Jazz Talk

Blazin' into February

2012-01-31T13:09:00.001-07:00

Big win last night by the Jazz against Portland. They had not played well the past few games. Even the win against Sacramento was lackluster. They had been giving up way too many points. (see MIN and DAL games!).

But last night was different, (but not til the 2nd half). The 1st half they looked like they were running in mud.
Nothing was going their way. Millsap, Hayward, Earl, and Harris actually came through big in the 2nd half, and helped the Jazz hold on for the win.

Where they are: The Jazz are 12-7. They were 11-4 in January, but 12 of those games were at home. They were 2-1 on the road. They need to show continued improvement on the road. My biggest concern is when we see them fall into old, bad habits on defense. Hopefully Corbin will keep riding them and help them see they are at their best when they play hard-nosed D.

What February holds: The Jazz have 15 games in February. 6 at home, 9 on the road. I wish they would go 11-4 in FEB, but they won't. I would be happy with a 8-7 record this month.
Breaking it down, at home in FEB, they play 5 "good" teams and 1 "bad" team. This is tough, because even if they beat 3 of 5 "good" teams at home, adding the 1 "bad" team gives them 4 home wins.
As for the road in FEB, they play 4 "good" road teams, and 5 "bad" teams. This is a big help, especially with a back to back to back in the middle of the month. All they have to do is go 5-4 here, and that would make them 9-6 in FEB. But, I know, easier said than done. But they need to hang in the playoff hunt before a brutal March, where they will play 19 games, with 12 of those on the road.

Anyway, the Jazz keep mildly surprising me. Here's to hoping they keep it up and welcome the Clip-joint to Swat Lake City!

GO JAZZ!

Clip-joint 2.0

2012-01-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

I found myself standing and clapping for the Jazz last night, as the clock wound down to 0.0 and the buzzer sounded.
I continue to find myself pleasantly surprised at the level of play coming from this mostly young and somewhat inexperienced Jazz team.
Let's review some fact: 1- They are 8-1 in 2012, 2- Have won 2 straight on the road (something good teams HAVE to do is win on the road) 3- Were coming off a win where they beat the 3rd seed on the road and 4- Just beat the 2 seed in the west by 29 points.
Pretty impressive. There is still a TON of work to do, but I believe this team will make the playoffs and give us something to cheer about in May.
The biggest key to the season turnaround is defense. They are finally playing hard-nosed, tough defense that all great teams must possess. Good lesson for these young 'uns to learn.

Some may say that we only won because Chris Paul didn't play. This is false. Chauncey actually played very well, and I don't know that Paul would have made much of a difference. Maybe we win by 22 instead of 29. Whatever. The Jazz must be butter, cause they're on a roll!

GO JAZZ!!

How sweet the road...

2012-01-15T22:19:00.000-07:00

Tonight's win vs Denver was HUGE. What this means to me is that the Jazz have a real chance to be a playoff team. They started off with some ugly blowouts this year, but the Denver game, as well as the Lakers loss, shows me that somewhere around 12/31/2011 the Jazz turned a corner. They played MUCH better against those 2 teams compared to just 2-3 weeks ago.I am liking how this team is coming together. As I said before the year started, they need to get at least the 7-8 seed and at least get the playoff revenue and experience for the young guys. Right now, at 8-4, they are on the right track.They are in the middle of a 12 home/3 road January. In 2012, they have had 6 home games and 2 road games. They have won them all except for the OT Lakers game at home. That means they have 6 home/1 road left this month. That's a great opportunity to run up their record for the tough months ahead.Anyway, I hope Favors' ankle is OK. Next up, Chris Paul and the Clip-joint...GO JAZZ!!

Golden opportunity

2012-01-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

I have to say, I am very pleased with the way the Jazz have come together after the first two games of the year. They haven't been perfect, and there have and will be huge growing pains this year, but they are learning the value of team defense. Is it me or does their body language even look more comfortable than the first of the year.They looked slightly above average beating the Warriors, but a win's a win. Hayward played much better than he had been, and Bell's defense helped to seal the win.Going back home, they have a great opportunity to rack up some wins. Tomorrow against Cleveland would put them at 6-3 with a win. Don't look now, but they are 5th in the West.Let's hope reality doesn't set in and they keep plowing forward in the W column...GO JAZZ!!

No Memphis Blues Here...

2012-01-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I continue to be slightly surprised at the small improvements the Jazz are beginning to make.They impressed me with their best win to date. The Grizzlies are a pretty good team with playoff experience. In fact, they almost knocked off the OKC Thunder in 7 games last year. Some would argue that Memphis was without Zach Randolph. But in last year's playoffs, they were without Rudy Gay, and last night Gasol was doing fine without Zach...Anyway, the real test will be tonight...to see if the Jazz can get their first road win of the year. The other 3 road games were against Lakers(2 seed last year), Denver (5 seed) and Spurs (they had the #1 seed, remember?).So a game against 2-5 Golden State should be doable, right? Let's see about that...GO JAZZ!!!

Meeting expectations

2012-01-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

After the first 2 losses of the season, I wasn't too surprised that the Jazz lost. It was the WAY they lost. Just looked young, inexperienced and overmatched.But then again, what did I expect? They were all of those things. And once they entered the friendly confines of the ESA, they actually look much more composed and confident in themselves.So now they sit at 3-3, and that is precisely where I expected them to be this season. I am hoping for between 33-35 wins, which would probably place them 7-8 in the western conference playoff standings. I think it does a lot for this team if they can at least make the playoffs. Even if they get swept, they will get a little more seasoned, a bit more experienced. Not to mention, that the playoffs actually add quite a bit of extra money for the team.Anyway, I think if the Jazz can continue to mix veteran play while getting their promising youth some PT, and then win at the same time, that is accomplishing something pretty difficult to achieve.They have a bunch of home games in January, while only having 3 road games. Let's start to build that record for a rainy day!GO JAZZ!!!

Goodbye Memo

2011-12-23T22:57:00.001-07:00

While I am sad to see Money Memo go to New Jersey, I understand why the Jazz did it. The Jazz do not have unlimited resources, and Memo was going to be an $10.8 million dollar role player, while taking minutes from Favors and Kanter.We'll have to see what the Jazz do with the draft pick and trade exception, but for now, it was a smart --yet painful move for the Jazz.Go Jazz!