First of all, congrats to Brewer and Millsap for being selected to the Rookie/Sophmore game.  I’ll actually have a reason to watch it now.  I would have liked to have seen Brewer in the slam-dunk contest.  The Sophs should dominate this game, especially when you see that Roy and Aldridge and the others are on the team.

Tonight we get to see that train wreck that is the New York Knicks.  Is there anyone outside of NY that wants to see Isiah fired?  He’s got quite the list of accomplishments.  How can a man run so many franchises into the ground, make some of the most unbelievably terrible trades, and offend so many still have a job?  Where else in the real world could you mess up so badly and still be drawing a paycheck?

Jazz fans are especially hoping he sticks around to ruin things even further.  Ross Siler has an article about the upcoming 2010 draft pick we get from NY that could land Utah a very high pick.  So if he can stick around a little longer and sign some more untradeable bad contracts, we could be set.  It would be great to hear some fans tonight cheer “We love Isiah” instead of the usual fire cries heard at MSG.

They Jazz should take care of business at home tonight.  Starbury won’t be in action this time around.  If we lost to this sorry excuse for a team, it kills whatever mo we’ve built up the past month.

Blogs

• Knicks
• Biased Fan
• My Utah Jazz

Still relishing in the win over SAS.  The Jazz have now turned it around so that instead of me thinking, “Are they going to win?” to “How much will they win by?”  It’s a great feeling watching a game and expecting them to win.  More about the Jazz from around the web:

• Mansap gets some love
• Memo moonlights for an alternative band?
• The Mailman gives us 30k
• It’s not even a flesh wound
• The correct statement would have been, “Hell, yes I’m glad I’m playing for the Jazz and not the Spurs.”
• Karl Malone will show the nation why LA is the best place for Karl Malone to go hunting.  No Mexican girls involved.
• 1, 2-4, 5?
• Blaspheme
• An interesting take on the MVP vote
• Another blog, another all-star vote
• Ron Artest lowlight video

Try as they may, the refs couldn’t give this game to the Spurs.  No matter how much Duncan walked and got away with it, nor how many times Deron got body-checked without a call, nor phantom foul calls called on the Jazz, Utah withheld the Spurs’ and the refs’ charge and walked away with a 97-91 win.

Boozer rebounded from his bad shooting night against the Rockets, going 10-18 from the field for 23 points.  He was matched in the points column by the All-star looking Kirilenko.  His 23 came on 9-10 shooting to go along with 5 rebounds and 4 amazing steals.  Perhaps the best of the night came on his pick of Manu by coming from behind and robbing Ginobili blind.  The Jazz hand their hands in the Spurs’ pockets all night long.  They finished with what has to be a season high of 15 steals.  And when the Spurs only had 19 turnovers all game, it was nice to see that the Jazz caused most of them.

And what more can be said about AK right now?  He’s the most consistent player on the Jazz on both the offensive and defensive end.  Based on his down year last year, doesn’t he have to be considered for the comeback player of the year award?  It’s amazing how he has turned it around.  And if the Jazz continue to win and finish high in the west, maybe, just maybe, Sloan picks up his COY.  The way he’s opened up the offense this year and has still been able to incorporate AK more speaks a lot for how he’s been able to win consistently for so long.  He’ll probably get a lot of competition from Byron Scott of the Hornets though.

And as Ken said in the Houston thread, when the hell did Boozer start playing defense?  Timmy got his, but not before 7 turnovers.  He was hounded all night long and I thought Boozer looked like he had taken criticism of his D to heart.  And the entire team for that matter have been playing exceptional D.  I’ll refer back to Ken again, the rotations tonight by the Jazz shut down a lot of easy looks and potential threes.  They held the Spurs to 42% shooting and only 4-16 from the arc.  Duncan and Manu scored their typical points against the Jazz, but we didn’t see a big game from a third player.  That’s what has killed us in the past.  Have the Jazz finally found the

The Jazz now move into a half-game lead in the northwest and into the fourth spot in the west.  They’re now 11-2 in their last 13 and Portland and Denver have both gone just 5-5.  See, there was a little equalization once Denver and Portland started getting a few more road games in and the Jazz played a few more at home.

The Jazz now have three very winnable games against the Knicks, at Washington, and at Memphis.  I have to say that I almost don’t care about these games.  The one that I have circled is the 2/4 game against the Hornets.

Should be a great couple of weeks.

Other blogs:

• Spurs Report
• Pounding the Rock
• Biased Fan

Other notes:

• Would it kill local reporters to look up stuff before giving their reports?  Rick Aaron from FOX stated that with this win, the Jazz moved into 8th in the west.
• I’m not a fan of someone losing their job due to injury, but it’s clear that Ronnie Price has played better than Hart.  He should get the backup minutes even when Jason comes back.  Price had a Deron-like crossover tonight that even brought #8 out of his seat.

Here’s my latest on HoopsVibe:

What a difference a New Year’s makes. After beating the Trailblazers on December 31^st, the Jazz decided to loosen up a bit and start winning again.

There are a lot of things that have changed since then. First, it seems as though Memo is finally healthy. Second, we were able to steal Korver from the Sixers. The Jazz have gone 10-2 since that trade. But today I’d like to sing the praises of Andrei Kirilenko.

Read More…

Is this the win that shows that the Jazz are back?  After going 10-2 in their last 12 and winning two in a row on the road and 8 straight at home, it sure looks like it.  And with the Denver loss tonight, the Jazz are only a half game back in the division.  They’ve also snuck into the eighth spot in the conference.

There are a couple things that back me on this.  First, they’re not only getting to the free-throw line, they’re making them.  And second, they’re playing well offensively in the fourth quarter.

That was the case tonight when they beat the Rockets, 97-89.  The first 43 minutes of the game were ugly for both sides.  But the Rockets couldn’t stop the Jazz in the last 5 minutes.  We got two threes from Korver in that time and a couple of penetration and assists from Williams.

And it was pretty much a one-man-show on the other end as it usually is when Yao is out.  McGrady was 10-24 for 21 points.  I was worried after he only had scored two in the first half.  We’ve seen too many times where we’ve held their star player in the first half only to see them burn us in the second half (Paul Pierce anyone?).  And he did have the second half that I expected with 19 points, but he didn’t have any of those big threes that he normally hits.  And thank goodness, I don’t think I could stand looking at another McGrady scowl.

The big three tonight were Williams, AK, and Korver.  Each had 17 points.  Korver had a telling quote tonight after the game.  He basically stated that he’s comfortable in the offense and not having to worry anymore about being in the right place.  He can now just focus on shooting.  It showed tonight going 6-9 including those huge back-to-back threes.  Williams put up what is becoming a standard 17 & 12.  And Kirilenko, the self-proclaimed “cold-blooded Russian,” was on again going 6-12 from the field to go along with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.  I’ve said before that we need to have Memo clicking in order to win down the stretch, but it’s looking a lot more like we need AK more.  I don’t know how we can possible trade him now.  His contract makes it hard enough, but who do we get back that improves the team more than AK?  I don’t think there is anyone.

I obviously don’t hang out with the team so I can’t say this with any authority.  But it sure seems like the team chemistry is at an all-time high.  Korver will deny having anything to do with it, but the Jazz are 10-2 since his arrival.  Was having Giricek on the team that bad?  Giricek wasn’t getting a lot of minutes and as a result, we didn’t have the three-point threat that kept the defenses from sagging.  Now with Korver, you can’t leave him alone for a split second because the ball will be half-way to the basket.  So whether it’s a chemistry thing or just a basketball thing, Korver’s arrival has given this team the boost it needed.  And if the trade ends up the reason for the Jazz getting back into the playoffs and  going far once again, this has to be the biggest coup of O’Connor’s career.

So the Jazz will get to relish this win for just a bit as the suddenly defeatable Spurs come to town tomorrow night.  I don’t care if the Spurs have lost 20 in a row.  They always play the Jazz well.  But should the Jazz win tomorrow night, it could very well point to a changing in the guard.

Biased fan

Other notes:

• Two games in a row without Collins.  Jazz fans praise their respective gods.
• Price > Hart.  Hart was out with an inflamed back.  Price’s play tonight shows that he deserves the backup minutes to Deron.  Price’s stats / Hart’s stats.  Sloan seems to have settled into his rotation now.  But the thing I don’t understand is how he has no problem benching other players or ticking them off, but he’s stuck with Hart despite his suckitude.  But I never thought I’d see Collins get two DNPs.  So maybe we’ll see some changes.
• A bitter, bitter, Jazz-hating Jazz fan.

Usually letting the other team shoot 49% from the field, 9-21 from three, and 36-42 from the line results in a loss. And it may have well been that way any other night.

But behind Boozer’s 33 and AK’s 25, the Jazz offense prevailed over the Kings, 127-113. Boozer had the better stat line of the night, but I think Kirilenko was the MVP of the game. He was 6-8 from the field and 10-12 from the line. He also had 6 boards, 6 assists, and 4 blocks. He also had all the intangibles that don’t show up in the stats. There were a ton of altered shots such as Bibby’s that went off the top of the backboard because he was trying to get it over AK. And how good is his jump shot now? I really didn’t think that it would ever come around. But he has been shooting so well that you expect them to go in now. You can tell in his stroke that the ball is going to fly straight. I don’t know what it was about it before, but you could tell that he didn’t have a smooth shot.

Deron Williams had another great night with 16 & 14. I have to admit he seems to be regaining that post-season swagger that he had last year. And I’ll repeat it again, I hope he doesn’t get picked for the All-star team and that he takes it personally. He seems to thrive when he feels the need to prove something. I think it could lead to a great stretch for the next couple of months for the Jazz. And it will make it so much sweeter when Paul and the WC-leading Hornets come in here before the break and get blown out.

And starring in the disturbing reality show that is Ron Artest, Ron Artest. I know a lot of his game is to try to get into players’ heads and throw them off their game. But this guy is messed up. I can see Rodman and Mike Tyson sitting on a couch watching him play and having the following conversation:

Rodman: Do you see that?
Tyson (putting down pig ears): Dude scares the $%&@# out of me. I threatened to eat his children and he gave me his favorite recipe.

I mean, is there anything that Artest could do that would cause you to think, “Man, I can’t believe he did that.” There’s nothing, right? Insane.

Now we’re off to Houston on Sunday for the deciding game 9 of the 2006 playoffs (or so Yao would say). It goes without saying that this is the biggest test for the Jazz during this recent stint of success. It’s on the road first of all. And second, the resurgent Rockets are playing well. And as of this writing, they’re leading Portland at Portland by 6 with a little over three minutes to play. And it doesn’t get easier with SA coming to town next week.

UPDATE:  Portland loses to the Rockets at home.  Jazz are now tied for second in the NW and 1 1/2 behind Denver.

Other notes

• The newest contest for your email address and contact information for marketing is called True Blue. You get to work for the Jazz for a day in one of their departments on game night. First of all, this would be cool. But True Blue is a blatant rip off of the Utah State Aggies. This is what True Blue is. Of course some say there’s a real True Blue club if you know what I mean. First BYU rips off Aggie blue, and now this.
• Great quote from Bailey in the post game, “You know AK is going to always give it up.”

• Nice early fast break by AK and Brewer
• Boozer will not be able to guard Artest tonight.
• Salmons is getting the start over Moore tonight.
• 6:50 - That is the ugliest shot I have ever seen by Bibby. Looks like AK got a piece. It ended up going off the top of the backboard.
• Jump-shots are just not falling.
• 6:04 - A 3 from AK. If AK keeps shooting like this, Horny needs some bonus pay or a coaching job.
• You’re crazy if you want to trade AK. He’s all over the place on D and makes amazing passes. Is there a bigger play-maker on the team besides Deron?
• 3:12 - Zone by the Kings. Brewer just got put on his back with an amazing stuff by the Kings.
• 2:37 - Is Millsap’s shooting strategy just to throw it at the rim and then get the offensive board and put-back? Because it’s working.
• 2:00 - Martin can go to the rim any time he wants.
• :58 - Martin for 3 and nine points already.
• :21.6 - Now that’s how you beat a zone. Good passes from Hart to Harpring to Hart to Booz for the dunk.

11 points in the quarter for Martin. He’s picking up where he left off last time. The Jazz have had some good plays on offense and have shown flashes of above average defense.

2nd Quarter

• What would it take to get Brad Miller?
• 11:01 - Harpring just put a Ronnie Lott hit on Artest
• 10:14 - KK for 3. He’s starting to come around.
• 9:26 - Artest is all over Okur. The man can guard almost anyone.
• K K K meeting in Ohio as Drake played Creighton. Korver’s brothers played each other.
• 7:07 - I like seeing Williams push it. But then Korver goes and does his best Collins impression by fumbling the great pass from Deron.
• 6:30 - Lots of lay-ups all of the sudden for the Kings. The Jazz do not get back on transition D at all.
• 5:34 - An inbound steal by Memo and he’s left alone for a three. MONEY! Man, Boler’s been dying to say it.
• I must be Korver’s kryptonite because whenever I see him play, he doesn’t hit anything
• There’s the bell guy that rings after every free throw. Got him on camera.
• 3:15 - Turnover from the Kings. Brewer is back in. We seem to be better defensively with him in there.
• 2:20 - Thunder! and Lightning! I don’t understand this call from Bolerjack. He’s saying it when Boozer makes a shot.
• :47 - First FG from Bibby. The Jazz have played pretty well on defense on the perimeter. The Kings have just been making difficult shots.
• Last second shot from Bibby fell, but after the buzzer.

HALF-TIME UPDATE

The offense has been where it always is. They’re shooting 52% and 4-8 from down town. Bad news is that the Kings are shooting 52% as well. I don’t think our record is good when the opposing team shoots over 50%. They’re only 8-13 from the line though. They’re going to have to start making those as Sac is 13-16 and it has definitely kept this one close.

Boozer’s had a perfect first half going 6-6 from the field and 6-6 of guards going by him to the hoop. Some photos from the first half: Flickr3rd Quarter

• Back after some technical and progeny difficulties
• 10:00 - AK another three. Are we going to see more of Horny the coach?
• 8:48 - Miller walks to the Great Salt Lake and back and no travel call.
• 8:45 - And Deron gets the foul on a great block. Amazing. Martin with 19 now. Isn’t he due for an ankle sprain about now?
• 8:09 - Great outlet pass from Booz and fast break dunk from Deron. 68-63 Jazz.
• 7:48 - First mention of possible double-double from Boler
• 6:58 - Is their a bigger dagger then playing D for 23 seconds and then having the opponent nail a three?
• 6:21 - Another three for the Kings. This time from Miller. Man!
• 6:00 - Boozer 10-10 from the floor. Doesn’t Malone have the record for for most field goals in a perfect shooting game? It was like 16-16 or something. I think it might have just got passed recently. Either of you two want to look it up?
• 5:41 - Williams is probably the odd man out in the All-star game? Is that the small market effect? Maybe we’ll have a late injury withdrawal and he’ll get in like Okur.
• 4:44 - Smart foul by Bibby on AK. We can’t hit FTs tonight.
• 4:03 - Artest gets away with a delay of game after kicking the ball and a foul on the other end over AK’s back.
• 3:50 - Make up call? AK pushes in the back to get a board.
• 3:40 -MONEY!
• Why does Artest remind me of Rodman?
• 2:31 - There’s the D. Great block by Millsap!
• 2:30 - And a layup from Boozer on the other end. All of the sudden it’s a ten-point lead. Booz is now 12-12.
• Somebody take out Martin. Criminy!
• I’m way behind with my DVR. I think I’m going to skip ahead here in a minute to catch up.
• 1:12 - 13-13 from the floor for Boozer. Better sit him to preserve that record.
• :42 - Boozer and Millsap and other get a lot of easy putbacks after missed shots by hanging out around the basket. But it costs the Jazz on the other end in fast-break points as they’re still under the hoop and the PG for the other team is crossing half-court.
• :35 - Udrih botches the layup and Millsap gets the foul because he was within the zip code. He ducks out of the way and gets hit with the foul.

Great push in the third to build up the lead. At home they should be able to hold the lead. I’m FF to the fourth now to catch up to live.

4th Quarter

• 8:49 - Artest is playing the part of Rodman well. He’s getting into the heads of the Jazz players with his antics.
• Hmmmmmmmm, McRib. Supposedly it’s going away for the last time, again. Just like those Disney movies go to the vault, never to be seen again.
• Harpring has football mentality? Has he played football again?
• 7:52 - How does Artest get away with so much provocation? Harpring gets a good pick on Martin and gets a foul. Then Martin puts his leg in Harp’s crotch and Artest puts his hands right in Matt’s face.
• 7:35 - Great D on Artest from Boozer. Didn’t think I would be saying that.
• 7:04- Artest with a delay of game and trying to put his elbow into Korver. Then he goes into the camera row after the ball. Thug. With all the fan jawing going on, prepare for another Palace incident.
• 6:54 - Catch, shoot, bang seems to be Boler’s call of choice for KK.
• 6:29 - Martin 29.
• 5:45 - Have we traded for Miller yet? Another three.
• 5:35 - 110-100 Jazz.
• 4:34 - Booner describes a hard foul from Artest in which he had no intention of going after the ball, a clean foul.
• FINALLY! Artest tossed! See ya chest-thumpin’ moron. He was throwing elbows after AK’s free throw. Thug. Does google bombing still work?
• 3:54 - Martin jumps 5 feet into Korver to draw a foul. KK was falling backwards as it happens. Worse call in sports.
• 3:09 - Clutch Williams J to push the lead back to 9.
• Next game at Houston in HD, just not over the air yet.
• 2:33 - Nice anticipation steal of Miller. Two FTs coming. 123-111.
• 2:00 - Play of the game. Williams with the dribble, head fake, and laser from the top of the key to Brewer for the dunk.
• 1:37 -Spencer Doobie.  Best name of the night.  Maybe the ref Spooner challenges him.
• Martin with 17/17 from the line.  Amazing.
• :44 - Worst circus shot from #7 Jones that I’ve ever seen.  Tried to do the up and under reverse and throws it high over the backboard.
• :32 - Thanks goodness Boozer got that double-double finally.  I was getting worried… for Boler.

Solid win over the Kings.  They clamped down in the fourth and made the plays they needed on defense to make sure the Kings got no closer than 6 in the fourth.  Full recap coming.

The last time the Kings and Jazz met, Utah got lucky when Kevin Martin got injured and had to leave the game.  At the time, he was killing them with 25 points and a baker’s dozen free throw attempts.  The Jazz went into the fourth and led by three.

And the apparently in Sacramento the fourth quarter is when they start serving buffet, all you can eat, force-fed style.  Except the only thing in the buffet is salmon mashed potatoes, salmon sticks, and red jello with slices of salmon in it.  John Salmons scored thirteen straight at one point and Artest added 8 of his 23 in the fourth.  The Kings ended up winning by ten.

But the Jazz are better at home and crushed the Kings back in November in their last trip to the ESA.  The Kings will have Martin back though as well as Mike Bibby.  And of course Artest will be back in full-effect.

So while this won’t be a walk in the park, the Jazz should take care of business at home.  And should you get lucky enough, I may get some live blogging in.

Sactown Royalty
Sacramento Kings Blog

Jazz fans had high hopes for 2007-08 after last year’s unbelievable run to the Western Conference finals.  They had most of their core players back.  And Williams and Boozer would have another year of experience.

And despite a rough month of December, the Jazz were back in the thick of things.  They are ninth in the west, but only six games separate nine teams.  And by overtaking Portland, they could move all the way up to at least the fourth seed.  The Jazz are 8-2 in their last ten games and were making progress, until …

Bill Simmons gave the Utah Jazz the kiss of death today by picking them as his dark-horse to go the the NBA finals this year.  Why is it the KOD?  Because Simmons is wrong on virtually every pick he gives.  Take his annual NFL picks this year.  His wife beat him last year and annihilated him this year.  And don’t forget this classic from his 2004 NBA draft diary,

The Magic are on the clock with the first pick. If they’re smart, they take Emeka Okafor. If they’re dumb, they take Howard. It’s that simple.

Now the NBA is his strongest suit.  And he did pick this game correctly in last year’s playoffs.  And he did have the Jazz winning 50 games this year (which isn’t far off if the Jazz step it up a bit).

So maybe I don’t know where to go with this now.  He’s wrong on a lot of his predictions, but with the Jazz, he seems to be right on.

Why must you confound me so Bill?

Before some links for today, I just wanted to post a late follow up on the AK pictures from Masha’s blog.  Ross Siler was finally pressured into comment on the “provocative” pictures from the Kirilenko’s New Year’s party.  According to the chaperone, “all of the photos were staged.”  He also said that there were kids running around and that he had brought his mother-on-law to the party.  But as the kiddies on the internet say, “Pics or it didn’t happen.”  That may have all been true, but I’m sure they were all tucked away. 

And if an invitation to next year’s party isn’t a contest on utahjazz.com, I’ll be disappointed.  Wouldn’t a live blog of next year’s party be in order?

And on a related note, the deadspin link was to this site.  It took me down in less than five minutes.  I survived a TrueHoop link, but deadspin showed me what high traffic was.  After a few hours of back and forth with my webhost, I finally got back up.  They wouldn’t unsuspend my account until I had fixed it to not use so much CPU.  But they locked me completely out and I couldn’t fix it.  Anyway, here’s the traffic since it hit Deadspin:

The 14th probably would have been higher if not for that downtime.  Anyway, on to some links on a slow Jazz news day:

• 4%? - Isn’t Ron Paul polling better than that?
• AK and Masha visiting the Huntsman Cancer Institute - It’s amazing how much a visit from a Jazz player can boost the spirits of those that are going through something incredibly tough.  Masha’s rockin’ the
• Kemp > Malone? - The all-90’s team from a Sonics fan
• Lang’s Links - Another All-star ballot.  Is it wrong that I’m hoping Deron gets left off?  I would absolutely love to see him go on a vengeance tour for the second half of the season.
• Harpring’s series of tubes are clear to move internets around again (Reference for those that don’t get it)
• Turkey isn’t the only bird Memo likes
• He didn’t give Korver the “Hard Worker” seal of approval yet, but it looks like Jerry’s got another disciple.
• How Carlos handled Carmani’s situation
• Are Carlos and Deron taking away votes from one another?
• 8>3, Can’t wait until 2/4/08
• Super Sophs