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For better or worse, through victory and defeat: we follow the Utah Jazz on their Quest For The Ring.
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And With the 47th Pick, the Utah Jazz Select....
Paul Millsap is the biggest steal the Utah Jazz have ever had! He was picked late in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft, but has proven himself as a strong presence against anybody in the league. That was proven again last night, as Millsap led the Jazz to a 89-73 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in the Staples Center.
Game ball: definitely Paul Millsap. He finished with 24 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and he was hustling all night long. He especially came alive in the fourth quarter, when the game was still in question. In a 4:10 stretch in the fourth, Millsap scored 15 straight for Utah! It resulted in a 17-3 run by the Jazz, which put the game in the bag. What was impressive was how quick he was moving and how athletic he looked. He has really slimmed up this year, and he looks a lot faster but still just as agressive. He carried the Jazz to victory tonight against an improved Clippers team.
Meanwhile, we await the return of Deron Williams, hopefully Wednesday night when the Portland TrailBlazers come into town. The Jazz have jumped out to a 3-0 record with D-Will on the bench, but they need him back if they expect to beat the cream of the crop in the Western Conference.
One Down, 81 To Go
 The Utah Jazz defeated the Denver Nuggets 98-94 Wednesday night in their first game of the season. It was a close game, and pretty sloppy at times, but the Jazz did enough to come out with a win. If there were any naysayers claiming that the Jazz couldn't win without Deron Williams, they have been proven to be idiots. Tonight was evidence that Utah has a very deep and very talented team.
Game Ball: Carlos Boozer. He came out ready to make a statement this season, possibly trying to make up for his late-playoff collapse last spring. He was active on offense and defense, and ended with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Although he turned the ball over on more than a couple occasions, he was hustling all game long. And with the game on the line, Boozer came through. He hit a huge baseline jumper to give the Jazz a three point lead with the game winding down, and that was right after he made two clutch free throws. Here's hoping that he keeps this kind of play up all season long!
Surely Jerry Sloan was able to find some things to curse violently about (turnovers, interior defense, AC/DC blasting from the loudspeakers, etc.); however, it was a good win to start out the season. Hopefully D-Will returns to the lineup by Saturday when the Los Angeles Clippers come to town. And as we all know, the Jazz really have to play their absolute best to beat the Clippers in Salt Lake City.....
And... Here... We....... Go.
Tonight is the season-opener for the Utah Jazz. They are hosting the Denver Nuggets at EnergySolutions Arena tonight at 7 p.m. MT. They will have to try to get a win without their star point guard, Deron Williams, who is still trying to recover from his ankle sprain. It will be interesting to see how the supporting cast performs tonight under genuine pressure. I'm confident that -- between Carlos Boozer, Memo Okur, Andrei Kirilenko, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, Ronnie Price, and Paul Millsap -- the Jazz will have enough people to step up and get a victory tonight! It feels good to have a fresh start with an energized team; let's hope that we'll have a season worth remembering!!!
D-Will.... D-Won't.... D-Might??
 Well, the Jazz took a hit in the mouth this past week when Deron Williams went down with what looked like a major ankle sprain. Williams had to be wheeled off the court, and it was pretty scary for a minute. However, initial medical reports say there is no bone-breakage and that he should be out at least two weeks. That would put him at least three games into the regular season before he has a chance to come back. Then again, it is D-Will we're talking about, and he's a real fighter (as evidenced by his facial hair), and he says in this Deseret News article that he is still holding on to the hopes of playing in the season opener. We can only hope for a quick recovery!
Meanwhile, Utah has a preseason game tonight against the Portland TrailBlazers, which will end the preseason. Then all eyes will be on Wednesday, October 29 when Denver comes to SLC to get this thing started!!!!
Let's Get This Party Started!!!!!!
 Well, the season is just around the corner, and things are looking good in Jazzland. Deron Williams has had a busy summer with the Olympics, charity events, and basically just being The Man here in Utah. He has risen to the challenge and become the leader of this Utah Jazz squad. Carlos Boozer has been in the middle of nationwide trade chatter, but he is disregarding it for now and playing well in the preseason. Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko are looking good; both of them seem to be playing with energy and enthusiasm. Ronnie Brewer is a little bigger, stronger, and still a major hustler. Jerry Sloan is still alive. All the ingredients are there for a big year for the Utah Jazz!!
Of course, everybody wants to give 100 percent to start out the new season. The question is: will it last? Will AK and Memo still play with this much heart? Can Boozer and Williams stay healthy all year? What will happen with the young players (Ronnie Price, Kyrylo Fesenko, Morris Almond, etc.)? It's almost time for the regular season to kick off. The Jazz start out against the Denver Nuggets on October 29th, so until then -- enjoy the preseason!!!!!!
Daddy, Who Did You Say Won 22 Games in a Row in 2008?
 
Utah Jazz fans are loving life right now! We had another good game in Houston yesterday. That was a really quick first-round matchup. What? It's not over yet? Well, at this point I will bet all the money I will ever make that Utah doesn't let this lead slip out of their hands (judging by my recent college test scores, I may not make much. But I will bet it all). The Jazz will take care of business.
Tracy McGrady and Rick Adelman both complained about a questionable call late in the game last night. Andrei Kirilenko was trying to chase down McGrady in the corner when he was held up by Luis Scola. AK totally completely threw himself into the stands, and the ref called a foul on Scola. It was a huge call because the Jazz were up by three, and the Rockets hit a three-pointer right as the foul was called. The trey was wiped away, the Jazz got possession, and never relinquished the lead from there. I thought it was pretty childish to complain about that call for a few reasons: first, it was a foul! Sure, AK made it look much more violent than it actually was (Kirilenko's comment on whether it was a foul or if he flopped: "Let's say it is 50-50"), but it was a foul regardless. And if you're going to bring up bad calls, you ought to discuss the time Deron Williams was slammed to the floor and no foul was called. If you lose in the playoffs on your home court, don't make excuses. This is professional basketball!
I think Houston is done mentally. T-Mac says he's tired, he has no legs, and he just can't shoulder the load right now. I also think he's smoking something. After the game, when asked how he's going to approach game three, he said his back has never really been up against the wall like this. What? Tracy, do you remember how you've been in six other first-round matchups and you've lost all of them? Wow.
Now the party really gets started. Look for EnergySolutions Arena to be rocking. It's going to be a madhouse! Keep it up, Utah!!
To: Houston. From: Russia, With Love.
 There were no tears for Andrei Kirilenko last night in the Toyota Center in Houston, unless they were tears of joy. AK played a great game, leading the Jazz to a huge Game 1 win over the Rockets. This is good news for Jazz fans: when Utah wins Game 1 of a playoff series on the road, they win the series. Granted, it's only happened three other times in franchise history, but you have to admit that things are looking good right now.
Utah came out with energy last night, which was good to see after the nightmare in San Antonio. You could tell that Jerry Sloan had gotten his troops ready for this playoff match-up. Considering that Sloan was coaching in the playoffs when most current Jazz players were still in diapers, he's a good man to have on the bench. Kirilenko was diving for loose balls, Ronnie Brewer was sticking to Tracy McGrady, and Mehmet Okur was muttering Turkish obscenities to the crowd. Everybody was doing their part. Carlos Boozer had a monster game, pulling down 16 boards to go with his 20 points.
Evidence #856 that the Korver/Giricek trade was the best trade since the Clinton/Bush transition: when things were getting dicey in the third quarter with Utah holding on to a two-point lead, Kyle Korver nailed two straight treys and blocked a shot by McGrady. The Jazz were up by eight and never looked back from that point. Korver will prove to be a huge factor in our playoff run this year.
You just get the feeling that Houston (including coaches, players, and fans) is just mentally done right now. The Jazz worked them over last night, and half the crowd was gone by the time the final whistle blew. This is a playoff game! We'll see if the Rockets can rebound Monday night, but the writing is on the wall -- Houston has a problem...
When You Fall Off Your Horse, You Get Up, Shoot the Horse, And Anybody That Was Watching
 This was not the ending to the regular season that I had hoped for. The Jazz were completely out-played last night in San Antonio. It looked like Varsity playing JV for the whole first half. The Spurs completely shut down Utah's offense, and we seemed content to settle for jump shots (when you're shooting 35% from the field, that is not going to win games.) To make matters worse, San Antonio was shooting close to 80% in the first quarter and got whatever they wanted on offense. This was no contest.
So we're matched up against the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. If there is a positive coming out of last night's game, that is it. We've played well against Houston, with the exception of the season's home-opener (one of the four total home losses for Utah this year.) If we can forget about what happened against the Spurs and have the Big Three at the top of their game, I really like our chances. We need Deron Williams to rest his buttock before Saturday (I don't know what you do to rest your buttock, but it needs to be done.)
Regardless of the debacle in San Antonio, this is the best time of year for Jazz fans. EnergySolutions Arena will be rockin' and Jerry Sloan will be a loaded cannon. If Deron Williams steps up in a big way this postseason, I see good things for this team. I only wish we still had Bryon Russell and Greg Ostertag filling out our starting five. Wait, What??
It's game time. Release the hounds!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm At the Top of the World Tonight, and I Ain't Comin' Down
 It's a very exciting week in the NBA world. Scratch that, it's a very exciting week in the Western Conference of the NBA world. With the Eastern Conference playoff picture decided, all eyes are focused on the Wild Wild West. The seventh and eighth place seeds go to Dallas and Denver, respectively, but the rest is up for grabs. With Utah's big win against the Rockets on Monday night, The Jazz still are in the hunt for home-court advantage, at least in the first round of the playoffs.
Utah looked good last night, from what I saw (confession: I chose a rockin' Jimmy Eat World concert over basketball. Can you blame me? Yes. Should you? No.) Carlos Boozer had a good game, finishing with another double-double. We need him to be at the top of his game on Wednesday in the showdown with the Spurs in San Antonio. If you pay attention to history, you will need to pop some Zoloft pills before the game -- the Jazz haven't won in San Antonio since Tim Duncan was in diapers. If there is a year Utah can win, however, it's now.
Everybody settle in for the wildest season-ending scramble in NBA history. Put the children to bed, lock the women in the cellar, and get ready to rock!
Creaming the Nuggets
 The Jazz picked up a huge win Saturday night in EnergySolutions Arena. They came out ready to rock, scoring 40 points in the first quarter and ended up beating the Nuggets by 27. Deron Williams was the alpha male on the court last night. He got slammed to the floor by Carmelo Anthony, landing right on the small of his back. After squirming on the floor for 20 seconds, D-Will got up and finished the game. I think opponents are soon going to realize that it's not in their best interest to get Williams upset; get him ticked off, and you're just scheduling your own funeral.
This is a monumental week for the Utah Jazz. Home-court advantage is on the line. We've gotta win against Houston on Monday then hope for a miracle on Wednesday (either a victory on the road against the Spurs, or the Clippers beating the Rockets. Either would be a miracle).
Side note: I've got to give props to Rod Zundel and KSL for the best Karl Malone interview that I've ever seen. Zundel sat in the bed of a truck with the Mailman and discussed everything from Karl's new car dealership, to Malone's attitude towards Jazz fans today, to the possibilities of a 2-on-2 between Stockton/Malone & Williams/Boozer (Karl: "Not gonna happen"). Karl is building a museum in the upper floor of his new dealership. It will be full of Mailman memorabilia, including old Dream Team jerseys (Malone says there are still original Gatorade stains on Larry Bird's jersey. He didn't wash them. I don't know how Karl ended up with everyone's jerseys....). The Mailman also predicted a Jazz championship within 3-5 years. Quotes from Karl: "I come in peace; I prepare for war."; on why he won't challenge Boozer and Williams to a showdown: "We're just old dogs on the porch. We like where we're at." When asked by Zundel if there were any good rumors to start: "Let's start the rumor that I am buying 20% of the Utah Jazz. Me and Larry (Miller). Start that rumor." Great interview.
Lonestar Letdown
 What a heartbreaking game last night! The Jazz struggled for much of the game to get anything going, but they seemed to be putting it together just in time to pull out a tough game on the road against Dallas. Deron Williams was leaving everything on the floor, and it appeared that he had singlehandedly willed the Jazz into overtime with his ridiculously tough bank shot from 25 feet out with five seconds left in the game. But, alas, someone (Carlos Boozer) forgot there were still five seconds left and Dirk Nowitzki had a wide open three-pointer that absolutely made Jazz fans everywhere curse uncontrollably (or at least scream out a controversial "Are you flippin' kidding me?!").
Not all is lost, however; for last night could prove to be a valuable lesson come playoff time. It felt like it was the Western Conference finals for the last two minutes of last night's game. Deron had a fire in his eyes, the crowd was on the edge of their seats, and Jerry Sloan was shooting violent gesticulations towards the officials. If nothing else, it had to get Jazz fans excited for a little post-season drama, because it's just about time! We definitely need a more complete team effort, though, if Utah is gonna go anywhere this May.
Don't let this loss get you down, Jazz fans. Dallas is hot, and they will be a tough draw for anybody in the West. What Utah has to do now is get everybody on the same page for the final three games and get ready to turn on the heat! With how tight the West is, the conference title is there for the taking by any of the top eight teams.
Will the Defense Please Rise
 Where has this beautiful defense been all season? The past two games, the Jazz have held two elite teams (San Antonio and New Orleans) to 64 points and 66 points, respectively. That's the best scoring defense Utah has ever had for two consecutive games! It was fun to watch New Orleans struggle to get open shots and to see Chris Paul completely frustrated on the offensive end last night.
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