The podcast crew hit the party in salt lake last night here are some pictures…

New Banner with Bell, Millsap and Jefferson

Millsap, Price, Jefferson, and Miles.

Booner drops some props on himself, that he was the second player in college to wear Adidas shoes the first edition.  A couple in front Greg Miller got engaged, and the ring doesn’t fit.  Bird Man Forgot his Hair Gel and pulls a new A.K. Anthony Carter got a dunk and The Lion King makes Deron Cry. Oh and the Utah Jazz won.

When I heard that Billups and Melo where out I started having Nightmares of January 2nd.

However we have the A.K. playing better than his all-star year.That’s right its time to go buy a new A.K. jersey.I really can’t say enough about the guy he is playing amazing basketball.

Ronnie Price had a sick put back dunk.

Deron Williams Tied his Career high with 3 blocks.

Boozer returned with a double double.

Millsap is well Millsap

Korver is a DNP coaches decision mostly due to matchup problems.

The biggest questions Jazz fans have at this point is probably can we keep this play going for the rest of the year and more importantly can AK. I don’t know and really don’t care as long as the keep winning now.

Deron’s Leadership. Midway through the third quarter Ronnie Brewer went down the lane for dunk and Joey Graham basically close-lined him. He put one hand in his face and one hand into his neck and shoved him to the floor. The refs called a flagrant one and on the following inbound play the Jazz ran a back pick on the in-bounds play. Ak was being guarded by Graham who had his back to the basket when the Ball was in-bounded AK streaked towards the basket and Deron set a really hard pick into the middle of the back of Graham and pretty much threw him to the ground cleanly. Deron pretty much showed that he was willing to protect his guys. I thought that was cool enough to make it a main point in the post.  (edit) not knowing that this was slcdunk’s play of the night as well, great minds think a like.

The Foul on Brewer by Graham

Deron’s Back Pick Right After

Deron with the Back Pick on Graham

Broy out of the All-star game that leaves a spot for Boozer or Nene I don’t reall see any others that would get in over those two, once again the spot will be chosen by David Stern.

Speaking of David Stern the CBA’s are getting very ugly

Article one YAHOO

Article two ESPN

In Case you were wondering, there are tickets still available to an array of New Jersey Nets Home games. I wonder if our buddy out in Hackensack went to the game last night. If so send us your thoughts.

Got a scare last night while I was in class a text came in “Deron Williams bangs knee and is going to the locker room”. I was a little worried so jumped on the comp to see if everything was ok which it was.

Other than the first quarter the Game played out just like we thought it would.

Brooke Lopez will have a pretty solid Career in the NBA and may just win a title, think (Kendrick Perkins BOS, Ben Wallace DET) a solid center surrounded by really good players.

So we think that we finally figured out Boozer’s signature dunk, we call it the scissor kick. Generally a two handed dunk, where he pulls himself up on the rim and scissors kicks his legs apart before coming down. Anyway Boozer had a great game pulling down ten boards and putting up 26 points. Boozer is the only player in the Western Conference averaging 20 and 10. Actually Boozer and Deron are the only two teammates in the league averaging over 20 points per game.The Jazz are 12-3 when Boozer scores more than 20 points.

Korver is still a little out of sync and I don’t think he will be fully back into the swing of things until maybe the tale end of this trip.

The Fez dispenser, dispensed quite the dunk tonight look for it on the highlights coming up later tonight on our youtube page.

The Utah Jazz are already in Atlanta and will have tomorrow night off. Deron will make an appearance with Kenny, Charles and Ek probably making an all-star push to go along with the new viral video campaign.

As you may have noticed, Matty Harpring is trying his hand in broadcasting. Below he shares his thoughts on Retirement, Broadcasting and the late LHM.

I don’t care if he had the flu, I don’t care if he had a broken finger- had the Lakers won on Saturday they would be praising Kobe for his determination and sheer desire to win. Alas, the Utah Jazz won and 10o’s of Lakers Fans had to leave the ESA unhappy and muttering how they would get us next time. We will see. Pau Gasol was stolen from Memphis, stolen, you dirty thieves. Memphis there is a place in Hell waiting for you. I am still not in CJ’s corner but slowly moving toward that side of the ring. We will cover this in great detail in the Utah Jazz Podcast.

THE UTAH JAZZ PODCAST

Deron Williams talks Tiger, Dodgeball, Coach Sloan and says he feels he is the best at his position.

Some Valuable Trade Info.

Free agents who sign contracts in the off-season can’t be traded by their new team until Dec. 15 or three months from the day the contract is inked … whichever date comes later. The following is the complete list of players from last summer’s free-agent class who become eligible to be traded Tuesday:

• Atlanta Hawks: Mike Bibby, Jason Collins, Zaza Pachulia, Joe Smith and Marvin Williams

• Boston Celtics: Marquis Daniels, Glen Davis, Rasheed Wallace and Shelden Williams

• Charlotte Bobcats: None

• Chicago Bulls: Lindsey Hunter and Jannero Pargo

• Cleveland Cavaliers: Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker, Leon Powe and Anderson Varejao

• Dallas Mavericks: Drew Gooden, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Quinton Ross, James Singleton and Tim Thomas

• Denver Nuggets: Chris Andersen, Anthony Carter and Johan Petro

• Detroit Pistons: Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Ben Wallace and Chris Wilcox

• Golden State Warriors: Mikki Moore and C.J. Watson

•Houston Rockets: Trevor Ariza

• Indiana Pacers: Dahntay Jones, Solomon Jones, Josh McRoberts and Earl Watson

• Los Angeles Clippers: Steve Novak

• Los Angeles Lakers: Ron Artest, Shannon Brown and Lamar Odom

• Memphis Grizzlies: Marcus Williams

• Miami Heat: Joel Anthony and Jamaal Magloire

• Milwaukee Bucks: Carlos Delfino, Ersan Ilyasova and Hakim Warrick

• Minnesota Timberwolves: Ryan Hollins and Ramon Sessions

• New Jersey Nets: None

• New Orleans Hornets: Ike Diogu and Sean Marks

• New York Knicks: None

• Oklahoma City Thunder: Kevin Ollie

• Orlando Magic: Matt Barnes, Brandon Bass, Adonal Foyle, Marcin Gortat and Jason Williams

• Philadelphia 76ers: Primoz Brezec, Rodney Carney and Royal Ivey

• Phoenix Suns: Channing Frye, Grant Hill

• Portland Trail Blazers: Andre Miller

• Sacramento Kings: Sean May

• San Antonio Spurs: Malik Hairston, Marcus Haislip, Antonio McDyess and Theo Ratliff

• Toronto Raptors: Jarrett Jack, Rasho Nesterovic and Hedo Turkoglu

• Utah Jazz: Paul Millsap and Ronnie Price

• Washington Wizards: Fabricio Oberto

Exceptions to this deadline are.

There are a further 26 players who were signed as free agents after Sept. 15, meaning that Dec. 15 comes too soon and that they are not eligible to be traded until three months from the day they signed have elapsed. They are:

• Hawks: Othello Hunter (Dec. 28)

• Bobcats: Raymond Felton (Dec. 22), Flip Murray (Dec. 25) and Stephen Graham (Dec. 28)

• Bulls: Aaron Gray (Dec. 22)

• Cavaliers: Coby Karl (Dec. 28)

• Nuggets: Joey Graham (Dec. 26)

• Pistons: Chucky Atkins (Dec. 28)

• Pacers: Luther Head (Dec. 17)

• Clippers: Brian Skinner (Dec. 16) and Kareem Rush (Dec. 25)

• Grizzlies: Jamaal Tinsley (Feb. 14)

• Heat: Shavlik Randolph (Dec. 28) and Carlos Arroyo (Jan. 12)

• Timberwolves: Sasha Pavlovic (Dec. 17) and Jason Hart (Dec. 28)

• Knicks: Nate Robinson (Dec. 22), Marcus Landry (Dec. 25) and David Lee (Dec. 22)

• Suns: Jarron Collins (Dec. 28)

• Trail Blazers: Juwan Howard (Dec. 17)

• Kings: Ime Udoka (Feb. 4)

• Spurs: Keith Bogans (Dec. 23)

• Raptors: Pops Mensah-Bonsu (Dec. 17 after Toronto claimed him on waivers from Houston)

• Jazz: Wesley Matthews(Dec. 28)

• Wizards: Earl Boykins (Feb. 11)

P.S.: There’s one more exception at play here. Any player signed after Nov. 18 cannot be traded during the 2009-10 season because the three-month wait extends past the league’s Feb. 18 trading deadline. Players affected include Golden State’s Chris Hunter, Oklahoma City’s Mike Wilks … and a Philadelphia 76er named Allen Iverson.

So anyone look for any trade scenarios these players have been added to the mix.

Finally the Jazz are coming home for a series of home games.  Having Deron Williams back for tonight’s game against the Toronto Raptors will be a definite benefit.  The Jazz need to protect their home court as they have in years past facing this interesting Raptors team.  They made a few decent moves in the offseason but still not a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference for a championship.  According to ESPN.com, the Jazz are favored to win 80% to 20%.

Here are some things to look out for during this game:

1.       Andrea Bargnani (C) is a big guy that can shoot the 3-pointer just like Memo, we’ll need to guard the perimeter along with their backcourt.

2.       Two of the best power forwards in the league going head-to-head.  Boozer vs. Bosh!  As Jazz fans we would love to have Bosh play for the Jazz, so let’s treat him extra well while he’s here.

3.       During the offseason Raptors picked up Hedo Turkoglu from the Orlando Magic.  He also has a wide range of offensive moves that the Jazz will have to keep up with.

4.       Raptors will be starting their new rookie at shooting guard.  DeMar DeRozan is a 6-7, 220 lb. shooting guard.  He is still adjusting his way into the speed of the NBA but had 17 points for them against Denver last night.

5.       Jerry Sloan plans on a new starting lineup for tonight’s game by bringing Andrei Kirilenko off the bench while starting G Wesley Matthews.  We’ll see how this pans out for the Jazz as they needed more scoring coming off of the bench.  Hopefully the Jazz can respond with a killer 1-2 punch with Millsap and Kirilenko coming off the bench.

Raptors have the tendency to score a lot of points on offense as they have the players to do so.  Their defense is susceptible to giving up points as well, which will be an advantage for the Jazz.  Teams in the past that have gone to a zone defense against the Jazz have profited well from it so if the Raptors decide to change up their defensive scheme the Jazz will have to adjust quickly to that.

I predict this will be a closer game than most people think especially the way the Jazz have been playing at home lately.  I’m truly hoping that this doesn’t bring back my dream from last night when the Raptors scoring 60+ points in the 1^st quarter.  Actually, that seems of more of a nightmare than anything!  Good luck to the Jazz tonight and let’s get ready to talk about a win.

Jazz Key Team Stats Raptors 100.5 Points scored 107.4 101.9 Points allowed 108.1 .481 FG% own .475 .471 FG% opposition .478 .325 3PT% own .410 .398 3PT% opposition .409 110 Offensive Rebounds 120 305 Defensive Rebounds 322 415 Total Rebounds 442 1.6 Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.8 22.2 Fouls Per Game 24.9

-Scott McKell

Eric Maynor is quietly dominating in Utah. by Jack Jensen (Dime Magazine)

Jazz find their defensive groove by getting offensive by John Schuhmann

Williams a chip off  Sloan’s Block by Ian Thomsen

Utah Jazz joining fight against Breast Cancer

Boozer, Jazz insist all is well after offseason about-face. By Chris Colston

Jazz’s play similar to a slot machine. Goeff Griffin

Jazz Rookie Maynor makes most of his early opportunity. by Brian Dulk (Pro Basketball News)

The Jazz blew a 21 point lead in the third quarter to eventually win by a basket. Deron had 16 assists, Boozer had some key buckets and boards, AK went off from down…Here is the Video

Jazz @ Knicks Video Highlights

I’m so confused right now about this team. Here is the box score and some other info. Andrei was the rainmaker, Deron had sixteen dimes, Boozer pulled down fourteen boards and the Utah Jazz barley won in New York.

Jazz gave up 32 points in the first half and 62 in the second, once again the tale of two halves. These games are getting very frustrating to watch.

I can’t think of a regular season game that meant so much to the franchise, the players and the fans. Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer had huge nights and the Utah Jazz bench chipped in 27 points 12 of which cam from rookie Wes Matthews Jr.

Defensively the Jazz held the Spurs to 43.2% from the floor and had nine steals, 5 blocks on their way to scoring 113 points. The most by a Utah Jazz team against the Spurs since 1997.

The Jazz made some very important adjustments at half time to try and slow down Tony Parker. Parker had 17 points in the first half and was not be stopped on his penetration to the hoop. In the second half the Jazz ran two defenders under the screen on the pick and roll usually AK or Memo to stretch Parker out on the pic.

Boozer already has three blocks this year, you may think eh so what. In 38 games last year he had a total of seven. So there is a little sign of improvement on the Defensive end.

Deron Williams has made a conscious effort to rebound the basketball and it shows in his stats. Deron is averaging five rebounds a game through five games, last year he averaged 2.9 for the season. His assists are down a little but that may be due to the fact that he is not releasing on the opponents missed shot because he is crashing the boards. Just a thought.

Wes Matthew Jr. played a great game tonight. He set the tone right when he came in, he played physical defense and took the ball strong to the rack.

Offensively the Jazz looked incredible and for most of the game were able to run and set plays they wanted to run. A few times Doug Collins mentioned that the Jazz were the best team in the NBA at getting one pass baskets of dead balls. I agree.

This win will the give the Jazz confidence and if you add that confidence with a Sacramento win maybe, just maybe we can go into MSG and finally pull out a win against the Knicks which will count as two games because of the first round draft pick that they gave us.

The Jazz and their fans needed this win tonight.