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 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.