TNT, Round Mound of Sound talk Jazz

Hope a few Jazz fans were still awake to see yet another exciting finish on TNT’s late, late NBA show.

Those who stayed up even later than the Jazz’s come-from-behind win at Phoenix got to hear the TNT crew say some interesting things about Utah.

Charles Barkley started it off by anointing Deron Williams the king of point guards.

“He’s the best point guard in the NBA,” Barkley said of Williams, who had 27 points and nine assists as the Jazz rallied from 13 down to stun the Suns 116-108. “I’m going to tell y’all. I love myself some Chris Paul, but he’s the best point guard in the NBA right there.”

Barkley especially loved a play when Williams weaved his way toward the basket and, after drawing a crowd, somehow found Mehmet Okur wide open at an angle behind him for a 3-pointer in the final minute to put the Jazz up by four.

“This is one of the best plays,” Barkley said as they watched the replays on TNT. “He’s got eyes everywhere.”

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Barkley isn’t quite in love with the whole Jazz as he is Williams, though.

The Round Mound of Sound believes Utah will finish fourth in the Western Conference when all is said done next month.

“No matter what happens, I think Dallas and Denver, in no particular order, are the two best teams after the Lakers,” Barkley said. “I’m not ready to make a decision between those two.”

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Kenny Smith and Chris Webber aren’t quite ready to count the Jazz out, though.

“I told you those Utah Jazz are coming,” Smith said.

“Utah is coming, baby,” Webber added.

Smith to Barkley again: “I told you Utah is coming.”

And Webber: “Utah is coming.”

Smith then made his case for why he believes the Jazz will end up No. 2 out West.

The Jazz, he said, are the “best regular season team out of all of them. They’re going to play consistently the whole way.

“Dallas, they go nine wins, they might have some falter. Denver, they go up and down. Utah, they keep coming,” Smith added. “So they (the Jazz) can get the two spot because they’re a better regular season than those other teams. They may not be a better playoff team, but they definitely in my book are a better regular season team than those other teams.”