Honest and Brave Mo Williams- The Downbeat #889

We fought Boston hard, we were in the game the entire 48 minutes, we had the lead, we didn't back down. We however once again couldn't come out with the win. The last 59 seconds of the game were a little disappointing as a Jazz fan. Overall however I can't say I am disappointed or upset about his loss. I was really happy with growth from the players trusting each other on both ends of the court. I like how Ty experimented with lineups. I was upset with Mo's shot selection the last minute of the game this tweet however made me feel better even about that :

i love this tweet from Mo. It wasn't the typical tweet or comment of "get better, work harder". Way to own up Mo.

In the post game discussion last night, Amar called Favors, "Derrick the Mailman Favors"

Here is why:

So yeah that is pretty incredible. Favors finished with 14 FTAs. The Jazz had 28 FTAs, so thank you to Favors for being aggressive.

Does that give us hope with Favors being able to be a focus on offense?

I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to see our players not intimidated by Kevin Garnett. I thought Al did much better against his former team than we had seen the past few years. Way to go Al!

The Boston Herald spoke to Al after the Jazz's loss. This is what Al had to say about his upcoming free agency:

"I want to be in the NBA," he said. "That’s the blessing. When no teams want me, that’s when I need to start worrying. But right now I want to be in the NBA. I want to be a Utah Jazz, to be honest with you. I’d love to stay in Utah. They do things the right way, kind of reminds me of Boston how it’s first class.

But they’ve got to do what’s best for the team, and I’m going to do what’s best for my family. But right now this is all about winning and getting back to these playoffs."

"Well, this is my first home," Jefferson said. "You know, this will always be my home away from home. Danny Ainge gave me a chance. Nobody else did.

"So if that situation would happen, I would love to do that again. But right now it’s all about taking care of business and finishing the season out right."

I never really thought about Al going back to Boston. I like how Al is focused on this year before worrying about free agency. I like how Al say he wants to be in Utah. It is always nice to have players who WANT to be in Utah.

Found this and thought well that's awesome. Gary Payton on who he would have present him if inducted into the HOF:

"I would name two of them, John Stockton and George Gervin,’’ Payton said in a phone interview with FOX Sports Florida. "John Stockton is someone that I respect and was the toughest basketball player I played (against). George Gervin, because I admired him ever since I was (growing up). Those are guys that I respect a lot.’’

Pure awesomeness including a Karl Malone 3. (video quality pretty low but still worth a watch)

Speaking of point guards. Earl Watson is back with the Jazz:

"I think I’m there," the third-year Jazz guard said. "I don’t think there’s any more steps to take. The next step is game step."

In basketball terms, Watson said, there are still a few things to work out.

"I think it’s timing," he said. "I think it’s meshing, integrating with the team, slowly but surely, and making sure I can keep the rhythm of the team the same."

Happy Earl has recovered from his knee surgery. Hope he can come back soon and build that important chemistry with the other players on the court.