I was finally able to watch my first Jazz pre-season game of the year. I lose out most nights to the DVR recording Desperate Housewives, The Bachelor, DWTS, or whatever “reality” show/contest is on. Oh, I have another TV, but I lose out to Blues Clues and Curious George on that one. Anyway, I was able to juggle the two TVs to my advantage and watch the game. As it’s my first recap of the year, this might be long.

Boler and Booner were on the mics tonight, sporting Laker gold ties. What the hell is that? Looks like KJZZ didn’t splurge for any new video graphics this year. They didn’t even have Fisher in a Laker uniform for the starting lineup graphic. I guess it’s still pre-season for them too? I’m guessing we’re not getting HD from KJZZ any time before 2025.

Last year we had Deron Williams break out. This could be the year of Ronnie Brewer. I feel kind of ripped off now not being able to see him in the Rocky Mountain Revue. Speaking of ripped, apparently Brewer bulked up over the summer at the advice of his father. Maybe from lifting this all summer. He absolutely owned Kobe. Bryant was 0-7 in the first quarter and never really hit anything. Kobe even went with the veteran pump to get the defender in the air and then lean into them to draw the foul play. Brewer went for the pumps, but was athletic enough to move out of the way to avoid contact. KB24 had a couple bunnies and free-throws, but that’s it.

On the offensive side, Brewer continued his pre-season excellence. A lot of people try to discount his high shooting percentage by stating that most of his shots are coming from layups and dunks. Well when you’re freezing defenders in their tracks with spin moves (like he did on Kobe), making good cuts to the basket without the ball, and running with Wiliams, you’re going to get a lot of those. I’m sure he’ll tell you that he needs to work on his shot more, but it looked pretty good to me.

I’ll never feel sorry for the Lakers, but man they looked sad last night. While Utah was pushing their lead to 21-4 in the first quarter, they panned over to Jackson with the Art Shell face going on. Where was the T.O.? Nobody on LA seemed to give a damn about the game. They didn’t have Odom and Walton, but short of having Kareem and Magic in the game, I don’t think it would have mattered. They looked totally undisciplined. Maybe they should have the benefit of the doubt with all the fires going on. And Kobe looked like he was pained to be there. The rumors are that he will be dealt before opening night. They need to get it done though, and soon.

But after last game’s embarrassing loss to the Kings, the Jazz will take this one. It looks like Sloan has his rotation set with Brewer starting and Giri backing him up. Millsap came in for Boozer and Collins for Memo. Man, not much more can be said about Collins except that I don’t know how he’s still with the Jazz, let alone the NBA. If he were released outright right now, would any other team in the league pick him up?

As the last game of the pre-season ended, you have to be excited if you’re a Jazz fan. The front court of Williams and Brewer has the potential to be one of the best we’ve had. Ronnie is a candidate for most-improved. You have three All-stars (AK was an All-star, remember?) up front. The bench seems a little weaker this year, but Millsap is in his second year and Giricek is still a serviceable backup. After them, it looks a little scary. But overall, this has to be one of the highest expectation years since 97-98.

We’re pretty lucky as Jazz fans that Utah has been able to return to a contender so quickly after losing two Hall of Famers. There are a lot of teams that haven’t recovered and a lot of teams that have never had success at all.

Random game notes:

• Maybe I should start drinking Dimes, because Okur’s reverse slam showed us a more athletic Memo.
• AK’s jump shot is all or nothing.
• Don’t know why Fes wasn’t used, especially late in a blowout. Maybe the Jazz are showcasing Collins? Did I just use showcasing with Collins?
• No game on Thursday due to the inferno. And everyone thought that California was going to be wiped out by an earthquake.
• Booner: “I think we’ve seen the last of Kobe.” Could this be a prophetic statement?
• Booner #2: “There are a lot of Laker jerseys here tonight.” That’s the Booner we know.
• Nothing like a late, pre-season, NBA blowout when Jungle Ball breaks out. About the only thing less sloppy is the NBA All-star game.

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