The Jazz rolled the Bulls yesterday, behind an amazing game from CJ Miles (seriously... he's amazing if he plays in the offense & sets his feet before shooting), a huge dunk by Deron Williams (on Rose) and an offensively explosion (132 points). There was more, obviously, but you should've seen the game if you wanted more.

The game got to be such a blowout that Fesenko even saw playing time. (That's just depressing... he deserves so much better.)

Tonight, we get the Pistons. They beat Houston on Sunday, and have been off since. Ben Wallace & Rodney Stuckey are both out tonight.

No, not that LA team.

The Jazz exploded against the Rockets last time out, aided by Deron Williams finally finding his shot. The Clippers lost last night in Sacramento, despite having 6 guys in double-digits.

Carlos Boozer was named the Western Conference player of the month for February.

AK will be playing.

Another late start... hopefully the Jazz are still awake when the game tips off.

In case you missed it, Kevin Martin was recently traded from Sacramento to Houston in a 3-way deal. A bit before that trade, the Jazz played the then Kevin Martin-less Rockets, and came out on top on the road in a come-from-behind victory. Yesterday was their first go at the Martin-less Kings, and it ended about as you would expect... ugly. Beno Udrih and Tyreke Evans went off. Spencer Hawes went from inactive to 15 points in the start. The Kings dominated in the paint, and yet Fesenko only played 6 minutes because the Jazz really needed Okur's offense (9 points on 4-11 shooting).  And then Slow had the nerves to go off about the interior defense. Doesn't he realize that Boozer + Okur will stop almost no one? Of course, the Jazz did only allow 4 offensive rebounds... probably because the Kings shot 55% from the field.

Anyhow, meanwhile, the Rockets went off on the Spurs, winning behind 3 30-point performances (Martin, Aaron Brooks & Luis Scola). It was really the first good game Martin has had since joining the Rockets. Which means he should be careful, because given how the trade deadline has turned out for those involved... he's going to get hurt.

Deron Williams' shot is off. Way off. When he lined up for what would've been a game tying (I think) three late, how many of you actually believed it would go in? Nothing against Deron, but the way he's been playing as of late, I don't think he's the guy I want taking that shot. Oh, and also... 5-21 from downtown? Deron was 0-4. Okur was 0-3. Ronnie P. was 0-2. 'Sap launched 1 and missed. Given recent play, I don't want any of them launching treys.

A bit before (I think) that trey attempt by Deron, the Jazz needed points and went in to Booze for 2 (they needed 3, but whatever). Booze made it, but then there seemed to be utter confusion, and Kings were able to inbound the ball and run down the court before getting fouled. How do you let that happen?

Koufos' D-League available time is coming to an end... his 2nd season is drawing to a close, and the D-League season ends in a month. And yet he's rotting away up with the Jazz... inactive when everyone is relatively healthy, or as the 12th man who never plays if someone is hurt. I foresee this ending the same way the Mo Almond era did... though Almond at least got some time to play in the D-League and some burn in the NBA.

Jazz/Rockets tonight. Yeah...

Well, last time out sucked. So we're going to ignore that. (Not sucked as in "Jazz played miserably", but sucked as in "that game was so ours!"... even though it never actually was.)

The Jazz will have Deron back. As much as I love Yatta & Ronnie P, this is great news. Largely because he is actually a point guard. AK is still out, but should be back for Friday's tilt with the Kings. CJ will get the start tonight. Which is just brilliant. After getting burnt defensively by Brandon Roy & Joe Johnson, you're putting him on one of Stephen Jackson/Gerald Wallace.

The Bobcats are on a 4-game road swing (as the Jazz were recently... and as the Hawks were on Monday). They are coming off of a loss to the Clippers. S-Jax was a magical 1-16 in that game. That almost makes CJ seem bearable. Almost. Crash had 32 & 12 though, and 30 & 13 the last time the 'Cats played the Jazz.

Big-wise... Fesenko probably won't see much action. Their actual bigs (DeSagana Diop, Tyson Chandler & Nazr Mohammed) are all potentially out (Theo Ratliff too maybe?), leaving them with Boris Diaw & Tyrus Thomas. Against Boozer & Okur. Think about that, then go cry in a corner. It could get ugly.

I turn it over to Rufus on Fire...

Our centers are questionable with a variety of injuries, but that's mostly okay, because the Jazz tend to run with unconventional big men. Okur is most comfortable facing up from twenty feet and beyond, and both Boozer and Millsap are fire hydrants on the blocks, solid and immovable, but short and not the most fleet of foot.

Around the block...

• Go vote for Deron, AK & one of Boozer/Sap/Okur.
• A bit late, but some Hate CJ Guidelines that are right on the mark.
• It seems Booze's top choice this summer is Chicago.
• Utah Jazz in traffic signals.

Jazz/Bobcats at 7 PM tonight. Be there, or don't be there. The choice is yours, really.

Ah, the Hawks. They killed us last time, so we have to hate them. Sorry, but that's how it goes.

Both teams are coming off of emotionally draining games last night... the Jazz came back from 25 down to beat the Blazers in OT (without AK & Okur, and with Fesenko!) while the Hawks were rolling through 3 before imploding in the 4th against Golden State and suffering the loss.

Everything the Jazz did late yesterday (attack the hoop & play suffocating defense), the Hawks didn't. After attacking the hoop at will in the 3rd quarter, the Hawks just stopped. They started settling for jumpers, and the Warriors jumped at the chance. (Kinda like the Jazz/Warriors game from this past road trip... but where the Jazz woke up and held on, the Hawks did not.) And when was all said and done, the Hawks had fumbled away the game, as 'Joe Johnson takes over' approach didn't work. Easy game planning for the Jazz? PS... Zaza Pachulia looked really bad yesterday. Is that his normal approach, or was it just a bad game? He was fumbling away everything that came at him.

Of course, you have to stick with Al Horford & Josh Smith & Joe Johnson & Jamal Crawford (especially behind the arc). They'll pass the ball around, kinda like the Jazz. Until it becomes 'Joe Johnson takes over' time. And whatever happened to Mike Bibby?

Both teams, I imagine, will be tired. Could end up being that whoever settles for jumpers will lose. (In other words... if CJ plays big minutes, we're done.)

AK is out. Deron might be out. Okur is back. Sundiata Gaines time? And what's the over/under on Fesenko minutes? 7.5? Oh, and Boozer was the player of the week for the west for the past week.

You all saw the game. And if you didn't... you missed out. I could point you too SLC Dunk's game thread (which was a blast), but it's not the same. Yeah... it was great. A couple of things to note.

1- Deron Williams is shooting 79% from the line this year. That's not very encouraging (and 5% below his mark last year). That's really not fun to see. You'd hope your star guard can make FTs, and he struggles at times. Not last night though. He went 9-9 from the line last night, and in a game where the treys (4-15) and FTs (23-34) weren't falling, that was huge. Oh, and what can we say about his defense on Brandon Roy to end the game? Absolutely brilliant, after CJ failed miserably (and yet was not pulled).

2- CJ Miles/Kyle Korver combined to completely stink it up last night for 3 plus quarters. But then late, Korver drained 2 huge treys, and CJ somehow managed to get a finger-roll to fall, combining for their only made baskets (a combined 3-16). Korver also got 2 FTs, and late in OT, CJ drained 1 of his 2 to put the Jazz up 4.

3- Carlos Boozer was a beast. 22 and 23. The game-tying putback at the end of the 4th quarter. And when the Jazz were down 25... he (of all people) seemed to be most into it, trying to get the team back up. Something is different about this Carlos Boozer. And not in a bad way. (Plus, he's come out and said now that he wouldn't mind being back on a new contract next year.)

4- Kyrylo Fesenko! 3 years of (almost blind) fan-dom seems so sweet when he finally gets a chance. And when he does as well as he did yesterday, even better! He went for 8 & 6, and also had 2 blocks. He was the presence in middle the Jazz have been lacking since the days of Greg Ostertag (well... he was last night), keeping the Blazers from freely attacking the hoop. 3 of his boards came on the offensive end, and he had a couple of jams in the OT session as the Jazz tried to keep control. He's still not very polished, but with playing time, he could be huge for the Jazz. And given his height, that's really big (pun intended) given how 'big' the Booze/Sap combo isn't. With Okur out and AK injured early, Slow was forced to turn to Fesenko, and he turned up in a big way. Just like those of us that have been calling for him to get consistent time expected.

There's more obviously... but coming off of a 25 point comeback and with a game tonight, maybe we should just stop there and look ahead. (By the way... in what world is it alright for Andre Miller to shoot 3 3-pointers? And Paul Millsap 2?)

Um... didn't we like just do this?

Oh yeah... we did. Not just once, but twice.

The Jazz are coming off of a win against the Warriors that was kind of a blowout. Until the Jazz turned into the Jazz we know and let the Dubs back into it in the 4th quarter.

The SG ratings after 1 game...

1. CJ Miles... Exactly what we expected. When he gets set before shooting, he's solid. When he doesn't, we're screwed.
2. Ronnie P... He's not a PG. Plain and simple. But he's got this 2-guard thing down.
3. Kyle Korver... He even blocked a shot!
4. Wes Matthews... Everyone's favorite, he started but struggled mightily.

The Blazers, meanwhile, were destroyed by the Celtics on the same night (in Portland, no less). As was noted over at Bust a Bucket...

Deficient Trail Blazer coaching aside, the Boston Celtics won this game because they efficiently exploited the Blazers key weakness: the Blazers' shaky interior defense. They got the ball inside on almost every possession and beat the Blazers in the paint 44-28. The Celtics had 4 players in double digits and for much of the game seemingly got to the rim at will.

It is kinda surprising given their recent trade for Marcus Camby, but I'm guessing it'll take a bit for Camby & the Blazers to get acclimated with each other. Meanwhile, they only got something like 7 assists total in the game... a number that was almost doubled (12) by ex-Blazer Steve Blake in his first game for the Clippers last night. Brandon Roy is playing, but he's playing hurt. That can't be good for the team. Rudy Fernandez was supposedly bad last time out.

Rip City Project has some thoughts that should make Jazz fans super-excited...

If Portland wants to win, it starts on the defensive end. They have to find a way to get stops against the Jazz. I’m not afraid that they can’t score on them, it just won’t matter if they can’t stop them. Boozer/Millsap/Okur/Kirilenko/Williams have all had their moments wreaking chaos on Portland this year. If they don’t defend with a lot of energy and enthusiasm and effort than the result may not be pretty.

Like is stated there, Marcus Camby isn't going to just make everything better. The Jazz know that, and they should continue to attack inside. Boozer is rolling. 'Sap is getting his minutes and impressing (and will get more chances with Okur out again tonight). AK has somehow found Bugs Bunny's magic potion from Space Jam (or a time-machine to take him back to 2002)... though he's now the guy you don't want taking a jumper with Brewer gone. Koufosenko won't see any time unless the Jazz are up by 50 with less than 2 minutes left in the game.

Back outside, Williams has been struggling with his shot of late, but is still making everyone better. As we saw yesterday, if CJ Miles is willing to set his feet before shooting, he can be deadly. The problem, of course, is that he doesn't do it often enough. Someone needs to work on this with him. Matthews & Korver are both threats to hit from downtown. Ronnie P. brings energy... and a lot of unneeded passes if he's given control of the offense. He needs to be used solely as a 2-guard. Sundiata Gaines has disappeared.

Over at Blazersedge, they're trying to pump up the Blazers. Which makes sense. They're batting for the playoffs, even with the injuries. They're coming off of an embarrassing home loss. Throw in something about needing to play with heart and all... I'd generally agree. But, for tonight, I hope it fails. Miserably.

After tonight... I wouldn't mind. Ross Siler feels that the Blazers will be the Jazzster's first round opponent in the playoffs, and I wouldn't mind that. It'd be a fun series. But, for tonight, I hope the Blazers play worse than the Nets have been playing all season. Sorry, it's not that I hate the Blazers... it's that they're playing the Jazz.