Utah Jazz Blogs

Utah is trying to stay within their financial means and stay competitive at the same time. They traded Ronnie Brewer to Memphis for a future pick.  They have depth at that position and can absorb the loss.  Brewer is a restricted free agent and Utah may not be able to match any offers.  So, they gain a pick for him now.  Not bad I guess.

Continue reading "Utah is making financial moves"

OK I've read what Miaocco had to say and thesee are my thoughts...

I knew long ago that Hill was going to start the first game of Pre Season and that's becuase it would only be fiar since he was the starter last season. As for Smith, he's going to get his first taste of action since the whole Nolan fiasco. Smith looked good at times during TC while I was there and so he should do well against the Broncos. 

Continue reading "Friday's Lineup"

One of the numerous rumors going around this week is that the Thunder are going to make an offer to Utah's restricted free agent Paul Millsap. He is a good young player that filled lifted his game when Okur and Boozer were out.  I like the things he can do for OKC. Or any team for that matter.  What I hope we don't do is pay to much for him.  Since Millsap is a restricted free agent, Utah can match any offer to keep him.  They are likely to do that since it appears thata they will be about 3 million over the cap.  They can trade Boozer and keep Millsap at a cheaper price.  This is  very likely because Boozer has another year left on his contract and isn't guaranteed to stay in Utah.  So, they may trade Boozer for some future stock.  Teams can start talking with players today and get verbal commitments.  However, contracts don't become official until July 8th.  The team spends this week determining the new salary cap.  Last year it was 57 million dollars.  A team may go over the cap to resign it's own players, or by offersing the mid-level one year contract of around 5 million dollars.  If it goes over the cap, it must pay a tax to the league.  This next couple of week's should be exciting.

Continue reading "Rumor "Mills"ap"

The Utah Jazz have a busy summer in front of them.  Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, and Mehmet Okur can all opt out of their contracts.  So, they have to convince all 3 to stay.  Paul Mills

Continue reading "Utah Jazz draft"

Since my last post I've received heated opinions from some fired up Golden State fans regarding my Rip Hamilton for Ellis and Randolph trade. G.S. fans are obviously a little smarter then I thought. So let me be clear. Although I'm a Utah Jazz and Golden State Warrior fan, my heart lies with the Detroit Pistons.

Continue reading "Let's play GM part II"

Congratulations Portland Trail Blazers on a great season. You overachieved, brought the city to hysteria not seen since the early 90s and created a solid foundation on which to work on. Now get over it.

Continue reading "Congrats Blazers...Now Get Over It"

Thursday saw some horrendous rides on some who should have won and paid well. Undeniably the case for Flying Jazz and Cover Story, both rated way too far back for Churchill. Still, those who took my advice still won with the ninth race trifecta and superfecta paying well, with AEGEAN winning. The final race, which I said to take an overlay and hope it wouldn't be a jockey race, wasn't a good betting race. It turned into a jockey race, with the five lowest price horses finishing first through fifth. That's overkill, and being obvious with the cheating. But it happens.

Continue reading "Oaks Day spot plays"

For Thursday's big crowd at Churchill, there are some spot plays.

In the third race, there are 7 entrants. It's a good time to against the struggling
Vance stable, which will eventually come back around. WILD SUNDAY shows good form at Fairgrounds, and Fairgrounds horses are kicking tail. He was claimed by an owner-trianer team of the Larues. MR ZARROW looks like a strong second. MESS NERA looks to round out the trifecta. If Wild Sunday goes over 5-2, take him to win and place. Good superfectas are 1 with 34 with All with All, then 1, 3, with 1,3, 4, with 1,3,4 2, 7, with All, and a tri box and exacta box on 1-3-4. A saver superfecta on the 1-3-4-7 box, and a 1 with the 2,3,4,5, 7 all the way down. Remember, these are 10 cent superfectas.

Continue reading "Spot plays for Churchill Thursday 4-30-2009"

I'm a Kobe fan. Huge Kobe fan. He's practically my generation's MJ. Nothing against MJ, I just never saw him play much. I went to the United Center once, when I was seven, and all I remember is Scottie Pippen's crew-cut and cotton candy. Also, I'm from D.C., so the fact that MJ ruined the entire development and chemistry of an up-and-coming Washington Wizards team, just so he could milk a little more limelight, doesn't really sit well.

Continue reading "Why Lakers fans should worry about ..."

  Larry H. Miller, one of the great NBA franchise owners and stand up guy in the community, died Friday from complications with type two diabetes.  Larry will be remember in the NBA world for years to come and will be a role model for what integrity and honor stands for.

Continue reading "A Tribute to One of the Great Owners"

You may have heard about the Rasheed Wallace for Elton Brand rummer. This is a bad idea. A panic move. Prior to Brands streak of injuries he was one of the top post-up power forwards in the league. And if he was available for 3 years 30 million he would be a deal. However, as of now, he refuses to run the floor and his stats are declining on a team with less talent then the Pistons. Not to mention he has trouble staying healthy. Plus his contract runs through the 2012/13 season @ over 18 million. By then we'll be wishing we still had a 38 year old Wallace. Trust me, we should let him stay Philly's problem.

Continue reading "SAY NO TO BRAND AND YES TO THE FUTURE"

All-Star Reserves ballots were due yesterday at 3p.m., and for the all the Eastern Conference coaches who tune in to my blog, I provided some help, a cheat sheet if you will, to aid in their quest to make the proper selections. Call it an East Coast bias, but time did not allow me to do the same for the West. Hopefully, they managed on their own.

Continue reading "The Sports Don Reveals His Western ..."

The Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets have certainly had their differences in the past on the court. Memorable physical drag-em-out games, down to the wire playoff games with the Jazz being the ones having the upper hand more times than not. However, both teams have had similar problems this season with...

Continue reading "The Bruised and the Restless"

The more they lose, the less credible the Grizzlies become as an organization.  It's getting hard to buy even the players' comments anymore.  The team lost for the 13th time in its last 15 g

Continue reading "Jazz 101, Grizzlies 91"

Heading into Tuesday's game with the New York Knicks, the Portland Trail Blazers are tied for the second best record in the Western Conference, at this point in the season.  But are they really the second best team in the West?

Continue reading "Are the Blazers for real?"

The Grizzlies had to be looking forward to a Thanksgiving break after running into a hot Utah team on Wednesday.  The Jazz, who had the services of guard Deron Williams for only the third time this season, put up their highest point total of the season in dispatching the Grizzlies 117-100.

Continue reading "Jazz 117, Grizzlies 100"

It seems that GM Chris Wallace is actively looking to add some offensive firepower to the Grizzlies' roster.  It's no secret that shooting woes have been mostly to blame for the team's dismal 4-10 record.  With one of the best scoring defenses in the league, the Grizzlies could easily have a winning record at this point if it weren't for shooting slumps that usually seem to strike in the third quarter.  While coach Marc Iavaroni has also said part of the problem with the offense is that the players often abandon the scripted play for one-on-one opportunities, the Grizzlies' perimeter shooting takes them out of games entirely once they fall behind.

Continue reading "Grizzlies making a move?"

Good defense was the difference in Saturday's game as the Memphis Grizzlies ran into a determined Utah Jazz squad that hounded them into mistake after mistake in a 103-94 loss.  The Jazz seemed to be a step quicker than the Grizzlies, who buckled under intense defensive pressure after opening the game with a 9-2 run.

Continue reading "Jazz 103, Grizzlies 94"

            Our Utah Jazz have gone a meager 1-4 since starting the season 5-0, and finished this last Eastern Conference road trip on a 3 game losing streak.

Continue reading "Injuries, Family and the Utah Jazz"

from http://www.clubblazers.com/game-preview-blazers-at-utah-115/

Game Preview of Portland at Utah 11/5

On the road vs the Utah Jazz. A hard nosed veteran team that won 54 games last season and a division title. The Jazz beat us twice in preseason. But in both games a number of our frontline players sat the game out. The second time we did this there were rumors that Nate didn't want to show Jerry Sloan his full bag of tricks. We'll see. Everyone should be available for this game against the Jazz.

Continue reading "game preview Portland at Utah 11/5"

Sam’s First Utah Jazz Blog

End of Preseason, Beginning of the Regular Season

The Utah Jazz have completed the journey they started when John Stockton retired. They didn’t spend years looking for the next leader, like some teams in the NBA (i.e. Chicago and Boston, until recently), they were confused of who the leadership was going to ultimately going to fall on.

Continue reading "Sam’s First Utah Jazz Blog ..."

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the "Inbound Link Contest".  We have a winner!  A big congratulations go out to Marija.  Thank you for all your hard work on this.  While we had a lot of people participate, Marija was able to win with only 4 links!  So it wouldn't have taken a lot to win this contest!  We'll be having another contest soon so stay tuned.

Continue reading "Inbound link contest winner announced!"

To try and motivate our bloggers to get inbound links we're going to have a contest to see which blogger can get the most inbound links to their blog. The contest begins now and ends July 31st, 2008. To be entered in to the contest all you have to do is go out and get as many websites to link to your blog as you can and at the end of the month send us an email listing all those links. All links must be active from August 1st through August 7th when we'll be judging the entries - a winner will be announced on August 7th. All entry emails must be received by Midnight on July 31st, 2008. You can email them to sportsfan@nbabasketballonline.com

Continue reading "Inbound link contest - Win $100!"

Ready to kick it old school?  David Stern is (kudos to anyone who sends me a photo of Stern wearing a track suit and break-dancing on a piece of cardboard), and so am I.  The Eastern Conference Finals gave us all a taste of the old school NBA rivalry between the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics, and now we're fixed for a main course of only the choicest and most intense NBA rivalry in the history of the league.  That's right, we are headed towards a Lakers v. Celtics NBA Finals for the first time in 21 years, and I've got to admit (even though it's damaging to my masculinity) that I am giddy about the prospects of this match up.

Continue reading "Throwback"

Finally.

A collective sigh of relief can finally be let out. After a season that can, at best, be called unpredictable, the Lakers have solidified their position as one of the elite teams in the NBA. Yes, Lakers fans, we have once again climbed the mountain and are almost at the end of our journey. We swept the Nuggets, silenced the Jazz, and dethroned the Spurs. We are the Western Conference Champions, undoubtedly the best team with the best player in the world, perhaps of all time.

Continue reading "Finally....But is it a conspiracy?"

No doubt, Spurs fans are loading up on the throat sprays and getting ready to shout "GO! SPURS! GO!" Might seem like a breathtakingly boring battle cry for one's favorite basketball team, but the Spurs since 1999 have won four NBA championships (including that "asterisk" year of 1999 that Shaquille O'Neal likes to whine about--especially now since he's enjoying his off-season). After squeaking by the New Orleans Hornets* in Game 7, they now face the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are hungry for two reasons:

Continue reading "Western Conference Finals for San Antonio Spurs"

 

Continue reading "LAKERS: BRING ON CP3 AND HORNETS ..."

Utah fans, please sit down and be quiet concerning the supposed discrepancy in foul calls. You, above all other fans, have no right to complain. Since the beginning of this decade, your team has finished in the top 3 teams of free throws attempted six times. That’s 1st in 01-02, second in 02-03, 06-07 and this year, and third 00-01 and 05-06. You can also throw in the year you finished fourth in 03-04.

Continue reading "Jazz Fans Shut Up!"

If this trend continues then Boston fans have nothing to worry about.  With home court advantage throughout the playoffs the Celtics have the inside track to the NBA title.  I have never seen anything like this before.  Home court advantage is obviously important, it is why teams play the whole regular season and it’s why Major League Baseball puts it up for grabs every July in the All-Star game.  But I didn’t know that playing in front of your home crowd mattered this much. 

Continue reading "Looking For A Road Win"

It really pains me to knock a guy who delivered a near triple double with a back that had him, on several occasions, grimacing hands and knees on the floor of the court, but, I just have to knock the guy.

Continue reading "Passing up Passing?"

Utah Jazz tied the series up with an overtime win tonight at the Energy Solutions Arena. Once again, the Jazz showed they are the best home team in the NBA; however, once again they also showed that the Lakers should beat them in the series.  With a 12 point win and 4 minutes to go, the Jazz allowed Derek wanted-him-to-sign-with-Clippers-so-we-booooo-him Fisher to score 10 points in a couple of minutes.  The game went into overtime, where Andrei Kirilenko's defense and Mehmet Okur's offense salvaged Utah win.

Continue reading "Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Lakers - game 4"

Even if the Utah Jazz manage to tie up this seven-game series, I still feel very confident about the Lakers chances of advancing to the Western Conference finals. Here are five reasons why:

1) The Jazz still looks like a one-trick pony. Utah is a great home team but have yet to put a dent on the Lakers home-court armor. The Jazz won Game 3 by outhustling the Lakers, which is a direct product of playing at home. I don't see that happening in Game 5 when the Lakers return to Staples Center.

Continue reading "JAZZ POSE NO THREAT TO LAKERS"

Home sweet home.  The Jazz finally provided the Lakers with their first loss of the playoffs.  It took the home crowd, an excellent performance from the big three (Williams, Boozer and Okur) and a quiet night from Bryant (quiet by his standards).  After all of that, the game was still very close; therefore, the Lakers should feel really good about the series.  I guess the only thing the Jazz got going is that they have been there last year - in the Western Conference Finals AND down 0:2 in the series, which they won in game seven on the road (against the Rockets).  That means that although the Lakers are the clear favorites, nobody is panicking in Utah and that approach might be the only chance they have to get back to the finals. 

Continue reading "Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Lakers - game 3"

The Lakers are a finesse team.  The Lakers don’t like to mix it up.  This is what was being said before the series and after game 1.  Yes, the Lakers were out rebounded significantly in game one but now the Lakers had to prove they could hang with the so called big boys on the boards in game 2.  The prognosticators, nay sayers and even some of the Lakers were calling Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol soft.  Really?  So what happens?  Lamar (19 points, 16 rebounds) and Pau (20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 blocks) had monster games.  So much for them being soft.

Continue reading "The Lakers Rebound in Game 2"

Got a chance to attend the Most Valuable Player trophy presentation of a one Mr. Kobe Bryant yesterday. A whole host of media were there and after Stu Lanz introduced everyone, Phil spoke, followed by Alex Fedorak the KIA Motors public relations director (who presented the trophy to Kobe) and then Mr. Bryant himself. After Kobe said his piece, the media was allowed to ask some questions. The most refreshing part about the whole thing was how much he gushed over the camaraderie he shares with his teammates. Some of the highlights of the question and answer included a question by yours truly as well as one by Luke Walton, Kobe busting out a little Spanish, and his mention of Shaq and Mitch Kupchak.

Continue reading "Accepting the MVP"

Finally, these so called experts are recognizing the Lakers defense.  The defense that exposed and discombobulated the Nuggets offense.  The defense that was a huge contributing factor in allowing the Lakers to “sweep”.  During the Lakers/Nuggets series we had to listen to how the Nuggets imploded, how it was all on them, but hello did anyone take a look at the shooting percentages of AI and Carmelo.  The Lakers went into that series on an obvious mission and that was not to let AI and Carmelo have great offensive games.  Mission Accomplished.

Continue reading "Finally..."

It was a pretty masterful performance, despite the 4 horribly missed shots in the fourth quarter, but MVP-to-be Kobe Bryant made the Utah Jazz pay for their roughshod defense.

He missed those four shots by a wide margin, almost as if reliving that fateful game 11 years ago against the same team at the Lakers then home—the Forum. 

Continue reading "What a Difference a Decade Makes"

I was hoping that the Houston Rockets would win the 6th game and extend their series to seven games with them defeating the Jazz at long last.  But it didn't happen, and now our Lakers face the Jazz, a team that's pretty physical.  The Lakers had a six-day layoff, and hopefully they'll be ready.  It's a good thing that they have home-court advantage throughout this series. 

Continue reading "2nd Round starts tomorrow..."

Utah Jazz used a thrid qurter run to easily beat the Rockets in the game six lat night.  Deron Williams decided to hit four threes in the third to push the lead to twenty points in the quarter.  McGrady tried hard and ended up with 40 points for the night.  He even went on a personal 9:0 run vs. the Jazz at one point, but one player is not enough.

Continue reading "Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets game 6"

Bring on the Jazz! Those Salt Pillars are goin' down! Lakers in 6. In the other semifinal, steely Spurs over stinging Hornets in 6. Western Conference Finals: Lakers-Spurs gunslingin' showdown at the OK Corral. Lakers in 6 or 7.

Continue reading "ROCKIN' SECOND-ROUND (& ONWARD) PLAYOFF PREVIEW"

    Tomorrow, the Rockets and Jazz will be playing in Salt Lake City for Game 6 of the NBA First Round Playoffs.  So the question on everyones mind is can the Rockets win and force a Game 7?

Continue reading "Against all Odds, but Rockets can force a Game 7"

Now that's more like it.  The Celtics have put the Hawks on the ropes with a resounding and convincing victory in game 5 last night.  Everything that was going wrong for Boston in games 3 and 4 seems to have been solved by playing in front of their home crowd, and similarly, everything that was going right for the Hawks evaporated into thin air as the road team.  I suppose that it just goes to show how huge an advantage a raucous home crowd can be in a playoff series.  That being said, I think that the Celtics are poised to break the cycle in this series and finish the Hawks off in game 6 in Atlanta.

Continue reading "Return to Form"

So the Jazz decided to tank the game in order for my prediction of a 4:2 win to come true.  Thank you very much.  Of course, another shot of cash for holding an additional game in Utah will

Continue reading "Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets game 5"

So predictible...but yet a good game.  The Jazz beat the Rockets 86:82 despite shooting 0% from the three point line (0 for 14).  As was the case in the previous three wins, Deron Williams showed Tracy McGrady how to play in the fourth quarter. 

Continue reading "Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets game 4"

Last night Houston Rockets decided they do want to play another game in Houston this season.  I am sure the team ownership is very thankful as they will pocket a few more dollars.  But that is about it.  The Jazz will win the next game at home and if they suffer a loss in Houston (game five) they will beat the Rockets in game six back in Utah. 

Continue reading "Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets game 3"

Sucks to the site server man, I've been getting blocked (like Scalabrine) by the website and unable to post for a few days.  I'm sorry, and it angers me more than it does you I'm sure.  Anyhow, here is my lovely post, it's not even stale yet! 

Continue reading "Rondo On a Roll, Plus Superstars Shining Bright"

Utah Jazz won the second game tonight in a first round series against the Houston Rockets.  It appears that the young Utah team finally has the necessary attitude to finish a team that is on the ropes.

Continue reading "Jazz vs Rockets game two - T-Mac ..."

To anyone who watched these two teams this year it is no surprise that Utah won the first game.  The Jazz have been tagged as a terrible road team and a great home team.  Although their record indeed supports such claims, Utah seemed to lose away games to teams like Minnesota.  Quality road blowouts against the Hornets and minor league champins Boston Celtics show the true potential of the Utah Jazz - away or at home.

Continue reading "Utah Jazz win first against game ..."

            Yesterday I chose the Detroit Pistons to come out of the East.  It was a very difficult call between then and the Boston Celtics and I do believe the Celtics are the better team but as I said I think their energy will run out.  The Celtics played every game like it was the NBA Finals this season and like the Mavericks last year it will cost them in the playoffs.  Today I discuss the other side of the bracket and tell you how the West will be won and who will win it.

Continue reading "NBA Playoff Preview: WEST"

With the last game day of regular season approaching, the path for the Utah Jazz to the repeat showing at the Western Conference Finals goes through San Antonio.  In order for the Jazz to secure the easiest way into the Western Finals, Utah should lose to the Spurs.  With Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns winning, this will not allow the Jazz to have a home court advantage; however, Utah would rather lose that advantage in order to avoid the Spurs all the way to the Western Finals.  The Jazz beat the Rockets on the road last year and it seems that it will be even easier this year.  The next round might involve the Hornets or the Lakers.  The Jazz beat the Hornets three to one this season and Chris Paul cannot, for some unknown reason, beat Deron Williams in head-to-heads.  The Lakers might be a little harder, but Utah will get the job done, which will not be the case against thte Spurs.

Continue reading "Jazz playoffs position"

It is that time, the time all of us have been waiting for, the greatest time of all  - time to shut up and go home Warriors.  Since the All Star break everyone in San Francisco area keeps co

Continue reading "NBA Playoffs"

To live content with small means;

to seek elegance rather than luxury

and refinement rather than fashion;

to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich;

Continue reading "From humble to Hubble: a not so prosaic ..."

The defining moment of the Lakers regular season is upon us.

The next four games will tell how good and how far the Lakers have come this season: at New Orleans on Friday, at red-hot Houston Sunday, at Dallas next Tuesday and the finale at Utah on Thursday.

Continue reading "LAKERS FACE CRITICAL ROAD TRIP"

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/03/linkbawl-31008.html

• TwolvesBlog running the Blogger MVP/ROY Round 8 Rankings. Such a fabulous idea this has been!

• Awful Announcing watching NBA strip shows?

Continue reading "LINKBAWL: 3/10/08"

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/02/top-7-nba-pretty-boys-whew.html

Don’t we all have to show some love for the pretty boys? I gave you our ‘ Top 6 Worst Hairstyles in the NBA’ last week and was satisfied with leaving it at that until our boy, SML ( StopMikeLupica.com) dropped by to pose a little challenge. He said that anyone can do the worst hair post, but only a real man can bring you the pretty boys. Never one to back down from a blogger challenge, I’ve created our list and oh is it 'pretty'! Please enjoy!

Continue reading "Top 7: NBA Pretty Boys! Whew!"

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/02/ak-47-european-basketball-playe

Continue reading "AK-47: European Basketball Player of the Year"

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/01/sunday-recap-day_27.html

Continue reading "Sunday Recap Day!"

On Thursday January 17,th 2008 the Denver Nuggets Hosted the Utah Jazz in a battle til' the end,Speaking of the end I dont think anyone was surprised that the Nuggets held off the jazz in a 120-109 victory but I think everyone was surprised when the games leading scorer was not my favorite player Allen Iverson with 28 points or Carmelo Anthony with 23 points but it was Linas Kleiza who had an amazing 41 points in 41 minutes this kid was on fire but he also had alot of help from his teammates including Center Marcus Camby who only had 8 points but snatched up 24 rebounds to help get his team the home victory,Well even though some may say that the Nuggets dont have what it take to be a championship team I believe that they can with the numbers my boy Iverson is putting up as well as Melo and you can't forget Camby getting them rebounds for us,We just need to be in full force when a few of our players are back from injury and then who knows maybe we can get that ring...Up next 1-19-08 bring on the Timberwolves

Continue reading "Nuggets 120,Jazz 109"

Happy New year to everyone. For the faithful few who check out my blog, thanks and sorry there hasn't been an update for a week.  Fashion statements. That's what we're going to focus on today. Over the holiday week, the Lakers made some serious statements. They told the Phoenix Suns that they are for real this year, that their beginning of the season win wasn't a fluke. They also upended a Utah Jazz team finally getting it together, finally looking like the squad that made it to the Western semis last year. Those were beautiful statements.  Of course, there was Phil's tie (which I personally liked). And then, curiously, there were the short shorts.  

Continue reading "Balls out..."