Countering The Professor, and a lip laceration

ATLANTA – ESPN.com’s John Hollinger, who covered Wednesday’s Jazz game at Atlanta here, isn’t real hung up on the fact Utah’s 12-game win streak came to a close with its loss to the Hawks.
Instead, he wrote afterward, what’s much more notable is that have just one road victory over a winning team this season – in overtime at Detroit in December – and 11 such losses, most of them not particularly close.
Moreover, they have nine road games remaining against winning opponents.
Wrote Hollinger: “Everyone thinks of this (Utah) as the West’s second-most talented team, but how much of a threat can these guys be in the playoffs if they can’t ever beat a good team on the road?”
While he’s as brilliant as it comes when using statistics to break down basketball, the Jazz might argue that this reasoning from The Professor – as he’s known – has one flaw.
And that is this:
Wednesday’s loss at Atlanta was the Jazz’s first on the road when they’ve had their entire team healthy and together.

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In Atlanta starting point guard Deron Williams had three turnovers early (which is not to suggest one apple, one cherry and one blueberry for breakfast) and starting center Mehmet Okur had two quick fouls (no, not a really fast chicken and a hen).
Still, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan – whose team is off until playing Saturday at Miami – blamed no one in particular for the club’s lousy start.
“It looked like it went all the way through us,” he said. “It wasn’t just one person.”
Similarly, Williams could not pick out one offensive play in particular that – after they had rallied from 16 points down – did in the Jazz late.
“We were able to regain our composure … in the third quarter especially. We turned it up a notch defensively,” he said. “But then we kind of lost it … toward the end of the fourth quarter.
“You can point to a lot of things,” Williams added. “We just didn’t have it.”

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As teammates and coaches complained he was fouled, Jazz shooting guard Ronnie Brewer stayed on the floor for several moments at the end of Wednesday’s third quarter.
Shortly thereafter, and even though he didn’t need stitches, the Jazz announced Brewer had a “lip laceration.”
“No contact, I guess,” Brewer, after a pause and with a smile, said afterward.

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