Recap - Utah Jazz @ Sacramento Kings - Sac'd

via www.midwestrocklobster.com

Yes, it was this ugly.

How do you overcome 18 first-half turnovers?  Play the Kings.

Despite 25 turnovers (11 in the first quarter), the Jazz were able to walk away from an ugly, ugly game with a W.

And it's not like the Kings were playing amazing defense.  They did have 12 steals, but the majority of the turnovers just came from sloppy play.  Poor passing was the biggest culprit.  Either they'd throw it out of bounds, fumble a bad pass, or telegraph where the ball was going.

The Jazz didn't play any better on the defensive end.  The Kings pretty much got any shot they wanted - they just couldn't shoot.  The only memorable defensive moments were two blocked shots from an unlikely source, Morris Almond.  Both of them came from behind on would be dunks.

Thankfully, the Jazz were playing one of the worst teams in the league.  Had they played a .500 team, the game would have been over at the half, if not the first quarter.

When they did manage to hold on to the ball, they were pretty efficient with it.  They shot a solid 51% and had 24 assists on 36 FGs.

They managed to hang around and save their best for last.  Thanks to the "Seamstress" , the Jazz staged a late fourth-quarter comeback.  In addition to hitting a clutch jumper and a drive to the basket, Deron threaded two bounce passes(or skip pass if you're Boler) to Millsap for a Boozer-approved AND-1! and one to Brewer for another easy hoop.

This was one of the biggest team wins I've seen.  No one player stood out.  We had 5 players in double figures and 3 more were within 2 points of 10 points.  The 45-35 rebound advantage also helped negate the cornicopia of turnovers.

Here are the four things I took from this game,

• In the fourth quarter we saw the old Deron.  He stated in the post-game interview that he was trying to build back up his confidence.  We saw that tonight.  He drove to the basket more than I've seen all year.  And while his passing has never been in question, his dimes to Millsap and Brewer were spectacular passes that he made look easy.
• I wish Almond could have got this playing time late last year and earlier this season.  I don't know what the reasons were that the Jazz didn't pick up his option.  The front office has been hit and miss on players in the past.  But if you don't see him play against NBA players, how can you really tell what you have?  He's shooting 50% in limited action and seems like a fairly cheap insurance policy given that we don't know what the state of the team will be like next year.
• Should Collins ever come back, there's no way in hades he should play over Kosta.  I don't care about his veteran status.  I just want someone that can play basketball.  KK2 actually has a jumper and can move.  He's got to play and develop.
• I don't care if you slap a W on a turd, it's still a win.  A squeaker over the Kings counts just as much as a blowout over the Lakers.  And it came on the road.

The Jazz are managing to keep pace with the rest of the West and as everyone trickles back into the lineup, we should be able to overtake most of the other teams.

Other Blogs,

• All that Jazz
• Ross Siler
• True Blue Jazz
• Sactown Royalty

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