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.

Jazz & Warriors tonight at 8:30 PM (MST).

The Jazz will be without Ronnie Brewer (obviously) and Mehmet Okur (back in SLC because his wife gave birth). They also may have a pissed off star player. He did say...

“I think if we’d make a trade it would be something a little different than that,” Williams said at the pregame shootaround. “You look at all the teams that are getting better around the West and we essentially get worse, if you ask me.”

... which is something Ball Don't Lie would disagree with (for what it's worth)

Not really. With each passing day, the Spurs are getting worse. The Nuggets are staying the same. The Lakers are brilliant, but their best player has all sorts of things wrong with his body. There are no guarantees that Caron Butler will turn his crummy season around in Dallas. There will be a drop in production as Brewer's minutes turn into Matthews' and Miles' minutes, but it's not significant, and a huge part of me thinks that the Jazz, more than any other team in the West, can down the Lakers. They have to be aware of that.

Either way, it is what it is. Brewer's gone. Rotoworld is reporting that both Corey Maggette & Monta Ellis will start today for the Warriors. Weird, because the Y! Sports preview says that Don Nelson thought Ellis would miss another week. The Jazz will be starting Wes Matthews & Paul Millsap for their 2 absentee starters.

Whatever. Just know that the Warriors like to run, shoot & score. Especially treys. And they don't play defense.

(Unrelated to all this... Brian Cardinal was just released by the Knicks. Say hi to your newest Jazzman?)

Jazz/Warriors. Later tonight in California.

My thoughts have been made known on the blog (I'm just asking for some front office consistency), but what about the other Jazz bloggers out there?

SLC Dunk

So what's my final opinion of the trade?  In some ways it makes sense but in others it stinks.  I can see where we need to get players like Matthews some more minutes, but when is having depth a bad thing?  We've been pretty fortunate with injuries in the regular season.  What if something happens again to one of the three left?  That leaves us pretty thin.  The same thing happened right after we had to get rid of Maynor.

The Cowhide Globe

I would have traded Korver instead (more savings)... but... the ladies of SLC would riot and have nothing of it. The asset we get in exchange... A protected 1st round pick in 2011. Nothing exciting.

Living and Dying by the Jazz

Ronnie’s matured a great deal over the course of his career and even this season (which can’t be said for everyone), is a team player (which can’t be said for everyone), and was willing to give up shots to make the extra pass or fight for the board even though he was in a contract year (which can’t be said for everyone). I’m sad to see him go.

Purple & Blues

At the end of the day, I trust that Jerry Sloan will make the decision that best suits his system. And as long as that is the case, I am not going to be too worried about the Jazz.

Jazz Hype

Based off of a lot of the instant reaction I’ve seen across the twitterverse, there doesn’t seem to be too many fans of this move. After being told the Jazz were only going to make a move if they felt it made the team better, I can see why there are some fans who feel mislead, but while I have always liked Brewer, I can’t say that I feel this move is going to really hurt the Jazz in the long run.

Jazzbots

This trade was apparently made to relieve the “logjam” at the swing positions. It will allow more playtime for Kyle, CJ, and Wesley. But do we want CJ Miles to have more playing time? Do we want Kyle guarding tall shooting guards in crunch time? Do we trust Wesley enough to give him 30 minutes a night?  “Maybe” is the answer to all those questions. We’ll see. If it works out, awesome. But I will still really miss having Ronnie Brewer on the Jazz.

Siler & Luhm have a ton of stuff up...

You have your thoughts and opinions... Let's hear them. Good move, bad move or eh move?

So the trade deadline has come and gone. And with that, players have moved and the Western Conference has almost certainly been impacted. But our focus, obviously, is on the impacts on the Jazz. (I've already mentioned the Blazers highway robbery and the Mavs blockbuster before.)

Jazz/Grizzlies

This one obviously has the greatest impact... given that the Jazz were involved in the deal. The Jazz lost a starter, cut some salary, picked up a "future asset" and eliminated some of the minutes-competition at the wing spots. BBJ goes over pretty much everything and moni nails it on the head. Honestly, while I will miss Brewer, his steals, the alley-oops and the highlight real plays, what really hurts is that it seems to be a move backwards... CJ is probably going to be the one getting the minutes (if Matthews was the guy, wouldn't he have been getting the minutes before?), and KOC's draft record in the 1st round is not to be trusted. All we can do is sit & watch, I guess. And hope the protection isn't completely pathetic.

Update: According to moni, the protection is as follows

• 2011: 1-14
• 2012: 1-12
• 2013: 1-10
• 2014: 1-9
• 2015: 1-9 (if pick not given by then, cash compensation)

The Grizz, meanwhile, add another solid youngster to their core. He won't be an All-Star or anything, but will be a nice complement to the Mayo/Gay duo right now (and maybe replace Gay after the season?). 3 Shades of Blue likes the deal, and Straight Outta Vancouver feels the same way. And they have a good player on their bench now. Better now? Probably.

Bobcats/Spurs & Bobcats/Bulls

The Spurs traded Theo Ratliff to the Bobcats for a 2016 2nd rounder. Who the hell even remembered that Theo Ratliff was still in the league? Well, the Bobcats add Ratliff anyways. I don't think this impacts the Spurs (and therefore the Jazz) at all. Unless that 2016 2nd rounder turns into the next Paul Millsap, which is likely given how well the Spurs draft.

The Bobcats also swiped in to steal Tyrus Thomas for a package centered around Acie Law, Flip Murray & a 1st rounder. Big for the Jazz, because that means he doesn't end up with Portland, Denver or San Antonio. Huge fall for Thomas though... this summer, he was thought to be at the center of Carlos Boozer-to-Chicago rumors. Obviously, the Bobcats don't really impact the Jazz at all, unless they win and keep the Knicks out of the playoffs or something.

Minnesota/Knicks

The Timberwolves traded Brian Cardinal for Darko Milicic. The whole world yawned. No impact.

Knicks/Houston/Sacramento & Knicks/Celtics & Kings/Wizards

The blockbuster of the weekend, and then some. There was the Nate Robinson/Marcus Landry for Eddie House/JR Giddens/Bill Walker deal that really doesn't seem to help either team. Well, Phil Jackson (yeah, the Lakers coach) thinks Boston was being stupid. But whatever. No one likes him anyways*. Do the Knicks really need Eddie House?  Does this make them any better? I doubt it. A lateral move, according to Posting and Toasting.

The bigger deal is the 3-team blockbuster. The Knicks lose overpaid guys (Jared Jeffries, Larry Hughes) to add another overpaid guy (T-Mac), plus a PG of sorts (Sergio Rodriguez). Sergio could replace Chris Duhon in the starting line-up, and T-Mac will play as well. Will the Knicks be better? Maybe. By a lot? Doubt it.

Sacramento gave up Kevin Martin (so much for trying the Evans/Martin combo for the rest of the season) to land Larry Hughes (well, his expiring contract to be more exact), Joey Dorsey (undersized big-man... role already filled by Jon Brockman) and Carl Landry (don't they already have their young bigs in Hawes & Thompson?). They've got a stable of young big men now... it'll be interesting to see how they develop. Throw in Evans and Francisco Garcia (finally healthy?), Donte Greene & Dominic McGuire (acquired from Washington right before the deadline), and the team looks young with plenty of development ahead of them. They might not see improvement immediately, but the future looks bright.

The Rockets, somehow, managed to dump T-Mac & his contract. In the process, they picked up Kevin Martin, Jared Jeffries, Hilton Armstrong, Jordan Hill AND 1st-round draft picks. (Why can't the Jazz pull off trades like that?). Martin/Ariza/Battier give them a deadly wing trio from downtown, something that always seems to kill the Jazz. Jeffries/Battier gives them a couple of solid defenders on the wings. They add a top-10 pick from this year (Jordan Hill... who will improve), all but making up for the loss of Carl Landry... which isn't even really big given the presence of Luis Scola & Chuck Hayes. The fans will miss Carl Landry though. Yes, the Rockets got better.

Final Impacts

Obviously, in the end you have to play the games. Injuries happen. Teams go into slumps or go on runs. Things unpredicted will happen. But for now, it seems like...

• The Lakers are better than the Jazz. We know this.
• The Nuggets are better than the Jazz, it seems.
• The Mavs improved with their trade.
• The Rockets improved with their trade.
• The Blazers improved with their trade.
• The Grizzlies improved with their trade.
• The Spurs were unaffected.
• The Jazz were unaffected/slightly changed (depending on who plays).

I don't see how the Jazz hope to win like this. You can't just keep staying put when you know you're not good enough. The Jazz are obviously playing for the now (they didn't trade Boozer despite getting offers), but they're also trading a starter for a 'future asset'. We'll see how it all goes, I guess...

It was rumored a while back, and now it has happened.

In a deal completed five minutes before the NBA’s 1 p.m. MDT trade deadline, the Jazz sent Ronnie Brewer to Memphis for a protected future first-round draft pick, general manager Kevin O’Connor said.

Well, there goes the log-jam.

And our starting 2-guard.

(Oh well... at least the salary cap burden is gone now. That's a plus. Right?)