SLC Dunk

Game Thread - Utah Jazz @ Phoenix Suns

2010-03-20T01:00:25Z

Barry Gossage - NBAE via Getty Images

14 days ago: PHOENIX - MARCH 4: Deron Williams #8 of the Utah Jazz drives for a shot against the Phoenix Suns in an NBA Game played on March 4, 2010 at U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)

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SB Nation Survey + Chance to donate $500 to a charity of this community's choice

2010-03-20T00:48:03Z

[Note by Basketball John, 03/19/10 7:29 PM MDT ] The main purpose of this is to get better targeted ads for SLC Dunk and other SBN sites. So if you're not a big fan of the teeth whiteners, fat loss, etc. type of ads, then this would help.

Also, if SLC Dunk were to win, the $500 would go to the BBJ's season ticket fund :). Honestly, it would probably go to Deron's Point of Hope charity or to another player's charity. We'd have a vote on it though for sure.

>> Take SB Nation Survey

Hello sports fans! We're always striving to provide you with the best experience possible and it's been quite some time since we checked in with you.

So we're rolling out this survey to learn more about you and your sports world. It should only take about 10 minutes to complete.

We really appreciate your time and this is also going to help make a donation to a good cause.

By next Thursday (3/25) at 11:59pm PST the site that has the highest percentage of their community filling out the attached survey about their sports interests and consumption will win $500 to donate to a charity of their choice. We will leave it up to the discretion of the community manager(s) of the winning blog to decide how to choose the particular charity.

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Back In The Valley Of The Sun, Jazz/Suns Preview

2010-03-19T20:34:10Z

More photos » Ross D. Franklin - AP

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The Suns do have one more game at home against Portland in a couple of nights but the Jazz have pretty much been the bookends to Phoenix's 7-game home-stand. They're a well-rested bunch having played just one road game in the month of March.

They've had quite a bit of rest since their 152-point shellacking of the Timberwolves Tuesday night. None of their starters cracked 30 minutes that night. So we're not going to be able to rely on the Suns getting tired legs in the fourth quarter tonight. That's huge to consider when they have vets like Nash and Hill that will benefit a lot from that.

Credit the Jazz for their big comebacks against the Suns so far this season. They drubbed the Suns with 41 points in the fourth quarter in their last meeting. In the first game in Utah the Jazz scored 66 points on them in the second half to come from behind in that one. That's what can happen when you play one of the worst defensive teams in the league. But if the Jazz get behind big early tonight, they might not be able to mount much of an offensive comeback late. The Suns are going to be fresh.

The way you defeat the Suns is to limit their possessions. They're going to score, probably a lot. So to limit those possessions, you need to A) rebound and B) not turn the ball over. In the first game, the Jazz had just as many shot attempts (84) as the Suns. They crushed Phoenix on the boards, 48-31 and finished them off at the line. The Jazz also had a relatively good 11 turnovers.

In the game this monthh at Phoenix, the Jazz had 83 FGAs to their 73 (they average 83 a game). They beat them on the glass, 43-38 and also benefited from 18 Suns turnovers.

The Jazz should be able to get what they want on offense. Hopefully they don't want a lot of early jumpers and dig an early grave.

Everyone is a go tonight except for AK. We'll see how the Jazz match up without him on D.

Thanks to Seth from Bright Side of the Sun for this audio from practice this morning. I expect a bit of karmic retribution from the basketball gods for some of his statements though.

The Jazz Note Or The Jazz Mountains? Poll

2010-03-19T16:25:17Z

Greg Miller posted this tweet,

GregInUtah: Which Jazz uniform do you prefer mountains or Jazz note? Post your comments at http://wp.me/pK1FG-1n

Since that page doesn't have a poll option, let's do one here and let him know. The note or the mountains?

via sportslogos.net

Poll

The Note or Mountains?

The Downbeat - 19 March 2010 - #189 - The Greg Miller Edition

2010-03-19T15:00:47Z

A sneak peak at the new Jazz unis from @greginutah. What are we looking at here? Front? Back? Looks good so far.

Speaking of @greginutah, I'd like to get an interview with him for SLC Dunk and have him answer some of your questions. I realize he has a form for that already, but it would be good for the site (obviously) and I believe we would get some really good questions from you all.

So, if you would kindly re-tweet this tweet of mine to Greg Miller, maybe we can score a twitterview or email interview with him. Hopefully this turns out a bit better than some of my other twitter campaigns.

Honestly, who didn't love Stockton's shorts (via A Stern Warning)?

WTH (via Fat Shawn Kemp)?

Great day of college hoops yesterday, I don't see how today can match up with it. The bar was set pretty high. If there's one thing about college basketball is that the excitement level seems to be contagious throughout the tourney. If there's a lot of buzzer beaters and close games one day, that tends to spill over into the other games.

On that note, I'm excited for NBA basketball to be back tonight. Even a day off in this crazy month seems like forever.

The Downbeat - 18 March 2010 - #188 - The March Goes On Edition

2010-03-18T15:37:52Z

Good article on the financial impact of the Jazz in Utah (via Deron's Facebook). You do have to register to view the whole article but there doesn't seem to be any verification. Here's the part that stood out to me,

The Utah Jazz does more for the Beehive State than keep basketball enthusiasts happy. The Utah Jazz has a winning economic and community-building impact on the state. In fact, it's estimated that each at-home Jazz game brings in approximately $1 million to the state. That's because when people attend a game, they often make it a night out on the town, spending money at local restaurants, parking or taking public transportation, and buying other Jazz-related merchandise.

I'm guessing they're not including ticket prices in that number. If you have a sellout crowd, we'll round up to 20,000, then that's $50 per person that's spent. Now, you don't have to go to a game obviously to spend money. In fact, the article mentions places where people gather to watch the game downtown.

Still, a million bucks every game is quite the boon to the local economy.

Is Wesley Matthews in line to make the rookie first team? I think he's a lock to at least make the second team right now. If you look at the rookie rankings on NBA.com, he's up to the #6 spot. I realize those have zero to little bearing on the final votes that come from the coaches, but he's right up there.

Given that he's the starting two-guard on one of the best teams in the west, I think he might make it, especially when you look at the other rookies. What's interesting as well is that since the all-rookie team doesn't have the "you have to vote for 2 guards, 2 forwards, and a center" restrictions that the all-star game vote has, we could see a lineup of all guards this year. You have Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Darren Collison, Brandon Jennings, and maybe Matthews.

Given today's NCAA festivities, I got to thinking and we have or have had quite a few players from the championship game. Deron Williams, Dee Brown, Carlos Boozer, Goran Suton, the KOOF (NIT), Thurl Bailey. Who else is there? That's just off the top of my head.

I don't know how much more the Knicks pick is going to improve. NY does have quite the gauntlet of games to finish out the season.

Here are the teams below them, Philly, Detroit, Sacramento, Indiana, Washington, Golden State, Minnesota, and New Jersey. We'll cross GS, Minny, and NJ off the list. They're not going to "pass" any of those teams.

So that leaves us with the fourth-best chance at best. Still not bad at all. However, you have Philly, Detroit, and Washington that are just playing putrid right now. They're going to go into tank mode if they haven't already. You might even think they're in tank mode despite them maybe not even being in tank mode. They're all bad.

Indiana and Sacramento should play relatively good to close out the season so NY could pass them. But I think we're looking at the 7th or 8th worst record in the league. Still, not a bad pick at all and we might get a little luck and move up a bit.

Easy poll today

Poll

March Madness or NBA playoffs?

Timberwolves Lose To The Jazz, Qualify For NCAA Tournament, 122-100.

2010-03-18T13:03:31Z

More photos » Colin Braley - AP

2 days ago: Minnesota Timberwolves' Darko Milicic (31), of Serbia, looks on as Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer (5) reacts after scoring in the second period of their NBA basketball game, Wednesday, March 17, 2010, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Colin Braley)

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Well, we didn't get 156 like the Suns did, but give our record against the Wolves this season, I'll take it.

It certainly didn't start out the way you would like. After the Jazz got out to a 6-2 lead, Minnesota promptly went on a 12-0 run. The Jazz fell in love with the three ball early, the only problem is that the three ball didn't share the same affection. That changed though when Korver came a calling. Really, who can resist those dreamy eyes and luscious locks? Korver is so hot right now he can even put the ball in a trance. He seduced the ball well shooting 7-9 from the field and 3-4 from the arc for 20 points on his 29th birthday.

I guess if the DesNews can mention Korver's three-point shooting without putting him into a funk, I can as well. He leads the league in three-point percentage with 58.5% (including tonight). That's just unreal. With only 14 games left in the season, he could end up breaking the record for three-point shooting percentage in a season. The current mark is held by Steve Kerr from the 1995 season when he made 52.3% of his threes.

If we take his average of 2.55 3PAs per game that he's averaged over the past couple of months and project that for the rest of the season, he would take approximately 35-36 more threes for the season. He currently has 83 attempts so he would finish with 119. 53% of that is about 63 which would barely break the record. He's made 48 this season so he would need to shoot 15/36 (41.7%) to accomplish that.

Now, we just need to work on his dunks.

The Jazz finally kicked things in gear in the second quarter and got some separation from Minnesota. They got around the Wolves' length by some great interior passing for easy baskets. One highlight came as Deron passed to AK at the three-point line right and then trailed to the basket. AK faked the three and found Deron baseline and in turn, Deron made a touch pass to Boozer coming down the lane for an easy two. That play and others resulted in 72 points in the paint for the Jazz compared to Minny's 50. The Wolves finally looked like they were playing the second of a back to back as they missed quite a few layups and close shots around the basket.

Utah was able to extend their lead as they were able to force quite a few turnovers and turn those into easy fast-break points. Although it didn't result in a fast-break the other way, the highlight on D came when Minnesota had a fast-break and Johnny Flynn was sent packing by AK. Just a ferocious rejection that denied Flynn the dunk. It's too bad that AK re-aggravated his calf injury and sat out most of the game. He had some great contributions on offense while he was in there with his cutting and getting fed for a couple of dunks and a layup.

Good effort from everyone tonight. There was some great hustle from everyone. Millsap had a great play where he tipped the ball several times before coming down with it and scoring. Matthews broke up a one-man fast break by stepping in front of Corey Brewer to knock the ball away and take out the ref in the process.

The Jazz took a 14 point lead into the fourth quarter and were never challenged after that. There was no run by the Wolves, no collapse by the Jazz. So the Jazz did what they were suppose to do at home and that was to blow out two poor teams. They did it on the defensive end by getting a lot of deflections and out-rebounding them thus preventing second shots.

The Jazz are pretty banged up right now though. Memo will probably have back issues for the rest of the season. I don't know how often he's going to have shots to help that out, but I imagine he'll get a few games off, especially those that are on the back end of a back to back.

Andrei left the game after his calf sprain flared up again. I wonder if it wouldn't have been best for him to rest it one more game given that we were playing Minnesota. Hopefully that's not long-term.

Deron of course has a myriad of injuries right now with his wrist, shoulder, and now his ankle all tweaked. According to Siler he's going to be getting an MRI on his shoulder tomorrow. While none of the injuries by themselves are that serious, all of them together is going to have some impact on his game. You might not know it from the hellacious dunk he threw down when nobody came to help on a pick from Memo. That one-handed throw down coming in from the left side seems to be a big one for him. He does it quite a bit. He had the one against San Antonio a few years ago in the playoffs off a give and go from Boozer. He also had a similar dunk in the All-star game this year. While he's not scoring a lot consistently, he keeps finding ways to take over games.

Okur has developed that little running hook shot that's become very effective. He had 14 & 6 on the night but couldn't hit a three pointer going 0-5. He's looking good though.

Boozer had a typical Booze game, 19 & 11 in just 32 minutes. He also had a few nice assists including one to Deron for a layup on a give and go. He was still getting owned on defense a bit. His intensity hasn't been the same as it was about a month or so ago. He was giving good help D and getting physical with players. That doesn't look to be the case recently.

Millsap got 26 minutes and a lot of the offense with Boozer sitting for most of the fourth. He showed that he can carry the load with 21 & 11 including a steal and a solo dunk on the other end. CJ has played a bit better as of late. He's making some better decisions as far as when to make passed and when to shoot. His shooting percentages are way down this year and really haven't been much better lately. He does look at time that he's contributing in other ways than on offense.

So now back to the "real" schedule on Friday when the Jazz head back to Phoenix.

Game Thread - Minnesota Timberwolves @ Utah Jazz

2010-03-18T00:00:24Z

Steve C Wilson - AP

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Not much to say about tonight's game other than if the Jazz still can't win given the following, then I don't know what to say:

Minnesota has lost 10 straight
They played last night against PHX
They gave up 156 points!!!! (is that enough exclamation points? No?) !!!!!!!!!!!!
The Jazz had no game last night
The Jazz are at home
Minny has the worst record in the conference
They're going to get a better pick than us.
They rank 29th in offense and 28 on defense

Granted, all of our trouble against the TWolves came in December when we we're playing our best ball. The Jazz are a much better team now and shouldn't have a problem tonight. I like how they took care of things against the Wizards and expect no less tonight.

Timberwolves vs Jazz coverage
Canis Hoopus

The Downbeat - 17 March 2010 - #187 - The Top O' The Morning To Ya Edition

2010-03-17T15:31:16Z

The greatest play of DeShawn Stevenson's career (via SBN). I have no idea what song is playing and what it is at the end though.

If Ronnie Price plays tonight (GTD), maybe he'll have a huge game given the luck of the Irish. The Jazz will be in the greens tonight and of course he wears #17.

In addition, we might have our replacement or Ronnie Brewer's chocolate milk commercial,

"My wife asked me the other day, do I need to drink more milk?" Price said. "I told her, 'You know what? Maybe so.'"

"I'm Ronnie Price. When I need the extra energy to dunk over guys a foot taller than me, I drink chocolate milk. Ahhh."

You can almost set your clock to it... Memo in his post-baby return is well above his season averages. In the last 8 games, he's putting up 18 & 8 while shooting 54% from the field and 37% from the arc. The only problem with having a post-baby bump is that gestation is 9 months so at one point or another it's going to interfere with the season. I guess if he's going to have the post-baby bump, now is the best time to have it.

And just like that, Korver shot 27% from three to finish out the season.

Maybe it's just because it's St. Patrick's Day and I'm looking for it more but I've hit a lot of 17s today. The SLC Dunk tourney challenge group has 17 entries as of now. When I was looking up Ronnie Price information, Siler's article mentioned that he had missed 17 games (up to that point).

The Jazz are 3-1 (no game in 2005) over the past 5 years when playing on the 17th. Korver has been hot on the 17th in his two such games with the Jazz going for 15 & 17. Man, it's almost like the numbers on LOST.

The Downbeat - 16 March 2010 - #186 - The Sunday? Edition

2010-03-16T15:35:06Z

I don't know if you can overstate the impact the Wesley Matthews has had on the team. He's shooting 56% in march including 60% from three and shooting 90% from the free throw line. Overall he's shooting 48.5% from the field, 39% from the arc, and 80% on free throws.

It makes me wonder where he would be right now had we not had the injuries early in the season to Miles and Korver. He likely wouldn't have been signed given the luxury tax situation. So would he have gone to the DLeague? Would he be on another team right now while we were lamenting how well he was playing?

The latest NBA Jam trailer (ht BDL). Deron and Boozer make an appearance at about the :35 mark. Breakin' ankles. Also, was there any other game that had more cheat codes than the original NBA Jam?

Because you can never have too many brackets, here's Deron's group that he's created on ESPN.com. Though, if it's his group, shouldn't he have an entry? Right now there's only 13.

I also created a group just for SLC Dunkers right here. So join both.

So my math was a little off yesterday. It should have read that the Jazz only have 16 games left, not 18. After last night, it's now 15. The Nuggets also have 15 left after last night's loss to the Rockets. So sitting just two games back, the Jazz would need to go 13-2 and the Nuggets to finish 10-4. I still don't think it's likely that we overtake them, but Denver's loss last night gives me a little false hope.

A plea from Deron to start playing on Sundays?

It’s been tough on us, but that’s part of the 82-game season. If we start playing on Sundays, we might be able to get a couple games spread out.

We all know why the Jazz don't play games at home on Sunday and that's because of the owner's LDS beliefs. When they request days off with the league before the schedule is made, the Jazz always request Sundays off.

This year, they only have three games on a Sunday and ofcourse they're all away games. The other argument is that since there's a majority of LDS people in Utah, that having Sunday games wouldn't be profitable for the Jazz as they're not as likely to sell seats to those games outside of season ticket sales. That might still be the case.

Without getting too much into religion, just because there's still a majority of LDS members in the market doesn't necessarily mean that they're all actively practicing LDS. And let's face it, even the active LDS members are watching basketball/football/baseball on Sundays. In addition, the percentage of LDS people in the state is dropping. Also, I believe that in Salt Lake County, or at least in Salt Lake City, there's even less of a majority, if there's one at all. So there's probably a good chance that the Jazz are still going to be able to sell tickets to a few Sunday games. It can't be any worse than a Monday night game against a team like the Wizards.

Maybe another thing to consider is that none of the Jazz players are LDS. None of this is to say that you have to be LDS to consider Sunday a sacred day. I'm guessing though that playing on Sundays isn't a big deal for them. Maybe Deron could buy the remaining tickets that aren't sold for Sunday games and give them to charity?

Religous implications aside, does it help the Jazz to play some Sunday games at home? If the team could guarantee to be profitable on Sunday home games, would they do it? What would be the potential backlash? Would they lose sponsors and advertisers? Those might be some of the biggest reasons that they don't do Sunday games.

I took a random sampling of other teams to see how many Sunday games they play.

Team, # Sunday Games, Home Game, Away Games
Spurs, 11, 4, 7
Bucks, 5, 3, 2
Jazz, 3, 0, 3
Hawks, 7, 4, 3
Raptors, 19, 15, 4 (heathens!)
Lakers, 16, 12, 4
Bobcats, 4, 1, 3
Hornets, 10, 2, 8

The big teams like LA, Boston, Orlando, and Cleveland are going to have a lot of Sunday games given that they're almost always on ABC. Toronto surprised me with the number of games they play on Sunday. The Bobcats are almost like the Jazz, they have just one game at home on Sunday. Maybe because they're in the Bible belt?

So is there an advantage to playing some games at home on Sunday? Maybe a bit. I would like to see some statitician work out some numbers on it. I might do it later if I have some time. This portion of the downbeat went on for a lot longer than I thought it would. I hope this leads to a good discussion.

Ultimately, the decision is going to be the Millers'. I'm not advocating either way, but if they want to have no home Sunday games, that's fine. On the other hand, when you get into a business such as the NBA, Sundays kind of come with the territory. If having a couple of Sundays games would help the players like Deron mentioned, you might have to consider.

So here's a poll, should the Jazz have some home games on Sunday?

Poll

Should the Jazz have home games on Sundays?

Game Thread - Washington Wizards @ Utah Jazz

2010-03-16T00:51:08Z

This is the image I always get in my head when I think of the Wiz.

View full size photo »

See the light at the end of the tunnel? That's the end of the regular season that's coming quickly. 18 games is about 1/5 of the season but I guarantee that it's going to feel like 5.

What's done is done and while we would like to have some of the early season games back to play again, the Jazz can only control what's left. If they're to have any shot at getting the three seed, then they have to take care of games like tonight against the Wizards. There can't be any games like the Warriors debacle last season and they certainly can't give up any more at home.

The Wizards have lost 7 in a row and it may have been 10 without a stop and a win in New Jersey. Of course they've shaken everything up at the trade deadline, sending Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison out of town.

This is a game the Jazz should and need to win. They'll be without AK and Price tonight but Memo will give it a go according to Siler.

The Downbeat - 15 March 2010 - #185 - The Crying Game Edition

2010-03-15T15:24:00Z

Here are the standings if we just take the games since the beginning of the year,

DEN 25-9 .735
OKC 25-10 .714
UTH 24-10 .706
LAL 23-12 .657
DAL 23-12 .657
PHX 20-14 .588
SAS 20-14 .588
POR 20-15 .571
MEM 20-16 .555

I think given the Lakers easier schedule to start the year and the Jazz fans desire to erase Oct-December from the history books, we should just go with this.

As for the rest of the season, the Jazz have 18 games left and only 8 of those on the road. With the exception of the game @ LA, all of those are winnable. The question is what are the Jazz going to do over the remaining 18? If this season is any indication, they could go 16-2, 10-8, or 8-10. Like I've said before though, the Jazz really don't have an excuse not to finish out the season strong. The remaing schedule is the easiest they've had in recent years.

If they were to go 16-2 to close out the season, Denver would have to choke down the stretch for the Jazz to win the division. Denver only has 16 games left which means they would have to go 10-6 (11-5 does us no good as they hold the tiebreaker). Do they have six losses left? They do have a five-game road trip @NY, @BOS, @TOR, @ORL, and @DAL. They also have remaining away games against Houston, OKC, and PHX. THey have some tough home games against the Bucks, Lakers, Grizz, and Spurs. So it's not impossible that they could stumble, but I don't think it's likely. They're a very good team and a legitimate threat to knock off the Lakers.

Othyus jeffers got picked up for another 10-day contract. He's not likely to see many minutes given that he didn't even get PT against OKC when we were short on players. So if he's going to get signed for the rest of the season, he'll have to make the team in practice.

Right now, I'm not sure there's a better option out there for the Jazz. Larry Hughes got signed over the weekend. Is there really a player out there that the Jazz can sign that would be an upgrade? Given that whoever it is, they're not going to get much court time. If anything though, I'd like to see what Jeffers can do at least on defense. They say that he can guard guards and power forwards. The offense might take a bit to learn, but the defense is something that can be picked up pretty quickly.

I have to say, I watched my first national college basketball games over the weekend and it makes me salivate for Evan Turner, Cousins, Wall, and the like. I've said it before, but the fact that we even have a slim chance at landing one of these types of players makes me drool. I'd like to thank to Dallas Mavericks for getting taken behind the woodshed by the Knicks. Thanks a lot.

Do you realize that if we were to land Turner, that we could have two pirates, Wesley and a relative of Bill Turner?

When did we turn into whiney Bs when we don't get a call? It's one thing to complain, but I counted at least a couple of times when Deron's man got up court because DWill was crying to the officials. First, if you're going to complain, it shouldn't be when the action is still going on. Second, at what point do you think that it's going to help for future calls?

That's one of the biggest reasons I hate other players like LeBron and Kobe and the like because they're whining after every call. Frankly, (breaks out cheese doodles) it's embarassing. Let us fans whine, that's our job.

Looks like the Jazz are drawing big locally on FSN. It looks like it didn't start out well though in the beginning of the season,

"We have been consistent in our [ratings] delivery, but earlier in the season, we were getting some concerns from some advertisers because the ratings weren’t there," said Chris Baum, senior vice president of broadcasting for the Jazz. "But we have started to grow our ratings dramatically in February,"

I'm guessing with Boozer still on the team, college football still going on, and the overall poor play of the Jazz had something to do with that. It looks like things are back on track though.

"Our ratings are now back to our glory days when we had John Stockton and Karl Malone," Baum said. "And February in Utah is cold."

It would be interesting to see how this year has compared to year's past when there was KJZZ as well.

Market Value: A Carlos Boozer Story

2010-03-15T13:13:02Z

via i2.cdn.turner.com

We will have plenty of time to talk about this guy later.

We are sort of coasting into the end of the regular season and at this point, all we can do is hope that our team doesn't limp their collective way to the finish line. In a couple of months we will have a lot to talk about including the playoffs and who the Jazz should draft with the number one overall pick. But right now there isn't much to talk about other than x's and o's and the occasional great game or big letdown to an inferior team.

So let's talk about the impending offseason for a bit, not because we are casting the season aside, but because there really isn't anything sexier to discuss. Today's topic is the impending free agency of Carlos Boozer and why Jazz fans just need to start getting used to the fact that Carlos Boozer is making his last run in a Jazz uniform.

There are two reasons that Carlos Boozer is moving on this summer and number one is really all you need to know.

#1- Carlos Boozer is going to be offered a lot of money by some team out there-

I don't want to go into the ins and outs of the cap, but this year the salary cap came in at $57.7 million. Next season it will most likely drop again, so let's just give a round number and even be conservative and guess that the cap comes in at $58 million next season. There are currently 10 teams that will have enough cap space to make a max contract offer to a free agent. There are four teams that could hypothetically sign two max players. And by my count, at least 7 of those 10 teams need a good low post player. If you look at the list of top free agents, Carlos Boozer is probably the top unrestricted free agent. And if guys like Lebron, Wade and Bosh stick with their current teams, you are looking at 7-10 teams that will have tons of cap space and no big name to bring back. At that point, someone is going to offer Boozer max or near-max money. For instance, if the Knicks miss out on Bosh and Wade and Lebron, you can't tell me that they will not turn and offer oversized contracts to both Joe Johnson and Carlos Boozer to quiet the riot that will be building around Madison Square Garden. And this, my friends, is the number one and really only reason you need. to know that Carlos Boozer isn't going to be sticking around the Utah Jazz after this season.

But in the event that I am totally wrong and Carlos Boozer finds the offseason offers drier than he expected for the second offseason in a row...

#2- The Jazz can't afford to pay Carlos Boozer more than about $30 million over 3 years, even if they kept him-

Take a look at the Utah Jazz payroll. With salaries only committed to 7 Utah Jazz players next season, the organization owes about $55 million. Even if the Jazz re-signed Carlos Boozer at his same current contract, the Jazz would then have 8 players signed and be right up against the tax again for the second straight season. Now you can just say, "if the Jazz are committed to winning, they will just go for it and pay the tax again" and many Jazz fans will in the next several months. This isn't Monopoly money, folks. And even if the Jazz go that route, they will be giving away contracts and replacing them with minimum players all season just like this year. And if Boozer came back at the same contract, you can say goodbye to Wesley Matthews and Kyle Korver, the teams' other free agents. Do you still think the Jazz could and should resign Carlos Boozer? If not, here are some other things to consider.

Jazz can't afford Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur all together-

We can whine and complain about Mehmet Okur's contract extension that now gets in the way a bit of the Jazz's finances, but what's done is done. And at the time, I completely understood the Okur extension. He was coming off a great season with Boozer out with an injury, the Jazz were moving on without Boozer, assuming he would opt out and the Jazz needed big men. But the Jazz can't void that contract. And they aren't going to be able to dump his salary on someone. Okur is here next season. As for Andrei Kirilenko, his contract is a bear. But when he plays like he has played for the last couple of months, he is almost worth his contract. And we could argue all day about whether or not AK or Boozer is more needed on this team next year, but bottom line, Andrei Kirilenko said he would stick around Utah for a lot less money and he is the same age as Carlos Boozer. In the future, the Jazz are going to be able to keep Andrei for a lot less change and he only has one more season worth of minutes on his body. If their impact is a wash, AK is the more financially feasible answer.

Paul Millsap has a top 5 contract at his position the next few years-

Say what you want about Paul Millsap and you can talk about how much better Carlos Boozer is and blah, blah, blah; Millsap will get paid just over $6 million to play basketball next season. Go look at the salaries for all starting Power Forwards. Here are the list of power forwards I could find that are comparable to Paul Millsap that will have lower salaries next season:

Al Horford $5.4 million *

Luis Scola $3.4 million this season; free agent this summer

Kevin Love $3.3 million *

Jeff Green $4.4 million *

Carl Landry $3.0 million

Andray Blatche $ 3.3 million

* rookie pay scale

So essentially, Paul Millsap has the 3rd best contract of any power forward in the league that isn't on his rookie contract, if you are looking at value. You can say whatever you want about Paul Millsap and how he isn't starting power forward material, but the truth is that Millsap average 16-10-3 last season as a starter shooting 54% from the field. This season he is averaging 18 and 9 as a starting power forward. None of those guys on the list up above can best that. So you can complain all you want about how Millsap isn't a starter and he can't do what Boozer can do, but the guy is a starter and he is going to make literally half the salary that Boozer made this season. And every team that wants to vie for championships has to have good value in their contracts unless they are the Lakers, The Cavs, The Celtics or The Magic. And even those teams rely heavily on veterans that will play for minimum pay to have a chance to win a title. If you really want the Jazz to win a championship, they absolutely need to have guys who produce bigger than their contract. Carlos Boozer would have a much harder time doing this if he were being paid $12 million a year.

If the Jazz didn't resign Carlos Boozer, they would have some money to pursue a big man free agent

This is clearly hypothetical, but look at the guys that the Jazz could have to pair with Millsap and Okur at around $6 million. So Player X + Millsap = Boozer's salary.

Branden Haywood

Kyle Korver

JR Smith

The Jazz would want any of these players except for one and they could afford them if Boozer's contract is off the books.

Game Thread - Utah Jazz @ Oklahoma City Thunder

2010-03-14T22:46:09Z

Melissa Majchrzak - NBAE/Getty Images

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No AK, no Memo, no Price, no problem, right? The Thunder were going to be tough enough as it was even with everyone.

According to Locke, CJ will start for AK and Millsap will take Memo's place. That's going to be a pretty thin rotation with just Korver on the bench that's part of the regular rotation. We're going to see some odd combinations on the floor tonight.

So we'll see Gaines tonight, maybe even vs. Maynor. Deron might be going 40+ minutes though, let's hope he's wearing the wrist brace. And we're in trouble if the Jazz start getting into foul trouble as well.

If we're going to pull out a win, we're going to have to have season-best type games from everyone. Oh, and don't be surprised if Durant goes for 50.

Jazz Get Bucked in Milwaukee, Lose 95-87

2010-03-13T04:29:16Z

More photos » Jeffrey Phelps - AP

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See what happens when you knock a beer out of a fan's hands? Milwaukee gets angry over the wasted brew.

The Jazz had quite few non-calls that they should have but the Bucks flat out took this game. Utah is one of the best offensive teams in the league and the buck stopped in Milwaukee.

So to answer the question in the preview, the immovable object wins tonight. Had the Jazz not have to play from behind for most of the night, they might have had enough to steal this game in the fourth. You can't keep playing from behind like that and expect to win them all. It's nice to know that they can come back like they have so many times, but when you run into a team like the Bucks that are just as hot, the odds are going to be against you.

Despite the poor play from the Jazz tonight, that they had a chance to win this game was remarkable. They finally took the lead late in the fourth on Deron's second free-throw and Boozer's dunk on the next possession pushed the lead to three, 78-75. The Jazz had the chance to push the lead to six, but CJ Miles and Korver couldn't connect on their three-point attempts.

After that, the Bucks took over getting back to back turnovers from Deron and Boozer on consecutive possessions which resulted in points on the other end. That put Milwaukee up four, 84-80.

Even then, the Jazz fought back with a Korver jumper and then Memo blocking Jennings on the other end. CJ Miles then calmly made two free-throws to tie it up. The Jazz got some D on Bogut on the following trip down the court for the Bucks, but someone didn't box out, and Ersan Ilyasova was able to get the easy put-back.

With one more shot to tie it up or win, the Jazz ran a play for a Memo three thatwasthisclose to going in, but rimmed out and that was essentially the game.

All the credit should go to Milwaukee in this one. They held the Jazz to just 87 points when Utah had been putting up that number by the third quarter in recent contests. The Bucks, and namely Andrew Bogut, frustrated the interior offense of the Jazz all night long.

Who knows, maybe if even one three ball falls for the Jazz, we're talking about them pulling out another win. Maybe if someone else other than Memo or Boozer contributed offensively, we're talking about how we stole one. Maybe if AK hadn't hurt his calf, there would have been an AKWSUA moment.

I didn't expect the hot three-point shooting for the Jazz to continue at the same pace, I just didn't expect for it to even out in one game.

No loss is good, but this loss to the Bucks isn't like the loss to the Clippers or the Kings. The Bucks are a very good defensive team.

So off to the OKC on Sunday. That's going to probably be a tougher game than this. They're a great defensive team as well and Durant can drop 30 on you before breakfast. So they're going to have to do what Matthews' mom used to tell Wesley about losses and that's forget about them at midnight and go on to the next one (according to her on 1320 KFAN when she was sitting with Locke).

Brew Hoop

Game Thread/Preview - Utah Jazz @ Milwaukee Bucks

2010-03-12T23:44:03Z

Steve C Wilson - AP

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The unstoppable force meets the unmovable object?

That's kind of what we're heading for tonight when the Jazz head into the brew capital tonight. The Bucks are a different team since getting blown out at the ESA a couple of months ago, 112-95. Since then, they're 18-7 and 10-2 since the break and 9-1 in their last 10.

The reason has been their stifling defense. The Bucks aren't scoring much and in fact their PPG is less after the All-star break. However, they've only been giving up 89.09 points a game during that same span.

On the other hand, they haven't faced an offense like the Jazz much since then either. The one game they did lose in their 9-1 streak was against the Hawks, the third-rated team offensively. They also beat Cleveland but the Cavs were sans LeBron.

The last game saw the Jazz win with a balanced scoring attack. Doe was 2-3 from deep and had a team-high 19 points. Four other Jazz men had double-figures. Boozer and Okur owned the glass with 12 boards each. The Jazz were also 8-16 from three-point land.

The Jazz jumped on the Bucks early in their win at the ESA and that's what the Jazz will need again tonight. I'm looking forward to what the Jazz can do against the Bucks' D.

Oh, and I'll get up a recap tonight for a change if it kills me.

The Downbeat - 12 March 2010 - #184 - The KOOF > Chuck Norris Edition

2010-03-12T16:29:00Z

This is good news: It looks like Ronnie B could be returning to action as soon as the beginning of next week,

"If I push it, I might be (back) this weekend. If not, early next week," Brewer said. "I plan on getting out there and helping this team. I have to get the OK from the doctors but I'm trying to come back soon. But 31/2 games out (of the eighth playoff spot) is not unachievable with the talent level on this team.

Looks like he's ahead of schedule in the healing process. I wish nothing but the best for Brewer.

So you've likely read Siler's notes about Fesenko re-telling Chuck Norris jokes that he heard from Kyle Korver. Shouldn't there be a site for the KOOF? Like... The KOOF only plays the last minute of blow-out games because Stern doesn't want him to break the record for most points in a game. Or... the KOOF is the only person to be able to divide a prime number evenly by another number besides itself and one?

Great article from SLAM on Jerry Sloan,

He also feels coaches should be given a chance to prove something to the players who are essentially seen as the proverbial inmates running the asylum. "I think [sticking with a coach] would send a message to the players. Players [feel like] ‘I don’t have to play for this guy so when the next guy comes in, I’ll wait and play for him.’ It’s an attitude that players have."

And how does he deal with that kind of attitude from guys? "I tell our players I’m gonna be here and you may not."

End of discussion.

As if this was anyone else's team. You have to have some pretty good confidence in your relationship with management to be able to make a statement like that.

Sloan has said many times that he doesn't know when he'll stop coaching. He's stated that he will likely will just wake up one morning and decide that he's done. My question is what's going to be the piece of straw that breaks the John Deere tractor's back? Honestly, as long as he's physically able to do it, I don't see him retiring.

It's likely going to have to be his back that breaks before he stops coaching. I don't think it's going to be a voluntary retirement from the game.

I'm not saying I want him to retire by any means. In fact, I'm quite the opposite. I hope he coaches for a very long time.

So far, so good for March. The Jazz have typically had great starts to the new year over the past several seasons and this year isn't an exception. They're 4-1 this month and 24-8 since the calendar flipped to 2010.

There really isn't any one thing that you can nail down as the reason for the recent success of the Jazz, it's been a combination of everything. Everyone is healthy. Chemistry seems to be at an all-time high. Kyle Korver is so freakin' hot right now. Memo is getting his post-baby bump in production. AK is being AK. Deron seems to have transitioned to the next belt in ninja. Doe is getting it done and not just with his unconcious three-point shooting. Has he finally started figuring things out? Simply put, everyone is clicking and everyone is contributing in their defined roles.

Do you realize that we were a couple of hiccup games in LA and Sacramento from having a 12-game winning streak ON THE ROAD? In what alternate universe does that happen for the Jazz? Every game something happens that reinforces the Sundiata Gaines/Jughead theory. If that's the case, there's only one place this season is going.

Friday poll

Poll

How long do you want to see Sloan still coaching the Jazz?

The Downbeat - 11 March 2010 - #183 - The Jazz MVP Edition

2010-03-11T16:47:08Z

This should probably be the mailing it in edition. Here's my top 5 MVP candidates for the Jazz with no explanation. Discuss

Deron - Ninja

Andrei Kirilenko - If you watch the Jazz, you just know.

Carlos Boozer - Huge, consistent season

Wesley Matthews - Definition of diamond in the rough

Kyle Korver - He's so hot right now.

Game Thread - Utah Jazz @ Detroit Pistons

2010-03-11T00:00:29Z

Steve C Wilson - AP

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Hopefully there was a precap up before this game thread. If not, I have failed you.

The Downbeat - 10 March 2010 - #182 - The Raining Threes Edition

2010-03-10T17:00:31Z

Man, if the Jazz keep shooting threes like this, my expectation for the playoffs just went way, way up. Over the last 5 games, they're 49/98 (50%) from downtown. Against the Clippers they were 4-15, a game which they lost of course. If you throw out that game, they're shooting 54% in those other 4 games.

What have we been asking for? An outside shooter. Maybe they're not going to create their own shots, but if you have Matthews, Memo, Deron, CJ, and Korver hitting threes, that's bad news for other teams. Very bad news.

Can they keep up their current pace? Probably not. But they're becoming a three-point threat and that's going to let our bigs go wild.

Make sure to give some love to Ross Siler today. I think he's one of the best beat writers in the league and Jazz fans are lucky to have him. Make sure to hit him up on twitter or email him, rsiler@sltrib.com.

Deron comes in at #5 on the top Illini athlete of the decade. Maybe if he had worn #1, he would have had the #1 spot? I'm not up on my Illini athletics, but I'd like to see who ranks ahead of him. An excerpt,

Walk into a typical freshman athlete’s dorm, and you’ll most likely see clothes strewn about, empty Gatorade bottles on the floor and shoes laying everywhere. But if you walked into Deron Williams’ apartment during his college days, picked up a magazine and put it down in the wrong place, he would be looming behind you, just waiting to put it back in its correct spot.

Before basketball games, Williams’ shoes have to be tied the right way, his socks have to be on correctly and his jersey has to be tucked in the way he likes it.

And when he was on the court as an Illini from 2002-05, that perfectionist mentality, along with an endlessly competitive spirit, kept him striving to become the best at everything he did.

Can I say that I have a theory about the Sundiata Gaines shot and jinxes? I'm terrified to even mention it. But if my theory is correct, talking about it wouldn't be a problem. Okay, I've said too much.

A little self-promotion. March 7th was my three-year anniversary of blogging. Three years in internet time equates to about 55 real years. I'll spare you the link to my old, old blog. But this has turned into something good for me and I have all of you to thank for it. I'll shut up now and get writing.