If you’re an NBA fan, why aren’t you doing anything? One of the biggest travesties in the history of the NBA is going on right underneath our noses and no one seems to care. The Seattle Supersonics are being stolen from their city and fans and everyone seems resigned to the fact that they’re moving to the OKC. How can this happen to a team that has been in Seattle for 41 years, that has won an NBA championship, and that has produced stars such as Lenny Wilkens, Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, and Ray Allen? We’re holding congressional hearings for steroid use and nothing is being done about this?

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This game scares me for a lot of reasons.  First, the Hornets just put a beatdown on the Suns.  But most teams are doing that since the Shaq trade.  And Detroit had just beat them by 30 as well.  Second, this game is on the road.  And we all know that the Jazz are Jekyl & hude away from the ESA.  And third, Paul has to play well against the Jazz one of these times doesn’t he?  So I’m kind of pessimistic on this one.

And heaven help us if the Hornets win.  Because even if Paul shoots 2-12 and has 3 assists, that’s all we’ll hear about on ESPN and in the news.  Williams could have 50, but all we’ll see is Paul.  What am I talking about?  Even if the Jazz win and Deron dominates Paul again, we’ll hear that Paul somehow gave it away.  It makes me sick.  Williams needs to stop being friends with Paul and punch him in the face once or something so that we can get a bad-blood rivalry going on.

I’ve got a post over at Hornets.com where I answer some of their questions about the Jazz season and about Williams v. Paul.

I’ve also got another HoopsVibe article ready to go, but it hasn’t been put up yet.  I’ll get a new post up when it’s ready.

I’ll have some links ready to go possibly before the end of the day.

Other blogs:

• My Utah Jazz
• Frank Layden Fans
• Biased fan
• Hornet 24/7
• Larry Brown

It was me.  At 67-52 in the third, I was done.  I couldn’t watch the Jazz get blown out at home.  They had just played three lackluster games against the Clippers, Hawks, and Timberwolves.  So what happens?  They Jazz hold the Pistons to 0 field goals over the next 12 minutes.  Behind Paul Millsap, the Jazz overcame that 15 point lead by the middle of the fourth and pulled away behind the sharp shooting of the Piston-killer, Memo.

Sloan haters like to rag on Jerry’s rotations.  But even they have to give credit to him last night for leaving Millsap in for so long with Boozer sitting on the bench.  Mansap was hot and was the biggest reason for the Jazz coming back.  He also went with Brewer in the fourth instead of Korver (much to the female fan’s chagrin) and it paid off. 

Memo led the way with 24 & 7, including 4-8 from downtown.  Three of those threes came in the final three minutes to clinch it for the Jazz.  And most of those came on the pick and roll with Williams that leaves Memo wide open.

Millsap had 19 to lead the comeback.  I have to say my Mansap crush has waned a bit this year.  He’s got similar number from last year.  But this is the first game in a long time where it’s been exciting to see him play.  And it was impressive that he was in there instead of Boozer for most of the fourth.  Maybe this game will rekindle the crush.

Deron also played a big part in the comeback.  He started taking over late in the third and found Brewer for easy layups and dunks.  He finished with 14 & 14.

I really don’t know what to think about this team now.  The past three games they didn’t look like like they had enough confidence to beat the Provo 3rd Ward young men’s basketball team.  And then somewhere in the third period last night, something clicked and they were able to pull out the win against a team that had just spanked the Suns and Nuggets.  So everyone talks about this game being a turning point, but they could go on to lose 3 of their next four and it wouldn’t shock me.

But this should be a big confidence booster.  But do the Jazz even know the meaning of momentum?  There’s no gradient from playing well to playing poorly.  It’s all stop and go.  Last night’s game was the perfect example.  They were getting booed by the fans, getting outplayed by the Pistons, and then after the timeout when they went down 67-52, they turned it on.

Or maybe there was a team party at halftime.

Here’s the YouTube video of the last 3 minutes of the game:

Other recaps:

• My Utah Jazz
• Biased Fan
• Need4Sheed

What do I do after a gut-wrenching loss? I take it out on the video game version of the team. So I’ll have you know that I beat up on the Wolves 133-91. Only this wasn’t a gut-wrenching loss. This was a how the hell do we lose to a 11-win team loss? And not just lose, but revert back to December when we couldn’t finish out a ball game in the fourth, when we send the opposing team to the line for a season high in attempts, and when we don’t have more than two starters that play worth crap.

How do you shoot >60% in the first quarter compared to 40-something % for the Wolves and still be be behind? 7 turnovers, that’s how. When the other team gets 19 more field goal attempts because of 24 turnovers, it’s pretty tough to win.

And then you let the lowest scoring team in the league score 111 with 4 players scoring 20+ points. And three of those guys have season averages of 8, 11, and 14 points a game.

Boozer had 34 points on 9-16 shooting, including 16-18 from the line. That has to be, or at least close to, season highs for both attempts and makes. I really wish he would get to the line more. But he also gave up 6 turnovers which probably led to 12 points. And he disappeared in the fourth after the Jazz had tied it up after three.

Deron had 18 & 9 but I never was impressed with his play. He hasn’t been the chip-on-the-shoulder guy he has been for the last month and a half.

It scares me that when I’ve watched this team play the past few games, it feels like I’m watching last December all over again. Let’s hope it doesn’t take as long to break out of it.

The next two games against Detroit and NO scare the crap out of me. Detroit could easily end the home-court winning streak. And maybe, just maybe Paul has a decent game against Williams and the Hornets pull one out. That would put the Jazz on a three-game losing streak. And in the west, that could put you out of the playoffs.

Maybe it’s time for another party to start another winning streak?

Other blogs:

• My Utah Jazz
• Biased Fan
• TWolves Blog 

The Jazz and Wolves tip off in about an hour.  This is the first look we’ve had at the Wolves since the McHale helped his old team by shipping KG to Boston.

Only the Heat have a worse record.  No one expects Minny to compete this year or for a while to come.  With them and Seattle as the foundation for the cellar in the NW division, our only competition for the next couple years will be Denver and Portland.  Portland won’t be this year though after their recent 2-8 slide.  Why couldn’t we have played them now?  They’d probably still beat us though.  And we may not even see Seattle any more.  If the new owners have their way, they’ll be in OKC.  Save our Sonics has released  a letter they sent to the NBA board that will vote on this.  It’s pretty compelling.  You have to think as a Jazz fan that we could be moved too.

In golf, a 2-inch putt counts as much as a 350-yard drive.  And in basketball, a win against a bad team like Minnesota counts as much as a win against the Lakers.  Same holds true for losses.  So with 4 more games this year against Minny, these are ones that we have to have.  Even going 3-1 against them might adversely affect standings and home-court advantage.

Al Jefferson is the one to watch tonight for the Wolves.  He was the big name in the trade last year.

Let’s hope the Jazz can get this done.

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PRELUDE:  If you have any questions for the Jazz PR director, leave a comment.  I’m going to be sending them to him tonight.  Maybe you want some inside info?

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It’s probably a little late to be recapping these games.  They’re out of everyone’s minds by now.  But here’s a few comments.

The Jazz cruised to wins over the Clippers earlier this year.  Maybe it was retribution for my Clippy picture that I made though.  I usually don’t make fun of teams in my posts, maybe that’s why.  Nah.  It was probably the 68% free-throw shooting and 0-13 from the arc that did the Jazz in.  They still shot well from the field, out-rebounded the Clips, and had nearly as many assists.  During the recent run, the biggest think hat has stood out is the good FT shooting.  And they didn’t have it Friday.  They went 26-38 from the line.  They would have had to shoot 100% to match the 38 made by the Clippers.  And besides the obvious lead it would have given them, I think if they made even 6-8 of those, it changes the game.  If you add 6-8 point to the final score it doesn’t give them the win. 

But what I think it does for you is keep the game closer (duh).  And when the game is close, it changes different aspects of the game such as shot selection, and mentally, you’re still in it.  The Jazz were down 5 at the half.  But had they been tied going into the break, maybe it would have been a different ball game.  Five points wouldn’t have helped with the final score.  But it’s a little like time travel.  If you go back in time and change one little thing, it can have a great affect on things later.

The 0-13 three-point shooting was a surprise.  I think a lot of it was trying to catchup or stay up with the Clips.  It got me thinking about the 3-point shot though.  Isn’t there a point where you shouldn’t be shooting threes (as a player)?  Your risk/reward for a three would have to be better than your 2-point percentage.  A three is worth 1.5 that of a 2 pointer.  So if you shoot 55% on 2-pointers, what should your 3-point % be to justify the three?  If you take 100 shots, 55 have gone in for a total of 110 points.  So for your 3-point shooting, you’d have to make 36 (approx) of those 100 shots to score the same 100 points.  So 55% = 36%.  And .36/.55= .6667 (the inverse of our 1.5 reward).  So who should/shouldn’t be shooting the three?  Here’s the stats for the Jazz this year (click for bigger):

The surprising ones are Korver and Brewer (maybe not so much).  Of course this has a lot to do with their overall shooting.  So if they’re shooting bad, then it will allow for bad 3-point shooting.  Korver needs to step it up.  But overall, the Jazz are justified in shooting the 3.  Take that Sloan.  If I’ve assumed something or have the wrong thinking on this, let me know.

But the worst part is that with NO and Denver and GS losing that night, we didn’t move up in the standing when we should have.

In the Atlanta game (which I didn’t watch), Price returned with a good game after having an off night v. LA.  And the Jazz had to hold off Atlanta to win with free-throws.  I didn’t have much interest in this game.  I watched LOTR with by boy instead.  But it seemed to be the Jazz that play down to the level of opponents that they should be handily (at least at home).  They had the fend of Hotlanta to get the W.

But it’s all good for now.  Denver lost again and are now 3 back of the Jazz (and out of the playoffs).  The Rockets just lost Yao.  PHX is sliding.  SA scores 5 points in one quarter and still wins.  Thanks Chicago.  Portland is done.  And NO is showing signs of breaking down.

And now we have a game tonight that we should win against Minnesota.  Of course they’ve given Boston and SA and other fits.  Let’s hope the Jazz take care of business early so that the starters can be ready for the next night against Detroit.

Well, after a lot of rumors, countless trade ideas, and BS, we’re finally past the trade deadline and we don’t have to hear any more about it for the rest of the year.  The Jazz made their move a long time ago when they got Korver at the start of the current 19-3 run.  We’ll have to see if any of the other higher profile acquisitions help their respective teams as much.  The only one that I think that could approach that would be the Gasol trade.  I still don’t know how that trade was approved.

Anyway, the Jazz are at LA tonight to play the hapless Clips.  They really can’t get a break.  After the made the playoffs for the first time in a couple decades a couple years ago, they looked like they might be back on track.  But then they had injuries and other setbacks.  The Shaun Livingston injury was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.  Then they lost Brand.  Their only bright spot this year has been Kaman who found out that he didn’t have ADD and finally got off medication for it.  And now he’s playing up to his contract.

And poor Sam Cassell (not really).  He openly campaigned to get bought out and stated he would sign with the Celtics.  Then he goes head-hunting on Rondo and kills any chance there.  Plus, the NBA isn’t being kind to those players that speak out publicly (see Stackhouse).  And isn’t it a little presumptuous to think you’d be automatically signed by one of the best teams in the league?  Bad Karma.

Maybe the Clips should move to Seattle next year since their owner and Stern are hell-bent on getting them to the OKC.  That way, the Clips can get out from the shadow of the Lakers and Seattle still gets to have a NBA team.  It would suck to be second fiddle in a town like LA.

The Jazz should handle the Clippers again tonight like they have all year.  Kaman will play well against us, but that’s about it.  And it’s crazy to think that for the rest of the year that every game is a must-win.  Portland’s fading and is 4 1/2 out of the playoffs.  And the Jazz are only two games from being left out of the picture.  And if we assume that they make the playoffs, every win still matters because of home court and seedings.  They need to win every game right up to the last one with SA.

Other blogs:

• Biased Fan
• My Utah Jazz
• Clips Nation

Well, it’s 1 p.m. MST and no trades announced for the Jazz. I’m more relieved than anything, not because the core is left in tact, but because we can finally stop hearing ridiculous trade suggestions and made up ones.

So you’ll get some links as we wait for possible Bulls/Cavs trade and see if Artest ends up anywhere.

• Here’s Simmons latest offering for the Jazz. Ugh.
• Please don’t click on any of these links unless you have tons of spare time. It will kill productivity. Most probably already know about this site, but there might be a few that don’t know. If you’re into stats or want to do player comparisons, check out basketball-reference.com. Here’s the main Jazz page and the 2008 page. They have player comparisons, head-to-head matchups, and other cool stuff. This link compares Boozer and Malone, Williams and Stockton in their respective years in the league. Williams and Paul in head-to-head matchups. Duncan usually played better than Malone while Karl had a slight edge over Robinson. Too much time wasted already.
• Jazz get some blog love
• One blog talks about ESPN’s roundtable. Here’s the original article. It scares me when Hollinger likes the Jazz.
• Someone stole my stability article. Not really. But he talks about the Jazz and stability. I’m the first one to ever write about that, right?
• Thanks Luhmy!
• Layden breaks down the matchups.

And finally, if you’ve read this far, it means you got past the basketball-reference link. Also, I’ve got an email interview coming up with Jonathan Rhinehart of the Jazz. He’s the Public Relations and Communications head man for the Jazz. You can see him sitting at the end of the court-level press table during games. He had a blog last year where he would give some insights into the Jazz life. He’s probably been a bit too busy because he hasn’t been able to keeps it up.

But if you have any questions you’d like to have him answer, leave it in the comments. I have a list already to go, but thought I’d send a few more his way.

And since I’ve started getting a few more comments, I’ve added a plugin that will allow you to reply to specific comments.  So try it out.

One thing’s for sure. Sloan doesn’t change for anyone or any thing. Little known fact, the 1 foot radius around Sloan is still on MST when everyone else switches to MDT. You could argue that he’s changed the offense because of the whole AK saga last year, but isn’t it really more Deron changing and getting AK involved? The offense hasn’t changed that I can see. It’s usually the C or double-C that gets called for the most part. This Jazz team is one of the most high-scoring in team history, but it’s still the same offense. We just have better finishers now than teams in the past.

So we’ll keep seeing Deron get pulled with 2-3 minutes left in the first. We’ll see Booze sit from about 10:00 in the second to about 5:00. It kills me because it doesn’t matter if they’re in a groove, they’ll get their breather regardless. Last night, Boozer was again killing the Warriors when he got sat. And Williams was carving them up. With the backups in, GS was able to keep it close instead of the Jazz being able to put it away earlier.

And yes, I complain even when we win. Isn’t that the mantra of Sloan and his coaches though? Sure we won 119-109, but we sucked tonight according to Jerry. And everyone asks why Sloan keeps his starters in with a huge lead late in the fourth. Most times it’s indefensible, but Sloan had a big “I told you so. My way is the right way” night when the bench let a double-digit lead dwindle to 8 with about 56 seconds in the game. It took just a little over a minute for the GS scrubs to almost caused Sloan to put back in his starters.

But the game was never really close after the half. They took a 13-point lead, 77-64 into the half. It was never single digits until the last minute of the fourth. Ellis, Davis, and Harrington came out hot and scored at will as both teams shot +60% in the first quarter. But unlike the Warriors, the Jazz actually play D and held GS to 45 points in the second half. The Jazz only scored 42 themselves, but their 41 point second quarter was enough.

Deron was in All-Star snub form with 29 points and 11 assists. AK had 18. Boozer had 16 & 12 and Memo 16 & 10. Korver was hot in the first half, but didn’t hit jack in the second. Hart, Miles, and Collins finished out the game and we saw what happened there.

The Jazz showed again that they own the Warriors. And we may not even see them in the playoffs as they currently would be out with Houston’s win. We could realistically see 2 games separate 1-9 in the west. How nuts would that be? And is the WCF champ going to have anything in the tank to take on the East champ? Do you want to play any of these teams? If the Jazz come out of the west, they’re going to have three series that will be brutal. And who is Boston or Detroit going to have to play?

This could be one of the best regular season finishes we’ve seen.

Other Blogs

• GSOM
• Biased Fan
• My Utah Jazz

Wow.  You expected the Jazz to run with GS, but like this?  77-64 at the half.  For perspective, Detroit and Cleveland scored 84 points in their respective games tonight.

You knew that GS didn’t play defense, but this is ridiculous.  Deron already had 17 & 7.  Utah is shooting 68%.  Those are crazy video game numbers.  The Jazz played some better D in the second quarter and some great D in the last two minutes.  They’re going to have to keep that up to keep the Warriors at bay.

Other first-half notes:

• The Warriors are getting a lot of bounces going their way.
• The refs are once again horrible on both ends.  Okur got called for a foul on Ellis after the ball had rolled off the rim.  and Harrington gave KK a great elbow to level him and there was no call.  There were some bogus calls for GS as well, but I’m not going to defend them.
•  Korver had a new hair do and he goes out and hits 3-5 from deep.
• I wish Sloan would buck his rotation when players are tearing it up.  Deron and Boozer are both eating the Warriors alive.  They’re young.  One game won’t hurt.
• Locke had a great comment on Korver and Williams.  He said that Deron now has to decide when to get Korver the ball because he shoots almost every time he gets it.  He should be used to that though with Harpring.
• I don’t think this pace will keep up, but the Jazz could score 130 easily.  The Warriors of course would have 120+.  Not good.