There is still hope – yes, really
One win.
One really good win.
One strong outing from tipoff to the final buzzer that results in one really good win.
I’m convinced that’s all the Jazz need to snap out of their recent funk. Just one really good win. On the road. Against a good opponent. With Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams and others playing well together.
I know some fans – OK, many (most?) fans – have written them off. But their situation isn’t as dire as the gloomy picture some are painting. Not yet, at least.
Just look what those wins over the Lakers and Celtics in February did for the Jazz – sparked them to continue on a 12-game winning streak.
Tonight in New Orleans would be an ideal time for that to happen. Both teams are coming off pretty lousy losses – the Jazz to the T-Wolves and the Hornets at the Warriors on Friday.
This is actually a favorable road trip for Utah in the sense that it doesn’t include any of those brutal back-to-backs that have plagued the Jazz this year. Utah had Saturday off (travel from SLC to N.O. notwithstanding), and D-Will has the edge over Chris Paul in head-to-heads (10-2 in their careers so far in the Jazz guards favor).
A win tonight could give the Jazz some sudden momentum heading into Dallas on Wednesday after two much-needed days to recuperate and practice. New Orleans and the Mavericks play each other twice next week, perhaps giving Utah a chance to pick up ground on both or at least against one of them.
While the Jazz have likely blown their chances of getting home-court advantage with the one of the top four spots in the West, moving up the ladder still isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
Then again, the way they’ve looked lately, getting passed up by Phoenix doesn’t look that far-fetched now, either. The Jazz’s Magic Number for a playoff spot is at 2 (could happen today with a Suns loss at Dallas and a Utah win).
The thing that plays in the Jazz’s favor is that other teams around them in the bottom half of the playoff standings also have some tough end-of-the-season schedules.
Looking at them, it’s hard to guess how this will all play out, but it’ll be fun to watch (unless the Jazz keep playing like they did vs. the T-Wolves, then it could just be a depressing, ugly finale).
Here are the schedules of the 5th-9th place teams:
5 – Houston, 48-28 (Portland, Orlando, @Sacramento, @Golden State, New Orleans, @Dallas)
6 – New Orleans, 47-28 (Utah, @Miami, Phoenix, @Dallas, Dallas, @Houston, @San Antonio)
7 – Utah, 46-30 (@New Orleans, @Dallas, @San Antonio, Golden State, L.A. Clippers, @L.A. Lakers)
8 – Dallas, 45-31 (Phoenix, Utah, New Orleans, @New Orleans, Minnesota, Houston)
9 – Phoenix, 42-34 (@Dallas, @New Orleans, @Memphis, @Minnesota, Memphis, Golden State)
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I’ll be curious to see if C.J. Miles plays today. He left EnergySolutions Arena on Friday with his left index finger wrapped with a splint after dislocating it at the end of the first half.
The injury, he said, happened when he tried to haul in a high Carlos Boozer pass.
“It felt like I just jammed it,” he said. “I kind of shook my fingernail, looked down and saw it was going two different directions so I figured there was something wrong with it.”
Jazz medical staff told Miles that the ligament was “messed” up, too, and that he could be looking at a week out. He’s a lefty so that’s his shooting hand.
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The Jazz’s decision to not foul at the end of Friday night’s game still kinda boggles me. Utah trailed by one when Minnesota got the ball with about 27 seconds remaining.
Considering there was less than a three-second discrepancy between the shot clock and the game clock, many assumed the Jazz would foul after maybe trying to force a quick turnover.
The Jazz did force the T-Wolves to call a timeout with 19 seconds left, and you could see a perplexed Deron Williams asking the coaching staff why they weren’t fouling.
Utah didn’t foul coming out of the TO, either, and got the ball back after a missed Minnesota 3-pointer with less than three seconds remaining.
It was by design, said head-coach-for-the-night Phil Johnson.
“I told them if it got under 5 seconds to foul, but they ended up taking the shot,” Johnson said. “That’s good enough time to get the shot off.”
Some teams foul much earlier – say with 15 or 20 seconds left. Had they done that and the T-Wolves hit both free throws, the Jazz could’ve forced a tie with a 3-pointer. Minnesota might’ve even missed, giving Utah a chance to tie or win and then still have some time to foul again depending on what happened.
Makes you wonder if Jerry Sloan, who missed the game to be at his brother’s funeral, would’ve fouled sooner or not.
Of course, if anybody knows, it’d be Johnson.
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Speaking of the Jazz’s coaching decisions, perhaps Utah should’ve turned to Mehmet Okur at the end of the game.
Remember Okur’s game-winning jumper that gave Utah a 99-96 win at Minnesota on Dec. 9 – a nice gift for Sloan’s 20th coaching anniversary with the Jazz?
Not to forget the big Turk’s two late 3-bombs and key free throws in a 112-107 win at ESA in January?
The T-Wolves certainly did.
Okur’s late-game heroics have resulted in two of Kevin McHale’s losses as coach this year. The first came in McHale’s debut after Randy Wittman was fired.
“Boy,” McHale told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “I was hoping Mehmet Okur doesn’t make a one-legged runner this time.”
He didn’t and, unfortunately for the Jazz, neither did Williams.