Season Recap: Deron: The Man. The Legend.

I was supposed to have this season in review up about 3 months ago for Biased Fan and SLC Dunk. My wife has been loving that the season is over (even though she is a huge Jazz fan) and she has her husband back.

Here are my thoughts on Deron Williams.

Deron is not only the face of the Utah Jazz franchise, but he is one of the faces of the NBA. Despite a few slip ups during his rookie year, he has been a standup citizen as far as we have been told. He seems to like Utah, the fans, and the franchise. Despite his mediocre looks (the veneers really helped), there are hundreds of ladies in the ESA sporting D-Will jerseys. We also like that he is respectful yet has a great sense of humor when it comes to the prodominant religion in the state.


At the first of the season he was coming off a stellar performance in the 2007 playoffs. We all saw his first All-Star game coming along with much more respect in the D-Will vs. CP3 debate. The season started and he fell flat. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't terrible, but it wasn't the Deron we had seen in the playoffs. December came and his struggles continued. It seemed as though he was hesitant in establishing himself as the go-to-guy on the team. The part I wish he would have realized, is that as Deron goes, the team goes. The Jazz struggled mightily in December and found themselves in 3rd place in the Northwest division and out of the current playoff race.

Then the Jazz signed Kyle Korver. This made Deron realize that he could easily lose the Pink Jersey crown along with his title as "Most Admired Jazz Player" by the ladies. The fact that Gordon Giricek wasn't around to be his cancerous self helped as well. Deron began to pick up the pace and brought his points and assists back up to playoff performance. But it wasn't enough as he was passed over for the All-Star game. Instead, CP3 stole the show and had the entire nation hanging off his jock strap...except Deron. D-Will elevated his game to another level after the All-Star game and brought the Jazz into full stride. They were the hottest team in the NBA and they were being led by a fearless 3 year point guard who didn't ask anyone to give him respect. He would earn it on his own and force them to notice.

The playoffs came and Deron single handedly (due to the lack of production from his "side kick") helped the Jazz beat down Houston. Tracy McGrady tried his best to bring him down by asking how his name was pronounced (he would have known it had McGrady been asked to play for USA basketball, but he wasn't...because...he sucks), but it didn't phase our superstar. He led his team to victory and sent McBitchy packing for the second year in a row.

Then the Lakers rolled in. He struggled in games 1 and 2 by trying to get his team involved and put his success on the back burner. He quickly realized that he would need to man up and take over again. Even Kobe took notice of Deron's abilities. There was no other player I wanted taking the game tying shot in Game 6 than Deron Williams. Yeah, he missed. But he had officially solidified himself as an All-NBA player, and the future of this franchise. Every other player became expendable when it came to resigning D-Will.

Here's to hoping for many more YouTube compliations like the one below in the years to come.


Fellow Jazz bloggers Deron Williams Season Recaps:
Biased Fan
SLC Dunk

Off-Season Priority #1....Sign This Guy!

Found a great highlight real of D-Will on YouTube. Props to memoismoney who put it together. We apologize for the lack of postings but we are still in mourning. That's alright though, we can kick off the Off-Season right by securing D-Will for the next 20 years. Hell, *I'll pitch in out of my own pocket if I have to.*

*Booner's commitment to "pitch-in" subject to change and based on a two week, twenty dollar commitment. After two weeks, the Jazz are fully responsible for paying D-Will. At any point in time Booner can ask for the twenty dollars back. Side Effects may also include dizziness, dryness of mouth, stomach cramps, bleeding from ears....

Point is, don't blow it Jazz. SIGN HIM!

Booner

Jazz vs. Lakers Game 6 Recap and Series Thoughts

So I have finally had the guts to watch a few recaps and read a few Internet sites about Game 6. I was there along with Booner and we had a great podcast all ready to put together. The only problem? The Jazz lost. Bye bye podcast.

The crowd was absolutely electric on Friday night. Almost everyone you could see had Jazz gear on in some form or another. Salt Lake City had officially become "Jazz City". Booner and I took Mrs. Jack and Mrs. Booner out to eat before the game to show what classy husbands we were (knowing we would turn into 13 year olds the minute the ball was tipped).

The video isn't the greatest but I wanted people to get a feel for how loud the ESA was. It was a great basketball experience.

Then the ball tipped...

It was the first time as a Jazz fan that you could hear a pin drop in the stadium. The place had gone numb. We were watching a car wreck and couldn't do anything but let our jaws drop and shake our heads in disbelief. It was an eerie silence that almost never comes over a home crowd in the post season.

It was quickly becoming apparent that our Jazz weren't coming with any type of playoff intensity. It was if they thought the Lakers were going to just roll over and let the Jazz win so they could try and finish in LA. The Lake Show had different plans.

I have no complaints about the first half officiating. I felt like the Jazz played slow and out of sync. They put themselves into a really bad situation. It was nobodies fault but their own. They were shooting around 33% which won't win any game. Especially against a talented Lakers team who was shooting well over 50% by the end of the first half. When Deron was called for that foul on Fisher's three pointer, the place went ballistic. I could only see what the jumbo-tron was showing, and it didn't look like a foul. A post game phone call with my good Laker buddy Chad convinced me that there was some arm and body contact. Whatever. I'm fine with that.

The second half was mostly the same. The Jazz kept feeding the ball to Boozer, only to watch him get swatted by Gasodom. Boozer's body language showed that he wanted nothing more than to get out of the game and not be on that court. He fouled out in the 4th and got his wish. He played nervous, beaten, and slow. I don't know what is going on in his life, but I don't care. There was no reason he couldn't have left it all behind on that court. He had everyone on his side. 20,000 Jazz fans wanted nothing more than to see the Booze Hound break out and get his swagger back. Instead, he broke the heart of 19,500 people that night.

The last 3:00 of the game was a site to see. We had to fight back and the only option was to let the 3's rain down. They kept falling as the Jazz traded a 3 pointer for 2 foul shots. Not a bad strategy if only they had started with 3:30 left in the game. Time was not on their side. When AK threw up a three from the top of the key with 24 second left, I threw up in my mouth, only to see the soon-to-be Frenchman drop the ball and get us back in the game. Later when Fish was at the line, it was like watching a bad soap opera. The once hero turned villain was about to smother any hope in the ESA by knocking down two clutch free throws. If he hit them both, it would be a two possession game. The first snapped the net as it went through. The second hit off the front of the iron. What? Who wrote this ending? Millions of Lakers fans in unison put their hands above their head and screamed "noooooo" (probably a lot more rated R words that we don't allow on My Utah Jazz). The Jazz weren't supposed to have a chance at this point in the game. They had been down by as many as 17 in the second half. And there it was, a 3 point deficit with 11 seconds left.

The crowd was louder than any public event of any kind I have participated in. It was deafening (and I was on the 12th row of the upper bowl, I cannot imagine the sound on the court). Deron pushed the ball up court to Korver who planted and squared to the basket like he wanted the shot, only to pass it off to Memo who was trailing him and pulled up about 12 inched behind the three point line. His shot clanked off the front of the rim. An offensive rebound got the ball back to Deron giving him a chance to silence all the critics and tie the game. His shot was off to the left as well. The final horn sounded. Immediately the ESA started pumping "Stop and Stare" by OneRepubic into the speakers. How poetic. That was all we could do. Stop and stare as a promising season come to end.

As the crowd gave our Jazz a standing ovation as they went to the exit portal for the last time this season, I realized that despite my homer love, my blind eyed views, my inability to accept that another team was truly better than the Jazz, the Lakers were a better team than us for this series. The Jazz never fully got their offense into the form that we had seen all season. The only player in my eyes who gave the series the respect it deserved was Deron Williams. He proved that he is a superstar in this league and any team he plays with will have a chance to win despite anyone else on the court.

Keys to the Lakers winning the series:
Derek Fisher. He is a savvy veteran who learned the Jazz system well when he played for the Jazz. It seemed as if he knew when and where the Jazz wanted the ball. His help defense was spectacular throughout the entire series. His story gave unnecessary ammunition to his teammates as they felt like they were seeking revenge for the treatment of their fellow Laker. He shot a great percentage from outside and stayed out of foul trouble in every Laker victory.

Gasodom. These two sucked the life out of Boozer. They gave him no respect and wanted to prove that he would have to earn every rebound and every layup. Nothing would come uncontested. They had Boozer demoralized to a point of no return after game 2. Anyone who says Boozer found himself and broke through in game 4 is wrong. He was lucky that game. The Lakers interior defense smothered anything the Jazz wanted to do inside. There were 8 feet in the paint every time Boozer touched the ball.

Matt Harpring. Great guy. Great leader. Too bad he just doesn't know when to stop shooting the ball. His ill advised baseline jumpers and missed layups cost the Jazz a lot of momentum in LA. He could have gotten under the skin of Kobe but never did so. He played old, tired, and sore.

That's it. I'm not putting Kobe in there because I think he played exactly how we all expected him to play. He was dominating. As an MVP should be.

Congratulations Los Angeles Lakers, you won the series fair and square. You proved you wanted this series more than the Jazz did. You didn't have any visa problems to worry about. You were in it for the long haul.

To all Laker fans: Thanks for stopping by and reading our blog. I really mean it. You brought a lot of fight and spitfire with you and were able to get under Jazz fans skin on occasion. You made the series fun for us. This is what being a fan of the NBA is all about. We do have one thing in common. We love this game. We love our teams. We are what makes being an NBA fan great. When the season is over, we are all the same. We're all homers for our team. We all think the refs are out to get us. We all think that we are superior to anyone and anything in an opposing uniform. I look forward to next year's postseason as the Lakers and Jazz solidify themselves as the NEW Western Conference Powerhouses.

So What's It Gonna Be?

Tonight's game has blow out written all over it and it better be the Jazz laying it on hard and heavy. This game will be decided for the Jazz in the first 5 minutes. If they come out flat and get knocked around early look for AK to be on the bench with his BlackBerry booking that trip to France for the summer. (Is there anyone who cares less about his team in the NBA than AK? I hope Deron kicked him in the head when he got back.) And subsequently look for Kevin O'Connor on his BlackBerry trying to trade AK for a bucket of chicken wings. On the other hand, if the Jazz come out like wild dogs and are the more aggressive team look out. The Lakers know that they have one more game at home and that they have owned the Jazz there all season so if they get down big look for the white flag.

The crowd needs to be over the top tonight. I want all of the lunatics in the seats tonight and I want them to bring their crazy uncle too. I want Kobe, Lamar, Pau and Fisher booed for the entire game with out stopping, even when they are on the bench. I want to hear Phil complain to the league again about how the noise hurts his ears. We as fans need to be involved in this one like the hooligans are for soccer. Basically I would like to see 20,000 of these guys invade the ESA tonight.

We still have not seen a complete game from the Jazz this series, do they have the requisite sized manhood to put it together tonight? Can Boozer take the dress off and start playing like a man? Can AK take his game up another level and cause havoc all over the floor? At what point does D-will say eff-it and score 40? Can Korver have one great shooting game? Can Lamar Odom keep it up? Is Pau Gasol really that good? All good questions that I am sure many of us are pondering today. This much I know for sure, the series is going back to LA tied at 3-3. Kobe has never won a playoff game in Salt Lake, he sure as hell is not going to be getting one tonight.

We'll see you in LA on Monday.

How did we lose that game?

Thanks.

Podcast from CB Jack on ESPN with Steve Mason

Feel free to listen to my two interviews with Steve Mason of ESPN 710 AM Los Angeles.

The first interview took place before Game 2. Yeah, my prediction was a little off.

The second interview took place before Game 5.



Thanks to Steve and Drew from ESPN 710 AM for giving me the opportunity.

Late.

Game 5 preview with updated matchups

This is the big one tonight fellas and don't believe anyone in LA that says they are not nervous about tonight's game. I will give them a certain level of confidence, but deep down they have to be worried. After all of the "Sweep" talk from Laker fans they have to be experiencing a little rectal puckering for the rest of this series. So let me say this with a certain confidence, if the Jazz can sneak out a win tonight this series is all but over in 6. Here are my keys to tonight's game for a Jazz victory.

1 - Exploit the back injury. I am not saying that we should go out and try to hurt Kobe, but we are idiots if we don't body him up hard when the have the ball and run him in circles when he is on D. I want to see Brewer just running and cutting with no real purpose except to get Kobe to keep changing direction and twisting that back.

2 - Get Fisher into foul trouble early again. This may be next to impossible in LA, but Derron needs to do what ever it takes to get Farmar into the game early.

3 -Don't slow down. This game needs to become a physical track meet. The Jazz need to push the ball up the court and then go with authority to the hole. I still don't think that the Lakers interior defense is an better than average when the other team is attacking. If you slow it down and play the Charles Barkley 10 dribbles and then a shot offense they can be effective so keep the pressure on.

4 - Last, but not least, keep the Lakers to 35 or fewer free throws. Try playing some D with your feet instead of your hands and when you foul don't let them get a shot up.

I wanted to do a quick update on the match ups as well now that we are 4 games into this thing as a follow up to my series preview.

PG - Williams finally realized in the second half of game 2 that Fisher was his backup last year and took control of this one. The advantage for the Jazz is growing as the series progresses.
SG - Kobe owns this match-up regardless of who is guarding him.
SF - Kirilenko is pretty much destroying Radmanovic here so I would give him a pretty big edge
PF - Boozer vs. Odom, before the series I said that Boozer would own this match-up against any of the Laker bigs, but Phil is deploying double and triple teams on Booz limiting his scoring, but Booz is still hitting the boards and playing decent D. I would call this match-up even right now.
C - Before the Series I said that Gasol had a slight advantage over Okur, but now, I think Okur has the slight advantage. He is rebounding better, more consistent with his scoring and not as turnover prone. Overall Okur has been a positive factor for the Jazz in 3 of the 4 games and Gasol has been positive for the Lakers in only 2.
Bench - Price has been waaaaayyyyy better than Farmar even with very limited minutes. Vujacic and Kover have played to a dead tie in my opinion. Harpring and Walton have been very close in their production as well as have Millsap and Turriaf. Add it all up and the Jazz have a slight advantage on the bench because Farmar is scared.

So as I see it the Jazz have a slight advantage in the matchups, but the games are so close because Kobe is that much better for the Lakers. D-Will is on his way to having that type of advantage for the Jazz, but not quite Kobe leve yet which brings us to back to the back. If Kobe can not be 85% for the Lakers they are in trouble. As for a prediction - The homer in me says Jazz by 12 tonight, the realistic side in me says this game is 50/50 so lets split in the middle and say Jazz by 6, 105-99.

Great Deron Williams post on FreeDarko.com

(PG-13)
From FreeDarko.com:


"Okay, I finally get why Deron Williams has it in for Chris Paul. That rivalry not about draft proximity, or proving that his game is every bit as praiseworthy as Paul's wizardry. Over these last two games, I've come to realize what a scalding bad-ass Williams is. He's not just a big PG, or a guy who makes a good first pass, or a meat-and-potatoes offensive cog in Sloan's new machine. "

MUJ: I love that FreeDarko is coming around to see what a killer instinct Deron has. Watch him go to the rim, get hacked without a whistle, and his eyes turn blood red. The next time he brings the ball up the floor, you can guarantee he is looking to facial/posterize/anihalate first, and pass second. That is the attitude that the Jazz need. The guy is tough as nails. I know AI is known for playing through injuries, but how about D.Will? He is definetely a starter on the All Tough-As-Nails team.

"Williams is positively Paul-ian. He's got that Jordan-esque, Kobe-esque indignation and will to destroy that people jock so hard in Paul. When he's pissed, or increasingly, whenever he decides the game belongs to him, Williams does shit on offense that's every bit as phenomenal as CP3's streaking drives. As a passer, too, he gets more and more brazen as these playoffs go on, making plays with little or no regard to the logical order of that line-up."


MUJ: I couldn't agree more about the brazen passes D.Will has been making. He is coming up with stuff that we never saw last year. He is beginning to see lanes that only a select few special PG's in the history of the game have seen. Like Kobe, get him pissed off and watch how he puts his game into 6th gear and becomes almost untouchable. He may not show a lot of emotion off the court, but when an intese situation arises, you can feel his intesity through his TV. Watching him in person is what it may take for some non-believers to believe. Ask Matt at HP.


"The bottom line of it is not that Williams detests being second best, though that's part of it. He also can't stand that Paul's seen as a transcendent talent, while because of his size and system he's denied that superstar aura. For too long, Williams was seen as having a natural advantage over Paul, and also inhabiting a controlled situation that supposedly played to his strengths.


He had it better, and yet was best when limited. No more, no more. Williams seems to be moving faster, feeling more, and going for the jugular now, like he's out to prove that Paul's not the only one on the fast track to immortality. I joked about this on Deadspin, but now I'm convinced it's for real.


It's almost enough to make me want to see Hornets/Jazz in the next round, even though, on a sentimental level, I'd prefer to see Kobe and Odom advance."

MUJ: Great post. I think D.Will is the first Jazz player in a long time...like forever, to have that killer instinct. He does not settle for 2nd best. I think we're going to see a fired up D.Will tonight as he proves that he wan force his will on the road against even the best teams.

Here is the post in its entireeyFreeDarko.com

Round 2 with Steve Mason!! CB Jack on ESPN 710 AM Los Angeles 4:00 pm MST

Just wanted to give you guys a heads up that I will be on ESPN Radio 710 Los Angeles for The Steve Mason Show today at 3:00pm PST/4:00 pm MST.

You can listen to the interview here. (Click on listen live from the ESPN site).

Let's sneak one out of LA and come home to seal the deal! WCF here we come!

Jazz vs. Lakers Game 4 Recap

"Ha, Ha, Ha! Did you just say you were going to win game four?"

YESSSSS! If there was ever a game that caused heart problems, anxiety, irregularity, etc, etc. Today's game four between the Jazz and Lakers did just that. I am going to give you a recap of the game through my eyes, and then let ESPN give you the real specifics.

So, of course, being the religious man I am...err, my wife makes me be, I was in church. I was able to use my two year old as a scape goat and made it home just before the half. I put my daughter down for a nap and immediately turned the game on. Alright, alright, so I turned the game on and then put my daughter down for a nap....on the couch....in the living room...right by the T.V. (Nothing calms here down quicker than a Jazz game.)

Not to get too off-track, but I am a highly superstitious person so when I turned the game on and saw our nine point lead dwindle down to nothing before the half I had to think of something. Was I going to sit in a different chair, change my shirt, I had to do something. So, I did what every fan would do. I took one for the team and changed the channel. For the next two hours I watched the Discovery Channels "Deadliest Catch - Mothers Day Marathon" only tuning to ABC for quick updates and then immediately getting out of there. This was working. I checked in every 4-5 minutes. As I did this, the Jazz were keeping a 4-6 point lead. This worked for nearly the entire second half. However, with just over four minutes left in the game the Jazz were up by 12 and I got greedy. I changed it to the game only to realize I was single-handily bringing them down. The next thing I knew I had caused the Jazz to blow their lead and watch the Lakers send the game into overtime. Now, a lot of you are going to read how Kobe, Odom, Fisher and the boys turned it on and forced the game into overtime. Nope. That's not it. This one is on me Jazz fans. I should have waited it out. I should have never tuned into the game until the buzzer sounded. I apologize for the stress I brought upon all of you.

As overtime began I was right back to what was working. Only this time, I disciplined myself even further, only checking the scores on my phone not the television. This was all it took. Jazz Win, Jazz Win. It was not pretty and they came awfully close to ruining Mothers Day, but they fought hard. Wish I could have witnessed it first hand, but those are the types of things I am willing to do for the sake of this organization.

Now, on to the real recap.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=280511026

This was HUGE WIN for this team.! Now it's time to steal one in L.A. It's not going to be easy but this team can do it. I know they can! Go Jazz!

Jazz Win One for Mothers Everywhere!