The new and improved Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz are currently sitting on the league’s longest active win streak, having won the past five games. You know what that means, it’s time to take yet another look at the standings!

The Jazz are still 3.5 games behind 8th seed Denver, but it looks more and more like we could make a realistic push for the playoffs. However, our next five games will likely carry a bit of weight. We will be facing New Orleans (Away), Memphis (Away), Charlotte (Home), Portland (Away), and San Antonio (Home). These games against mostly middling teams are the ones we need to start putting away if we want a chance to be playing in April. While browsing nba.com, there were some stats that caught my eye. The Utah Jazz:

• rank #1 in the league for average Free Throw Percentage
• rank #5 in the league for Offensive Rating in Wins
• rank #3 in the league for Defensive Rating in Wins
• rank #3 in the league for eFG% in Wins
• rank #4 in the league in Deflections Per Game

I find this interesting because free throw shooting was once an area we were lacking in, and this season it has been one of our strengths. Having a guy like Ricky Rubio must help this percentage as well, him being one of the best in the league. As for the other stats, they show just how good the Jazz are playing in the games that we win, and the level of hustle our players have on the defensive end.

Man is it nice to have Rudy back.

Not to dwell in the past, but according to Steve Kyler on Twitter, the Jazz and Celtics did indeed seriously discuss a sign-and-trade option during the Gordon Hayward saga. What happened to that? Well Mr. Kyler gives a little insight.

At the very least, this shows some of Dennis Lindsey’s methodology in that he doesn’t accept trades just for the sake of doing a trade. Sometimes we might miss opportunities, but then again, maybe it isn’t an opportunity if the net gain isn’t worth it in the first place. With only a few days until the 8th, it isn’t far from the trade deadline. If there is not a beneficial move to be made, it could be a possibility that we sit with what we’ve got rather than mixing things up just for the fun of it.

Some big guns showed up to the UNLV at Boise State basketball game that was on Saturday. B.J. Rains reported:

I don’t know if this is more common than is reported, but it seems like it isn’t every day that Dennis Lindsey scouts a game himself. In the game were a few players of note, including UNLV’s Brandon McCoy (currently projected going at pick #23 on NBADraftNet’s mock draft), and Boise State’s Chandler Hutchison (currently projected going #47).

[Editor’s Note: Hutchison has played himself into the 1st round of the NBA Draft. He could be a buy low candidate as a stretch four. He scored 44 points already in a game this season.]

Last night the Philidelphia Eagles won their first ever Super Bowl. It is these instances that give hope to franchises such as the Jazz who have yet to win a national title in their respective sport.

If there is one thing I believe, it is the front office and management’s will to win.

Since Dennis Lindsey is getting into the especially high-level trade talks this week, I doubt too many more rumors will leak unless they are calculated to do so. As such, and considering the Super Bowl weekend, there hasn’t been much Jazz-related news. So I’ll take this opportunity to ask, out of you NBA fans, do many of you follow the NFL as well? Or are you more like me, only watching the Super Bowl and calling it good? What were your general feelings about this year’s Super Bowl, and am I the only one who was unimpressed with Justin Timberlake’s lip syncing as well as the lackluster commercials?