Andrei The Cry-ant

I can't believe how far this guy has fallen. If AK wants to get his game back on track he just needs to watch this video and see how he used to play. Once he does that he should realize that he could do these same things with the team that we have now. Time to sack up and be a man!

Jazz Wagon Is Back

So I haven't posted in a while simply because I have been so busy and frustrated with the play of the team as of late. I thought I better post before the playoffs end, and since it looks like that day will be here shortly I decided to do it today. Things are falling apart for the Jazz. AK-47 is crying like a BYU quarterback, Fisher has Matt Harpring syndrome and can't make a layup and both of our big guys play like midgets against Yao Ming. The Jazz honestly missed a huge opportunity on Saturday. T-Mac was pressing and really didn't do anything until Fisher choked that fast break away. If the Jazz could have put together any type of a third quarter T-Mac would have been done for the rest of the series. He put way too much pressure on himself and now he has a lot of confidence.

That being said, here is what the Jazz need to do to win tonight and make it a series:

Pick and Roll Yao to death. Boozer needs to dunk it everytime that happens, instead of trying to go up and under and Memo needs to pull his head out and start hitting some shots.

Deron Williams needs to push the ball up the court and get in to the offense quickly. He was walking the ball up way too much on Saturday. In fact it was the worst I have ever seen from him.

Start Gira......Play Brewer.......Cut AK from the team. That last one might be a little to extreme, but my point is Sloan needs to think of something to give our team an energy/emotinal boost out there.

The series is not over yet, but it will be if the Jazz can't win tonight.

Jazz Wagon Fact Of The Day April 11, 2007

Full Name: Adrian Delano Dantley
Born: 2/28/56 in Washington D.C.
High School: DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.)
College: Notre Dame
Transactions: Traded to Indiana, 9/1/77; Traded to L.A. Lakers, 12/13/77; Traded to Utah, 9/13/79; Traded to Detroit, 8/21/86; Traded to Dallas, 2/15/89, Signed with Milwaukee, 4/2/91
Nickname: A.D.
Height: 6-5; Weight: 210 lbs.
Drafted by: Buffalo Braves (1976)
Honors: All-NBA Second Team (1981, '84); NBA Rookie of the Year (1977); NBA Comeback Player of the Year (1984); NBA All-Star (1980, '81, '82, '84, '85, '86); Olympic gold medalist (1976).

Stats

Career 24.3 pts 5.7 rebs

Playoff 21.3 pts 5.4 rebs

All-Star 10.5 pts 3.8 rebs

AD It's About Time

I'm too young to really remember much of Adrian Dantley as a Jazzman but from what I have seen in highlights and read in the papers he is exactally the type of player that I would have loved. He was undersized as a power forward and still managed to out work players with more size and ability. He had the mindset that Utah Jazz fans love to see from their players. In fact, this team we currently have could use some of his toughness and hustle. I find it a little ironic that Larry Miller has held a grudge this long against him. Everyone in the world could agree that AD should have had his jersey retired a long time ago. I find it ironic that most of the bitter feelings revolved around a contract dispute. In today's world, players are almosted expected to act the way Dantley did in the 80's. I mean how many times did Karl Malone hold out or complain about his contract? Yet Miller instantly forgave him. I think in order for this story to go full circle, I would like to see Larry H. Miller cry his eyes out tonight. That would be a perfect ending to one of the most soa operaish stories in Utah Jazz history.

Jazz Wagon Fact Of The Day April 9, 2007

While the Utah Jazz are mainly focused on the up coming NBA Playoffs, some of the front office is preparing for the NBA Draft. I am a draft junkie and one of my favorite places to find great draft nuggets is from the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. The PIT is set up for "border line" NBA talent. You will not see Oden or Durrant here, but every year there seems to be someone who steps up and becomes a solid NBA Pro. Some of the players who have played in the PIT and made a name in the NBA include:

Rick Barry
John Lucas
Scottie Pippen
Ben Wallace
Cuttino Mobley
Avery Johnson
Ronnie Price

The Utah Jazz have had some luck with players from the PIT. Jazz players who started at the PIT:

John Stockton
Derek Fisher
Andre Owens
Shandon Anderson
Howard Eisley
Milt Palacio
Mikki Moore

Not to shabby. So who looked good this year? I would keep my eyes on two players, Rashad Jones-Jennings and Gary Neal.
Jones-Jennings is a 6'8" "Milsapie" forward from AR-Little Rock. He averaged 12.5 pts and 13.1 rebs during the tournament. Neal is a 6'4" guard from Towson. He led the league in scoring averaging 25.3 pts per outing. Look for the two names in the up coming draft.

If You Can't Say Anything Nice

My mom used to tell me the old phrase, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." I have taken this approach with the Jazz this past week, but now I'm sick of not say anything. At the Jazz's current pace I will post again some time in the summer of 2010.

The question is why have the Jazz sucked so bad this week? It all comes down the 4th quarter. The Jazz look awesome for about 36 minutes and then stop playing. Here is what I have noticed:

1-Matt Harpring is the worst defender on our team. Just look at the way he has been abused in the 4th quarter of games recently. I mean he made John Salmons from the Kings look like MJ on Friday.

2-Boozer will go for minutes without touching the ball. The Jazz keep settling for jumpers. Pound it inside. Did we not learn anything from the game against Houston last Sunday. If Boozer goes inside often, good things happen for the Jazz.

3-Sloan does not have the ability to adjust his line ups. This has been a major complaint of mine over the years. He does not adjust well to situations on the court. For example, if Harpring is getting abused, put have him switch defensive assignments with someone else. If Gira is hot, leave him in the game.

4-Jazz are playing to preserve a lead, instead of going for the kill. If you play like that in any sport, you are going to loose.

Honestly if the Jazz do not find a way to make some changes quick and start winning some games, it is going to be a short live post season. Will the real leader of this team please stand up and make this team pull it together? It is time to sack up, play some ball and start winning again.

Jazz Wagon Fact Of The Day

Just a quick update for all of you NBA Playoff junkies and Utah Jazz Historians. How many times have the Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets met in the playoffs and what is the series record between the two teams?

The Jazz have faced the Rockets a total of 5 times in the playoffs with the Jazz holding a record of 3 wins and 2 losses. Here is the history between the two teams:

1984-1985 Jazz Defeat Rockets 3-2, First Round
1993-1994 Rockets Defeat Jazz 4-1, conference Finals
1994-1995 Rockets Defeat Jazz 3-2, First Round
1996-1997 Jazz Defeat Rockets 4-2, conference Finals (Bill Walton, "Uh Oh.")
1997-1998 Jazz Defeat Rockets 3-2, First Round
2006-2007 To be determined.

These two teams have always had a great playoff rivalry and I for one am getting more and more excited to see it renewed, even though watching the Rockets is painful. Jazz will win this year in 5 games.

Jazz Wagon Fact Of The Day

Utah Jazz All Time Leaders

GAMES PLAYED: John Stockton - 1,504
GAMES STARTED: Karl Malone - 1,348
CONSECUTIVE GAMES PLAYED: John Stockton - 609
CONSECUTIVE GAMES STARTED: John Stockton - 609
MINUTES PLAYED: Karl Malone - 53,479
POINTS SCORED: Karl Malone - 36,377
SCORING AVERAGE: Adrian Dantley - 29.6
FIELD GOALS MADE: Karl Malone - 13,335
FIELD GOALS ATTEMPTED: Karl Malone - 25,810
FIELD GOAL PCT.: Adrian Dantley - .562
FREE THROWS MADE: Karl Malone - 9,622
FREE THROWS ATTEMPTED: Karl Malone - 12,963
FREE THROW PCT.: Jeff Hornacek - .897
3-POINT FIELD GOALS: John Stockton - 845
3-PT FG ATTEMPTS: John Stockton - 2,203
3-PT FIELD GOAL PCT.: Jeff Hornacek - .428
REBOUNDS: Karl Malone - 14,601
OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS: Karl Malone - 3,501
DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS: Karl Malone - 11,100
ASSISTS: John Stockton - 15,806
STEALS: John Stockton - 3,265
BLOCKED SHOTS: Mark Eaton - 3,064
TURNOVERS: Karl Malone - 4,421
PERSONAL FOULS: Karl Malone - 4,462
DISQUALIFICATIONS: Mark Eaton - 50

Utah Jazz Playoff Preview

What a huge victory for the Utah Jazz last night as they defeated the Houston Rockets 86-83. If the game last night was a preview of what is to come for the Jazz in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, then I have some complaints. First of all is there any team out there who is as painful to watch as the Houston Rockets. I mean they make UCLA look like the Phoenix Suns. They provide a very difficult matchup for the Jazz and after watching the game last night here is what I suggest Jerry Sloan do to help win the series.

First attack Yao Ming early. At the begining of the game last night the Jazz looked afraid of the 7'6 Bruce Lee look-a-like. I mean he is huge, but you still need to attack the hoop. By the end of the game the Jazz finally realized that Yao does not have the lateral quickness needed to guard the pick and roll. If I was Jerry Sloan I would run the pick and roll against Yao all game long. If Yao is guarding Boozer, then run the mid pick and roll and try to get stuff going to the hoop. Just like they did on the Carlos Boozer dunk that changed the momentum of the game last night. If Yao is guarding Memo, which Van Gundy does not want, run a high pick and roll and get some long range jumpers.

Next on the defensive side of the ball, our bigs need to put their bodies on Ming at about the 3 point line. He does not have the stamina to handle they extra work this will cause him. To often last night, our bigs let him walk down to within six feet of the hoop. Start pushing on him early, he will get tired and frustrated. Also, do not ever double team off of Battier. He is the one guy the Jazz can not afford to have a big game.

At this point it is 99% probability that the Jazz will face Houston. If they can game plan around these two items, I think they have a great shot in winning this thing in 5 games. If not, the Jazz could be going home early.