Utah Jazz 88 Philadelphia 76ers 71: Jazz sleepwalk to victory!

Back when Basketball John first retired, Amar and I both watched just about every game more than once. We felt like we needed to really look at the games to give the best coverage we could.

I will never re-watch tonight's win against the Sixers.

I suppose I could be sort of inspired. The Sixers played hard, and they made sure that nothing the Jazz did offensively was easy. But whatever. The Jazz did not play well, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. The Sixers did not play well, either. I'm not going to pretend otherwise. It was one of those games that national writers would justifiably Tweet stuff like: "Hell is watching the Jazz and Sixers game over and over and over" or "I feel sorry for any fans watching this game" or "If you're watching the Jazz-Sixers game, you really need to find yourself a man/woman and actually enjoy Saturday Nights".

As far as production goes:

• Derrick Favors played well: 17 points (7-11 shooting), 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 5 blocks.
• Trevor Booker hit 6-8 for 14 points, to go with 5 boards, 2 blocks, and an assist and steal
• Rudy Gobert had 4 points (2-3 shooting), 6 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks (only 17 minutes ... grumble, grumble).
• Which means the rest of the Jazz team shot 24% for the game.
• Yeah.

On the Sixers Side:

• Michael Carter-Williams put himself in "elite" company with a 2-20 shooting night.
• Tony Wroten scored 20 and shot decently overall (8-17)
• Some dude named Robert Covington was plucked out of a Jane Austen novel and scored 17 to go with 9 boards. Seriously, admit it: you all kept hearing Mrs. Bennett's voice all night long muttering: "Mr. Covington is a single man of large fortune; one million a year! What a fine thing for our girls!"
• Speaking of names, the Sixers have players named: Nerlens, JaKarr, Jerami, Hollis, and ... best of all ... Furken (can you imagine what Jr. High must have been for this guy). This is also known as the "If these guys weren't athletes, I am terrified to think of what their odds of surviving High School would have been" lineup.

* * *

But in the end, the Jazz won. They've won 4 of 5. And aside from tonight's gunker, these wins haven't been eye-rollers. Our guys are in a mini winning run, and it's good to see.

And despite the ugliness of the win, it is really nice to actually write a winning recap.

Yucca out.