Jazz Dance-Off

The player reaction is almost as good as the dance-off itself:

This was the first time I’ve seen some personality in KK2–quite a departure from his famous standardized interview answers. Fess was pretty great too.

Bye Bye Season

The sun is setting over the Wasatch Front
(image from thewasatchjournal.com)

AK is undergoing surgery today. The Jazz are 1-7 without him so far.

On the plus side, AK realized the need for surgery quickly and scheduled it for the next day. Locally. In Utah. That was refreshing. But still, we’re done.

The sad thing is, this summer the Jazz were considered one of if not the deepest team in the league and seemingly poised for a deep Playoffs run. Now, we’ll never know what might have been and what this team might have achieved because the free agency situation and luxury tax mean that the Jazz won’t be able to keep the current roster intact. We are looking at a different team next season, and our minds are filled with What Ifs.

Make That Games 44-46

After the game, Ronnie B said, “We gotta turn the switch on soon…we can’t wait and say ‘when Booz gets back we’re gonna turn it around,’ we gotta be ready to play now.”

Why isn’t the switch on already? Shouldn’t the switch have been turned on weeks or even months ago? Shouldn’t they be ready to play already? You have to figure that if the guys could turn it on and off like that, this month wouldn’t have played out the way it did.

My conclusion: Andrei is the switch.

Games 44-45: The Jazz Don’t Have It

Whatever “it” is–be it competitive fire, toughness, intensity, focus, will to win, desire, AK–the Jazz are just plain missing it.

And now comes the news that AK might need surgery. Now. To quote utesfan89, “This one is over.”

All the best to LHM and his family.

Game 43 – Severe Mood Disorder

Why does having hope have to be stupid?

I hate the Jazz.

Well, the Jazz pulled it out despite all the negative energy and hateful thoughts exuding from me through most of the game. I wish I could say that I’ll never doubt again, but that would be a lie.

Why does having hope have to be stupid?

I hate the Jazz.

Boozer vs. Sap: Prelude

I’ve had a post on Boozer and Sap in my drafts for quite some time now, but I don’t know when I’ll get around to putting it together into readable form. Two quotes from today’s papers caught my eye, and they show how different these two players are.

Sap, post-game: “I felt like I didn’t play to my best in Dallas and that’s the reason why we lost. I wanted to come today, spark a little energy and continue to do what I’ve been doing.” (source)  “I just wanted to step up. I had a tough last game; I’m not used to doing that. I felt like I needed to crash the boards hard tonight, and it got me some easy baskets.” (source)

It should be noted that Sap was hobbling and limping around before and after the game, and post-game had three of his four limbs wrapped in ice. He puts losses on himself, and comes out the next game with motivation to play well or play better regardless of his physical condition.

In stark contrast:

Boozer, pre-game on when he expects to return: “Four, five, six weeks — whatever it ends up being.” Per desnews report:  Speaking Tuesday to reporters for the first time since his surgery, [Boozer] was noncommittal when asked about the timetable.

The article goes on to note that if Boozer ends up sitting for a full six weeks, he wouldn’t come back to play until Feb. 21, which just happens to be the Jazz’s first game after the trade deadline.  And obviously no trade could go through unless he passes a physical.

He also said, “fantastic, better than I thought it was gonna be.”  No, he wasn’t talking about losing his virginity.  He was talking about his surgery.  Who talks about a surgery like that?!

Game 42–Voodoo

Sap (28 & 15 including 9 offensive boards) kept us in the game and is the reason why we stayed in the game even though the Peskies came storming back and got to within one late in the 4th. Memo is the reason why we won the game, coming up with two HUGE clutch 3s to seal it.

I honestly don’t know how Sap walked much less played NBA ball with those two ginormous things (“the Great Wall of China” according to Locke) wrapped around his knees. He was limping around at shootaround and when asked about his knee, said “I don’t know”–which was a stark contrast to a few days ago when he said the hyperextended one was “100%.” After the game, he said that playing with injuries is “all mental.” That just makes me appreciate him all the more. Sap is stronger than voodoo curses, and played, and played well, through pain and ignoring his injuries much like one Karl Malone used to did (and really, is there higher praise I could give him than that?).

AK became the latest victim of the voodoo curse, leaving midway through the second quarter due to ankle problems. [Update: AK got a cortisone shot, won't play against the Rockettes, and needs surgery after the season. (source)].

Speaking of AK, I was thinking to myself shortly before he left the game that he seems to be shooting even worse than before Horny started working with him (but his FG% is decent because he gets a lot of tip-ins and dunks). So I checked it out on Hotspots. Conclusion?

So brutal.

But still, for all the other stuff he does on the court, you just let him have those while he works it out.

Midseason

There are tons of Jazz bloggers and reporters out there that are smarter than me and know more about the game than me that are writing/have written midseason reports and report cards.

So I won’t be doing that. Reasons: 1) the one listed above; 2) I’m lazy; 3) I would want to get it done before Game 42 and there are only 12 hours left until Game 42, most of which is sleep time; 4) this Jazz season can really (really!) be summed up with one picture:

(pictures from jazzcrap.com)

A random look at the extraneous accessories sported by Jazzmen this season so far, including but not limited to walking boots, wheelchairs, tights, knee and elbow braces, goggles, and gauze pads:

Some highlights and lowlights that stick out in my mind:
–Jerry’s 1000th win with the Jazz
–Jerry’s 21st anniversary as Jazz head coach
–Hot Rod’s 3000th Jazz broadcoast
–The Carlos Boozer Soap Opera, starring, written by, directed, and produced by Carlos Boozer
–General Hospital SLC
–Road woes and playing down to level of competition continue
–Having hope is often stupid
–…But, I still believe at the beginning of every game that the Jazz are going to win.

Go Jazz!