After 1 for 5 shooting in the first half for only 5 points, Carlos Boozer went 14-16 in the second stanza and finished the game with a career-high 41 points. Perhaps the biggest of those came down the stretch as the last 3 minutes of the game was a free throw battle. Combined, the Jazz & Wizards went to the line 90 times. Both teams ended up shooting 33-45 with Okur missing 6 by himself; some of them pretty badly. Can we stop calling Okur “Money” for a bit? He hasn’t been money for a while. I know he almost single-handedly saved the first part of the Jazz season, but he hasn’t been there lately. I’m not sure what’s happened to him.

I think we need to make sure that the players’ wives stop having kids during the season. Neither Okur nor AK have played  well on  consistent basis.  Coincidence? As long as we don’t have Williams or Boozer going Tom Brady on us, we should be able to break out of this.

But tonight was Boozer’s night. And he showed why he’s still worth the money. Those turn around jump shots take longer than Snoop Dog to come down, but they’re true. And to go along with that, he had 16 boards, all while playing the last 5 minutes or so with 5 fouls.

Not surprisingly, two players fouled out of the game; one being Arenas. Guards must salivate when playing the Jazz. Even though he’s playing a bit of point, guards seem to light us up. But Arenas fouled out in the closing seconds of the game when he pushed off of Williams while attempting a late three. The ref actually called the push off. Bryon Russell is sitting at home wondering where that ref was 8 years ago.

A win is a win. It’s a good revenge victory after Arenas put a dagger in their heart last time. And most importantly, it keeps the Rockets 1 1/2 games back for the fourth spot in the west.

Complete Box Score
YouTube Recap

Next Game:
Wednesday, Mar. 28, 7:00pm vs. Timberwolves

At least it wasn’t a seven-year drought. But after a three-year absence, the Jazz clinched a playoff spot with the Warriors losing to the Lakers & Kobe’s 43. Here’s hoping to another run of 20+ consecutive playoff appearances. Only this time with a different result. Here’s the roster on the last squad that made the playoffs:

No Player Pos
00 Greg Ostertag ……… C
2 DeShawn Stevenson ….. G
12 John Stockton ……… G
13 Mark Jackson ………. G
15 Matt Harpring ……… G-F
22 Curtis Borchardt …… C
24 Raul Lopez ………… G
26 John Amaechi ………. F-C
30 Carlos Arroyo ……… G
31 Jarron Collins …….. F
32 Karl Malone ……….. F
34 Scott Padgett ……… F
40 Calbert Cheaney ……. G
44 Tony Massenburg ……. F
47 Andrei Kirilenko …… F

What a group that was. ‘Tag was making almost $9 million. Thanks Scott Layden! Well, only AK & Harpring are left over from the bunch.