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.

My Top 5 Utah Jazz memories

5. Deron Williams' debut game - There was general shock around the fanbase when Jerry Sloan decided Keith McLeod would be his starting point guard, and the #3 pick in the draft was going to come off the bench. Williams came into the game with a chip on his shoulder, and the highlight was in the final second of the third quarter, he put up a 3-pointer from 60 feet away and nailed it. It was a sign of perennial playoff-appearances to come.

4. The first game after Stockton retired and Malone left, the Jazz were predicted to be the worst team in the NBA. Jerry Sloan had a patchwork team of Andrei Kirilenko, Matt Harpring, Carlos Arroyo, DeShawn Stevenson, Jarron Collins, and a bunch of other leftovers and scraps. They opened against the Blazers, and this rag-tag group played as a team and won, and went on to an imporbable 42-40 season. It's the closest Sloan's come to winning Coach of the Year.

3. The Jazz are down by two in the final seconds to the best team in the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James and company are providing lockdown defense and the only guy who can get a little space is D-League signee Sundiata Gaines. At the buzzer, over LeBron's outstretched fingers, Sunny-D nails the 3. Most players can go their whole careers without feeling that burst of joy Gaines felt.

2. The Jazz's two point guards are both in foul trouble in the third quarter in the playoffs against the Warriors. We keep hearing that Derek Fisher is on a plane heading back to Salt Lake, and Jerry Sloan left an active roster spot for him in case he made it back to the game in time. CJ Miles and Andrei Kirilenko are valiantly assuming point-guard duties, but it isn't really their position. I was at that game, and I'll never forget the ovation we gave Fisher when he showed up at courtside and entered the game. Combine that with him drawing the crucial offensive-foul on Baron Davis at the end of the game, and it was magic.

1. The Shot. That's what we call it in these here parts. Stockton-and-Malone have been a power duo for over a decade, but the Utah Jazz had never made the NBA Finals. I can still hear Greg Gumbel's call when John Stockton hits the game-winning three over Charles Barkley to finally get them there. The usually stoic Stockton jumped in the air for joy.