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 lose ugly to Lakers

LAKERS 96, JAZZ 71

- No one on the Jazz could hit a shot.  Paul Millsap led the Jazz with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting, but the Jazz shot 32.2% as a team and were 1-of-13 from 3-point land.

- Al Jefferson had 10 rebounds but was only 2-of-16 shooting.  2 of 16?!

- The Lakers were playing their third game in three nights, and yet the Jazz didn't run.  They didn't look prepared.  What was the game plan?

- Rookie Enes Kanter looked like he has a vertical jump of two inches.  Several layup attempts were short.  He finished with 5 points and 11 rebounds in 20 minutes of play.  Rookie Alec Burks had 0 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists in 5 minutes of play.

- Millsap was +3 in 27 minutes.  Derrick Favors was -26 in 18 minutes.  He did have 8 points and 6 boards.

- Devin Harris is not old.  He's only 28.  He is fast.  But he didn't run much tonight.  This team looked lost, like they need a leader and no one was stepping up.  I include the coaching staff in that.  Actually Paul Millsap showed why he could be that leader.

- Jazz now need to go play the Nuggets in Denver.  I will be shocked if the Nuggets don't win by at least 20.  Meanwhile, I expect to see a completely different team when the Jazz have their first home game.

The Utah Jazz draft Kanter/Burks

#3 Enes Kanter - C
#12 Alec Burks - SG

Overall, I think I'm good with this. Would've liked Walker or Fredette to fall to #12 so the Jazz could get that dynamic backup point guard, but Burks has athleticism, and hopefully he can improve his outside shot. Kanter is a big question mark. High risk/high reward thing. There were intriguing guys available - Kawhi Leonard, Marcus Morris, Chris Singleton - so now time will tell if they made the right choice. Gordon Hayward's panning out, so the Jazz seem to know what they're doing with lottery picks.