Coach Pop said the following after the loss to Utah last night:

"You think they played harder tonight because of the playoffs? This is Utah, the Jazz play hard every night. There has never been a night that they don't play hard."

That's a the sort of thing I like to hear about our Jazz!

"It makes no sense to me why so many good scorers can't defend," Iguodala says. "Like Lou Williams. He's one of the toughest guys to guard in the league, but he can't guard anybody. I don't get that."

UPDATE: Moni of the fine blog Living and Dying by the Jazz reminds us that Tinsley actually did this against the Golden State Warriors earlier this season, but the play was blown dead after he nutmegged Warriors forward David Lee.

Free agent forward Josh Howard has received a firm offer from the Utah Jazz, we're told

For Dwill4Life

As (Jazz GM Kevin) O’Connor told (Knicks president Donnie) Walsh approximately an hour before the game and would later repeat in an interview with NBA Confidential, he targeted the Nets’ and Knicks’ assets and decided to play the waiting game. Somebody would lose in the Anthony sweepstakes, and that team would immediately hear from O’Connor to discuss a marvelous Plan B…. While Walsh is certainly thrilled to land Anthony, he admitted the notion of landing Williams would have been appealing had he known he was on the market. Asked if things might have turned out differently if he was privy to that information, Walsh said with a shrug when asked by NBA Confidential, "it might have."

Pretty shocked about D-Will, we will be on ESPN Radio in 30min breaking it down. HOU thought they had a deal, almost sent DWill to SAC

Ryen Russillo, ESPN Radio

@CBSSportsNBA

@KBerg_CBS reports tonight that Deron Williams has informed associates he looks to join Amar'e in New York in 2012.

Fan reaction to Sloan resigning: Everybody that's said something to me has said they support me, they're behind me and they're fans of me. Other than a couple hecklers in the crowd, I haven't really heard anything bad from our fans. Our fans have been great to me.

Selected to the D-League All-Star East tea, were Chris Johnson (Dakota Wizards), Ivan Johnson and Garrett Temple (Erie BayHawks), Walker Russell Jr. (Fort Wayne Mad Ants), Othyus Jeffers, Courtney Sims and Curtis Stinson (Iowa Energy), DeShawn Sims (Maine Red Claws), Patrick Ewing Jr. and Dexter Pittman (Sioux Falls Skyforce). 

Chosen to the D-League All-Star West team were Marcus Cousin (Austin Toros), Trey Johnson (Bakersfield Jam), Shane Edwards (New Mexico Thunderbirds), Jeff Adrien and Mustafa Shakur (Rio Grande Valley Vipers), Joe Alexander and Sean Williams (Texas Legends), Larry Owens and Zabian Dowdell (Tulsa 66ers) and Orien Greene (Utah Flash).