Jazz Update 1/14/8: Preview of Bucks vs. Jazz

After John Stockton retired from the Utah Jazz at the end of the 2003 campaign, it was a race between three young point guards to see who would wind up inheriting the job.

There was the often injured Spaniard Raul Lopez.

There was the Puerto Rican journeyman Carlos Arroyo.

There was the rookie second rounder Maurice Williams.

Unfortunately for the Jazz, they went with Lopez (who they believed would overcome injury after injury and develop into a top guard) and Arroyo (who they signed to a nice contract due to him torching Allen Iverson at the 2004 summer Olympics). Williams wound up signing with the Milwaukee Bucks and officially made his way onto many Jazz fans’ front office regret list.

The flipside is that the Jazz wound up being awful in the 2004-2005 season and wound up with Deron Williams.

Tonight its Williams vs. Williams as the Bucks travel to the Energy Solutions Arena. The Bucks (15-22) have had their troubles of late, as their frontcourt players are battered and bruised. The Jazz (21-17) are shaking off an awful December and the team is looking to make it their fourth win in a row at home.

This is a very winnable game for the Jazz; the Bucks haven’t won a game in Utah in six years. The plan will be to attack the basket and to take advantage of Milwaukee’s limited front court. Dan Gadzuric is listed as having a bruised left shoulder and Josh Voskuhl is suffering from a strained right hip. Former University of Utah standout Andrew Bogut has a long night ahead of him, having to deal with Carlos Boozer, and healthy and surging Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko.

With all the injuries, the Bucks might have to play Yi Jianlian at the center and play small ball. If they want to be competitive tonight, Mo Williams and Michael Redd are going to have produce big time.

If the Jazz win this game tonight, they’ll be back into the playoff hunt. They will be tied with the Golden State Warriors for the eight seed. I’m not saying that this is a make or break game for the Jazz, but they definitely need to get back on track.

The game starts at 9:00 pm Eastern time.

Jazz Update 1/13/8: Jazz live by the line while the Magic die by it

The last time the Orlando Magic played the Utah Jazz, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy blamed everyone--his bench, his assistants, even the fans--for their loss.

This time, Van Gundy can blame his team for not working on their free throw shooting; the Magic stunk from the charity stripe, shooting 20-21. This was enough to let the Jazz come through with a win at home, winning 119-115.

To call the game physical is an understatement. Each team had 32 fouls called against them.

Offensively, both teams were on fire. Every starter wound up in double digit scoring. Each team also had their sixth man get at least ten points.

Magic center Dwight Howard was his usual self, scoring 29 points and 15 rebounds. That was counteracted by the Jazz's Mehmet Okur who also got 29 points and eight rebounds. Both players also had two blocks each. Talk about parity. I think its safe to say that Memo's back.

At the power forward, both teams' starter tried his best to shoot his team out of the game. Macigian Rashard Lewis was 9-20 on the night, with a disgusting 2-10 from three point land. Missed three pointers lead to long rebounds and give your opponent a chance at a fast break. Lewis really made Orlando management look questionable for signing him to that $100+ million contract this summer.

For the Jazz, Carlos Boozer had 15 points on 5-15 shooting. That's not very efficient and he got abused by Howard and Lewis.

Both teams also pulled down a total of 39 rebounds each.

With all this parity, the Jazz won this game due to their offensive efficiency. They out assisted the Magic 32-16. This is classic Jazz basketball; make the extra pass to a cutting player. Their offense isn't that complex but it always works.

This great ball movement is thanks to Deron Williams, who got his typical stat line of 17 points and 11 rebounds.

They were also helped out by a returning Andrei Kirilenko. Mr. Always-Near-A-Tripe-Double himself had a line of 16 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. He chipped in 2 steals and a block as well.

Involving Andrei on the offense has worked very well this season for the Jazz. Having him and Williams running the offense causes a huge problem for the defense, as they're always looking to set their teammates up.

The one surprise of the night was the lack of CJ Miles, who didn't get any playing time tonight. He'd been contributing as of late and hopefully he'll get himself back into the rotations.

The Jazz continue their home stand against the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow night.

Jazz Update 1/11/8: Slightly undermanned Jazz beat undermanned Suns

The theme of last night’s Utah Jazz/Phoenix Suns game was “what’s your excuse for not playing!”. Let’s look at both teams’ absence reports:

Phoenix Suns:
Steve Nash—Stomach Flu
Grant Hill—Appendectomy
Shawn Marion—Bruised Elbow

Utah Jazz
Andrei Kirilenko—Lower Back Inflammation
Ronnie Price—Sprained Ankle
Matt Harpring—Wife Giving Birth

What was the difference? Both teams were missing three players. Unfortunately for the Suns that it was three of their starters. The Jazz were able to beat the undermanned visiting Suns 108-86.

So who helped the Jazz ensure this victory? They got their usual contribution from Deron Williams (17 points, 11 rebounds). Carlos Boozer had 18 points, and one rebound.

Instead of those two, look to center Mehmet Okur who had a simply dominating game with 22 points and 17 rebounds.

“We're a lot better team when Memo plays like that," Williams said in a Deseret Morning News post game interview. "I think that's his one of his best games of the year, if not his best game, because he did it from everywhere, he rebounded inside-outside, he played great defense."

Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE/Getty Images
Amare watches in awe as Memo dunks on him.

It was great to see Memo having a game like that. He scored from all over and cleaned up the glass much like the way that Amare Stoudemire does for the Suns. He had 21 points and 15 rebounds on the night.

On the defensive end, Okur was notably more active than usual. During one play halfway through the second, he did a great job on help defense, picking up a charging Marcus Banks using his size to pretty much force him into a turnover.

The Jazz also had a strong showing from Ronnie Brewer, tying a career-high 21 points."He played great tonight," Williams added. "Ronnie was everywhere tonight. You know, putbacks, he shot the ball well, he slashed to the basket, he finished, hit free throws. "It was a great game for him on a national stage, and I feel good for him that he got that exposure because people need to see him."

Because of all the Phoenix absences, it’s not the most fulfilling victory, but a win is a win. The Jazz did prove that they can do two things tonight.

If needed, they can play the Phoenix run and gun style and not be awful at it. They have a lot of quick players like Williams, Brewer and CJ Miles that can make it work. With a returning to form Okur and Kyle Korver, they can shoot from outside which stretches the defense.

The Jazz also showed that they are finally learning how to break a zone defense. After the Suns went to a 2-3 zone in the second, the Jazz’s offense was stifled to stay the lease. But after getting Okur and Korver involved from outside, they were getting enough space to feed Boozer at the low post. Hopefully they will remember this.

The Jazz have tonight off and they take on the Orlando Magic at home. Kirilenko said he might be playing then, but if not, then he’ll get to hang out on the bench with his buddy, rookie Kyrylo Fesenko.

Jazz Update 1/10/8: Key to victory? Steve Nash's tummy!

Tonight the Utah Jazz get to make an appearance on national television, as they take on the Phoenix Suns at home in the second game on TNT tonight.

While the Jazz easily dispatched the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, the Suns seemed to have their hands full. They overcame a 16 point deficit going into the fourth period and wound up winning in overtime. After that, they had to get ready to fly to Salt Lake City. Oh the grueling schedule of the NBA.

Steve Nash didn’t fly with them last night, as he sat out a good chunk of the game thanks to a stomach virus. He still might be at home; there has been no announcement if he’s joined the team or is staying home sick. Suns coach Mike D’Antoni has also said that Leandro Barbosa and Shawn Marion were feeling somewhat ill, as well.

What does this mean?

Does it mean that the stars and moon and suns are aligned in a way that the Utah Jazz might be able to get the win tonight?

Possibly.

When a full Suns roster played the Jazz back in December, the Jazz nearly won the game. In the fourth quarter—surprise of surprises—the Jazz choked and allowed Phoenix to get the win, 103-98.

In addition to the gastrointestinal problems, the Suns are also missing Grant Hill. He’s gone through a sort of renaissance this year as an all around player, adding rebounding, passing and leadership.

This absence doesn’t have anything to do with his ongoing ankle problems, but an appendectomy. Who would have thunk.

For the Jazz, they are still missing Andrei Kirilenko (back) and Ronnie Price (ankle).

So what should the Jazz do tonight? Defend.

If Nash isn’t playing, try to keep the ball in Barbosa or Marcus Banks’ hands. Force them to turn the ball over as much as the possible.

The Suns also like to set up their three point shooters, so defend the perimeter. This gives the Jazz a chance to work on using a 3-2 zone defense, something that will definitely help them in the playoffs.

Related to that, is that they need to step up their help defense in Kirilenko’s absence.

The Jazz are going to have to be careful on their use of physicality on defense. I’m not saying that the Suns are softies, but they rarely foul their opponents when they are defending. The teams just have two completely different styles. The referees know this, and will probably give the Suns the benefit on this one and be more critical on the Jazz. It would be different if it were say the Detroit Pistons, another physical defender.

On the offense side, the Jazz have shown that they can score in bunches, something that is needed to compete with the Suns. They do have to remember that they don’t have to compete with the Suns as to who is going to be faster; they should just be concerned on their execution.

Jazz Update 1/9/8: They beat the Pacers

All the Utah Jazz needed was one quarter to get themselves back on track last night against the Indiana Pacers. In that period, they outscored the visiting Pacers 40-19 and never looked back.

The Jazz wound up beating the Pacers, 111-89 in front of a sold out 19,911 crowd at the Energy Solutions Arena.

Utah's quick offensive onslaught last night allowed their team's top scorer Carlos Boozer jto drop 22 points and pull down 4 rebounds in 24 minutes. Deron Williams score 10 points and picked up 8 assists in 25 minutes and Mehmet Okur had a productive 24 minutes, with 9 points and 7 rebounds.

I'm assuming Jazz coach Jerry Sloan decided that it was going to be a victory early on and let his starters rest up for their game against the Phoenix Suns tomorrow night.

All eleven Jazz players got a chance to score and geton the stat sheet. Most impressive was second year forward Paul Millsap. "The Paperboy" almost got a double double, scoring 9 points and getting 8 rebounds. Jarron Collins played like a decent back up center getting 4 points and 5 rebounds. Backup point guard Jason Hart played better than some of the starters in the league, with 11 points, 3 assists and 5 rebounds.

As for the swingman shoot out bonanza I called in the preview, Matt Harpring clearly won that one with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

Here's how the rest did:

• CJ Miles got 7 points and 5 rebounds, predominately as a small forward.
• Ronnie Brewer got a 4x3, picking up 9 points and 3 in each rebounds, steals, and assists. Most of his points were picked up at the free throw line.
• Kyle Korver scored 12 points on 5-11 shooting. He was 1-6 from three point land.
• Morris Almond got his first NBA bucket, where it looked like everyone on the Jazz was passing to him to try to set him up. That would be his only points of the night (2 total), which is very funny considering he's looking like Kobe and shooting up the D-League.

I'll chalk up the Jazz's win to the following:

• They outrebounded (48 to 42) and outpassed (27 to 17) Indiana.
• The Pacers were awful from 3 point land, shooting 5-24.
• The Pacers put the Jazz on the free throw line 34 times where they scored 27 points. Compare that to their own 16-26 shooting.

Danny Granger lead the Pacers in scoring with 17 points. Jamaal Tinsley chipped in 13 and Mike Dunleavy Jr. added 12.

Jazz Update 1/8/8: Utah Jazz look to pace ahead of Indiana tonight at home

For more, check out Jazzcore.blogspot.com

It's been a rough stretch for the Utah Jazz. They've been getting killed on the road and have a chance to start to redeem themselves and get back on track. This month (January, they have a fairly light schedule and they take on the Indiana Pacers at home.

This is the first time both teams have met. The Jazz will be without Andrei Kirilenko (back injury) and Ronnie Price (sprained ankle). Unfortunately there is still no timetable for AK's return.

Here are some key points to tonight's game.

• Guard the Pacers' wingmen. And I'm not talking about the guys who are willing to go after the ugly chicks. Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy Jr. can be a handful, especially if they get past their man. I know I sound like a broken record, but the Jazz really need to step up and work on their help defense.
• Jermaine O'Neal vs. Carlos Boozer. Tonight should be a challenge for Boozer. O'Neal is a better than average defender, and on the opposite end of the floor can get his own on the offense. Boozer is going to have to deal with a bunch of talented power forwards if the Jazz can get themselves back into considering themselves a playoff contender.
• Mehmet Okur vs. Troy Murphy: Self, meet former self. Or self, meet future self. Both of these guys have a similar style of play; a big guy who can and seems to prefer shooting from the outside. Okur has been having a rough time of it and hopefully can have a big game tonight. For Murphy, this could be a vision of what could happen to him in the future. Which might not be too bad for him, considering Okur already has an NBA championship ring, an All-Star appearance and a marriage to a Turkish super model.

Most interesting about tonight's lineup for the Jazz will be watching who gets time at the shooting guard and small forward. Consider all the players the Jazz will have tonight who play those positions:

• The Jazz have called up rookie Morris Almond from the NBA D-League. Almond was drafted due to his enormous perimeter shooting and potential.
• Kyle Korver who the Jazz just traded for his outside shooting prowess.
• CJ Miles, who at times shows lots of potential from downtown but then have an awful game.
• Ronnie Brewer who began the season as the 2 guard of choice due to his high shot percentage and strong defense.
• Matt Harpring, all-around favorite player of Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan.

So who's going to win the Utah Jazz swingman contest? Other than Harpring, who ever shows the most effort on defense. I suspect one of these five could be very well traded by the end of the season.

That's all for now. Tip off is at 9 PM EST.

Jazz Update 1/6/8: Oops, Portland beat them again...

This season, the Utah Jazz have shown great difficulty closing out teams in the fourth quarter. Last night against the Portland Trailblazers at the Rose Garden, the Jazz choked in the third quarter, getting outscored 36-22 and losing a three point lead that they had in the first half. The final score was 103-89. Portland won their series against the Jazz 3-1.

In a game that could have been winnable, thanks to Portland guard Brandon Roy going out with a bruised tail bone (yes, you are reading that right), their forward Martel Webster game off the bench, figuratively carrying his team to the win. He picked up the scoring slack, getting 24 of his 26 points in the third quarter. He was supported by LaMarcus Aldridge's 20 points and 8 rebounds.

So what went wrong for the Jazz?

• Andrei Kirilenko was out of the game with his back injury. His man on man and help defense would have really helped neutralize Webster tonight. They really need to get him back. In a post game interview, Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan said there is no timetable for his return.
• If Carlos Boozer is going to have a rough game, the rest of the team will suffer. Last night he only had 6 points, 9 rebounds. He was 3-16 from the field last night and missed both of his free throws. When he's playing well, he frees up outside shooters like CJ Miles and Kyle Korver, who chipped in 6 and 4 points respectively. Boozer also should have played more aggressively in the second half of the game, as Portland center Joel Pryzbilia had four fouls. He's possibly the best Blazer defensive big, and getting him out of the game would have opened up the paint.
• Sloan gave his team too much freedom in the third. He really should have called a time out, but instead watched as the team didn't score on eight consecutive possessions and Portland went on a tear in front of the home crowd. At times, I think he forgets how young the team is.
• Mehmet Okur (15 points, 7 rebounds) really needs to become more of a leader. He's starting to play much better than he did earlier in the season, but he needs to become a better help defender and needs to regain his ability to be a clutch shooter for the team at the end of games.

In case you were wondering, Deron Williams had 23 points and 7 assists on the night.

The Jazz have off till Tuesday when they take on the Indiana Pacers. Tomorrow's update will show us how the Jazz get down and party like a rockstar.