JazzFan 4 Life

Jazz top the Hornets, 96-86, for their 6th straight win (their second 6-game win streak in the last 15 games). Utah fell asleep in the first quarter, but then took over in the second and coasted the rest of the night. Let's get into what went right (and what could be better) ...

NBA.com coverage: recap box score highlights

SWEET MUSIC

• Another "rally" victory for the Jazz as they trailed 47-45 at halftime and got the win. The Jazz are now 14-12 when trailing at halftime, although I wouldn't exactly put this up there in terms of rallies with the Atlanta win earlier this year.
  
• Mehmet comes through and plays well against the Hornets (29 points, 5-7 on 3-pointers, 5 rebounds) for the second time in less than a week. The Jazz started off slow, as we mentioned earlier, but Mehmet came out of the gate on fire and kept it up all night long. Although the Hornets' Tyson Chandler had six blocks to go along with his 12 points and six rebounds, Okur got the best of this matchup as he and Carlos Boozer punished the Hornets' frontline.
• Deron Williams struggled from the field (10 points, 3-13 FG), so he simply ran the Jazz's offense to precision, found open teammates (13 assists) and played great defense (3 steals). He and Chris Paul (12 points, 4-10 FG, 11 assists) had nearly identical nights, but Paul had to work much harder for his numbers.
  
• Matt Harpring keeps pissing off opponents. Harpring had an OK night from the floor (10 points, 2-7 FG, 7 rebounds), but it's nights like these that Harpring's value is found in his toughness. Harpring had eight free throw attempts (made six) and frustrated Hornets F Desmond Mason to the point of getting T'd up.
  
• Boozer with another solid night (20 points, 10 rebounds). He didn't do anything spectacular tonight, but had another double-double and is making a serious push for All-NBA Second Team honors.
• Kirilenko seems to be finding his niche. The line, as usual, for AK-47 was awful (2 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks). Seems as though since the all-star break, Kirilenko is finding his way on this team (particularly what his role is) and is fitting into a role as an offensive facilitator and defensive stopper.
  

• Utah's lack of energy to start games has been a real disappointment. By my count, the Jazz have trailed at the end of the first quarter in about half of the 10 games since the all-star break. While the Jazz eventually figure things out (they're 8-2 in those 10 games), the slow starts have been a little frustrating. I know you have to probe your opponent and figure out what they're giving you, but the Jazz shouldn't take a whole quarter to determine how their game plan will work.
  
• The interior defense could use a little work. Chandler had six blocks as mentioned before, so that kind of throws things off, but the Jazz still give up some easy buckets at the basket. When Kirilenko was the starting power forward, those interior problems were masked a little better, but now that Boozer has that spot, the problems are evident. How Boozer can finish above the rim on offense all the time and allow layups on the other end amazes me.
  

Some quick notes for tonight's Hornets/Jazz game at Energy Solutions Arena (as well as tonight's preview):

• The Hornets have allowed 100+ points in seven of their last nine road games. Ouch.
• Memories of an ironic collapse for Hornets coach Byron Scott as they ready for tonight's game.
• Hornets couldn't quite complete the comeback last night against the Suns.
• AP's preview of tonight's game.
• A ballboy helped Jazz C Jarron Collins understand exactly how home court in the first round of the playoffs works.

TONIGHT'S PREVIEW

Season series: Tied, 1-1.

What happened last time: Jazz dismantled the Hornets, 108-94, on Sunday. Carlos Boozer had 17 points and 12 rebounds, Mehmet Okur had 28 points and 9 rebounds and Deron Williams put up 20 points and had 6 assists. The Hornets muddled through the game, with only Tyson Chandler (20 points, 19 rebounds) and Chris Paul (14 points, 13 assists, 3 steals) doing anything of note for New Orleans/Oklahoma City.

What to expect tonight: The Jazz had their way with the Hornets the last time around by basically out-executing the Hornets all evening. David West was a non-factor (10 points, 4-12 FG, 7 rebounds) and players such as Bobby Jackson, Devin Brown and Marc Jackson contributed little to nothing. The Hornets are coming off last night's 104-103 loss to the Suns and will no doubt be tired.

Williams often says he doesn't play any harder against Paul and the Hornets than any other team. He says that the matchup is something the media makes up, but that he doesn't view it as otherwise. The numbers say otherwise:

Williams -- 23.5 ppg, 52.9 FG pct, 7.0 assists per game this season in the 2 games vs NOK.

I'd be surprised if Williams doesn't get himself fired up for this game and run the show as well as he has all season.

Prediction: Jazz win, 105-99.

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