"BELIEF IS STRONGER THAN REALITY"
Those words were spoken by Earl Watson after the loss to Dallas on Thursday night. We continue to talk about that game and especially that post game interview, but I have a feeling that when we look back on this season in a few months, that this game and interview will be benchmarks to something bigger happening with the team.
But I find the quote interesting because it brings up a question I have always wondered about sports. You can outplay your opponent, but can you outbelieve them? What role does belief or confidence, or a championship mentality really play in winning? "If you believe it, you can achieve it" were the words of one of the great modern philosophers.
But I think Earl's quote sort of summarizes this team right now for many of us. In reality this isn't a .670 ball club. In reality they are an average team without a superstar. But maybe reality isn't what's important. I didn't believe that this team could play average to good defense, but they have. I didn't believe that Al Jefferson could become a team player who often makes the right passes, but he has. I still don't believe that this is a playoff team, but there is a lot of time for belief to become stronger than reality in that regard too. You can't say enough about what the coaches have done to instill discipline, strategy, and, that word again, belief in this team.
At worst, I think Earl Watson has created a frontrunner for next year's Utah Jazz slogan.
In case you missed it:
If you follow Derrick Favors' twitter account (@dfavors14), you already know that he likes "everything that's good and not boring." So while $25,000 might seem like a lot, for Derrick it is actually a fine of 8,333 movie rentals, or 125 flights to Atlanta from SLC, or 1,660 car washes for his mom's ride, or approximately 35,000 pitchers of kool-aid (with sugar). So that's a tough break for the young NBA star.
Chances are you have seen this fantastically made Utah Jazz commercial. It's the type of commercial that gives you chills, knowing how hard this team has worked during the off season and how hard they play during games. It is also pertinent now, as the Jazz are in the midst of the second biggest "time off" stretch they will have. They don't play again until Wednesday night meaning they have 3 days off. Other than the 5 day break they get for the All-Star game festivities, the Jazz will never have more than 2 days off after this stretch. In March the Jazz play a brutal 19 games in 31 days. But we all can rest assured that the Jazz aren't really taking "time off" during this stretch anyways.
Is it to late for Karl Malone to run for president of the United States this year?
Gonna try to do a little more Utah Jazz related trivia on these downbeats. I think they are fun. I must warn you that some of them will be hard, but we'll start off more simply. If you get the answer right, I'm going to reward you with something. I have some ideas on what those rewards could be, but I wish I had basketball tickets to give away to you. Maybe a couple of Salt Lake Bees tickets instead.
What do these players have in common? Clark's note: they are the only Jazz players that have this in common, I believe.
Karl Malone, Andrei Kirilenko, Mark Eaton, Carlos Boozer