The Utah Jazz | as seen by Basketball John

Thanks to the Trib for this jinxing, “With a win tonight, the Jazz would be on the verge of a 3-0 road trip.”

That was a comment in the Cavs preview column. It’s a lame comment to begin with. It was only the second game of a three game trip. They had only just eked out a win over the Raptors. They were playing against another All-star and a team that had a revenge factor after losing on a last-second layup by Williams. Then they were going to be playing the next night at Indy, a team that wasn’t as bad as their record or recent losing streak showed. Now I’m not that superstitious to believe that that statement cost them. But it didn’t help. But it could also be I’m trying to avoid writing about the last two games.

The Cavs got their revenge and the Cleveland fans got their boos in and a warm-fuzzy for beating Boozer and the Jazz. And in an eerily similar situation in which a star guard swiped the ball from a Jazz power forward, LeBron sealed the win when he blocked/stole the ball from Boozer when Carlos spinned in the lane. Whether or not it was a foul doesn’t matter. It shouldn’t have come down to that. In one of my few correct predictions, I said that if Deron or Okur had a solid game, we would win. Okur went 3-11 and Williams 4-17. Yikes.  And coincidentally, both had a chance at the end of the game to tie it and neither could get a three to fall.

And in the next game against Indy, the Jazz fell behind early, trailed by a lot at half, teased us a bit in the third with a nice run, and then fell apart. Not much to write here that hasn’t already been said. Whether the factor was fatigue, lack of confidence, or the draining Saturday after an election Tuesday, the Jazz never showed up. It was also a rare night that they were outrebounded. There’s not many boards to grab though when everything your opponent throws up goes in. This game reminded me of game 5 last year against the Spurs. You could tell from the opening quarter that the Jazz never had a chance and that even with a run, they weren’t going to get back in it. Someone already making Thanksgiving plans?

Cavs Recaps:

• My Teams Are Cursed
  
• Hoops Hope
  

Indy Recaps:

• Jazz go flat
  
• Pacer’s Digest
  
• Indy Cornrows (could be one of the best names for a blog)
  

This is only game 11. T he Jazz have played well and been in all of the games, minus Indy. As we reach the 1/
7.4545455358677694821938488966602th point of the season, here’s my observations:

• Is Okur this year’s AK? Have you seen his numbers so far? He’s shooting 38.7 %, down about 50 points of his career average. His three-point shot is down a bit, but not a significant amount. So all of his running hook shots and anything else inside the three point aren’t falling. His free-throw percentage is great. But he’s not nailing shots that he did this time last year. Our All-star from last year needs to return to form for us to have any chance of challenging again. I couldn’t find it, but I read an article a while ago that Okur’s numbers are down since the birth of his kids earlier this year. Time to have some more so we can balance out the force a bit.
  
• Is AK the AK of old? Sure seems like it. He’s threatening a triple-double most nights and is the only semblance of a defensive player we have on the team right now. Whatever magic the Jazz brass pulled when they sat down AK and Sloan seems to be working. What would out record be without him right now?
  
• Deron should still be an All-star this year. But he hasn’t been playing like one consistently. Even he’s stated that he needs to step it up. He’s been either hot or cold and seems to have had a hug increase in turnovers so far this year. But as one of the self-proclaimed leaders of this team, the Utah’s play rises and falls with him.
  
• Carlos Boozer has been the only other consistent force for the Jazz. It’s now a shock when he doesn’t have a double-double (side note: On my trip to Tucson, we stopped at In and Out to eat. They already have a hamburger called the double-double. Now if we only had one in Utah, they could clean up).
  
• Could we get Millsap some more minutes? He’s still averaging 18 a game, the same almost as last year. He still has the scrappiness and is pulling down the same amount of boards. Isn’t he a better option than Collins to spell Okur? I need more Paul.
  
• Where’s the defense? We’re giving up about 4 points more a game than last year. That’s got to be one of Sloan’s biggest gripes in practice and in the locker room.
  

There’s no reason to start saying the sky is falling. They’re still a playoff team. But now would be a good time to start another winning streak and dispel doubt in the minds of Jazz fans.

And I’m still waiting on my power cord. Man, having this much limited access to the internet must be what it’s like to try to kick the heroin habit.