They're still talking about Millsap. From Fanhouse,
"I'm not going to give myself too much credit at this point -- we have a long season ahead of us -- but I've been waiting a long time for this chance to come,'' Millsap told FanHouse Wednesday night before the Jazz played the Magic in Orlando. "There were no doubts in my mind that I was ready to do well. I think everyone here knew that.''
When I first saw that, in my mind I read, "I [thought] everyone here knew that." That changes the meaning of the quote by a lot but it reflects most Jazz fans' thoughts on the Boozer/Millsap matter. We all saw what he did over the course of those 19 games when he filled in for an injured Boozer. If given the chance to play, he could produce.
They also mentioned on NBA TV (the Jet I believe) last night how much better Al complements Millsap than Boozer (when they were on the court together). His reasoning was that Millsap will flourish now that they can't put a larger man on Millsap and the smaller man on Jefferson like they could with Boozer.
That's why I think when Memo comes back, it will be off the bench and it will be to back up either Millsap or Al.
Good find by moni. Jerry did receive an award last month, the Titan Award from the Sandy Chamber of Commerce which recognizes "individuals and businesses in Utah that have made a difference. So that's how you can get Deron Williams to come to your event, just declare him the winner of an award you made up. We learn some interesting things about Sloan,
Jerry Sloan 2010 Honoree - Titan Awards (via AudixConsulting)
The momentum for Sloan keeps building. From JA Adande,
We’re only 10 percent of the way through the season, but you can’t tell me any coach has done a better job than Sloan so far. Certainly no team has done better on back-to-back nights than the Utah Jazz in comeback victories at Miami Tuesday and Orlando Wednesday.
Sloan made some critical second-half adjustments, including playing Deron Williams at shooting guard in Miami and using a zone defense in Orlando. Another tactical decision wound up paying unintentional dividends. Sloan sat Al Jefferson for much of the second half of the Miami game and Jefferson played only 28 minutes total. So who had fresh legs the next night and carried the Jazz down the stretch with nine points in the final 4 minutes and 30 seconds against the Magic? Al Jefferson.
Paul Millsap on last night's game,
We are trying to build off of every game and I think that is key for us right now. We know what we are capable of doing. We just have to go out there and do it for the full 48 minutes. We know what type of players we have and can spark a comeback like we did. I guess we like living on the edge. Hopefully we will cut it out because we have to get together."
Cut it out is right. The past three games has been one of the biggest stretches of exciting Jazz basketball the past couple of seasons. Winning those games of course helps. The Jazz have been able to get over the hump these past three games that they haven't been able to do in seasons past.
It makes for great games but ages fans and coaches in dog years.
Thursday poll