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.