Utah Jazz Off-Season Begins

The Utah Jazz finished in first place in 2021, and the general feeling is that if Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell had healthy legs in the post-season, they'd have coasted to the Western Conference Finals, and they would have matched up well with the upstart Phoenix Suns. But Mitchell was hobbled and then Conley got hurt and couldn't do anything in the second round. The Jazz made Terence Mann look like an All-Star, and their defense got routinely exposed when the perimeter guys wouldn't close out, forcing Gobert to repeatedly run out a little too late to cover the corner 3.

Last offseason the Jazz knew they needed to upgrade their bench and their defense. Hassan Whiteside was generally an upgrade over Derrick Favors on the court. He might not have been as consistent or as much a locker-room guy as Favors was, but during the regular season it looked like a good move. Rudy Gay was supposed to be a tougher Georges Niang. Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles were supposed to continue their "Best 6th/7th Men in the League" campaign. The end-of-bench guys like Juwan Morgan were let go.

But the season started rough right off the bat. Rudy Gay's heel was injured and he missed the first chunk of the season. The Jazz had baffling losses to the likes of the Magic and Pacers. Still, they seem poised to be positioning for a top seed when they started 28-10 through the first 40 games. Somewhere in there Danny Ainge was hired, and then everything fell apart.

I don't know how much of it is because of Ainge, if any. But the Jazz go 4-12 in January. Gay has more bad games than good. "Chemistry issue" rumors between Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert haunt them all season. Injuries and "health and safety protocols" mean a lot of guys miss a lot of game sin the middle of the season, but then Joe Ingles, the heart fo the team, goes down with a season-ending injury. Yes, he'd been in trade rumors before that, but now it seems imperative they move him for what they can get if they're going to save the season. In the end, at least for 2022, the additions of Jauncho Hernangomez and Nickeil Alexander-Walker can't fill the void left by Joe. A waived player, Danuel House Jr., winds up being the most meaningful midseason acquisition.

This is also the first year where Quin Synder is under the microscope. Why does he keep sticking with Royce O'Neale, whose defense has slipped? Why do his starters keep having 4th quarter collapses? The Jazz would have been the #1 team in the West if you only counted the first three quarters of all NBA games. Why is the perimeter defense in general so bad? Why doesn't Gobert get passed to more? Why doesn't it look like these guys are having fun?

Favors and Niang and Ingles were all important locker-room guys last year. Who were the bright spirits this year?

Whatever the regular season was, the postseason is all that matters. Almost all of the moves the past year had been made to strengthen their chances in the postseason. Rudy Gay was a DNP. Trent Forrest, the only guard who consistently tries on defense, was out. NAW will get his chance next year but he wasn't ready this year. Whiteside, who'd been good more often than not in the regular season, looks disconnected from the game. The Jazz's #1 offense only manages to score more than 104 points once in the entire series, and that was in a game they lost.

If I knew in advance that the series would go six games, and Dallas's final score in those games would be 93, 110, 126, 99, 102 and 98, I'd say the Jazz won the series. 

For starters, the Mavs roster was more flexible than the Jazz's. Mavs could go five-out, and while Gobert did his ever best to guard the paint but come out when he needed to, too often the Jazz perimeter was turnstile defense. Meanwhile, the Mavs' #1 goal was to guard the 3. Keep shuffling those guards to go inside and worry about the midrange game later. That had been the Jazz philosophy, but their players couldn't execute.

Jazz during regular season

47.1 FG% / 40.3 3PA / 36 3P% / 22.4 APG / 116.2 OffRtg

Jazz during the playoffs

44.3 FG% / 29.8 3PA / 27.4 3P% / 17.2 APG / 108.4 OffRtg

Of the 16 playoff teams, when it came to 3P% and APG, Jazz were dead last.

Things the Jazz really need to examine in the off-season:

QUIN SNYDER - He has been a great coach so far. Eight years ago, he rescued this franchise from the doldrums of the Ty Corbin era. He showed progress every year and right when it looked like the Jazz were ready to truly make an impact, they lost Gordon Hayward to Boston, which threw a wrench into everything. The Jazz happened to be okay because they'd just drafted Donovan Mitchell that summer. Quin's defensive schemes were great with Gobert anchoring and the likes of Ricky Rubio and Jae Crowder on the wings, but they sacrificed defense for offense when they traded for Mike Conley and signed Bojan Bogdanovic.

It really did feel like this team could have been special if Bogdanovic had been able to play in the 2020 postseason. It really did feel like this team could have won a ring in 2021 if Conley and Mitchell hadn't both been hurt toward the end of that season. This season, even if Ingles and Trent Forrest had been healthy, do we really think they would have made the Western Conference Finals?

Is Snyder like a Mark Jackson coach, where he can get you from the lottery to the playoffs, but to get from the playoffs to title contention, you need a Steve Kerr? Something for them to think about.

FRONT OFFICE - Things came to a head between Dennis Lindsey and Quin Snyder last year, and Snyder won. It was made clear Justin Zanik would have more power, even though he'd been GM since 2019, the Jazz's bungling of draft assets needed to be addressed. Why are the Jazz trading up to get Tony Bradley? Why are the Jazz trading back to get Udoka Azubuike and yet not drafting an obvious steal in Desmond Bane? Why are they giving away 2nds for players like Justin Wright-Freeman and Matt Thomas, and why did they give away a 2nd just to unload Rayjon Tucker? And how coincidental is it that the team played .500 ball ever since Ainge arrived?

Ainge has a valuable voice when it comes to top talent. He knew to trade down for Jayson Tatum over Markelle Fultz. He knew what Jaylen Brown was. He knew how to get All-Stars like Kyrie Irving over in Boston, and he knew how to fleece Brooklyn when the KG-Pierce-Allen era was over. Just don't look at any of his draft picks out of the lottery. No need to this summer; the Jazz have no pick in the 2022 draft.

PLAYERS - It's good to have vets on the team, but are Conley and Gay just too old at this point? And how good can your perimeter defense be with two 6'1" guards and a 6'4" power forward as your starters?

Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert were both having career years. Career best for both in most statistical categories. Most of the other players, not so much. Bogdanovic was better in some areas but worse than others. O'Neale had more defensive lapses this year than last year. Conley's lost a step; the end of the 1st quarter burst the Jazz got in 2021 when Conley/Gobert were re-enter the game weren't near as effective in 2022. 

Jazz weren't playing well before Ingles got hurt, but at least he knew how to run a pick and roll with Gobert. Jordan Clarkson had his worst eFG% year yet as a Jazzman, averaging 31.4% from 3, his worst since his rookie year. At least he had a career-best from 2.

The main free agents this summer are Hassan Whiteside, Danuel House Jr., and Eric Paschall. Jazz still have most of the roster under contract next year. If the Jazz still think they have something in Azubuike, do they even bring back Whiteside? Or do they get someone like Greg Monroe who could be the third center behind Dok? It seems like the Jazz would want to bring back House Jr. and Paschall, but they'd need to move some other guys first. Jazz could bring back Trent Forrest, and I would think Quin would want him back, or do they let him go so they can see what they have in Year 2 Jared Butler.

Meanwhile, I think at bare minimum, this needs to be a different starting five next year. Maye it could have been a championship contender starting five in 2021, but it wasn't in 2022 and won't be in 2023. You have to look at age. Conley's 35, Bogey's 33. You have to look at on-court contributions. Of the starters, O'Neale's the only one where the team is about as good when he's on the court vs. when he's off. 

You have the look at the bench. Forrest has limited skills but he's one of the only guys you could say consistently plays hard. He can't hit a 3 to save his life, but he can drive, pass, and defend. Butler had some overdribbling habits he needs to overcome. Jauncho and NAW were midseason acquisitions. Do the Jazz give them a full year in the system, or just see what they can get for them now?

Last off-season it felt like mild upgrades and full health were what was needed. This year, their needs are lot more glaring. If they do decide they have to move one of Mitchell or Gobert, I expect it'd be Gobert who goes. He turns 30 in June, and as much crap as he gets around the league, and even though he's set to make $46 million in 2026, about 20 teams are salivating for his interior defense. Personally I still think Quin, Don, and Rudy can bring a ring to Utah; they just need the right pieces around them. Bigger and better pieces than what they have now.

Utah Jazz On/Off Numbers

This has been a bizarre season. In many ways, the #1 seed from last year was a mirage. They had a perfect regular-season team that vanished once they hit the playoffs, albeit for the second year in a row where crucial contributors were injured. The off-season moves were designed to strength their post-season chances, but we've seen more turbulence this regular season than we have since the pre-Donovan Mitchell days. So what can the on/off numbers tell us?

All numbers are through 3/30.

Utah Jazz (45-31)

OffRtg: 116.1 /  DefRtg: 110.4 / NetRtg: +5.7

They are still #1 in offense and #4 in NetRtg, but they are now down to #12 in defense. Five-game losing streaks will do that to you. I'm doing the players who've played at least 500 total minutes.

Rudy Gobert

On - 116.3 / 107.6 / +8.7

Off - 116.6 / 114.4 / +2.2

Donovan Mitchell

On - 120.0 / 112.9 / +7.1

Off - 111.5 / 108.0 / +3.5

Mike Conley

On - 116.1 / 108.2 / +7.9

Off - 116.8 / 113.7 / +3.1

Bojan Bogdanovic

On - 118.3 / 111.9 / +6.4

Off - 114.2 / 109.5 / +4.7

Royce O'Neale

On - 117.5 / 111.9 / +5.6

Off - 114.7 / 109.1 / +5.6

Joe Ingles

On - 114.0 / 105.9 / +8.1

Off - 117.5 / 113.0 / +4.5

Jordan Clarkson

On - 116.7 / 109.2 / +7.5

Off - 116.2 / 112.7 / +3.5

Hassan Whiteside

On - 122.4 / 112.1 / +10.3

Off - 113.9 / 110.3 / +3.6

Trent Forrest

On - 115.5 / 110.4 / +5.1

Off - 116.7 110.9 / +5.8

Rudy Gay

On - 115.5 / 109.3 / +6.2

Off - 116.8 / 111.4 / +5.4

Eric Paschall

On - 110.9 / 113.0 / -2.1

Off - 117.8 / 110.3 / +7.5

Danuel House Jr

On - 110.5 / 114.2 / -3.7

Jared Butler

On - 112.2 / 118.0 / -5.8

Juancho Hernangomez

On - 112.9 / 121.0 / -8.1

Udoka Azubuike

On - 110.6 / 109.5 / +1.1

Nickeil Alexander-Walker

On - 133.6 / 135.9 / -2.3

A few things just from this. The Jazz bench misses Joe Ingles more than we really know. He was one of the leading voices on this team and he could keep the defense together. He was also a key part of the lineup when Conley/Gobert come back in at the end of first and third quarters. Juancho and NAW could be contributors next year, but the time they are getting is due to injuries. I was surprised that Royce O'Neale winds up being a wash.

Be sure to listen to the Jedi & Jerms podcast for more!

Requiem for a Jazz Season

First, Game 4:

- The Jazz lost 87-81. Their shooting woes continued. Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks and Josh Howard were a combined 0-17 from the floor. The Jazz as a team were 0-13 from 3. The Spurs defense is really good, but not that good. The Jazz also missed 9 free throws. 9 missed free throws, lost by 6. Woulda, coulda, shoulda.

- Paul Millsap was a man fighting and fighting, but it was a stark reminder that he's only 6'7". He shot 4-17, but managed to grab 19 rebounds, and he was +11 in his 41 minutes. And when the Jazz were only down four with 20 seconds to go, he bobbled the pass from Harris, allowing Ginobili to steal it and run back for a layup to put them up six.

- Al Jefferson outplayed Tim Duncan. Unfortunately with Derrick Favors in the starting lineup, the Jazz had no bench. The Spurs bench outscored them 57-10.

Player Evaluations:

DERRICK FAVORS (soph) - The future. Their best defender, and he's good at going to the line. He needs to average 35 minutes a game next year and start all 82. He needs to improve his free-throw shooting.

GORDON HAYWARD (soph) - He got the playing time, but the playoffs showed he still has a lot of work to do. He needs to be more consistent and refine his outside shooting.

ALEC BURKS (rook) - He had a lot of DNP-CD's in favor of Raja Bell and CJ Miles. That won't happen next year. Not a bad rookie year; sky's the limit for him. I look forward to seeing what a full off-season will do for him.

ENES KANTER (rook) - Very, very raw. He's good at holding his space and rebounding. But he hasn't played that many games in his life. A worthy project, but still a project.

PAUL MILLSAP (1 year remaining) - He's the heart of this team and now one of the longest-tenured members. Gone are D-Will, Boozer, AK and Memo. Paul's about hit his ceiling. He had career highs in steals and rebounds. He will win you some games, but you're not getting out of the first round if he's the best player on your team. But if he's your third, look out.

AL JEFFERSON (1 year remaining) - Offensively he was the Jazz's best player. His problem is that he never got to the free throw line and was inefficient in his possessions. Sure, he'd score 20, but it'd take 21 shots to get there. My guess is either he or Paul will be moved for a shooter, but the Jazz may try to keep all of them and starting Paul at the small forward. Jefferson said he'd like to finish his career in Utah.

DEVIN HARRIS (1 year remaining) - Took him half the season to figure it out, but he played well down the stretch. He's not the prototypical Jazz point guard, but it's up to Corbin and company to make Harris's strengths work for them.

EARL WATSON (1 year remaining) - They could have used his tenacity in the playoffs but injury ended his season. Good guy to have on the team, even though his skills are obviously diminishing.

RAJA BELL (1 year remaining) - Clearly has a problem with coach Corbin and he wants to get moved. I'm sure the Jazz will oblige if they can find someone willing. If they can't, they'll probably amnesty him. Last thing a young locker-room needs is a veteran cancer. And it's not all his fault. He thought he was signing with a Deron Williams-led playoff team. He doesn't want to be on a young, rebuilding team.

JAMAAL TINSLEY (team option) - All indications are that he's a great locker room guy. He got destroyed in Game 4, and the only way I see them bringing him back is if they wind up throwing in Watson in a multi-player trade.

CJ MILES (free agent) - Based on his exit interview, seems pretty clear he won't be back. He's been with the Jazz since 2005, but he has issues with Corbin, his 3-pt shooting was his worst in five years, and he went from 12.8 ppg to 9.1.

DEMARRE CARROLL (free agent) - The 27th pick in the 2009 draft has finally found a home. He was a key ingredient in the Jazz winning down the stretch just to make the playoffs. He's a hustle player.

JOSH HOWARD (free agent) - The experiment was great before his injury mid-season. He wasn't quite the same in the playoffs. He won't be back.

JEREMY EVANS (free agent) - The Slam-Dunk champion just can't get on the floor. Carroll was cut by the Nuggets, came in, and worked his way into the starting line-up. I don't see the Jazz keeping him. They could, because his alley-oops are fun, but there are better options out there.

BLAKE AHEARN (free agent) - He did what they needed him to do. They'll probably invite him to summer league, but my guess is they go a different direction for their third point-guard.

As to coach Tyrone Corbin, he still hasn't had a full off-season to plan and prepare.  Apparently his communication isn't as good as Jerry Sloan's, but many were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.  He helped this team overachieve, let's what he can do with a full season.

Jazz lose Game 1 to Spurs 106-91

- The San Antonio Spurs have the best record in the West for a reason.

- Armchair-quarterbacking, I don't think it was smart to move Josh Howard into the starting line-up. Sure, he's a better player than DeMarre Carroll, but Carroll in the starting lineup is what helped the Jazz end the regular season on a five-game win streak. Howard missed all four of his shots and had two turnovers in 16 minutes. He has playoff experience up the yin-yang, but he's been injured and they need to reintegrate him more slowly. I'd bring him off the bench for Game 2.

- Al Jefferson did a decent job on Tim Duncan, who at times played like the Timmy of old. Al finished with 16 and 9 while Duncan had 17 and 11. The default criticism of Big Al tends to be his defense, and it is a weakness, but no one outside of Derrick Favors played decent defense last night.

- As a Jazz fan, I miss the days when Deron Williams would neutralize Tony Parker. Devin Harris is not as capable. Tony Parker seemed to get whatever he wanted.

- This is the first playoff game of Tyrone Corbin's career. I'm sure he'll learn from this. I just wonder why the big front court line-up of Millsap/Favors/Jefferson didn't make an appearance until the third quarter. Maybe he was saving it, surprise the Spurs with it.

- Gordon Hayward was 12-12 from the free-throw line. I love that. And upon further reflection, hayward had a nice defensive game too. Ginobili wound up shooting 3-10 from the field.

- The Jazz had 16 turnovers.  The Spurs only had 10.

- In Game 2, I'd love to see DeMarre Carroll start, and about seven minutes in, sub him out for Derrick Favors.  Play Harris, Hayward, Millsap, Favors, Jefferson.  Beginning of the second, go to Tinsley, Burks, Howard, Favors, Kanter, see how that goes.

Jazz beat Magic in OT 117-107

Some thoughts on the Jazz win:

- For the first time in his career, Al Jefferson may go to the playoffs.  Yes, I could say the same thing about Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, etc., but Al's been in the league a while and his stints with the pre-KG Celtics and post-KG TimberWolves were exericses in futility.  He thought he'd get when he was traded to the Jazz last year, but a Sloan retirement and D-Will trade killed that possibility.  Now the Jazz are 34-30 and in the 8th spot with only two more games to play.

- Al continues to be great on offense and weak on defense.  Yeah, Big Al gets his blocked shots, but his guy can often get those points back.  He had 21 points tonight; Glen Davis had 17.  The good thing about Al is he usually does outscore his guy, but it means other teammates had better be shutting their man down.

- The starting five dropped the ball in the first quarter, and Orlando also had a 15-0 run in the third.  But coach Ty Corbin went to his big three lineup early (Millsap, Favors, Jefferson all on floor at same time) and it paid off.  I love seeing that Derrick Favors had 36 minutes of playing time tonight (hence his 16 points and 11 rebounds). I am a believer that Favors would regularly be a 16-10 guy if he had the minutes.

- Orlando's one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league and with no Dwight Howard they greatly relied on it.  And since the Jazz are one of the worst at defending the 3, it was a perfect storm.  The Magic were 15-38 from 3.  My counter stat for that is that the Jazz scored 62 points in the paint.

- Paul Millsap had 18 and 9.  If he'd had one more rebound, it would have meant he, Favors and Jefferson all would've had double-doubles.

- Jamaal Tinsley was crucial in getting the Jazz back in the game in the first half.  He wound up with 9 assists in 18 minutes.  Devin Harris had 7 assists.

- A win washes away many sins, and Harris & Gordon Hayward had their problems.  Hayward had 6 turnovers but he had a clutch 3 late in the game that kept the Jazz in it and allowed them to get it to overtime.  Harris was aggressive with the ball and ended up with 21 points.  He also had the game-saving block on Jameer Nelson as time ran out in regulation.

- Enes Kanter looked good in his 12 minutes.  He had 9 points and 2 rebounds.

- Jazz bench outscored Magic bench 39-10.

Jazz beats Mavericks in triple-overtime

My eight-year-old Evan loves watching Jazz games with me, probably more than any other child right now. I've taken my oldest two to Jazz games, but when I was able to get tickets for last night's Dallas Mavericks game, I figured it was a good time for him to have his first live game experience. And my record's on the line. The Jazz are 22-1 when I attend, dating back to 1990. That loss came to the Thunder when Russell Westbrook outplayed Deron Williams.

So the Jazz have been the walking wounded lately, with Josh Howard, Raja Bell, CJ Miles and Earl Watson all out. Jeremy Evans was available to play but he never made it into the game. DeMarre Carroll went from a 10-day contract to the starting lineup, and Blake Ahearn has this John Crotty thing going for him that will probably results in him sticking around the rest of the season.

The Jazz's playoff hopes are in the balance. Duh-duh-DUHMMMMM!

We had nosebleed seats, but I took us down a few rows and no one ever showed up to say those were their seats.

Some game observations:

- Devin Harris has played much more freely now that he feels he has the greenlight to shoot three's. Or maybe it's just the comfort of being on a team again that has playoff hopes. Those dark Nets days couldn't have been good for the psyche.

- The Mavs kept Jason Kidd glued to Gordon Hayward. I know GH ended up with 24 points, but it took him 54 minutes to get there. Kidd did a good job of crowding GH and not letting his teammates pass to him. Kidd only had 4 steals, 3 of which were errant Jazz passes.

- Paul Millsap had the defensive assignment on Dirk Nowitzki most of the night, and all the effort was there, but Dirk's five inches taller, and Sap couldn't do anything to stop him. All he could do was make it difficult.

- Dirk got a couple big boos when he barrelled right through DeMarre Carroll, and the refs called Carroll for the foul.

- Delonte West is a knucklehead. After a foul was called, he walked over to Hayward and gave him a wet willie, and like pro-wrestling refs, none of them saw it. The crowd reaction was so strong, the refs said, "Huh, we should go to the monitors and review something." The crowd started chanting "Throw him out!" but he only got a technical. West got booed every time he touched the ball for the rest of the night.

- Jazz fans love their rookies, but Alec Burks was 0-6 tonight.

- Al Jefferson was an offensive beast. 28 points, 26 rebounds. He ate Brendan Haywood and Ian Mahinmi alive. The Mavs seemed to have a game-plan of triple-teaming Big Al early, but Al's learned to pass back out, and Harris and Hayward were hitting their 3's.

- I was cheering for the Mavericks to win last year.  I have a Mavs championship hat my son bought me.  Mavs put up a good fight, but they also reminded me of why I like cheering against Dirk, the way he flails his arms like a wounded stork, the way he storms like a giraffe in a china shop to draw contact.  He and Manu Ginobili have that in common, cept Dirk's a lot taller.  If the Finals were a Mavs-Heat rematch, I think I'd have to cheer for the Heat.

- Very proud of all five guys in the starting line-up.

- There are still times I wish coach Corbin would put Favors in more for defensive posessions, as he is the best big-man defender on the team, but Corbin's still feeling his way as a head coach. This coming off-season is going to be the first real off-season where he can plan all year, and we can get an idea of what he can really do.

- After the game, Evan was able to get a high-five from Big Al.



Other stuff:

- I can't imagine head-coach Mark Jackson is happy with what his owner and GM are doing to his team.  If the Warriors don't end in the bottom seven, as in the top seven of the lottery, they lose their first-round pick (to the Jazz, hence my focus).  So from the trade deadline on, they've been doing everything they can to tank the season.  Blatantly, openly, shamelessly.  They shut down David Lee with a "groin strain."  Richard Jefferson now has right-knee tankinitis (I read that on Twitter, sorry I don't remember who coined it).  The starting five for the Golden State Warriors last night were Charles Jenkins, Klay Thompson, Dorell Wright, Jeremy Tyler and Mickell Gladness.  How can you charge fans money to watch that game?  The owner deserved to get booed.  This year.  Maybe Andrew Bogut and Steph Curry will be restored to full health next year and they'll be brilliant.  But Grantland's historical takedown of the Warriors is the best write-up I've seen on that poor fanbase.

- I have to figure if the Clippers make it out of the first round of the playoffs that Vinny Del Negro's job is safe.  Pat Riley's not the GM there, so yeah, he ought to be good.  I just see how the Clips destroyed the Thunder defensively in the second half.

- The Jazz are now only a half-game behind the Suns and Rockets for the eighth spot, and the Jazz have the easiest row to hoe ahead of them of the three.  The Jazz play the Dwight-less Magic and the Suns at home, and they have a home-and-away with the Blazers, who have as many wounded players as the Jazz, but one of them's LaMarcus Aldridge.

- Whoever gets the eighth spot will likely be swept by the Spurs, but hey, the #1 Western seed has lost before, and playoff experience is playoff experience.

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.

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.

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 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.

Jazz beat Sixers 102-99

Thoughts on the Jazz's 102-99 victory:

- Raja Bell is in the doghouse with the fans right now, and he wasn't great on offense (1-4 shooting), but he was good on defense. Sixer's starting Jodie Meeks was held to five points.

- I liked Tyrone Corbin's coaching last night. When Devin Harris was trading scores with Jrue Holiday, Corbin yanked Harris early for Earl Watson. It allowed for Harris to play the entire second quarter. Harris was much more aggressive on offense last night, and while he's not going to get D-Will numbers in assists, he can rack up the points from the free throw line with his ability to sprint to the basket and draw fouls.

- I'd said I wanted to wait to see how this team plays at home, and they did great. Philly was a playoff team last year and they haven't made any changes. Jazz did play as a team. The assist numbers might not look great, but I counted at least four more assists Hayward would have had if the Jazz players hadn't been fouled or just missed the shot.

- Lots more movement tonight. I think part of it was Al Jefferson not being on the floor, as guys tend to stand around when he gets the ball, but also the hyper-extra effort guys tend to give when one of their star players is out.

- The Sixers are an athletic team. Very impressed with Andre Iguodala and Jrue Holiday.

- After scoring 15 points against the Nuggets, Alec Burks was a CD-DNP tonight.

- Jeremy Evans was -12 in 5 minutes of play. Josh Howard was +16. I think the starting wings are going to be hayward and Howard eventually.

- One stats I always look at is blocks + steals compared to turnovers. The Jazz had 11 turnovers but 17 blocks and steals. The Sixers had 12 turnovers with 10 blocks and steals.

- Paul Millsap's shooting was off (4-16) but he made up for it elsewhere (14 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks).

- Derrick Favors had 20 points and 11 rebounds. He also had the most floor time at 39 minutes.

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.

Depleted Jazz beat Raptors

I wouldn't blame too much on injuries usually, but considering the Jazz were missing Andrei Kirilenko, Paul Millsap, Mehmet Okur, Francisco Elson and Ronnie Price, they've been pretty thin. Tonight was a night for the rookies to show what they can do, and they didn't take full advantage.

Gordon Hayward was pretty good on his man, and he had one great sequence where he blocked a shot, recovered it, then threw an assist to Al Jefferson for an easy lay-in. Otherwise Hayward went scoreless.

Derrick Favors will get there, but tonight wasn't his night. He ended with 3 points.

This was a night where Al Jefferson (34 pts/8 rbs), CJ Miles (23 pts/7 rbs), and Devin Harris (23 pts/5 asts) showed up and few others did. Who was next in scoring? Raja Bell with 5 points.

Jazz win 96-94 with a thrilling tip-in by Big Al at the buzzer. Jazz probably have to go 12-5 to end the season if they want to make the playoffs. Looking at their remaining schedule, I'd say they'd be lucky to go 9-8.

Jazz start 2nd half of season 0-1

Going into New Jersey the Jazz (27-14) should have beaten the Nets (10-31). Instead the Jazz now find themselves 27-15, with their second straight loss to an Eastern Conference lottery team. What's going on?

Hard to say, but the Jazz are now 9-33 in the first quarter. The Jazz had bad first and third quarters again against the Nets. For some reason the starting lineup just can't seem to get it done, and if I look at the 82games stats, the statistical weak link is Raja Bell. I would encourage Jerry Sloan to try Gordon Hayward or CJ Miles in the starting linup and bring Bell off the bench.

Deron Williams got his 20 points and 10 assists, Al Jefferson had his 21 points, 8 rebounds and a block, but the Jazz were outrebounded 44-31 and Paul Millsap was limited by foul trouble. Francisco Elson (-13) and Mehmet Okur (-10) couldn't pick up the slack. There were several missed lay-ups. The energy just isn't there.

But the Jazz are also known for playing up to their competition, and they're going to need to in order to defeat the Boston Celtics and prevent their first three-game losing streak of the season.

Jazz 2.0 have arrived

After watching an unrecognizable Jazz team go 0-2, the team we thought they were showed up to since go 2-0. Let's just pretend those first two games didn't happen. Hiccups. They just wanted to give the Nuggets some hope before Carmelo leaves them, and Steve Nash, well, he could use some wins before the lack of a supporting cast sends him to the lottery.

What's worked in these past two games? Offensive execution to perfection. Not real perfection, obviously, otherwise there'd be a goose-egg in the Turnover column, but you don't score 122.5 a game playing selfish basketball. Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, in that order for now, are a fierce 4/5 line-up in the low post for teams to deal with. D-Will's assists-first, points-second approach has launched his fantasy value through the roof.

It also looks like this is the year that CJ Miles will live up to his potential as an explosive scorer.

The bench needs to step up more. Francisco Elson is a definite improvement over Kosta Koufos. I imagine the second half of the year we'll see Earl Watson and Gordon Hayward play better than they are right now. I also look forward to how Mehmet Okur fits into this team once he comes back from injury. Does he come off the bench? I would think he has to. How do you remove Millsap or Jefferson from the starting lineup with the way they're playing?