - PF Tornike Shengelia (6-9) Int (from Philadelphia)

55. Dallas - SG Darius Johnson-Odom (6-3) Sr (from

56. Toronto - SF Tomislav Zubcic (6-10) int

57. Brooklyn - PF Ilkan Karaman (6-9) Int

58. Minnesota - SF Robbie Hummel (6-8) Sr

59. San Antonio - SG Marcus Denmon (6-3) Sr

60. LA Lakers - C Robert Sacre (7-0) Sr

Miami Heat Champions

I must admit.  I don't mind the Miami Heat being champions.  I was happy for LeBron James, for Eric Spoelstra, for Chris Bosh, and above all, for Mike Miller.  That guy was in obvious pain, and he had an unconscious shooting night.  They say he may even retire now.

Salary-cap-wise, they can't do much, but hey, all their core guys are still under contract, and they can find cheap upgrades for free agents Juwan Howard and Eddy Curry.

Eddy Curry is now an NBA champion.  Let that sink in.

The Dream Team

I loved the NBATV documentary of the 1992 Dream Team.  I'll probably watch it again before I say more, but it really brought home just how special that gathering of talent was.  I could have watched a five-hour special on it.  Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen, Clyde Drexler, and Christian Laettner.  Good stuff.  There'll never be another.

I Love This Kid

My Order of Preference for the Utah Sports Guys

1.  David Locke
2.  David James
3.  Matt Harpring (radio Harpring > TV Harpring)
4.  Phil Johnson
5.  Tony Parks
6.  Jake Scott
7.  Craig Bolerjack
8.  Sean O'Connell (currently unemployed)
9.  Patrick Kinahan
10. Spence Checketts
11. Ben Bagley (currently unemployed)
12. Kyle Gunther (currently unemployed)
13. Jan Jorgensen (currently unemployed)
14. Hans Olsen
15. Tom Nissalke
16. Scott Garrard
17. Bill Riley
18. Ferg
19. Lloyd
20. Will
21. Austin
22. Someone I'm forgetting
23. Steve Brown
24. Someone else I'm forgetting
25. Gordon Monson

I listened to parts of all the shows on 1280 today, and it hit me that The Sports Leader has put Monson back in the prime spot in its lineup.  I could barely listen, even though he and Spence were interviewing Randy Rigby.  It bothers me that David Locke was in that spot, and he was so good at it, and now it's taken a major step down.

And some of the staffing choices seem suspect.  Scotty G's the man right now, and everyone who kept a job was someone who worked with Scotty during his years at 1280, with the exception of Tony Parks.  Ben Bagley was at 1320 through the dark Rickard years, and now he's ousted.  Hans, OC, Jan and Kyle were all 1280 hires after Scotty G left, and while Hans landed at 700, those other three are still out of work.

And if it was someone new in the prime spot, say they'd hired Brian T. Smith or Jody Genessy or Rick Aaron to be Spence's co-host, I could dig that.  But Monson being on the Jazz flagship, well, he'd have been my last choice.  So with fewer listening options in the afternoon, I'll probably listen to music more on my drive home.

If Locke won't do it, man, Spence & Harpring would have been awesome.


P.S. The Jake Scott-Tony Parks teaming is one I love. And even though both are talented, part of it might be they haven't really worked together before.  Everyone else has worked with everyone else for years.

Utah Sports Radio Change-Up

For 11 years, 1320 KFAN and 1280 The Zone have been the in-state rival radio stations, with ESPN 700 eventually sneaking in as a third option.  That's pretty much been it.  Now The Larry H. Miller Group has purchased 1280, and the Jazz games will no longer be on 1320.

I started listening to sports radio in the 1990's, when I didn't care for music as much, and the political shows were getting repetitive.  I loved listening to Mark Armstrong and Tom Nissalke in the afternoons, and I enjoyed David James and Ron Boone and Gordon Monson in the mornings.

Around 2001, 1320 got cheap and most of the talent jumped to 1280.  Craig Bolerjack, Patrick Kinahan, Ian Furness, Dave Fox, Alema Harrington, Barry King, James and Monson all joined, and I remember Eric Ray and Scott Garrard on there, Ryan Hatch...  1320 became a skeleton crew.  Jeff Rickard & Alan Handy in the morning was awful. Chris Tunis was on there somewhere, and Steve Brown wound up as a major guy there, and Keith Embray showed up sometimes.  The Ian Fitzsimmons-Jim Fuchuck experiment was one I enjoyed, but the ratings didn't follow.  1320 then got serious and brought DJ & PK over, hired Bolerjack to be the TV man for Utah Jazz games, Alema was on mid-days, David Locke came on, and so on.  The talent seemed to sap from 1280.  Furness left, Hatch left, Fox left, Garrard left, (King I think was fired, not sure on that one). So 1320 hulked up and 1280 shrank, and 700 crept up with Bill Riley and their ESPN line-up.

Last Week's Schedule:
1320
6-10 DJ & PK
10-1 Jim Rome
1-3 Ben Bagley & Tony Parks
3-6 Spence Checketts & Scott Garrard

1280 / 97.5
6-10 Hans Olsen & Sean O'Connell
10-2 Jan Jorgensen & Kyle Gunther
2-6 Gordon Monson & Jake Scott

700
5-8 Mike & Mike
8-11 Colin Cowherd
11-2 Dan Patrick
2-6 Bill Riley

I think that's what they were.  I don't really listen to the radio much beyond driving to and from places, but it takes me about 35 minutes to get to work, so I would usually listen to DJ & PK, but I'd go to Hans & OC if I liked their topic better.  I liked Colin best on Mondays after NFL Sunday.

If I went out for lunch, I'd go to Jan & Kyle first, but then I'd see if I liked what Rome or DP was talking about.  Or maybe I'd see what Rush Limbaugh was ranting about.  Depended on my mood.

Driving home, the afternoon show was best when it was David Locke.  Loved him as a radio host, and all the stat-geeky glory he brought.  Scotty G's fine, but if Locke was out, I'd see what Bill & Spence were talking about on 700 (before Spence jumped to 1320), or I'd see if Jake Scott was on.  Usually can't stand Monson, as he tends to argue for argument's sake, but Jake and a guest host was great.

Here's my understanding of the new landscape:

1320
Becoming who-knows-what on May 31.

1280
6-10 DJ & PK
10-1 Jim Rome / (97.5 Tony Parks & Jake Scott)
1-3 Jake Scott & Scotty G
3-6 Spence Checketts & Gordon Monson

700
Same, except Hans Olsen is joining Bill Riley

I like Spence, but I'm not thrilled Monson's back on a Jazz flagship station. I just don't enjoy listening to his takes, despite all his experience. I don't foresee making them my #1 listening option on the drive back home. I'm more likely to listen to Bill & Hans first (unless they're talking soccer.)  What else is on AM radio then?  Dennis Miller, Mark Levin, Rod Arquette... uh yeah.  On 1280 I'm much more likely to listen to Spence & Locke, Spence & Boler, Spence & Tony, Spence & Bags, Spence & Gordy Chiesa, Spence & Thurl Bailey, Spence & Ron Boone, Spence & An Overturned Mop with a Bucket for a Head.

I love the idea of Tony & Jake together as a local mid-day option.

I do hope we keep hearing from reporters like Brian T. Smith and Jody Gennessy and Rick Aaron on the air.  Somewhere.

And I hope one of the stations picks up the banner for Showdown Fights.  I've been to two of their events, and it's made for great MMA action, with Hans as emcee, and Jan and OC as fighters.

The NBA Final Eight

Who I'm Rooting for, from least to most.

8.  L.A. LAKERS - They're the Lakers.  Kobe Bryant is not allowed to tie Michael Jordan's ring-count.  Nothing against true fans like Jack Nicholson or Penny Marshall, but I can't foresee me ever wanting the Lakers to win a playoff game again.

7.  BOSTON CELTICS - I like Rajon Rondo, I like Ray Allen, I like Paul Pierce, I like Doc Rivers, I like Danny Ainge, but Kevin Garnett has become such a dirty player that I like watching him lose more.  He got his ring, but time for that sun to set.

6.  L.A. CLIPPERS - They're fun to watch in spurts, but if you watch too long, you notice all the flopping that Chris Paul and Blake Griffin do.

5.  PHILADELPHIA 76ERS - They're a nice underdog story, but no one really wants an 8th seed to win the whole thing. I mean, I would have taken it if the Jazz had done it, but if they can't do it, no one can!  But I am happy for Andre Iguodala and company for tasting playoff success.

4.  MIAMI HEAT - Losing Chris Bosh has humbled this team a bit, and I don't dislike LeBron James or Dwyane Wade, but it really is a Two-Man show with guest stars in the other three spots on the floor.  I'd be happy with them in the Finals again.  And to lose the Finals again.  Unless they're in the Finals with an LA team.

3.  SAN ANTONIO SPURS - I can't help but respect this team, respect the roster moves they've made, respect the way Tim Duncan is playing within his abilities, the way Tony Parker's had an MVP season, the way Poppovich coaches.  Still hate Ginobili's flopping, but they have a good culture down there.

2.  INDIANA PACERS - I feel like the Jazz are one piece away from being the Pacers.  They don't have an MVP candidate on the team but they do have some All-Star reserves, they play as a team, and they compliemnt each other.  Haven't watched them much, but I like them more as I see them play.  Plus it'd be hilarious to have Reggie Miller not win a ring as a Pacer, but Kyrylo Fesenko does.

1.  OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER - Feels like it's their year.  It kills me they're not in Seattle any more, but Kevin Durant is to the 2010's what Tim Duncan was to the 2000's.  The franchise had some crappy drafts (Saer Sene?  Johan Petro?) but when they got KD and Russell Westbrook and James Harden, and then got coach Scott Brooks, they were finally able to build something up.

Requiem for a Jazz Season

First, Game 4:

- The Jazz lost 87-81. Their shooting woes continued. Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks and Josh Howard were a combined 0-17 from the floor. The Jazz as a team were 0-13 from 3. The Spurs defense is really good, but not that good. The Jazz also missed 9 free throws. 9 missed free throws, lost by 6. Woulda, coulda, shoulda.

- Paul Millsap was a man fighting and fighting, but it was a stark reminder that he's only 6'7". He shot 4-17, but managed to grab 19 rebounds, and he was +11 in his 41 minutes. And when the Jazz were only down four with 20 seconds to go, he bobbled the pass from Harris, allowing Ginobili to steal it and run back for a layup to put them up six.

- Al Jefferson outplayed Tim Duncan. Unfortunately with Derrick Favors in the starting lineup, the Jazz had no bench. The Spurs bench outscored them 57-10.

Player Evaluations:

DERRICK FAVORS (soph) - The future. Their best defender, and he's good at going to the line. He needs to average 35 minutes a game next year and start all 82. He needs to improve his free-throw shooting.

GORDON HAYWARD (soph) - He got the playing time, but the playoffs showed he still has a lot of work to do. He needs to be more consistent and refine his outside shooting.

ALEC BURKS (rook) - He had a lot of DNP-CD's in favor of Raja Bell and CJ Miles. That won't happen next year. Not a bad rookie year; sky's the limit for him. I look forward to seeing what a full off-season will do for him.

ENES KANTER (rook) - Very, very raw. He's good at holding his space and rebounding. But he hasn't played that many games in his life. A worthy project, but still a project.

PAUL MILLSAP (1 year remaining) - He's the heart of this team and now one of the longest-tenured members. Gone are D-Will, Boozer, AK and Memo. Paul's about hit his ceiling. He had career highs in steals and rebounds. He will win you some games, but you're not getting out of the first round if he's the best player on your team. But if he's your third, look out.

AL JEFFERSON (1 year remaining) - Offensively he was the Jazz's best player. His problem is that he never got to the free throw line and was inefficient in his possessions. Sure, he'd score 20, but it'd take 21 shots to get there. My guess is either he or Paul will be moved for a shooter, but the Jazz may try to keep all of them and starting Paul at the small forward. Jefferson said he'd like to finish his career in Utah.

DEVIN HARRIS (1 year remaining) - Took him half the season to figure it out, but he played well down the stretch. He's not the prototypical Jazz point guard, but it's up to Corbin and company to make Harris's strengths work for them.

EARL WATSON (1 year remaining) - They could have used his tenacity in the playoffs but injury ended his season. Good guy to have on the team, even though his skills are obviously diminishing.

RAJA BELL (1 year remaining) - Clearly has a problem with coach Corbin and he wants to get moved. I'm sure the Jazz will oblige if they can find someone willing. If they can't, they'll probably amnesty him. Last thing a young locker-room needs is a veteran cancer. And it's not all his fault. He thought he was signing with a Deron Williams-led playoff team. He doesn't want to be on a young, rebuilding team.

JAMAAL TINSLEY (team option) - All indications are that he's a great locker room guy. He got destroyed in Game 4, and the only way I see them bringing him back is if they wind up throwing in Watson in a multi-player trade.

CJ MILES (free agent) - Based on his exit interview, seems pretty clear he won't be back. He's been with the Jazz since 2005, but he has issues with Corbin, his 3-pt shooting was his worst in five years, and he went from 12.8 ppg to 9.1.

DEMARRE CARROLL (free agent) - The 27th pick in the 2009 draft has finally found a home. He was a key ingredient in the Jazz winning down the stretch just to make the playoffs. He's a hustle player.

JOSH HOWARD (free agent) - The experiment was great before his injury mid-season. He wasn't quite the same in the playoffs. He won't be back.

JEREMY EVANS (free agent) - The Slam-Dunk champion just can't get on the floor. Carroll was cut by the Nuggets, came in, and worked his way into the starting line-up. I don't see the Jazz keeping him. They could, because his alley-oops are fun, but there are better options out there.

BLAKE AHEARN (free agent) - He did what they needed him to do. They'll probably invite him to summer league, but my guess is they go a different direction for their third point-guard.

As to coach Tyrone Corbin, he still hasn't had a full off-season to plan and prepare.  Apparently his communication isn't as good as Jerry Sloan's, but many were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.  He helped this team overachieve, let's what he can do with a full season.

Play Derrick Favors!

The Jazz lost Game 2 in complete, devastating fashion 114-83.  The coaching staff didn't seem to learn anything from Game 1.  Josh Howard started again, and while he was great offensively in the first quarter, he was just trading buckets with Kawhi Leonard.  You can't trade buckets with Kawhi Leonard!

The Jazz lost by 31 points.  In Derrick Favors' 21 minutes, he was a +6.  Think about that.  In 21 minutes of that game, the Jazz outscored the Spurs by 6, and when he wasn't on the floor for the other 27, the Spurs outscored the Jazz by 37 points.  Al Jefferson was a -38 in his 30 minutes.

Now the argument has been made that playoff experience matters.  Okay, but so does talent, and Favors is the best defensive player on the Jazz.  Second best is Gordon Hayward, your two lottery sophomores.

Some other points:

- Big Al was never a factor.  He ended up with 10 points on 5-15 shooting and 4 rebounds.

- Josh Howard ended with 10 points as well, but Leonard ended with 17.  In fact, Al and Josh were the only Jazz players to finish in double digits.

- The Jazz were around 27% in field-goal shooting until the garbage time fourth-quarter boosted them to end at 34%.  Their lone 3-point shot was made by Blake Ahearn in the 4th.

Jazz lose Game 1 to Spurs 106-91

- The San Antonio Spurs have the best record in the West for a reason.

- Armchair-quarterbacking, I don't think it was smart to move Josh Howard into the starting line-up. Sure, he's a better player than DeMarre Carroll, but Carroll in the starting lineup is what helped the Jazz end the regular season on a five-game win streak. Howard missed all four of his shots and had two turnovers in 16 minutes. He has playoff experience up the yin-yang, but he's been injured and they need to reintegrate him more slowly. I'd bring him off the bench for Game 2.

- Al Jefferson did a decent job on Tim Duncan, who at times played like the Timmy of old. Al finished with 16 and 9 while Duncan had 17 and 11. The default criticism of Big Al tends to be his defense, and it is a weakness, but no one outside of Derrick Favors played decent defense last night.

- As a Jazz fan, I miss the days when Deron Williams would neutralize Tony Parker. Devin Harris is not as capable. Tony Parker seemed to get whatever he wanted.

- This is the first playoff game of Tyrone Corbin's career. I'm sure he'll learn from this. I just wonder why the big front court line-up of Millsap/Favors/Jefferson didn't make an appearance until the third quarter. Maybe he was saving it, surprise the Spurs with it.

- Gordon Hayward was 12-12 from the free-throw line. I love that. And upon further reflection, hayward had a nice defensive game too. Ginobili wound up shooting 3-10 from the field.

- The Jazz had 16 turnovers.  The Spurs only had 10.

- In Game 2, I'd love to see DeMarre Carroll start, and about seven minutes in, sub him out for Derrick Favors.  Play Harris, Hayward, Millsap, Favors, Jefferson.  Beginning of the second, go to Tinsley, Burks, Howard, Favors, Kanter, see how that goes.

Jazz Are Playoff-Bound!

They're in, they're in, they're in!

So happy for Al Jefferson.  Happy for the other guys too, but it seems something special for him.

Jazz beat Magic in OT 117-107

Some thoughts on the Jazz win:

- For the first time in his career, Al Jefferson may go to the playoffs.  Yes, I could say the same thing about Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, etc., but Al's been in the league a while and his stints with the pre-KG Celtics and post-KG TimberWolves were exericses in futility.  He thought he'd get when he was traded to the Jazz last year, but a Sloan retirement and D-Will trade killed that possibility.  Now the Jazz are 34-30 and in the 8th spot with only two more games to play.

- Al continues to be great on offense and weak on defense.  Yeah, Big Al gets his blocked shots, but his guy can often get those points back.  He had 21 points tonight; Glen Davis had 17.  The good thing about Al is he usually does outscore his guy, but it means other teammates had better be shutting their man down.

- The starting five dropped the ball in the first quarter, and Orlando also had a 15-0 run in the third.  But coach Ty Corbin went to his big three lineup early (Millsap, Favors, Jefferson all on floor at same time) and it paid off.  I love seeing that Derrick Favors had 36 minutes of playing time tonight (hence his 16 points and 11 rebounds). I am a believer that Favors would regularly be a 16-10 guy if he had the minutes.

- Orlando's one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league and with no Dwight Howard they greatly relied on it.  And since the Jazz are one of the worst at defending the 3, it was a perfect storm.  The Magic were 15-38 from 3.  My counter stat for that is that the Jazz scored 62 points in the paint.

- Paul Millsap had 18 and 9.  If he'd had one more rebound, it would have meant he, Favors and Jefferson all would've had double-doubles.

- Jamaal Tinsley was crucial in getting the Jazz back in the game in the first half.  He wound up with 9 assists in 18 minutes.  Devin Harris had 7 assists.

- A win washes away many sins, and Harris & Gordon Hayward had their problems.  Hayward had 6 turnovers but he had a clutch 3 late in the game that kept the Jazz in it and allowed them to get it to overtime.  Harris was aggressive with the ball and ended up with 21 points.  He also had the game-saving block on Jameer Nelson as time ran out in regulation.

- Enes Kanter looked good in his 12 minutes.  He had 9 points and 2 rebounds.

- Jazz bench outscored Magic bench 39-10.

Jazz beats Mavericks in triple-overtime

My eight-year-old Evan loves watching Jazz games with me, probably more than any other child right now. I've taken my oldest two to Jazz games, but when I was able to get tickets for last night's Dallas Mavericks game, I figured it was a good time for him to have his first live game experience. And my record's on the line. The Jazz are 22-1 when I attend, dating back to 1990. That loss came to the Thunder when Russell Westbrook outplayed Deron Williams.

So the Jazz have been the walking wounded lately, with Josh Howard, Raja Bell, CJ Miles and Earl Watson all out. Jeremy Evans was available to play but he never made it into the game. DeMarre Carroll went from a 10-day contract to the starting lineup, and Blake Ahearn has this John Crotty thing going for him that will probably results in him sticking around the rest of the season.

The Jazz's playoff hopes are in the balance. Duh-duh-DUHMMMMM!

We had nosebleed seats, but I took us down a few rows and no one ever showed up to say those were their seats.

Some game observations:

- Devin Harris has played much more freely now that he feels he has the greenlight to shoot three's. Or maybe it's just the comfort of being on a team again that has playoff hopes. Those dark Nets days couldn't have been good for the psyche.

- The Mavs kept Jason Kidd glued to Gordon Hayward. I know GH ended up with 24 points, but it took him 54 minutes to get there. Kidd did a good job of crowding GH and not letting his teammates pass to him. Kidd only had 4 steals, 3 of which were errant Jazz passes.

- Paul Millsap had the defensive assignment on Dirk Nowitzki most of the night, and all the effort was there, but Dirk's five inches taller, and Sap couldn't do anything to stop him. All he could do was make it difficult.

- Dirk got a couple big boos when he barrelled right through DeMarre Carroll, and the refs called Carroll for the foul.

- Delonte West is a knucklehead. After a foul was called, he walked over to Hayward and gave him a wet willie, and like pro-wrestling refs, none of them saw it. The crowd reaction was so strong, the refs said, "Huh, we should go to the monitors and review something." The crowd started chanting "Throw him out!" but he only got a technical. West got booed every time he touched the ball for the rest of the night.

- Jazz fans love their rookies, but Alec Burks was 0-6 tonight.

- Al Jefferson was an offensive beast. 28 points, 26 rebounds. He ate Brendan Haywood and Ian Mahinmi alive. The Mavs seemed to have a game-plan of triple-teaming Big Al early, but Al's learned to pass back out, and Harris and Hayward were hitting their 3's.

- I was cheering for the Mavericks to win last year.  I have a Mavs championship hat my son bought me.  Mavs put up a good fight, but they also reminded me of why I like cheering against Dirk, the way he flails his arms like a wounded stork, the way he storms like a giraffe in a china shop to draw contact.  He and Manu Ginobili have that in common, cept Dirk's a lot taller.  If the Finals were a Mavs-Heat rematch, I think I'd have to cheer for the Heat.

- Very proud of all five guys in the starting line-up.

- There are still times I wish coach Corbin would put Favors in more for defensive posessions, as he is the best big-man defender on the team, but Corbin's still feeling his way as a head coach. This coming off-season is going to be the first real off-season where he can plan all year, and we can get an idea of what he can really do.

- After the game, Evan was able to get a high-five from Big Al.



Other stuff:

- I can't imagine head-coach Mark Jackson is happy with what his owner and GM are doing to his team.  If the Warriors don't end in the bottom seven, as in the top seven of the lottery, they lose their first-round pick (to the Jazz, hence my focus).  So from the trade deadline on, they've been doing everything they can to tank the season.  Blatantly, openly, shamelessly.  They shut down David Lee with a "groin strain."  Richard Jefferson now has right-knee tankinitis (I read that on Twitter, sorry I don't remember who coined it).  The starting five for the Golden State Warriors last night were Charles Jenkins, Klay Thompson, Dorell Wright, Jeremy Tyler and Mickell Gladness.  How can you charge fans money to watch that game?  The owner deserved to get booed.  This year.  Maybe Andrew Bogut and Steph Curry will be restored to full health next year and they'll be brilliant.  But Grantland's historical takedown of the Warriors is the best write-up I've seen on that poor fanbase.

- I have to figure if the Clippers make it out of the first round of the playoffs that Vinny Del Negro's job is safe.  Pat Riley's not the GM there, so yeah, he ought to be good.  I just see how the Clips destroyed the Thunder defensively in the second half.

- The Jazz are now only a half-game behind the Suns and Rockets for the eighth spot, and the Jazz have the easiest row to hoe ahead of them of the three.  The Jazz play the Dwight-less Magic and the Suns at home, and they have a home-and-away with the Blazers, who have as many wounded players as the Jazz, but one of them's LaMarcus Aldridge.

- Whoever gets the eighth spot will likely be swept by the Spurs, but hey, the #1 Western seed has lost before, and playoff experience is playoff experience.

At the Jazz-Nuggets Game

I went to the Jazz-Nuggets game. It was tremendous. Since the Nuggets traded away Nene and lost Danilo Gallinari, they're a different team. The Jazz handled them with ease. The defense was porrous but the offense flowed smoothly and everyone got a highlight.

I feel bad for Earl Watson to have lost his spot in the rotation. He does a good job of running the team but he's not a good shooter. Jamaal Tinsley can do just about everything Earl does, but he's a little better at shooting. Watson and Jeremy Evans got into the game with about two minutes to go and were able to get in a couple Early-Oops.

My wife decided Kenneth Faried is a good-looking man.

Now going into Atlanta, with the Hawks on their third game in three days, this was a game for the taking. The Jazz played the first half selfishly and lethargically, with little effort on defense. Al Jefferson in particular was getting his offensive numbers but showed no effort on D. Jazz were down 55-40 at halftime. Ten minutes into the third quarter they had the lead back. They played like a different team.

The fourth quarter went well. The Jazz had control. Then coach Ty Corbin put his starters back in with about five minutes to go. The Hawks instantly went on a 7-0 run. They had a chance to win at the end, but it went to overtime. The five starters stayed in. Then a second overtime. Then a third, each overtime ending with the Jazz missing a shot that would've sealed the victory. The whole time I'm dying for Corbin to put Favors and/or Burks back in there. The Jazz looked gassed. In the fourth overtime, Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap and CJ Miles all foul out, and they wind up losing 139-133.

I'd pin that loss on the coaching staff, not recognizing how they could slip some energy guys in and out, not seeing how they were trading layups. But even with that loss, the Jazz are 7th in the West. 4th seed is very attainable.

Other notes:

- Last night's jumpshot contest in the overtimes was one of those times the Jazz could've used Josh Howard's confidant mid-range game.

- The Jazz didn't take enough advantage of Kirk Hinrich's defensive disadvantage on Gordon Hayward.

- Whatever disagreement Raja Bell had with coach Corbin a couple weeks ago, the Jazz are showing they can get by just fine without him.

- If I was coach, I'd yank my starting five after about six minutes against the Nets tonight and let Tinsley, Burks & Favors get at least 24 minutes apiece. Give Kanter at least 15. Hopefully Devin Harris and Favors play with a little extra energy going aginst their old team.

Jazz beat Lakers 103-99

- I can't remember a game that the Lakers deserved to win less.  24 turnovers.  Kobe Bryant goes 3-20.  Lakers have a 40-22 free-throw advantage.  The referees were not very good, to the point I want to remember their names and see if they're still in the league next year (#32 Eddie F. Rush, #18 Matt Boland, #79 Kevin Scott).

- No Al Jefferson, no Earl Watson, no Raja Bell.  Those that needed to step up, stepped up.  Paul Millsap had a brilliant grind-out game with 24 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks to lead the way.  Rookies Enes Kanter and Alec Burks had new career-highs with 17 points apiece.

- The stat line might not look like it, but Millsap, Kanter and Favors did a pretty good job on Paul Gasol and Andrew Bynum.  Next year we will see the Lakers transition from Bryant's team to Bynum's team.

- Josh Howard did a lot of good things on the floor and he had the best +/- stat.  But he really needs to learn how to pass the ball on a fast break.

Big Al with Big Game

Quick thoughts on the Jazz 105-90 win over the Pistons.

- This is a game they should win. They were at home, and none of the East lottery teams are any good.

- Raja Bell wasn't with the team in Chicago after a "personal matter." Word came out it was Raja Bell unhappy with his minutes and his role on the team under coach Ty Corbin. Apparently they worked things out, because Raja Bell started. Not only did he start, but he played 27 minutes, fourth most on the team behind Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap and Devin Harris. He finished with 1 point and 4 rebounds.

Paul Millsap contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Copyright 2012 NBAE
 (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)

- Alec Burks was a DNP-CD. So the lesson to Alec is, go complain to coach.

- But hey, they won! Al Jefferson's grandmother passed away. With a heavy heart, the big man answered with 33 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocked shots, including his first 3-point shot of his career, a hilarious buzzer-beater.

- CJ Miles is a streaky shooter, but tonight he hit his streak. He had 15 points, including 3 3-pointers. The Jazz as a teams hot 7-11.

- Gordon Hayward had 8 points but only got to play 20 minutes. Derrick Favors had 6 points in 16 minutes, Enes Kanter had 2 points in 9 minutes.

- You remember how Deron Williams would circle certain games to make sure he shut superstars down? He defends Chris Paul better than anyone in the league, for example. That's the attitude Gordon Hayward needs to have to get back in the starting lineup. And that's how I hope Devin Harris treats Steve Nash on Wednesday.

- No one could guard Rodney Stuckey. He had 29 points.

- I could have sworn Ben Wallace retired last year. Can't believe he's still playing.

- It seemed like Greg Monroe and Jonas Jerebko had better games than what their stat lines indicate.

Jazz lose to Bulls

- The Jazz aren't going to win if they go 0-3 from 3-pt land while their opponent goes 7-18.

- The Jazz can't win if Al Jefferson has 16 points off of 19 shot attempts, and 0 free-throw attempts.

- The Jazz can't win if they get outrebounded 42-31.

- There are more guys from the 2009-2010 Jazz team on the Bulls than there are on the 2011-2012 Jazz team.  Heck there are more guys from the 2009-2010 Jazz team on the Nets than there are on the 2011-2012 Jazz team.  If CJ Miles gets traded, that'd make Paul Millsap the last Jazzman from that team.

- Millsap always steps up his game against the Bulls and tonight was no exception, but the rest of the team couldn't help him, especially on defense.

- Devin Harris was out with stomach flu, but Earl Watson and Jamaal Tinsley dished 17 assists between them.  That was nice.

- Kyle Korver torched Alec Burks.  Rookie needs to learn how to defend the perimeter better.

A Tale of Two Jazz Teams

In their 99-98 win over the Heat,

- Six guys scored in double figures and one of them was not Paul Millsap.

- Six guys had a blocked shot.

- Gordon Hayward had 12 pts, 5 rbs, 5 asts, and 1 block in 26 minutes of play.

- Devin Harris had 13 pts, 5 asts and had the game-clinching 3-point play.

- Al Jefferson shot 10-20 (50%).

- The Jazz buried the Heat in the beginning of the third quarter with their five starters.

In their 102-96 loss to the Mavericks,

- Five guys scored in double figures and Millsap had a team-high 24.

- The lone block came from Earl Watson.

- Hayward had 3 pts, 0 rbs, 0 asts, 0 blocks in 15 minutes of play.

- Harris had 7 pts, 5 asts and had some badly-missed shots.

- Jefferson shot 4-12 (33%).

- The Mavericks buried the Jazz at the end of the third quarter with a lineup of Harris, Burks, Miles, Kanter and Jefferson.

It's going to be interesting to see what coach Ty Corbin does when Raja Bell's ready to return.  Does he ease Bell back in, make him come off the bench?  Does he do as previously rumored and bench Hayward?  Hayward's definitely had his minutes cut back, and I think a lot of it has to do with his offensive intensity.  By design, just about every half-court set starts with Hayward going to whatever side on the court is farthest from the ball, but we keep wondering where that kid went that scored 34 points in the last game of last season.

I think that's why CJ Miles and Alec Burks have been getting more of his minutes.  Burks makes things happen whenever he enters the game.  He's still wild, but he and Earl Watson were the only Jazzmen to have a positive in the +/- for both games.  Miles is a streaky shooter, but he's willing to score.

Jazz All-Star Weekend, Then a Kings Loss

Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors did very well in the Rising Stars Challenge game, and they were key pieces to TeamChuck getting the win. They each scored 14 points, and they actually played some defense. Hayward had two blocks. If Hayward played with as much confidence in himself that Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith showed in him, he'll be in the Sunday All-Star game in two years.

Overall, yeah, the Slam-Dunk Contest wasn't that great, but Jeremy Evans's double-dunk would be a contender in any year of the contest.

Didn't watch the actual All-Star game. No Jazz players in it, so didn't care as much. Watched the Oscars instead.

So with most of the Jazz players getting a week's rest, would it make a difference?

The Jazz lost 103-96 to the Kings. Not a good way to start the second half.

- Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap did not attempt a single free-throw.

- The Jazz shot 11-22 free throws. Missed 11, lost by 7.

- Gordon Hayward missed all three of his 3-point attempts.

- Devin Harris played better than Earl Watson.

- There's been rumblings that Ty is thinking of removing Hayward from the starting line-up when Raja Bell gets back. I think it's be a mistake. If he wants to bench Hayward, then he should start Alec Burks. A starting line-up of Devin Harris, Raja Bell, Josh Howard, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson tells me you're going for a deep playoff run. In 2009.

- The best they can hope for at this point is the 8th seed, and if they do that they lose this summer's first-round draft pick to the T-Wolves. They'd be better off to miss the playoffs, keep the pick, then use it to package with the Warriors pick they're going to get (top-7 protected, but the Warriors are playing just good enough, the Jazz should get it), and move up in the draft to get a true star player. Or use a pick and some players to go get a point-guard upgrade or a reliable outside shooter.

The worst Jazz first half yet

The Utah Jazz were going against the thinnest roster in the NBA. The New Orleans Hornets were without four of their five best players and only had nine players total. Of those nine, three were rookies I'd never heard of. Maybe the Jazz figured they could roll out of bed and beat the depleted Hornets by 20.

Look at the plus/minus of the Jazz players:

Paul Millsap -16
Devin Harris -14
Josh Howard -14
CJ Miles -14
Al Jefferson -9
Raja Bell -3
Enes Kanter +3
Earl Watson +8
Gordon Hayward +8
Derrick Favors +10
Alec Burks +11

No negative connotation can accurately capture how bad the starting lineup was. And then Miles & Howard came off the bench and weren't any better. The best line-up wound up being Earl Watson and the four lottery-pick youngsters. At one point the Jazz were down 20 and they fought all the way back to 83-80, but couldn't quite pull off the win.

- Millsap and Jefferson combined for 18 points and 17 rebounds.

- Favors and Kanter combined for 20 points and 17 rebounds.

- Chris Kaman looked like his old All-Star self.

- Devin Harris hasn't looked like his old All-Star self all year. He was outplayed by Greveis Vasquez. Vasquez, Al-Farouq Aminu and Xavier Henry are three sophomores drafted by other teams who've wound up here. This hodge-podge team was 4-23, and now they're 5-23.

- The rumor is that DeMarre Carroll was signed by the Jazz to give them flexibility for trade possibilities. I think Devin Harris is the one they want to move, and they're willing to throw in Miles and/or Bell to make something work.

- Raja Bell was 3-4 from 3-point land.  He's their most reliable 3-point shooter.  granted, they're the one of the worst perimeter shooting teams int he NBA.

Jazz muzzle the Grizzlies 98-88

- Gordon Hayward was great.  He defended Rudy Gay about as well as anyone could, but Gay still ended with 22 points.  Well, Hayward had 23.

- It was nice to see the whole team have early aggression.  That had been their problem against the Thunder; they didn't attack the basket enough.  The Jazz knocked the Grizzlies on their heels early, scoring the first 7 points of the game.

- The Jazz bench's struggles continued in the first half but they were more productive in the second half.  It'd be nice if they could blow out a team to get more minutes, let the starters get more rest.  And yet, Ty Corbin did a good job once again with the minutes.  Hayward had the most with 35:22.

- The Grizzlies had 17 assists and 18 turnovers.  The Jazz had 26 assists and 13 turnovers.

Jazz win, Lakers lose

My thoughts on the Jazz beating the Lakers 96-87.

- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

- Ty Corbin did a good job managing minutes tonight. No one cracked 31 minutes on the Jazz.

- Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter not only took advantage on the Lakers' thin bench, but they had pretty good D on Andrew Bynum.

- Bryant, Bynum and Gasol had 71 of the Lakers' 87 points.

- Devin Harris wasn't bad on defense, but his offense was awful tonight. 0-6 shooting, 1-2 free throws, 3 assists in 21 minutes. He was benched in the third. Earl "The Bulldog" Watson was a stud. He got everything rolling and finished with 11 assists.

- Gordon Hayward fared best defensively on Kobe Bryant, and therefore didn't seem to look much for his own shot.

- Al Jefferson had 18 and 13, and Paul Millsap had 16 and 13. They also each had 2 blocks.

- The turning point in the game was early in the fourth when LA coach Mike Brown screamed at the ref for not calling a foul when Watson stole the ball from Gasol. Brown wound up bumping the ref and got thrown out. The crowd roared to their feet and after the free throws, and it was the spark the Jazz needed.

- The Lakers had 30 free-throw attempts to the Jazz's 20.

- Alec Burks was a DNP-CD.

Jazz lose heartbreakers to Clippers 107-105

Thoughts on tonight's game:

- Chris Paul and Blake Griffin make for a scary duo.

- Al Jefferson was a beast inside with his own 27-point, 12-rebound game.

- The injury to Earl Watson hurts.  He tends to rise to the occasion in games like these while Devin Harris wilts.  Watson was +8 in his 20 minutes before he went out with the ankle sprain.  Harris finished with -7.  Jamaal Tinsley, their third point guard, was -8 in his 7 minutes.

- Last time Paul Millsap outplayed Blake Griffin, but last time Blake didn't have CP3 passing him the ball.

- When Blake Griffin got his fifth foul, I was excited.  I figured the Jazz could pound inside and Blake would be afraid to pick up the sixth foul.  But when Millsap had the ball in the post, Blake started to fall before Millsap even bumped him to put up the shot.  The ref called an offensive foul.  Now Millsap made the shot, and it would have tied the game.  But the refs are not about to call Blake for his sixth foul, and I don't know why they didn't do a no-call for a flop that would make Vlade Divac blush.  The Jazz never recovered.

- Beyond that game-changer, the Jazz lost in other ways.  They were outrebounded 50-35.  They missed 10 free throws.

- Derrick Favors played inspired.  He had 14 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks in 18 minutes. And he made all his free throws.  He probably should have had some more of Sap's minutes tonight.

- Mo Williams had the least efficient 19 points ever.

- Josh Howard wound up dribbling down the court three possessions in a row.  If he'd been a faster guard, he could have thrown some passes for easy assists, but since he's Howard, the Clippers guards caught up to him and stopped any quick scoring from happening.  On the third time, the ball was stolen, Josh was benched, and he didn't come back until the second half.

- Millsap and Miles each hit a 3 in the final few seconds trying to keep the Jazz alive.  It all came down to the Jazz not being able to grab the offensive board on a deliberately missed CJ free throw.

Jazz overcome Blazers 93-89

Thoughts on last night's game:

- No Raja Bell or Al Jefferson.  No Big Al is huge, but also important is no Bell.  He's been very good lately with his defense and he's been a hot shooter from the outside.  So your starting lineup is Harris, Hayward, Howard, Millsap, Favors.

- The Jazz struggled with the Blazers' length for most of the night.  The Jazz usually outblock their opponents, but they had 7 to the Blazers' 10.  Marcus Camby had 4.

- Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas were good veteran tests for Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter.  Kanter's offensive game is a long way off, but it wouldn't surprise me if he leads the league in rebouding in 3-4 years.

- I like Earl Watson's new nickname of "The Bulldog."  His energy was huge.  6 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocks, and he did so much more.

- Gordon Hayward showed some mental resiliency.  He went 0-8 in the first half but went 3-4 int he second half and finished with 12 points.



Batum's knee gives out when driving on CJ Miles.

- I love CJ Miles' new attitude.  He knows he's not going to get more than 24 minutes a game, so he tries to run on every play.  He's a very effective slasher, and for so long, he tried to just be that outside threat.  He's streaky from outside, but he's a killer with his speed to the basket.
- Free-throwing shooting is an issue with this team.  They missed 12.

- Jazz outrebounded Blazers 51-37.  The crucial one was #51, an offensive rebound by Hayward amongst two Blazers with 3 seconds to go, with the Jazz up by two.  He hit them both free throws.

- Any time you shoot 38% and still win, that's a good win.

- Scary to see Nic Batum's leg buckle with 17 seconds to go in the game.  Hopefully for him, it's not too serious but when he went down, he instantly clung to his knee in pain.

Jazz drop to 10-6

Thoughts on last night's Jazz 2OT loss to the Raptors 111-106.

- Paul Millsap should be an All-Star. Not only is he putting up the numbers, but he's outplaying the stars on the opponent's team. In the last five games, he has outplayed Andrea Bargnani, Kevin Love, Dirk Nowitzki, Blake Griffin, and Nene.

- The Jazz missed Al Jefferson last night. Derrick Favors may have grabbed 12 rebounds, but Big Al's one of the best F/C's in the league in the last four minutes of a game.

- Devin Harris was the goat in the last Jazz loss, and it looked like all was going to be forgiven here, until he missed 3 of 4 free throws in crunch time, and also threw up an airball. Many fans on #TORatUTA were clamoring for Earl Watson to sub in for Harris in the overtimes. Harris had 24 points and 6 assists. Rumors resurfaced the Jazz are looking to trade him.

- Gordon Hayward is playing without offensive confidence. His defense is fine; he tends to get a block and a steal per game lately. I think that's why Corbin left him in the for the two overtimes. But CJ Miles was aggressive offensively when he was in, and he probably deserved some late-game minutes. But Corbin's already got this team playing better than any expected, so he deserves a lot of leeway from fans as far as his decision-making goes.

- There are 50 games to go in the season. The Jazz may have been lucky to hit teams with injuries, but you know, Dallas was lucky to get the Jazz when Josh Howard couldn't play, and Toronto was lucky to get Utah when Al Jefferson couldn't play.

- Josh Howard didn't look ready to be back, but I expect him to be better next time.

- Raja Bell's been exactly what the Jazz need him to be the past week or two.

Jazz, Nuggets better off w/o their superstars

The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors were morality tales, cautionary lessons for other franchises to learn.  You do not let your Superstar walk.

Now, teams that traded away Superstars traditionally tanked for it, but the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets learned the lesson, heeded the caution, and got pretty good deals for losing their stars.

The Nuggets have had one of the best records in the NBA if you go back to the game after the trade happened.  Denver was able to pad their bench, and Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler were great teammates.  It's unfortunate for the Nuggets that the lockout happened and Chandler signed in China without an opt-out clause. 

But now how is Carmelo Anthony doing?  His Knicks first with the 7th-8th seed in the playoffs, a guaranteed first-round exit team if they even make the playoffs, and that's with Amare Stoudamire and Tyson Chandler on his team?  Why such a struggle for this B-grade Big 3?  Simple.  The Knicks have no bench.  Lose a guy to injury and you have no one to replace him.   Iman Shumpert, their first-round draft pick who raised eyebrows when he was selected, has been outstanding for them, but he's already missed three games.  Even with everyone healthy, they're not that good.  Toney Douglas's shot has been off, and like most Mike D'Antoni players, can't play defense.  Mike Bibby?  Jared Jeffries?  Yikes.

The Jazz meanwhile were expected to go through a down year, and based on the way they played their first two games, it was a fair assumption.  But coach Tyrone Corbin was able to put in his own system, and his preaching of unselfishness has his team echoing, "Amen!"  Al Jefferson has learned how to pass, Devin Harris has learned how to rotate, and Paul Millsap is using his lack of starting opening night as motivation to show the world he belongs as an NBA starter, maybe even an All-Star.  The unselfishness is contagious and when a guy has a bad night, Ty finds the right matchups to let the next guy excel.  Gordon Hayward was off against the Clippers; CJ Miles cam in and scored 19.  Josh Howard and Derrick Favors were injured.  More playing time for Alec Burks, Jeremy Evan and Enes Kanter, and each took advantage.

But Deron Williams and the Nets are one of the worst teams in the league, no question.  And with the second-best player (Brook Lopez) out until March, it's not going to get better.  The Nets gave up a lot to get D-Will (Favors, Harris, the pick that turned into Enes Kanter, and this summer's Golden State pick) but that meant nothing was left in the cupboard.  Even so, it's strange to see five ex-Jazz players do so poorly.  Do they remember nothing Sloan taught them?  Is Avery Johnson the problem?  Bottom line for Deron, he looked forlorn sitting on the bench when they played the Jazz, seeing how many good teammates there were on one team, maybe dreaming of the day when he was in the discussion about who the best point guard in the NBA is.

Utah beats Denver on the road

- This was the best win of this young season for the Jazz. Forget their horrendous 0-2 start. They've gone 8-2 since.

- Paul Millsap's a stud. 26 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and 1 steal. He and Al Jefferson are the best 4/5 Jazz combo since Boozer/Okur during the WCF run.

- Another night where Earl Watson ran the offense better than Devin Harris. Still, both ended up with 7 assists apiece. Name the last time a team won the NBA Finals when the point guard was the best player on the team. Pretty sure it was Isiah Thomas's Pistons.

- Al Jefferson had a couple times he forced up shots in a double-team but for the most part one of the best improvements of his game has been learning to pass out. These guys are buying into the team concept of unselfish play.

- Jazz had six blocks. Felt like more. One reason Gordon Hayward is valuable is his length. He's 6'8" and is splitting his time between the 2 and the 3. He's turned into an effective shot-blocker in his own right.

- Alec Burks was a bundle of energy and wound up with 10 points, but he was also +12 on the floor. Watson led the team with a +15.

- The old Raja Bell is back. The tough guy who commits hard fouls and hits outisde jumpers when needed. Even he had a block.

Jeremy Evans skies for a putback dunk.

- Another impressive note: they did this without Josh Howard, who still has a left quad strain.

- Really hope Jeremy Evans gets in the dunk contest.

- Enes Kanter played 11 minutes, but Derrick Favors played only 7 minutes.

- The Jazz shot 51.8% from the floor, holding the Nuggets to 42.7%. The Nuggets were 26-39 from the free-throw line; the Jazz were 14-20.

Jazz suffocate D-Will's Nets

D-Will shot only 3-15
from the field.

- Really hated that Deron Williams got more boos than cheers at his intro. Mehmet Okur got a big cheer so at least there was some class on display.

- The Nets' offense is indecipherable. Lots of iso's, 1-on-1's. The strategy seems to be Deron Williams breaks down the defense. If he can't make something happen, he passes out for someone else to shoot a long 2, if they miss then Kris Humphries tries to grab their rebound.

- Raja Bell is getting better with every game. This was the type of output Kevin O'Connor was hoping for when he signed him.

CJ Miles shoots over his former teammate Mehmet
Okur.  Miles finished with 17 points off the bench.

- Deron Williams' shooting has been off ever since he got traded. Is it his wrist injury? Is it the offensive scheme? Is it the fact that defenses can focus on him because he does have talented teammates to pass to?

- Was hoping Devin Harris would have a bigger game, but here's a key stat: Harris finished with 6 assists, D-Will had 5.

- Nice to see Gordon Hayward rediscover his range. He was 2-2 from 3-pt land. It was also interesting how much D-Will and Hayward guarded each other. It was as thought Coach Corbin was teaching Hayward to overcome his fears.

- Two years ago today, Sundiata Gaines hit the game-winning 3 to beat LeBron's Cavaliers. Sunny D hit two three's in tonight's game, but they didn't have near the impact.

- Derrick Favors needs more time, but it's hard to take it away from Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson. The Jazz are 7-4 because of them.

- Rookie Enes Kanter had 8 rebound in under 19 minutes of play.

In other sports:

- The 49ers-Saints playoff game has to go down as one of the all-time great playoff games in history. I was very happy for Alex Smith and Vernon Davis.

- The Patriots-Broncos game was exactly the blowout I expected.  Tom Brady can try to get to his fifth Super Bowl, and Tim Tebow can go home and wonder if John Elway will use this as an excuse to find a different quarterback.

Jazz get first road win



Warriors coach Mark Jackson has seen better days

Some thoughts on the game where the Jazz beat the Warriors 88-87:

- This seemed like the first game where the bench hurt the team. The starters got the lead, the bench lost it, the starters get it back.

- It's the first time Raja Bell has seen minutes in the fourth quarter and he earned it. I'm happy for him that he was able to contribute. Pretty sure it's the first time his +/- stat at the end of the game was a +.

- One knock on Raja was that he was taking away minutes from other players that deserve more time.

- Gordon Hayward's also been struggling, and he had a great game. His 18 points was the team high.

- Derrick Favors was 12pts/10rbs in 25 minutes. Enes Kanter was 6pts/7rbs in 14 minutes.

- Paul Millsap was in foul trouble all night but he was a +18 for his 22 minutes on the floor.

- We heard the emphasis was on defense in this shortened season. That is panning out. After a 1-3 start, the Jazz are on a four-game winning streak, and defense has been the key in each game.

- Ty Corbin has been terrific lately. I love the adjustments and substitutions he makes. I disagree he has to set his rotations as soon as possible. You play well, you get on the floor. If he tightens it to a ten-man rotation, it's going to be CJ Miles who starts collecting CD-DNPs next to Jeremy Evans and Jamaal Tinsley.

- Who would have though the Jazz would be 5-3 at this point? Jazz fans figured this was a rebuilding year, a development year, and many (like me) were fine with the Jazz being a lottery team. It would mean two more first-round lottery picks in 2012, an allegedly deep draft. But once you taste winning.... the Jazz still owe a pick to Minnesota, but if it's #21, does it really matter how allegedly deep the draft is? The GSW pick will still likely be there for them, in the lottery.

NBA Power Rankings 1-6-12

As of January 5.

EAST

1. MIAMI (7-1) - Even without LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, the Heat were able to win in triple-overtime thanks to the efforts of Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, Shane Battier and Udonis Haslem. The NBA's favorite villains have something to prove.

2. CHICAGO (6-1) - They seem like a more well-rounded starting five. Rose is the reigning MVP, Noah's the tenacious defender, Boozer leads the team in rebounds and steals, Luol Deng has reasserted himself as the #2 scoring option, and Rip Hamilton is keeping them honest in the mid-range game. Taj Gibson continues his sixth-man yeoman's work, and the other bench guys are on fire from 3 right now.

3. ORLANDO (5-2) - The Magic hold the cards in the Dwight Howard trade sweepstakes. If they'd started 2-5, they might be a little more desperate, but Ryan Anderson has been playing like an All-Star next to Dwight, Hedo's numbers are returning to form, and JJ Redick and Glen Davis anchor an effective second unit. If J-Rich and Jameer can rediscover their outside shooting, this will be a team that the Heat and Bulls have to take seriously.

4. INDIANA (4-2) - Danny Granger's been struggling with his shot so far this year, but everything else is there. David West's presense has brought a renewed confidence to the team. Remember when Ray Allen criticized West for pursuing "the dollars" when he signed with the Pacers instead of the Celtics? West knew what he was doing.

5. ATLANTA (4-3) - They'll always be a first or second-round team, and they'll stay that way until they blown it up. But why blow something up when you make the playoffs every year?

6. PHILADELPHIA (3-2) - Jodie Meeks' shooting has been off, but that's a small complaint compared to how coach Doug Collins has Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young to turn to on his bench. Spencer Hawes looks like he's having a career year.

7. BOSTON (4-3) - They'd probably be 6-1 if Paul Pierce hadn't missed three games. But the thin bench is going to come back to bite them. The perpetual Rondo trade rumors don't help.

8. TORONTO (3-3) - Bargnani's finally come into his own. Looking forward to see him and Jonas V. play side by side. Jose Calderon may be the most underrated point guard in the league.

9. CLEVELAND (3-3) - Some of their success can be attributed to their schedule, but they hung in there til the 4th quarter with the Pacers and they're 1-1 with the improved Raptors.

10. NEW YORK (2-4) - This team's fate should not live or die based on the health of Iman Shumpert. Mike Bibby was a terrible signing. I expect a trade before the deadline.

11. CHARLOTTE (2-4) - Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo are going to take some time, but Kemba's shown enough flashes to show he'll challenge DJ Augustin sooner rather than later for the starting spot.

12. MILWAUKEE (2-4) - This team is not talented enough to get by without Andrew Bogut.

13. DETROIT (2-4) - This team was terrible last year, so it's a mystery to me why they brought most of the players back. Maybe they believe Lawrence Frank can work some magic.

14. NEW JERSEY (1-6) - I feel bad for this franchise. Without Brook Lopez they're vying with Washington to be the worst team in the league, not just the East. And that means Deron Williams will bolt this summer and they'll have given away Derrick Favors for nothing.

15. WASHINGTON (0-6) - Glad Maurice Evans called the players' meeting. Somebody had to. And it's a little disturbing that #6 pick Jan Vesely has yet to see a minute on the floor for the worst team in the NBA.

WEST

1. OKLAHOMA CITY (5-2) - Russell Westbrook trade rumors? Are you kidding? Sure, his turnover ratio isn't good, nor his outside shooting, but they still look like the team to beat in the West.

2. PORTLAND (4-1) - You know that team with LaMarcus Aldridge, Gerald Wallace, Wesley Matthews, Raymond Felton, Nicolas Batum, Marcus Camby and Jamal Crawford is pretty good.

3. SAN ANTONIO (4-2) - The old men still had the best regular season record last year, lest we forget, but how they survive without leading scorer Manu Ginobili will be their real test.

4. DENVER (5-2) - Oh yeah, George Karl coaches this team. Six guys averaging double-figures, seven guys averaging at least 1 steal a game. Rookie Kenneth Faried is a beast but he has a hard time getting minutes with this squad.

5. L.A. CLIPPERS (3-2) - They're living up to the hype, pretty much. They'll be a playoff team. They need to tighten up their defense; opposing team outrebound them by an average of eight.

6. L.A. LAKERS (4-3) - Good thing coach Mike Brown has made this team focus on defense because their 3-point shooting is atrocious. Kobe Bryant (7-37), Metta World Peace (2-17), and Derek Fisher (1-11) need some extra practice or something.

7. UTAH (3-3) - They've been unwatchable on the road, but they're undefeated at home, and they have a lot of games at home in January. Rookies Enes Kanter and Alec Burks are coming along nicely, easing into it, and Derrick Favors is improving. It's a weird mix of old and young players; are they going to commit to the rebuilding or are they going to try to make the playoffs this year?

8. MEMPHIS (3-3) - Zach Randolph and Darrell Arthur are down. But there's enough talent on this team that I don't see them slipping too far out of the hunt by the time they get Z-Bo back.

9. DALLAS (3-4) - The Vince Carter three-year contract made no sense, but Lamar Odom seemed like a bargain at the time. Instead he's acting like a Trojan Horse saboteur with how he's been playing. It's clear Mark Cuban knew they weren't going to be able to repeat so he's biding his time for the free-agent class of 2012.

10. NEW ORLEANS (2-4) - It all hinges on Eric Gordon's return.

11. HOUSTON (2-4) - So yeah. Having David Stern veto the trade for Pau Gasol really hurt them. But Kevin Martin and Luis Scola are professionals, and Kyle Lowry's been great. It's still too easy to score against this team.

12. MINNESOTA (2-4) - Oh, the promise is there. They're so close. They'll be a great team to watch in 2012. They're fun now; they just keep happening to lose.

13. SACRAMENTO (3-5) - Keith Smart has to figure out how to get these guys to pass to each other. But now that we know DeMarcus Cousins runs this team, I don't see their abyssmal assist numbers going up anytime soon.

14. GOLDEN STATE (2-4) - Steph Curry's breaking down again, so it's a good thing Monta Ellis and David Lee are playing well. I see them making a move before the trade deadline.

15. PHOENIX (2-4) - Trade Steve Nash or you'll lose him for nothing. Something is better than nothing.

Jazz win ugly, now 3-3

- The Jazz are undefeated at home. This is where they should be.

- Coach Tyrone Corbin is learning on the fly, and I've been impressed with his decisions. He's earning more trust with each game. No, I don't think Raja Bell should be starting, but if he wants to leave him in there, okay. Raja can be the sacrificial lamb at the beginning of the first and third quarters, and then Alec Burks can come in and work his wild rookie magic.

- The shortened schedule means the Jazz have to think about minutes. Al Jefferson is the only one playing more than 30 minutes a game, but he was able to miss a game with his ankle.

- Josh Howard left the game early, and his absense showed in the second half.

- The Jazz won ugly, but their defensive stats are going to look that much better tomorrow.

- Jazz are #1 in blocks in the NBA,a nd they had 12 tonight, 5 from Derrick Favors.

Jazz beat Hornets 94-90



Al Jefferson moves past Chris Kaman for the dunk.

- Al Jefferson went unconscious in the third quarter, attacking the basket. He finished with 22 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. He also played the most minutes (34).

- I really don't get why Raja Bell is still starting. He was -7 in 19 minutes of play. 0 points, 0 assists, 1 rebound, 0 steals, 0 blocks. Meanwhile Alec Burks was +8 in 10 minutes, with 5 points and 3 rebounds. The Jazz always look sluggish at the beginning of the 1st and 3rd quarters.

- Enes Kanter is going to be something special. His rebounding is already there. Now he just needs to be a little smarter on defense and work on his offensive game.


- Josh Howard looks better with every game. Turning out to be a genius free-agent signing.

- This may have been Gordon Hayward's worst game of the young season.

NFL Post-season Power Rankings

NFC

1.  GREEN BAY - Duh.

2.  SAN FRANCISCO - Their defense has been exposed as of late, but they have a bye-week to work out those kinks.

3.  NEW ORLEANS - So, I hear Drew Brees broke a record or something?

4.  NEW YORK - The Giants would have had another win or two if they hadn't lost Ahmad Bradshaw during the middle of the season.  But I believe in Eli Manning and Victor Cruz.

5.  DETROIT - I expect a shoot-out with the Saints in that first week.  Matthew Stafford isn't chopped liver.

6.  ATLANTA - They've had some great wins, but in Giants stadium, I just don't think the match-up is a good one for them.

AFC

1.  NEW ENGLAND - Their bumpy beginning of the season is a distant memory.  Tom Brady hides all flaws.  They'll be rooting for someone to topple the Packers.

2.  BALTIMORE - They're very capable of laying an egg in the big game, but when you look at how thint he AFC playoffs are this year, they shouldn't have a problem.

3.  CINCINNATI - I'm an Andy Dalton fan.  He's changed the culture of a franchise that has been so poorly run for so long.

4.  PITTSBURGH - They're hobbled, they're beat up, but they are NOT going to allow Tim Tebow to get the glory for his defense keeping him in the game.

5.  DENVER - They've looked bad the past few weeks, but if ever there was an underdog that can pull off miracles...

6.  HOUSTON - They're really going to miss Matt Schaub.