Today is game day! It's another early East Coast game. I'm not a huge fan of the early starts but I know my out of state/international Jazz fan friends, such as Moni, are huge fans so I'll be happy for them that it's an early start (5:30 p.m. MDT) .
We're taking on the Boston Celtics (27-22). Last year we went 0-2 against them. The game in Boston was extremely ugly, imo it was that road trip that Deron was starting to openly show disinterest. It was the beginning of the end for the D-Will era Jazz. .The Jazz's leading scorer that ugly game was Earl Watson with 12 points. Here is a quote from the ESPN game summary:
Utah briefly got within 17 points in the third quarter and 19 in the fourth.
I imagine tonight's game will be A LOT closer. I really really hope so. The Jazz are a completely different squad than the Jazz squad that "got within 17 points in the third quarter" That Jazz team was on his last leg maybe even a stump of a leg This Jazz team is fresh, new, confident and united.
Boston is coming off a 7 point win against the Bobcats. Paul Pierce went to the line freaking 18 times against the Bobcats. Utah of course has won 7 out of their last 8 games most recently beating the New Jersey Nets.
What will the Jazz have to do to beat the Celtics tonight?
C.J. Miles was recently interviewed by The No Look Pass. Here are some highlights (go check out the rest it is really good!) :
TNLP: Do you like coming off the bench? Would you prefer being a starter? Or does it matter to you?
CJ: I guess! It matters to me. Everybody likes to start. You're warm. You start the rhythm... the pace of the game. I've been able to have success doing both. I guess I'd say I like starting more.
TNLP: What's the difference between Coach Sloan and Coach Corbin? How differently do they handle you?
CJ: The system's a little bit different this year but that's based off different players. Basically, with Coach Corbin, he hasn't tried to come in and break things up. It was hard for him since he came in midseason... and this year... because of the shortened season... not having a long camp and you can only change so much. I don't think there hasn't been much of a difference. The biggest thing is that we've been able to run up and down... though we ran with Coach Sloan, too, just depending on the game's situation. Coach Sloan had the ball in my hands a little bit more when I was coming off the bench for him.
TNLP: Coach Sloan looks like he could kill somebody with his bare hands!
CJ: He's a tough guy, man. A good guy. Everybody liked him. He's one of the funniest guys... I don't think people really knew. He was a firm believer on doing your job but off the court, he was a funny, well-respected, and laidback guy.
I found it interesting to hear that C.J. pretty much thinks things are the same with Ty and Jerry minus the running and that he got to handle the ball more with the 2nd unit under Sloan. I always thought Sloan encouraged them to run when they had the opportunity. Watching the Classic Jazz Games this Fall, that is one of the things that stood out to me, they were always running. Lou watched with me and said, now I get why you LOVED the Jazz and why everybody LOVED Stockton and Malone, man are they fun to watch, always pushing it, playing at such a high level of intensity. Granted those were "Classic" Jazz games, so the Jazz were playing at their best, but what is the difference between what we saw there and what C.J says in that quote ?
Earl Watson got the back up minutes against New Jersey and wasn't super. Did Ty play him because of his comments before the Hawks game? What example is that to the young players with Raja complaining then getting minutes and now Earl saying what he said and getting minutes? Maybe Ty just wanted to see where Earl was at health-wise. Will Earl be first off the bench tonight for Devin or will it be Jamaal?
Do you ever hear songs that have nothing to do with the Jazz but for some reason remind you of he Jazz? So lately the last few months I have LOVED the song, " United States of Eurasia"by Muse. I have to listen to over and over again. For some reason when I listen to it lately I think of Yucca and Amar clamoring at the beginning of the season and even now for the young guys to get more minutes. The lyrics obviously don't match perfectly but here are some and tell me if you can see it too or if I'm just crazy. BTW the end of the song they play Chopin's Nocturne in E- Flat (one of my very favorite songs to play on the piano) I picture that as me tweeting with Amar and Yucca making them happy, despite their playing time worries.
You and me are the same
We don't know or care who's to blame
But we know that whoever holds the reins
Nothing will change
Our cause has gone insane
And these wars, they can't be won
And these wars, they can't be won
And do you want them to go on
And on and on
Why split these states
When there can be only one?
And must we do as we're told?
Must we do as we're told?
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/m/muse/united_states_of_eurasia.html ]
You and me fall in line
To be punished for unproven crimes!
And we know that there is no one we can trust;
Our ancient heroes, they are turning to dust!
What songs remind you of the Jazz or Jazz players for no logical reason at all?
Jazz currently sit 7th in the West.