Timing is bad for New Orleans uninspired play Nola.com

Cj and Millsap get hurt but return to the game DN  

Jazz beat Hornets in Big Easy Examiner  

Former Jazz Man Jeffers making the NBA.com top Ten twice 

Jazz Hornets video highlights from NBA.COM 

LockedonSports talking about last nights game  

Slcdunk Game thread 

A dismal Home Finale at the Hive 

Jazz Win from JazzFanatical  

Where does Andrei Kirilenko rank among Jazz players of the Past?  BR 

Bulls' success makes Jazz fans feel worse. SLCTRIB 

Despite hecklers, Jazz still have some pizzazz. Jody Genessy  

Uncertainty- there are three articles floating around today that deal with some of the Jazz players uncertainty, and a couple more that should be. CJ Miles, Andrie Kirilenko, and Kyle Weaver are all in wierd positions that will not be figured out for a little while. Here is a list of the current Utah Jazz contracts to give you an idea of what they need to look for/at this summer.

Price, Watson, Fez, Elson, Cousin, Ak, Weaver are all coming off the books, and the team has the option on CJ Miles contract. Which would leave two Players on our current roster who finished the 2009-2010- Okur and Millsap (if Cj doesn't get picked up). Turnover is ridiculous, but I am slightly excited for the future. 

Here is a look at the franchise tag option that could help the new CBA.

NBADRAFT.NET has updated our pick to this guy

I don't know if he will pan out or what we are going to do. He looks like he needs to put on some weight, however, he has both hands developed and his foot work looks very good in these videos. 

Gordon Hayward with Dime Magazine QandA 

Spurs teach Jazz about the importance of a bench. Jody Genessy  
We had five guys that didn't even make the flight to San Antonio of course our bench is going to be horrible.

Jazz become the team that nobody knows. Brad Rock 
Sunday Syncopation SCLDUNK @allthatamar 

Pounding the Rock Spurs Blog  

Project Spurs a Spurs Blog  

Jazz start well, but finish poorly. Trib  

Kyle Weaver uncertain about his future with the Jazz. Trib 

Ak on his career with the Utah Jazz, and the marriage that could be over next week. Trib  
Nothing more than 8 Million a year for 4 years. I would even say maybe 20 for 3 with a fourth year team option.
A while back rumors were floating around that he would take somewhere in the five range. I don't know if they are true or not, but I would take that. 

Harris still finding way with Jazz. Trib 
If LA can win 5 rings with Fisher than Harris could be our point. 

As Scripted to the Letter @Monilogue JazzFanatical 

Uncertainty clouds Miles' mind, future Trib  

(Hope is a good thing) a little old, but a good read from Bill Simmons on the Utah Jazz. 
19. Utah Jazz

My third-favorite thing about the Williams trade: In a 24/7 reporting world of "Heard this" and "Sources say," nobody knew Williams was on the block until he was traded. It was relatively amazing. So amazing that, apparently, a couple of teams were miffed (not ticked, not pissed; just miffed) that Utah never gave them an exploratory heads-up before saying yes to Jersey.

Utah's reasons made sense: Jersey had the most assets (and was offering them), so Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor was afraid Williams might catch wind and sabotage the deal. Still, with ten minutes to go before officially saying yes, couldn't Utah have called Oklahoma City, Boston, Houston, Golden State, the Knicks and Clippers and said, "Keep it low, but you have ten minutes to consider the following Godfather offer for Deron Williams." Why not? Don't you want to know for sure? What would Golden State have done if it had 10 minutes to respond to "Curry, your 2011 and 2013 unprotected No. 1's and an expiring contract for Williams"? What would Boston have done if given 10 minutes to digest "Rondo, Perkins, and a 2013 No. 1 for Williams"? Or the Clippers if "Gordon, Aminu, Kaman and the rights to Minny's 2012 No. 1 pick" were thrown at them?

Think of this way: Don't you hate when someone gets traded in your fantasy league and you never knew the guy was available? Isn't this how 80 percent of all fantasy league email wars start? Why wouldn't this also be the case for real leagues? Do you think the Williams trade led to a huge reply-to-all email chain with eight or nine GMs bitching about O'Connor, then him firing back with something personal like, "Maybe if you spent as much time scouting as you do emailing, you wouldn't be in the lottery again"? followed by F-bombs flying back and forth and people not talking for three months? Or does this just happen in fantasy?

(Thinking.)

You're right, it just happens in fantasy. My bad. By the way, my League of Dorks auction lasted for eight and a half hours last weekend. At one point, we were arguing about whether you should be able to trade minor league picks right up to the day of the minor league draft, or whether the deadline should remain the week before -- I was pushing for "day of" -- and one owner actually said the words, "I don't know if we want to set a precedent," like we were Supreme Court justices arguing Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. I should also mention that I set a Google alert for Miguel Pineda these past four weeks. Don't ask. I need professional help. Let's just move on.

An Interview with Gordon Hayward- SLCDUNK 

Jazz end 17-game losing streak against Lakers. Purple and Blues.  

As Hayward Evolves his Game Changes. SLCTRIB 

Corbin Bryant praise Gordon Hayward. DN

Something to believe in. Salt City Hoops 



Jazz Vs. Trailblazers Perview Fastline Sports (the oddsmakers) 

Jazz Blazer Preview  Cbssports.com

Beyondthebeat.com (Blazers)  

Blazers Edged (Obviously)  

I love you hands. I have treated you so well. WTF were you thinking. I massage you, I put lotion on you. I even cut you nails (C. Webber). I give you championship rings to wear. I even let you rape people once in a while. How do you repay me? You let Gordon Hayward....Gordon Hayward make a fool out of me and embarrass me on National Television. I don't like you hands. 

The Gorgasm. 

Land O Lakers at the Buzzer Blog Post

Hayward keeps Jazz Close. Brian T Smith  

Utah Jazz Stun Lakers 86-85 DN  

Gordon Hayward Shines as Jazz Stun Lakers Trib  
I should say here that I still don't like the draft pick of Gordon Hayward. I love him and am glad that he is here and know that he is doing well. I know that he will be here for a while. I think that the trade of Deron Williams and injuries have made K.O.C's pick look better. I still, like some other, think that Ed Davis was a better pick at the time and still do. Is Gordon playing well? Yes... Is he part of our future? Yes? I like his game and his attitude I am not a hater. 
In Fact Ross Siler said something similar last night on Twitter @rosssiler

Forum Blue and Gold Blog  

David Locke Audio Recap 

Hayward's Shining Moment, J.A Adande and Truehoop 

Jazz Fanatical Lakers Jazz Recap 

A Reversal of Fortunes- Salt City Hoops 

Lamar Odom: "Our worst game of the year, by far" Slam Online by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

With the last of this season's always-intense showdowns with the Los Angeles Lakers upon us, one of my favorite people Phillip Barnett of the TrueHoop Network's Forum Blue and Gold and I traded questions, answers, and barbs. Enjoy, and follow Phil on Twitter at @imsohideous. I promise, if such a thing exists, he's one of the good guys in Laker blue and gold.

___

PB: If the Jazz have developed one definite strength since the departures of Sloan and Williams, what is it and how can they use it against the Lakers?

TUJB: Nothing to lose. The Jazz have nothing to lose. They can lay it all out there, experiment, as new head coach Ty Corbin has done.

Granted, some of it has to do with injuries, but Corbin has been feeling around a lot for a lineup that clicks, starting no less than 10 different lineups in just 23 games. He's also gone small ball --Devin Harris, Earl Watson, Raja Bell, CJ Miles, and a big-- as well as big ball like he did in the recent first half versus the Lakers, starting Kyrylo Fesenko, Al Jefferson, and Paul Millsap at the 3-spot, the latter is an experiment in the process for potential for next season with Millsap's new-found penchant for a mid-range game.

PB: C.J. Miles had a great first half against the Lakers. What is it that he does that was so tough for the Lakers to defend, and what do you think the Lakers should do to better defend him tonight?

TUJB: The entire Jazz team came out aggressive forcing the ball into the paint in the first quarter, especially Miles. A look at the shot chart shows Miles with a nice cluster of penetration buckets early on in the game. When Miles is instead kept on the perimeter and forced into contested jumpers, as the Lakers' defense began doing from the second stanza onward, Utah's offense stalls out. 

The FG% percentages as well as the shot chart bear this out. In the first, Utah shot 50%, the second 33%, the third 37%. The Lakers' defense went into lockdown mode in the paint after the initial bloodied nose they received.

PB: Al Jefferson and Fes did a great job on the boards in the previous matchup. How can they translate their positive rebounding numbers into a closer game and/or win tonight?

TUJB: It's no secret that rebounding has been an Achilles heel for the Jazz this season, so in hindsight what many of us considered an April Fool's Day joke being played on us when Fes starting was first announced instead began to make sense when the Jazz corralled 28 first-half rebounds. That's 72% of the team's usual rebounds claimed for an entire game in a single half. Against the lengthy Lakers no less.

Jefferson and Fesenko collected nearly half of those rebounds on their own, 12 of 'em. They would only nab six more between 'em in the second half. On the flip side, Andrew Bynum had only one first-half rebound, and Pau Gasol four. Bynum would finish out the second half by quadrupling his rebounds, grabbing four, and Gasol five more. Throw in glass-eater Lamar Odom's seven boards since the start of the second period and the Lakers closed the game down only five on the glass, 39-44.

The Jazz netted 15 offensive rebounds in the last meeting. Unfortunately, many of those were due to poor shots in the first place, so Utah needs to have a better shot selection and better ball movement. The Jazz are always at or near tops in assists. Not that time. The Jazz had only 15 dimes as a team, indicating that when they were hot they were hot, but when not...

PB: Any other thoughts about tonight's match up or anything else involving the Lakers and Jazz?

TUJB: The Jazz don't play the role of spoiler very well; they simply have very little experience being in such a position as a franchise. It seems like when they get down, or whenever the opposition starts a comeback run on them they simply sigh and go, "Welp, here we go again. Oh well." They need to develop a sense of confidence somewhere along the way, a purpose. They don't have one right now.

Playing spoiler to a playoff-bound team such as L.A. in the hunt for the top seed against the floundering San Antonio Spurs could go a long toward developing some sort of team unity, a sense that they have a shot together for the future as a team.

___

CP: We saw Paul Millsap in a new role as a 3 versus Ron Artest in the last meeting. Both are about the same size of player and it was a fun matchup. Does having a meaty guy like Millsap who has a PF mentality concern you in regards to Artest?

FBG: Yes and no. It concerns me because Ron Artest loves to play extremely physical, but most of the time that physical play is on the perimeter against guys who aren't of his physical build. When he has to play the likes of Millsap (and even Danilo Gallinari a couple nights ago) he either picks up cheap fouls or the guy he's guarding shoots at a high percentage. Guys who play physical and move Ron to the paint defensively takes some of the defensive pressure off of the perimeter -- something that has intensified since the All-Star break and deserves as much credit for the Lakers improved D as Andrew Bynum is getting.

On the other hand, Paul Millsap is a guy who has given the Lakers fits in the past and Ron is the most willing physical defender on the Lakers' squad. I don't think he minds the challenge, and if he accepts it as a challenge, the Lakers are guaranteed to have a focused Ron for those 48 minutes.

CP: Pau Gasol gave Al Jefferson fits with his length, but had to play a Lakers'-high 35-plus minutes to seal victory in what turned out to be a blowout. Can the Lakers win playing him less against Utah this time?

FBG: In the Lakers last three games, they came out extremely flat to start out the game, and spent the second and third quarters climbing a ladder they shouldn't have been on to begin with. Last Friday, the Lakers played Utah, in Utah, on the 2nd of a back to back. Tonight, they're playing on a days rest at home, so I'm hoping that they don't allow Utah to force some early turnovers and build up some confidence and energy, putting the Lakers in yet another early hole. With that being said, the Lakers definitely can beat this Utah team with Gasol playing limited minutes, but they have to come out and take care of business early. Synergy stats show that opposing teams are shooting 61% against the Jazz when a player shoots after cutting to the basket -- which means the Lakers have to run the triangle. This is a Lakers team that has a tendency to go 6-7-8 straight possessions with shots taken in isolation situations (and it's not just Kobe). Instead, run the offense through the bigs and have perimeter players moving without the ball. This takes away the long rebounds that will put this fast Jazz team in transition and forces Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap to play defense. The Lakers have already shown that they know what it takes to get things done defensively against this new look Jazz squad (only allowing 57 points in the final three quarters), but getting off to a good start is key if they want to get Pau some rest.

CP: Fesenko basically shut down Bynum in the first half of the last game, but didn't play the fourth quarter for whatever reason. Is he a player you, and Kobe, wouldn't care to see in this rematch?

FBG: I'd actually prefer that Fes started again this game. Bynum has really enjoyed showing up and playing against some of the better centers in the league like Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan and Tyson Chandler, with the way Fes played him last game, it would be interesting to see how he responds this game. Will he make it a personal challenge that he has with some of the leagues other centers, or is he only going to show up against guys with known names? Consistency is something we'd like to see more from Bynum, and he's been a whole lot better with his consistency since the All-Star break in terms of numbers and production, but he isn't consistently fired up to go out and show that he's the best center on the floor every night. Also, Fesenko has a body and plays with the kind of physicality that the Lakers might see a bit of in the playoffs with Kendrick Perkins now on the Thunder and with Memphis' Marc Gasol playing well as of late. Tonight can be an early test for 'Drew to see if he's both physically and mentally ready for the postseason.

CP: How does it feel to have officially knocked Utah out of playoff contention for the fourth consecutive season? Haters!

Utah Jazz Blog Bracket Standings 
Congratulations to Bryce who has first place wrapped up; fellow podcaster and one hell of a model american. 
Jazz Kings Preview---CBSPORTS

MythBusting the NBA- via @allthatamar and Slcdunk.com 

Game Over Sacramento Kings setting to abdicate. Trib  
As a Jazz fan things may have never looked darker than they do now. However, things could get worse. We could not have the Jazz. I would rather have a crappy team than no team. The fans in Sacramento, a once mighty organization (think 99) and when they gave Stockton a standing ovation in his final game, are two weeks away from leaving. I am sure the fans in Seattle can sympathize. I don't like you Sacramento but I respect you as sports fans. 

Utah Jazz Notebook- DN  

Jazz vow to keep fighting. DN  
I don't mind fighting as long as they lose the fight and move higher up in the draft that might not happen and draft a player that might not pan out. 

Corbin mulls using smaller line up again. SLT 

Never at any point in last night's game did I feel like we had the game under control. Even up 17. Somewhere deep in my chest I had feelings of the 6 point quarter from a couple year's ago in Los Angeles. They mentioned that the Spurs had lost and it would be a bad Idea to let the Lakers find out. They obviously found out. #Beastmode. 

Defense- Team Defense as @lockedonsports mentioned is really only played by three teams in the League- Chicago, Boston, LA, and sometimes San Antonio. We saw the Lakers team defense last night and it was remarkable. 

C.J. Miles-- I love that he went toe to toe with the champ and gave it everything he had. This argument is still out there and I don't ever, and I mean ever, see Raja (at any point in his career) scoring 24 points against the Lakers. I know some of those points came at the end of the game in garbage time but I felt like he may have played complete game on both sides of the floor. 

Assists- The Jazz only had 15 assists on 34 baskets which is the second lowest out put of the season behind the 13 assist night in N.O. on 12-17-10. 

It is not like Jay Leno's or like this guy's jaw, well it kind of is. Reason #456 why I hate the Los Angeles Lakers isKobe Bryant's Jaw.  
SLCDUNK- Gamethread.

Lakers Beating Jazz is not breaking News. Brad Rock 

With Malice A Lakers P.O.V. 

Even "flat" Lakers to much for Jazz. Steve Luhm 

Gordon Hayward- One Year Later- Yahoo-AP 

Lakers end Jazz Playoff Hopes- Brian T. Smith 

A few words with Land O Laker from SaltCityHoops. 

@Monilogue gives us her thoughts. Jazz Fanatical 

If you have ESPN3 you can rewatch the game here.