The fact that Deron Williams hasn't left Utah since the end of the season has shown that he has taken "ownership of the team" as the front office has labeled it and given Jazz fans hope that he will sign a five year maximum deal.  I don't believe there is any doubt that Deron will sign a maximum contract, but the amount of years on his contract could tell all Jazz fans a lot about the Jazz management.

In the several articles that have been done on Williams in the last few days, there are two quotes that have really shown me what D-Will is thinking:

"If we're on the verge of winning a championship," says Williams, "I have no problem staying here my whole career."

"I like it here, but, as a player, you want to see the direction the franchise is going."

Deron Williams likes playing in Utah.  He likes being the leader of the team, he likes competing in the playoffs, and he seems to like the environment.  But he is going to have some questions for Jazz management next week when he meets to discuss a deal.  The questions will come along the lines of "What are your plans for keeping Boozer around?" or "Would you be wiling to go a couple million dollars into the luxury tax if we could become a sure fire championship team?" or basically "What are you willing to do the bring a banner to Energy Solutions Arena?" 

I believe the answers to these types of questions will determine the length of Williams contract.  If there is one thing that is true about Williams, it is that he wants to win more than anything.  The money is nice, no doubt, but he is so competitive and tenacious.  All Jazz fans have seen that "no way we are going to lose" look on his face when he drives hard to the rim about six straight possessions for dunks and lay-ins.

As good as I think the Jazz are, they are one piece away from being legitimate favorites to win a title.  It may take some financially risky moves, not risky to the future of the team, but financially risky moves to give the Jazz the best shot of winning it all.  If there is one thing that will happen as an effect of the "go for broke" celtics winning it all, it is that teams will start trying to do the same and a lot of teams are going to be willing to spend to vie for the title.  What's an extra 5 or 10 million dollars if it makes you so special?  And the Jazz are going to have to convince Deron Williams that they are willing to take risks to help him out.  That is the bottom line.

In years past it has frustrated Jazz fans to see possible trades or signings go by the wayside due to some conservatism on management's part.  In their defense, sometimes the player has just spurned the idea of coming to Utah.  But the Jazz are so close right now that standing pat and hoping something good happens, probably isn't the best move.  And Deron Williams knows that too.

So next week when Slick Williams signs his contract, the whole Jazz fanbase will either take a big sigh of relief or else wonder what kind of anwers the front office gave the future of the franchise

 

Carlos Boozer is a beast.

He's a two-time All-Star, a beautiful high- and low-post scorer and rebounder who, since returning from injury, has given nothing but his best effort. I really think that's true. I seriously can't believe all the anti-Boozer invective flying around these days (and given my position with a certain member of the mainstream media, I see a lot of it). Some Jazz fans are acting like they're SURPRISED Carlos can't defend. If you're one of those fans, well, welcome to 2008, Mr. or Mrs. Coma Patient. Please discard your pagers and cancel your dial-up internet service on your way out.

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Rejoice, Jazz fans!

The Orlando Magic, represented by yours truly, selected center Kosta Koufos with the 22nd pick in the 2008 SB Nation Mock Draft. The Jazz, with the 23rd pick and a need at center, are now free to draft Robin Lopez. Stiff, lesser twins from Stanford: a Utah Jazz tradition.

And yes, I know the post to which I linked is missing the explanatory text. I'm sure Matt will fix it soon. Cheers.

Sure looks like it according to Henry Abbott's interview with a professional NBA gambler . 

In a game played against the Orlando Magic on March 6, 2006, the line opened for the Jazz at -6. With 5 seconds to go in the game, the Jazz are leading by 4, 89-85.  The Magic take a timeout to set up a play.  DeShawn Stevenson's three is blocked out of bounds with 2.5 left. 

And then suddenly both Stevenson and Jameer Nelson are given Ts by Donaghy .  That gave the Jazz two free throws. It didn't affect the outcome of the winner of the game, but it put Memo at the line for two that would have pushed the margin of victory to 6.  Kind of convenient for him, isn't it? The line at the time though was 5.  So either he just barely missed out on the Jazz covering or he got a push.

Reading the recap is amazing .  You hear the same thing in a lot of game.  Then coach Brian Hill stated ,

"We gave ourselves more than a chance, and I was disappointed that the game wasn't decided by the players, that it was decided by the officials"

And with Donaghy's new allegations concerning the 2002 Lakers/Kings series and other games, is there anyone that has any confidence in the league any more?

All right, so maybe these aren't Stockton's shorts (seller states that there's no identifiable marks), but these would be great for pickup games, wouldn't they?

I would love to see a retro game where the players have to wear these.  But not if it produced the same results as the Lakers had.  You know the ladies would like to see Korver in a pair of those.

 

 

And who's bidding on Jarron Collins' warm ups ? Granted, they are pretty cool, but you know someone was googling for Jarron Collins' warm ups.

These are the kinds of things that y'all are supposed to be reading on all of the sports site and posting on here.  My beloved KK had surgery yesterday and I didn't even know.  haha.

So, I must admit that I watched the 4th quarter of Game 1.  KG had a pretty cool dunk, Kobe didn't get the calls he waned, Gasol is still an ugly s.o.b. and the Lakers crumbled down the stretch.  My opinion is that it will go all the way to 7 games and that the Celtics will win in a dramatic game at home. 

Overall, really boring. And, Paul Pierce should consider acting when he's retired from playing because he's the biggest joke when he's 'recovering' from a call. 

So, I just saw this article on Fox Sports saying that after the 'surprising' game 3 wins it's unclear who will wind-up in the playoffs.  I thought it was a rather interesting analysis, but does anybody really think David Stern would let this happen. This is what he has been planning all season long.  In my opinion it is definitely a stretch of imagination.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8177820?MSNHPHMA

As we approach the midway point of the 2008 NBA Conference finals, the good news is both series are still up for grabs.

 

No offense to what the New Orleans Hornets accomplished this season, finishing with the second seed in the West, but there is no doubt the top four teams have made it to the dance and there are four very different possible combinations for the Finals, with each of them interesting in their own right.

Sure, the Los Angeles Lakers jumped out to a 2-1 lead on the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, but is anybody crazy enough to rule out the Spurs — winners of three of the last five titles? But the Spurs surely need to win Game 4 or the Lakers go home for Game 5 with a chance to clinch.

And yes, the Boston Celtics finally won on the road after a record-tying six straight losses until Saturday at the Palace of Auburn Hills, taking a 2-1 lead over the Detroit Pistons. But you all know the Pistons ... bad game, good game, bad game, good game. In this case, like the Spurs, the Pistons have to win Game 4 or the Celtics go home with the opportunity to wrap up the series.

So that sets all the utensils out on the table, with four possible combinations for the Finals. If majority rules, the Celtics and Lakers will meet, rekindling a historic Finals rivalry that has occurred nine times, dating back to 1959, when the Lakers still played in Minneapolis. And let's not forget the Lakers' Phil Jackson, he of nine NBA titles as coach (six in Chicago and three in L.A.), in a tie with Celtics legend Red Auerbach for the most rings in coaching history. One thing to consider is Jackson's teams have never lost a playoff series (40-0) when they win Game 1, as they did against the Spurs. With MVP Kobe Bryant leading the way and the home court, they are favored.

But that's not a guarantee.

The Spurs have the opportunity to win their fourth title in six years, something that nobody has done since the Celtics had their spectacular run of 11 titles in 13 years from 1957-69 . There is no trio in the league that has won as consistently as Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. You can knock them down, but knocking them out is an entirely different circumstance.

The Celtics triumvirate of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen has had more than their share of success during their respective careers. And during the regular season, they put together the best record in the NBA. It's different now, though, considering this is the first season the three All-Stars have played together on the Celtics.

Meanwhile, the hard-to-figure Pistons have shown the ability to come back in any series and have been to the Conference finals six years in a row, so they have the experience to bounce back against the Celtics. It's just always hard to figure what we will see from the Pistons, who have greatness but too often inexplicably lapse into a lifeless bunch during select games in the postseason.

So as we consider all of the above, let's look at the matchups to decide which one we'd like to see going forward:

 

Spurs vs. Pistons

The good: These two teams already had a great series in 2005, with the Spurs barely winning in seven games, thwarting the Pistons' attempt to repeat after taking out the Lakers in five the year before. Both teams are predicated by defense and consistent team execution at both ends of the floor.

The bad: When these two teams meet, the scores tend to look more like college games than the NBA. In this fast-paced basketball frenzy of the 21st century, they'll still slow it down. In 2005, the Pistons were the only team to score 100 points in the series, and it happened in a 102-71 blowout in Game 4. On the other hand, the Pistons also lost, 84-69, in Game 1. A thing of beauty, it was not.

Conclusion: These two teams have garnered an enormous amount of respect this decade and rightfully so. They have been consistently solid year in and year out, which is why this matchup would be no surprise and intense. The only problem is that nobody but the fans of the two teams has any interest in seeing them slug it out again.

 

Lakers vs. Pistons

The good: There is history here, too, with the 2004 Finals the most recent — signaling the end of the Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant-Phil Jackson era for the Lake Show. All three proved to be amazingly selfish in the end, with Shaq getting dealt to Miami, Phil taking a year off for a "tell-all" book and Kobe suffering the brunt of the blame, when in retrospect it seems to be equal parts of blame to go around. There also were the 1988 and 1989 meetings that began with Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas exchanging kisses on the cheek and ended with their public friendship becoming a personal feud. The Lakers won in 1988, but the Pistons won in 1989 when Johnson and Byron Scott both suffered hamstring injuries that made it impossible for the Lakers to compete.

The bad: Chauncey Billups has the hamstring in question for the Pistons. The way he looked in Games 1 and 3, it's hard to fathom the Pistons getting there now. Sure, rookie Rodney Stuckey has been surprisingly stellar and growing in confidence in his place. But if they can't get more dependable play from Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince, it won't matter. They won't get there.

Conclusion: All things being equal health-wise, this would be an excellent matchup, with Wallace and Antonio McDyess going against Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol up front and with Rip Hamilton and Bryant locking horns in the backcourt. But unless the Pistons rally quickly, it's not going to happen.

 

Spurs vs. Celtics

The good: There is the tradition of the Spurs now and the Celtics then that makes it intriguing. Even more special would be the matchup of Duncan and Garnett, Western Conference rivals for so many years, meeting in the Finals for the first time. Watching Bruce Bowen check Paul Pierce would be fun and the Ray Allen-Manu Ginobili lockup would also be great theater in so many ways. And that's not to mention the quickness of the Celtics young Rajon Rondo against the race car known as Tony Parker.

The bad: The scores will be in the 80's and low 90's featuring a bump-and-grind mode for both teams. These games could be excruciating to watch until the fourth quarter, which would finally offer some great basketball. In other words, the desire would be to see a best-of-seven, one quarter each. Otherwise, the non-diehards would find it to be unwatchable.

Conclusion: As a die-hard NBA fan, this would be a fabulous series. The matchups are terrific, even if Duncan and Garnett aren't head-to-head all the time. The alteration of defenses from the Spurs Gregg Popovich and Pistons coach Flip Saunders are continual, with the two having faced each other innumerable times in the Western Conference during Saunders' nine-plus seasons as coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. This is the second choice because of the possibilities.

 

Lakers vs. Celtics

The good: Unless you resent both franchises, there is nothing to dislike about this. Bryant making his first playoff appearance in Boston is reason enough to get excited. Even more so, there is the prospect of Jackson in search of his 10th title with the ghost of Auerbach looming overhead the Garden. There also is the desire to see Garnett, Pierce and Allen have a shot at their first title after all three superstars never having made it to the Finals before.

The bad: There will be the conspiracy theories if this happens. The NBA has been waiting for a return to the golden era ever since the lockout of 1998-99, when it lost a large chunk of audience and got lost in the hip hop, tattoo-infested youth of the 21st century. But in reality, if the worst matchup is the Spurs vs. the Pistons, there is no way the NBA can lose this time around.

Conclusion: Again, unless you just hate the NBA or the two franchises, how can you not want this to happen? This would be the greatest matchup, mostly because of the legacy of the Celtics and Auerbach vs. Bryant and Jackson. Just imagine if the Lakers were to clinch the series in Boston and Jackson gets to light up a stogie in the Garden to celebrate. Those would certainly be ingredients of his choice.

Hello all,

As a rabid Jazz fan in Las Vegas, I'd like to throw my $0.02 in there about the draft coming this year.  Yes, yes, I'm still vomiting on a semi-regular pace after the way the team got back in the game and fell just short, but it's time to move on, or get left behind.

So, who to draft?  The pick is late in the first round (23rd, I believe), and obviously we're not getting a Beasley/Brook Lopez/DeAndre Jordan type.  But who could slip?  NBAdraft.net  currently has the Jazz taking plodding center Roy Hibbert (Ostertag, anyone?), and I'm not sure this is the way to go.  They have C Robin Lopez (an Anderson Varajeo type) in the same range, and this would be an interesting pick.  An active rebounder, shot blocker, defender who lacks on offense, but can wreak havoc inside.  I think big has to be the way to go, but if Fesenko develops, then what?

Backup point guard is always an option, but do you want to spend a first rounder on a 12 minute/game guy for the next 10 years (hopefully)?  Maybe a small forward type like Brandon Rush?  He's long, can get his own shot, and could make a difference if a certain Russian is traded in the near future.  Hopefully they don't see a tall white guy from BYU (Plaisted) and think he can play.  I saw him play a couple times and thought he was awful. 

What do I think will happen?  Probably some overseas guy we've never heard of.  What do I hope will happen?  Joe Alexander slips... Donte Greene slips and stays in the D-league long enough for Sloan to retire because I know they wouldn't get along. :)

Draft lottery tomorrow which will get the pieces in motion.  Stay tuned!

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The refs are beyond fixed. It’s the entire league. I just watched a poor excuse of a fair game 5. Anything but. The NBA wants their MVP in the finals. It is sad. The announcers are in agreement with this. I am watching the bias TNT broadcast, and they did not mention once that they missed a call on the Jazz. Boozer and Williams were hammered all night and we did not get one call. Odom goes to the basket and Boozer touches him, he touches him so lightly you couldn't see it with the naked eye. TNT had to slow it down and explain to the zombies at home how it was a foul. And Pau, do not get me started. Crying because he knows he pushed Okur at the end to get the game winning rebound. Wow. Thanks NBA for making everything happen the way you want it too. I hope the finals are the lowest rated in history, thanks David Stern

AK47Jazz