107 Celtics, 102 Jazz

The Utah Jazz may have lost Deron Williams and have an identity crisis in crunch time of games, but boy are they a fun team and have a ton of potential. It was an awesome but frustrating game as the bigs ate us alive like I was previously concerned about in the preview. Old friend Al Jefferson 28 points and 19 boards, Paul Millsap had 17 and Derek Favors had 9. A lot of that can be credited to Big Baby who had one of the worst games of his career. He was late on defense, had a rough game shooting going 2-8, 5 fouls and just things weren't going great for him. I questioned Doc for not giving Nenad Krstic more burn down the stretch. Speaking of Krstic I have been nothing but impressed by him so far, he hustles, rebounds and is a really good offensive player and knows where to position himself, he finished with 11 points and 5 boards. But so far he's been more impressive than Jeff Green who seems to not have grasped the offense and defense yet. Hopefully that will happen sooner then later because I don't want to make excuses for him all year.

Rajon(18 points, 11 assists) had a hell of a game finding everyone and being aggressive. He hit the dagger jumper at the end of the game which I love. The more confident he gets with that jumper the more that will benefit us down the stretch. Ray Allen was the catalyst for this win, drilling difficult shot after difficult shot.

Great win, and 3-1 on the road trip and only loss coming to Denver after the trade.

Celtics/Utah Preview (UPDATED)

Here is a picture of Jeff Green's college days, doing something.

Depth Chart

	Boston (PPG)	Utah (PPG)
PG	R. Rondo 10.7	D. Harris 15.0
SG	R. Allen 17.3	C. Miles 12.2
SF	P. Pierce 18.9	A. Kirilenko 11.9
PF	K. Garnett 15.1	P. Millsap 17.3
C	N. Krstic 7.6	A. Jefferson 17.8
View full depth chart: Boston Utah

The first game of the new look Celtics and the Amazing Jeff Green and Nenad the Offensive Rebounding Machine went well as we were able to beat the Clippers and everything was jipper. Tonight we play another new look team that is heavy with the big men. Utah has Paul Milsap, Al Jefferson and Derrek Favors. That scares me a lot figuring our big man issue (don't say see if we had Kendrick Perkins bullshit either, he's out 2-3 weeks). Nenad not only has a funny name but impressed me a lot the first game on the glass. If he can toughen up, which I believe he can that will be huge.

Jeff Green looked lost the 1st game, he looked out of place, with a couple more practices under his belt he should know where to be this game. But the key to this game will obviously be Rondo. Who has a match up he can work with against Devin Harris and has some match ups he can exploit with CJ Miles on Ray and AK 47 on Paul Pierce. If he can find a way to hit them on the hands all game it should be over before it starts.

Celtics win 108-95
Tommy Award: Rajon


***UPDATE***

"Delonte West sprained his right ankle during an informal workout on Sunday when he stepped on another player's foot and will be out for the Celtics game Monday night against the Jazz. West also is questionable for Wednesday's game vs. the Suns. This latest injury once again puts the Celtics in a bind as West is the only experienced point guard on the roster behind Rajon Rondo, following Nate Robinson's trade to the Thunder (WEEI)."

Breaking News: Nets Trade For Deron Williams

"The New Jersey Nets are trying to rebound from the disappointment of their failed pursuit of Carmelo Anthony by swinging a blockbuster trade for the Utah Jazz's Deron Williams before Thursday's 3 p.m. ET deadline, sources said on Wednesday.

The Nets and Jazz, sources said, are closing in on a multi-team trade that would send Williams to New Jersey, with the Nets' Derrick Favors and Devin Harris going to Utah.

The deal, scheduled for completion later Wednesday after a trade call with the league office, would also involve the Golden State Warriors and bring multiple draft picks to Utah (ESPN)."

Which now has been confirmed..

"The Jazz have agreed to trade All-Star Deron Williams to the Nets as part of a three-team trade, Ken Berger has confirmed (CBS Sports)."

This is getting out of control. The East is going to be so stacked for years to come. The Knicks are already on their way with Melo/Amare, Heat have Lebron/Wade/Bosh, Celtics have a year or two left with Garnett/Rondo/Pierce/Allen, and the Bulls have Rose/Boozer.

Here is how I see all this playing out. I think Dwight Howard will eventually head to the Nets. I think Chris Paul will head to the Knicks, making life miserable for everyone in the East. At least for once the regular season will be exciting.

You have to feel bad for the Jazz after losing their long time coach, and now their best player.

Jerry Sloan Resigns

According to, SportingNews.com, Jerry Sloan will resign as head coach of the Utah Jazz at a press conference scheduled for later on today.

"The news follows a strange scene after the Jazz lost, 91-86, at home to the Chicago Bulls last night. Before speaking with the media immediately after the game as he normally would, Sloan met with GM Kevin O’Connor behind closed doors for more than 30 minutes, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. The Jazz coach then hastily answered questions and said he’d prefer to concentrate on game-related queries only."

Sloan is calling it quits mid way through his 23rd season with the Jazz. He is the only coach in NBA history to win 1,000 games with one team. However, Sloan has never won a coach of the year award, nor has he ever won an NBA championship. His glory days came in the 1990's when he had the dynamic duo of John Stockton and Karl Malone. Even after they had come and gone, Sloan still remained to keep the Jazz in the playoff mix. The Jazz have only missed the playoffs 3 times under Sloan, a disastrous three year stretch from 2003-2006. He has coached the Jazz to three 50+ win seasons in the last four years. His best season coaching the Jazz came in 1996-1997 when they won 64 games, advanced to the finals, before suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls.

The resignation does come at a strange time because the Jazz, like most years, are very much in the playoff hunt. No word on who will replace as the interim coach of Utah.

Sloan was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2009.

Jazz @ Celtics Preview

The Celtics have been hot of late going 8-2 in their last 10 (4 in a row), but looked sluggish and disinterested in their last game against the Pistons. Meanwhile, the Jazz have really slowed down, losing each of their last 2 games (both on the road) and are only 5-5 in their last 10. It isn't like their are even losing to good teams (Wizards/Nets).

The Jazz are going to come out with something to prove, but after that lackluster performance last time out, so will the Celtics. Deron Williams is averaging 24.5 points and 10.5 assists over his last 4, but with Rondo on him I am not too nervous about him. Al Jefferson is quietly having a very nice season for himself (16.9 pts 8.8 rebs), but you wonder how good he will be with Garnett/Shaq on him.

What I am getting at here is that Celtics just matchup well against the Jazz, and that's why I see the Celtics winning easily.

Celtics win 105-93
Tommy Award: Ray Allen
Game starts at 7:30pm on Comcast

Raja Bell Clotheslines Kobe One Last Time

Raja Bell and the Jazz have agreed to terms on a 3 year deal worth nearly $10 million, prompting Bell to cancel his sit-down in Los Angeles with Kobe Bryant that had been scheduled for Wednesday night.

I personally find this hilarious. ESPN had been making a big deal that Kobe and Bell had buried the hatchet, and that Kobe really wanted him on the Lakers. Well, I don't believe for a second that Bell likes Kobe anymore then he did a couple years ago when he clotheslined Kobe in the playoffs and then called him "pompous, arrogant individual" who gets preferential treatment from the refs...hilarious!

Anyways, not a bad signing for the Jazz who are piecing together a decent team after it looked like it was going to be a terrible offseason losing Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver. Now they have turned around and traded for Al Jefferson (who could be real good if he stays healthy and with Williams at PG), and Raja Bell.

Al Jefferson Traded To Jazz

The Jazz have agreed to a trade that would send Al Jefferson from Minnesota to Utah. The CEO of the Jazz, Greg Miller, tweeted that he "just approved a Jazz roster move that I'm very excited about. Planning to share details tomorrow." It is believed that the Jazz can take on the remaining three years and $42 million of Jefferson's contract with the $13 million trade exception that was acquired in the sign-and-trade deal that sent Carlos Boozer to the Bulls.

Great deal for the Jazz, as Jefferson (when healthy) can be a very good player. The former Celtic averaged 17.1 points and 9.3 rebounds last season, playing in 76 games. If he can stay healthy he will be a great option for Deron Williams, and at least puts on a somewhat good spin on a horrible offseason for the Jazz.

Lakers 3, Jazz 0. Jazz Fans 1, Kobe 0.

Mehmet's Season Done

Mehmet Okur has a torn left Achilles tendon and is out for the remainder of the playoffs.

Sucks. In the most thrilling series of all of them this is certainly the dagger that will kill the Utah Jazz's chances vs the Denver Nuggets. Okur was a big part of the Jazz's offense averaging 13 points and 7 boards, plus he's the Nuggets all time 3 point scorer(I know I was shocked too). Down 0-1 this was the last news that the Jazz needed.

110 Utah, 97 Celtics

Well the win streak is over and it's all thanks to a strong second half by the Jazz and fucking Mehmet Okur. When the Jazz went on the run, he had 3 3's and a tip in and every rebound and by the end of that little run, it was too late for the Celtics. Also it didn't help that Deron Williams had 22 and CJ Miles had 23.

The Celtics offense was awful to say the least. The had more turnovers (18) than assists (16), and were out rebounded 27-16 in the 2nd half. Pierce only had 2 points in the second half also. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen combined to shoot 7-25 from the field. Glen Davis put in an impressive 13 points in the first half, but failed to score over the final 24 minutes.

I can live with this loss, because the C's have showed improvement on this road trip. It sucks we lost, but what can you do?

Oh yea, Doc got thrown out of the game.

Deron Williams Calls Out Jazz

"Deron Williams was not happy after losing to the Celtics 105-86 Wednesday. After the game Williams had dinner with a few teammates and they discussed what was wrong with the team -- selfishness.

"A lot of it's a little bit of selfishness," Williams told the Deseret News. "When we build leads, we start looking for our own shot and worrying about scoring instead of getting stops. We went to dinner last night, and a couple of us were talking. We looked at Boston, and, you know, Paul Pierce has 10 points, Kevin Garnett has 10 points (actually 18), Ray Allen has 10 points (actually 15), Rajon Rondo has 14 points, somebody else has 12 points and they're on the bench happy ... They don't care who ... gets the glory. They just want to win. Until we figure that out, we're not gonna be a good team (ESPN)."

You know Deron Williams is very jealous on Rondo. Williams is a hell of a point guard, and I think he is making a solid point here. Look at the Celtics, it doesn't matter who scores, as long as someone does. A lot of teams could learn from this. Sure there will be nights when Pierce/Allen go off, but for the most part you are going to see all of them in double figures, while role players also play a major part. If you spread the scoring and play good defense you win...and that's all there is to it.

105 Celtics, 86 Jazz

The Celtics start 8-1 for the second time in 3 years as they absolutely demolished the Utah Jazz. All of the starters looked like forces as they led the Celtics to the win. The scoring leader for the C's was KG with 18 points, but the driving force behind the Celtics last night was Rajon Rondo who had another double double with 14 points on 7-11 shooting and 11 assists. He also had the play of the game when he took the inbounds pass after a Jazz free throw, letting it bounce a few times so the clock wouldn't start, and raced to the basket for the buzzer-beating layup to help the Celtics pull away . Rondo claims he can run a 3.9 second 40-yard dash, has always counted speed among his assets at point guard. By being able to dribble 94 feet in 3.1 seconds -- and yes, they've timed him in practice -- means Boston sometimes doesn't have to fire up a desperation shot at the end of a quarter. Deron Williams played with his injury but it was obvious he wasn't 100% and he just couldn't keep in front of Rajon. This was a very good win against a good team, which makes the Phoenix loss hurt a little less.

Celtics Vs Jazz Preview

Tonight's game is going to be tough as they hope to be a very difficult Utah Jazz team. Even though the Jazz are only 3-4 on the early season, I don't buy it. They are eventually going to right the ship and play some defense and lets hope that isn't tonight. Utah has experienced a surprising amount of success against the Celtics in recent years, taking four of six meetings. The line ups go as:
PG D. Williams 21.4 R. Rondo 10.6
SG R. Brewer 12.7 R. Allen 14.8
SF A. Kirilenko 13.7 P. Pierce 18.8
PF C. Boozer 16.7 K. Garnett 12.9
C M. Okur 15.3 K. Perkins 9.5
Their starting 5 is very strong, but when it comes to their second unit, the Celtics are going to excel. The key match up tonight is Williams and Rondo. Rondo has seemed to have have played against a premier point guard every single game, and tonight is no different. Williams is considered an upper echelon of PG and Rondo has the prove it mentality, and with that we all have to hope he can keep his emotions in check and play some smart ball.

Celtics: 100-87
Tommy Award: Rondo

Whats on TV tonight?

I know what your thinking...

Its almost noon, I'm excited for lunch and I can't wait to get home, throw on a snuggy and watch some sports as I duel on a couch for the night over a fine glass of water and hops...

Nevertheless, here is whats on your flatscreen, tube or b&w TV tonight:

Montreal Canadians @ Boston Bruins, NESN 7pm or WBZ-FM (98.5)

Chicago Bulls @ Cleveland Lebron James', TNT 8pm

San Antonio Spurs @ Utah Jazz, TNT 10:30pm

Virgina Tech Hokies vs. East Carolina Pirates, ESPN 7:30pm

MLS: Real Salt Lake @ Columbus, ESPN2 8pm

...not the best games but now you know.

Deron Williams Wants To Play For Dallas

"Deron Williams, who went to high school at The Colony, hopes he gets to play in Dallas in February. The NBA's 2010 All-Star Game will be played at the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium in nearby Arlington.

"It would mean a lot," Williams told the Deseret News. "You know, I wish I would have had one by now. But it would be special to have the first one in Dallas. Hopefully, all my family can come see me play (ESPN)."

If Williams wants to play there I am sure it will happen, since Cuban has no problem bringing in money. Kidd is getting old, and Terry is really more of a scorer then a true PG, so it makes sense that the Mavericks would be interested. To be honest I think Dallas is going to have to rework this whole team if they want to be a Championship contender again.

Top 25 Under 25: #16 Deron Williams

You get a special treat of 15 and 16 on the top 25 list, since I was busy golfing on Friday and forgot.

Born: June 26, 1984 (yes that makes him 25, but our cut off was June 15th)

Maybe one of the most underrated players on our list. When you hear of top point gaurds people tend to leave this guys name off the list. Well this should not be the case. Williams has improved his PPG every year he has been in the NBA (10.8, 16.2, 18.8, 19.4). His assists have also gone up every year (4.5, 9.3, 10.5, 10.7). What does that all mean? The best has yet to come.

Williams is everything a point guard should be. I think Bruce Bowden said it best when he said...

"That's what's missing today in the NBA is solid point guards. You have the scoring guards, you have guards that can't do some things. With him, it's special because he spent that time in college and learned more and more about the game of basketball. So he goes to a team that really needs a great point guard and he just fits the mold of a young Stockton."

This statement is so true. Every player seems to be so focused on scoring rather then doing what he is supposed to and making the players around him better. Not Williams, he has a team first attitude, but can also score when they need him to. The Jazz would not be half the team they are if it wasn't for this top of the line PG.

Jazz Keep Millsap

The Utah Jazz will match the four-year, $32 million offer the Portland Trail Blazers tendered their restricted free agent Paul Millsap, the team posted on its Web site and a league source confirmed to ESPN.com Thursday evening.

This was a great move by the Utah Jazz who are on the verge of trading Carlos Boozer any day now. Last year as Boozer's replacement he averaged 13.5 points, 9 boards and a block. Not to shabby. However, the possibility of the Blazers taking the money they lost on Millsap and putting it toward Odom makes me giddy for a couple reasons. 1. Because Odom would be a good fit on the Blazers, and 2. It would hurt the Lakers who are in the same conference. And I would gladly have the Lakers lose both Ariza and Odom and gain Ron Artest.

Boozer To Chicago?

Another major multi-team trade might be looming in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls having discussed a deal that would be headlined by Carlos Boozer and Kirk Hinrich, according to NBA front-office sources.

Sources stressed to ESPN.com that no deal was imminent Thursday and that both Portland and Utah are still evaluating additional trade scenarios. But two sources with knowledge of the three-team proposal confirmed that there have been substantive talks aimed at landing Boozer in Chicago, Hinrich in Portland and Tyrus Thomas in Utah.

This is a really good deal for Chicago if Boozer can stay healthy. Because Derrick Rose is obviously the real deal and was able to almost take the Celtics without a legit big man. However, Boozer has had a hard time staying healthy. Hinrich to Portland is a good fit, because they don't have a real PG, and Thomas to Utah is whatever. Tyrus Thomas sucks, and has been a complete bust.

Celtics 85 Jazz 90

The Celtics got beat up last night, and the Jazz just looked like a tougher team. Utah was able to force 19 turnovers on their way to a 90-85 victory over the Celtics. To make matter worse KG strained his right knee late in the second quarter and did not return. He let out a statement after the game saying that it would be reevaluated today (we will keep you posted).

For all the people that love Scal, if you watched the game last night you would see why he sucks. Scalabrine started for Garnett in the third quarter and got 4 fouls in the first 3:30 that he played...yea thanks Scal way to step up.

Boston jumped out to an early lead (22-13 after the first quarter), but the Jazz were able to improve their shooting and once KG went down the Celtics just never seemed to regain their energy. Pierce had 20 points, but also had to play 45 mins (to lead all players). Allen was off going 4 for 15, but in the end the Celtics need to build up their bench, and since they made move yesterday, I can say that this could just be a fluke. Still, the Celtics need to find that toughness and energy they had last season.

Around The NBA

117 Bobcats, 110 Lakers

For a team that is the laughing stock of the NBA, the Bobcats have added another impressive win to their resume on Tuesday night. The win was the Bobcats' fifth in their last six games against the Lakers, who got 38 points from Kobe Bryant before the Los Angeles star fouled out for the first time this season in the final minute of the first overtime. The Bobcats were lead by Boris Diaw who had 23 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. The Bobcats scrappiness is very impressive, and I hate playing them.

From Coobs
Normally I don't stay up late enough during the week to see these West Coast games in their entirety (because, as we all know, the Lakers seem to play every other game in the Staples Center), and I figured before tuning in that this game would be over within the first 12 minutes. Now I know that Charlotte always plays the Celtics tough, and that their record probably doesn't efficiently dictate their overall caliber as a team in the wide-open Eastern Conference playoff race, but I did not see this one coming. This was an exciting game from start to finish. The Bobcats played a very inspired game in which they shot the ball extremely well in the first half, and did just enough to hang with the Lakers in the second. They absolutely DOMINATED in the paint, outscoring LA by a wide margin. The Cats actually had a big lead late in the 4th quarter before missing EIGHT (count 'em) straight free throws to allow the Lakers to overtake them, relying on a big time 3-pointer by Boris Diaw with 30 ticks left to tie it up. Kobe was his usual unguardable self, scoring 36 in the defeat while entering into "can't-miss" mode late in regulation that, coupled with the Cats' failures from the charity stripe, kept the game relevant. But about midway through the first overtime, he picked up his 6th foul with some silly contact out on the perimeter, and after that, LA just didn't have enough offense. Bynum played really well while picking up the slack after Kobe fouled out, but he missed a crucial turnaround hook shot late in the second OT, and that, in effect, ended their chances. In my opinion LA was exposed a bit, losing to a team that was clearly inferior to them in height, but whose superior physicality wore them down as the game progressed (hello June of last year). I'm dead tired after watching this marathon game, but it makes it all worth it to see the Lake Show lose, and I'll be grinning like an idiot for at least a couple more days.

Fantasy note: Gerald Wallace got hurt in the first OT after he was flagrantly fouled by Bynum. I have no update whatsoever on his injury, but it looked like his rib area. It looked mad painful too.

106 Spurs, 100 Jazz

In a game that very much could be a play-off match-up this year, the Spurs needed a big effort from Manu Ginobelli to win this game. Manu's 10 4th quarter points were the reason that the Spurs were able to squeak this one out. Tony Parker added 24 points and six assists for the Spurs, who have won five of six. Matt Bonner scored 20, going 6-for-7 on 3-pointers as the Spurs went 11-for-20 from beyond the arc. Utah played a tough game but without Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilinko it is a pretty tough task.