I’ll be doing one a day until I’ve covered the whole team or until I’ve worn out desire to do them any more.

I soon as I wrote that, I should have known it would be the death knell for actually posting daily.  Up next in the Basketball John prevue:

It’s going to be hard for me to leave here.

Those words should terrify every Utah Jazz fan.  Those were Deron Williams’ words in response to a reporter talking to him about LHM’s comment about offering Deron the max next year.  But as we apply the Seinfeld equivalent:

ELAINE: Mmmm…and he said, “Why would Jerry bring anything?”
JERRY: Alright, but let me ask you this question.
ELAINE: What?
JERRY: Which word did he emphasize? Did he say, “Why would Jerry bring anything?” or, “Why would Jerry bring anything?” You emphasize “Jerry” or “bring.”

So we would look at the comment again as either it’s a forgone conclusion that he’s leaving and it will be tough to leave.  Or, is he stating that he would have to be an idiot to leave?  How do you know without knowing the inflection in his voice?  Where are you now Trib with all of your fancy camcorders?  We need to know these things.  And you wonder why newspapers are dying?

But we have a whole year to pretend we’re not thinking about next summer.  So what’s up for Deron this year?  Well, I think he’s made the “I’m Keith Hernandez” leap (And my friend and I have been using this long before Simmons).  Sometime after the game 1 loss the the Spurs last year, Williams realized that he could take over the game any time he wanted to.  And this came against one of the better defensive players in the league in Bruce Bowen.  Actually, the way Deron schooled him, Williams was probably lucky have come out of that series without a groin shot or twisted ankle.

I fully expect that level of play in the year to come.  While most expect Williams and the Jazz to regress a bit, I think Williams’ newfound level of play will turn a lot of last year’s losses into wins.  If Stockton had a weakness, it was that he was almost too unselfish.  It seemed like a lot of games where the Jazz struggled, John would still try to get everyone involved instead of taking over the game like he could.  I don’t see Deron doing that, in part due to his recent comments about not wanting to pass the ball to AK because he didn’t have confidence in him.

And there’s no doubt that Williams is the most valuable player for the Jazz right now.  The pre-season hasn’t looked very good for Price or Hart.  I know it takes a while to learn the offense.  Now if only we had a capable Dee backup guard Brown that knows the offense.  Hmmmm.  If Deron goes down for any reason, ouch.

Williams should be an All-Star this year barring injury or a bench-clearing brawl.  This year’s success begins and ends with Deron.  The Jazz are a more than capable team without him.  They would probably be the third or fourth seed in the East without Deron.  But in order for them to be able to slay SA, PHX, and the team of the horrible dancer, they’ll have to hook their wagons to #8.