JazzFan 4 Life

Well, this was a letdown. One night after one of the biggest wins of the year for the Jazz, they follow it up with a disappointing performance and a 94-83 loss to New Orleans/Oklahoma City. Lots of bad music tonight ...

SWEET MUSIC

At least Millsap cared ... (15 points, 17 rebounds, 2 blocks) -- Paul Millsap's 15+ rebounds tonight marked the first time since 1977 that a Jazz rookie accomplished the feat. He had a ton of energy tonight and gave us a glimpse of what he can do if given major minutes. I'm not saying he's going to go for 15 and 17 every night, but he could get about 10 points and 8 rebounds a night on just hard work alone. It's too bad Carlos Boozer got injured early in this game, but a night like this probably helps Millsap's confidence offensively.

Slick flirts with a triple-double (27 points, 11-19 FG, 5 rebounds, 8 assists) -- Aside from Millsap, Deron Williams was probably the only guy who seemed to think winning tonight might be a good idea. He was a little slow to start looking for his own shot (he was trying to get the MASH unit he had to play with involved), but once he looked around, he made most of what he saw.

SOUR MUSIC

Boozer's injury (bruised knee) -- Uh oh ... this is what caused him to miss basically half of last season and the second half of his first season with the Jazz. Hopefully everything will be OK, but when he went limping off the court in the first quarter, I was a little worried. Made me remember how spoiled Jazz fans were in the Stockton-to-Malone era ... those guys got hit all the time and never missed games.

Lack of energy overall -- The Jazz looked a little flat without AK-47, but once Boozer left the game with his injury in the first quarter, that was pretty much the end of the game tonight. The Jazz basically gave up the rest of the night, even though they got the Hornets' lead under 6 points a few times. A big let down loss, but hopefully they'll bounce back at home on Monday against New Jersey

This was probably the biggest game of the year thus far (in terms of the division standings and confidence for the Jazz). Looked like it wasn't going to be a good game for the Jazz early on, but they managed an exciting 116-111 win over the Nuggets.

SWEET MUSIC

Young guys step up (Paul Millsap: 6 pts, 6 reb, 2 blocks Ronnie Brewer: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal): Andrei Kirilenko left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury and it was looking like Melo was going to light us up. Enter Brewer, who took over for Kirilenko's replacement (Gordan Giricek) and promptly made an alley-oop jam to get the Jazz back into it. Brewer had a key steal of Melo in the 4th quarter and was a factor in the game with his defense and hustle. Millsap did his usual hustling, hard-nosed play throughout the game, but came up with 2 critical blocks down the stretch to preserve Utah's win.

Boozer punches his ticket for Vegas (25 points, 19 rebounds, 2 assists): This type of performance wasn't that outstanding for Boozer as he's had bigger stat-type games this year. But it was the way in which he got most of his rebounds and abused Denver's big men of Marcus Camby, Nene and Reggie Evans. Boozer had as many rebounds as Camby, Nene and Evans combined. He's a shoo-in for the All-Star game now.

Bench comes up big (reserves outscore Denver 46-11): We mentioned Brewer and Millsap, but Giricek and Matt Harpring also played big for the Jazz. More than his 11 points, Harpring did a great job of frustrating Nuggets forward J.R. Smith and played physical with Melo to make him get some dumb fouls down the stretch. Giricek had 13 points, but his three 3-pointers kept Denver honest in the middle.

Defending the 3 (Denver: 4-11 on 3-pointers): Utah did a much better job of sticking with Iverson, Melo, Steve Blake and Smith on the long ball. I couldn't beleive Boozer actually ran toward a 3-point shooter with the game winding down (as he did with Blake's late 3). If he did that more often this year, we might have a few more wins. But overall, whatever the problem has been with perimeter defense wasn't a problem tonight.

SOUR NOTES

Where have you gone, Memo? (14 points, 5-17 FG, 0-6 on 3-pointers): A little disappointing to see Okur not step it up in a big game or when the Jazz needed him. Makes me wonder how he'd do in the playoffs if the going got rough. There were stretches last night where he all-but disappeared and if it weren't for Boozer, the Jazz would have lost easily.

Stop starting Fisher (25 minutes, 2-8 FG, 2 assists, 3 turnovers, 8 points): On the Jazz's second possession of the game, he couldn't get the ball past halfcourt and had it stolen away by Iverson. He missed all of his open jumpers and had a bunch of stupid fouls. By contrast, the Brewer/Giricek combination played 2 minutes more than Fisher did and scored 25 points. I think Fisher is a great backup PG, but he can't handle the two-guard position at all. Maybe the solution lies in what was done tonight ... play Brewer and Giracek roughly the same amount of minutes?

Kirilenko's injury (14 minutes, 2-3 FG, 1-1 on 3-pointers, 4 assists, block, 7 points): When he went down in the 2nd quarter trying to block Marcus Camby, it looked pretty bad. But he was able to walk off the court on his own. Who knows when he'll play again, but the injury didn't look too serious. It's moments like these in the NBA that give struggling players (Giricek) and young guys (Brewer) a chance they want to prove themselves.

A recent ESPN.com story quotes Yao Ming saying he will "definitely not" play in the 2007 NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 18.

Yao has been a shoo-in for the all-star team every year of his career because of fan voting, and the folks in China have been more than willing to make their intentions known. With Yao out of the picture, wouldn't this seem to open up a spot for Jazz "center" Mehmet Okur? No one in the West, of late, has been playing as well as Memo has (20.2 ppg in January) and are there any other centers in the West who should make the team? Denver's Marcus Camby has a shot at it, but it is unlikely the coaches will put Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and Camby on the team when that group isn't even leading its own division.

Memo has to keep up the scoring streak and the Jazz have a decent enough schedule where he should be able to pull that off.

Kevin Garnett and the Timberwolves had their way with the Jazz in Minnesota in December. Not so tonight ... Jazz earn their 4th straight win with tonight's 106-91 victory. What was sweet? What was sour? Let's get into it ...

SWEET MUSIC

Timberwolves can't stop Memo (28 points, 10-16 FG, 4-6 3-pointers, 5 reb, blk) -- He had 19 points in the second half and scored 10 points during a three-minute stretch of the fourth quarter to lock up the win. Timberwolves C Mark Blount came in as the flavor of the month (as he's averaged 16.9 ppg this month), but Memo and the rest of the Jazz defense kept him in check.

Williams getting it back together (21 points, 15 assists, 2 steals, 1 block) -- As Boozer's play has improved of late, Williams has also. Not a huge surprise when you consider the Jazz's offense, but as we addressed in an earlier post, Williams had his struggles earlier this month. Not so much now, as he's gone for 10+ assists in four of his last eight games (and 10 or more assists in 3 of his last 5 games).

SOUR NOTES

Shooting guard problems coming back (Ricky Davis: 32 points, 4-8 on 3-pointers, 2 steals) -- I'm not a huge fan of guys like Ray Allen, Michael Redd, Kobe, Gilbert Arenas or T-Mac lighting us up this year. But man, when a second-rate shooting guard like RICKY DAVIS(!!!) goes for 32 points, we have issues that still are not resolved. Harpring did a good job of playing tough against Davis toward the end of the game, but it is Sloan keeping guys like Fisher/Giricek on guys like Davis that is killing us. AK-47 struggled to fight through Minnesota's picks (as he does with most picks), but he's probably the best choice to guard shooters because he has the lateral movement and wingspan to make up for mistakes.

Lazy board work (Minnesota - 35 rebounds; Utah - 32 rebounds) -- It's only a three rebound discrepancy, but to me, three rebounds is the difference between hustling and blocking out or not doing those things. Mark Madsen shouldn't be offensive rebounding over anyone, let alone a Jazz frontline of Boozer, AK-47 and Okur ... but that's what happened tonight.

Where's Brewer (4th straight DNP) -- What is he doing wrong? Not sitting on the bench with his legs in the right position? If the Jazz aren't going to play him, send him down to Idaho with C.J. Miles and let them get some time together. They're the future of this team, right? Then play them (in this case Brewer) in a game like this where there's a need for them.

Nothing like a visit to the hated Bulls and coming out with a 10-point win. Hey! That's exactly what happened tonight! Let's get into it as the Jazz get their third win in a row ...

SWEET MUSIC

Boozer's quiet double-double (19 pts, 14 reb, 4 assists) -- Boozer was only 5-for-10 on free throws, but he got to work inside and made P.J. Brown, Ben Wallace and fat Mike Sweetney work on defense. Mehmet Okur made noise with his 21 points, 11 rebounds and a few big 3s, but Boozer pounded away at the Bulls' frontline a little each quarter and had some big baskets down the stretch for the Jazz. He just missed his 9th 20-point game in the last 10 games, but has started playing better after a so-so December.

Kirilenko's back? (10 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks) -- Who is this tall Russian guy who does it all? Where has he been this season? The last three games could be called the resurgence of AK-47, but let's see if he can keep it going when the Jazz get back home and play the T-Wolves on Tuesday. He had another huge steal tonight (this time Ben Gordon was the victim down the stretch) and has that perpetual movement away from the ball working again.

Fisher sinks key bucket (14 points, 3-11 FG, 4 assists, 3 TO) -- Fisher wasn't impressive tonight and his jumper looked terrible most of the evening. But when the Bulls got it to 80-73 with 1:25 to go, Fisher made a high-arching jumper inside the 3-point line to push the lead back to nine and lock up the win for the Jazz.

SOUR NOTES

"Slick" Willie stumbles against home fans (12 points, 7 assists, 2 steals, 5 TO) -- Williams scored all 12 of his points in the first half and had trouble staying in front of Kirk Hinrich on the pick and roll. His last foul was a little bogus (looked to me like Hinrich elbowed him on the drive), but I think most of all, Williams was trying too hard. There was a large contingent of Illini fans at the game and I'm sure he wanted to put on a show. Too bad he didn't tonight.

The Joy of Jarron (11 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 fouls) -- I know there isn't a lot to expect from this guy, but he's becoming the Walking Foul of the Jazz. His minutes have been a little inconsistent of late, but even when he gets 12-15 minutes, Collins hasn't produced much. I'm guessing he'll be valuable in the slow down pace of the playoffs, but if not, re-signing him has been a small disappointment.

WEEEEE WANT DEEEEE!!! -- The chant from the aforementioned Illini crowd was to get ex-Illinois PG Dee Brown into the game. Yes, the Jazz won by 10 points. Yes, the game was over with a minute to go. But no, Jerry Sloan didn't put Dee into the game. I know Sloan is trying to win games and not convert Bulls fans, but playing him the last 20 seconds of the game couldn't have hurt.

Two in a row for the Jazz as Utah gets a 102-94 win in Toronto. Let's get to the recap ...

SWEET MUSIC

Tempo establishment -- Toronto never really had a foothold in this game, despite the game being close. It was played at Utah's pace and the Raptors never got a lead of more than three or four points before the Jazz would rally and take a 4-5 point lead themselves. It was good to see the Jazz establish and maintain a tempo.

Keeping the lead -- The Raptors cut the Jazz's fourth quarter lead from 10 points to three on a jumper by Morris Peterson with 5:10 to go. Looked like a recipe for another Utah collapse, but a steal by AK-47 with 55 seconds left that led to a Harpring fastbreak dunk sealed up the win. This has to be the first time all year the Jazz didn't blow a fourth quarter lead.

Memo makes his all-star push (27 points, 2-8 on 3-pointers) -- Since scoring 7 points in the blowout loss to the Rockets on Jan. 5, Okur has picked up his scoring. He has scored 20+ points in 4 of his last 5 games and the Jazz are on a two-game win streak (after losing four in a row). Everyone knows Boozer is a shoo-in for the all-star game, but Okur might make a push for a spot if he keeps this up.

Kirilenko on his way back? (8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, game-clinching steal) -- Larry Miller is trying to alienate one of the team's most popular players with his comments, but Kirilenko took it all in stride tonight and gave a glimpse of his old form. He has been much more active the last two games and seems to be growing into his role on the team. I like that Sloan is actually running some post-up plays for AK-47 and his bounce pass between the legs of Chris Bosh to Boozer was just sick!

SOUR NOTES

Giricek wants minutes, Giricek gets minutes, then doesn't deliver (16 minutes, 0 pts, 0-3 FG, 3 steals) -- In a story published in the Salt Lake Tribune, Giricek wondered what his role was on the Jazz and complained about a lack of consistent playing time (haven't we all heard this before?). So Sloan puts him in the game and he does nothing to reverse the current opinion on him. I think the Jazz are better off playing Brewer more minutes so he can develop ... Giricek is a lost cause on this team.

Millsap slowing down (4 pts, 6 reb in 18 minutes) -- Sure, that is a decent line for Jarron Collins or even Giricek at this point, but Millsap hasn't played as well the last month as he did the first two months of the year. He's definitely hit the rookie wall ... might it be time for some minutes for Rafael Araujo?

Great stuff if you haven't seen it ... nice job by YouTube user Boschead

I've neglected my blog just because I've been a little tired, my wife and I were on vacation and it's just been hectic overall. Here are some quick thoughts on the Jazz:

• Deron is struggling -- Sure the scoring average has been around 16.5 ppg each month this year (16.7 ppg in Nov, 16.9 ppg in Dec and 16.8 so far), but his shooting percentage sucks. He went from a healthy 47 percent in November to a steady slide. He's now bottomed out at 38 percent from the field. Worst of all, when he's been open, he doesn't seem confident in shooting a jumper. Not a good sign.
• Giricek is no sharp-shooter -- This guy is supposed to be the 3-point shooter in the starting line-up, right? Then explain to me why he only has made 5 of 19 of his 3-pointers in the last two months! He's a frustrating player to watch (he can't seem to make a pass without doing so off the dribble or, worse yet, jumping in the air). I would love to see him traded ... ANYWHERE! He's gotta have incriminating, naked photos of Jerry Sloan or something ... that has to be the only reason he gets consistent time.
  
• Boozer's production doesn't change -- When the Jazz started 13-4, Boozer was quietly being mentioned as an MVP candidate as he was powering the team's start. The Jazz have been a little better than .500 since then (11-10) and there have been more than a few games in which Boozer hasn't played like the team's best player. Sure, he gets his 20 points and 10 rebounds, but he doesn't demand the ball and take over the game when the Jazz blow a lead and turn a safe lead into a close game. I'm starting to think he doesn't have that ability, but maybe it will come.