Not that anyone was surprised that the Jazz dropped the last game of the roady to NJ, but didn’t you think that down the stretch they might pull it off? I couldn’t comment earlier as I was on the road and sans any net connection. And while I never really put the blame on any one player, doesn’t AK’s play in the final minutes have to account for the loss? Here’s the basic sequence of events,

• 1:10 - The Jazz are up 115-113. AK jacks up a three with about 10 seconds left on the shot clock. Miss.
• 1:05 - AK’s defense on Jefferson driving in the lane is to stand with both arms straight up, and then make a last second hack for the foul. When has AK ever played D like that?
• :48-:17 - KK misses two threes.
• :15 - It’s Jefferson and AK 1-on-1. AK is guarding Jefferson about 3 feet behind the three-point line. And inexplicably, AK lunges for the steal, almost 30 feet away! Then Jefferson drives and makes the running layup.
• :01 - Last chance for the Jazz. On the in-bound, you have three options, Okur running to his right along three-point line, Boozer down low, Deron popping out, or a timeout. And of course the choice is Okur while he’s running out of bounds and has to turn against his body to get the shot off.

If I didn’t know better, I could have sworn AK was trying to throw the game. Other reactions:

• Frank Layden admirers
• Biased Fan
• My Utah Jazz

So on to tonight where we have a gimme. This one is at home v. the Raptors. The Raptors are going to be without Chris Bosh (who does not look like a velociraptor at all!) most likely. Hopefully this one will be over by the fourth so that the boys can rest up for LA on Thursday. The Jazz then have another 3 games at home against cellar dwellers. So this could be the week where the Jazz move up a bit.

• My Utah Jazz’s interview with Hoops Addict
• And Hoops Addict’s interview with MUJ
• Biased Fan

Here’s a little sneak peak at an article that will be on Yahoo! Sports in the next couple days. It goes over who the Jazz would most/least like to see come playoff time. The first round of blogger’s posts is here. Here’s mine,

Unfortunately, the team that Jazz would most like to see come playoff time wouldn’t be a matchup until the second round. That is because the Golden State Warriors are headed towards a first-round series with Houston, LA, or the Hornets. But the Jazz and Warriors could meet up again in the second round. And if that’s the case, then the Jazz can pretty much punch their ticket to a second Western Conference finals appearance. Going back to last year’s playoffs, the Jazz have won 7 of 8 from the Dubs. They have beaten them by an average of 13.5 a ball game.

The two biggest reasons they match up well against the Warriors are that they’re bigger on the inside and Utah is one of the few teams in the league that can run with Golden State. They’re not afraid to open it up with Deron leading the pack and having finishers like Boozer & Brewer.

But since they’re not likely to meet up in the first round, my overall pick would be to eliminate Chris Paul and the Hornets in the first round. Jazz fans would like nothing more than to see media darling CP3 and the NBA feel-good story team be sent packing. And then, maybe, Deron Williams would start to get a little love.

Honorable mention: Rockets (to see “first-round McGrady” cry again would be great).

As far as who the Jazz would least like to see, I have to say I agree with The Dream Shake. There’s no team that you look at and think, “We could take them easily.” This could be some of the best playoff basketball we will see in a long time. And will it really be fair that a WC team will have probably played three 6 or 7-game series to get to the finals when the EC champ probably won’t see a 7-game series until the EC finals?

That said, the Jazz might not even make it out of the first round if we have to start out with the San Antonio Spurs. Forget the red-hot Rockets or the Lakers, the only spurs the Jazz want to see are the ones AK wears to next year’s New Year’s Eve party. San Antonio absolutely owns the Jazz. The Spurs currently own a 17-game win streak at home v. Utah. And forget any playoff hopes if we don’t get home-court for the first round.

Honorable mention: Rockets. McGrady has to get out of the first round some time, right? Right?