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.