(Gazetteonline.com)

When the Utah Jazz acquired Al Jefferson I was excited that the team was able to find a replacement for Carlos Boozer. In particular, I was thrilled because he was only 25 years old and had a ton of potential waiting to be unlocked in the future. However, after hearing Jefferson talk to the media, I have an even better reason to be ecstatic about Utah’s new 6”10 power forward.

First off, when Jefferson talks about playing for the Utah Jazz, you can see that he is genuinely excited about his new team. Everybody knows when people are excited about something, they perform at a higher level. This, in turn, could bode very well for the Utah Jazz.

Secondly, you can see that he knows about the team’s history, as he said that he would like to grow old with Deron Williams ala John Stockton and Karl Malone. Now, that might seem to be an insignificant piece of information, but I don’t see it that way. By Jefferson showing that he is a fan of the game, and he is aware of the rich history that the Utah Jazz have as a franchise, he will push himself very hard to try to cement his legacy with the team. Because he is the guy who can basically fill the shoes of Karl Malone if he delivers for the Jazz, he knows that his work is cut out for him, and he will have an added incentive to perform at his best every time he steps on the court.

A lot of times, teams get players who know nothing about the history of the game, and all they concern themselves with is their own game. Although the concentration on trying to build their own games up can be a positive thing, their lack of overall knowledge can be a detriment. Having the ability to try an outperform somebody you looked up to growing up can be a huge boost for continuing to work hard because you have that goal that you are trying to achieve. So, when a player knows nothing about the old-timers, he never has the ability to have that boost. Of course, it isn’t a requirement for success (to know the history of the game), but it can definitely give you a leg up in the motivational sense. Based on what I am hearing from Jefferson’s mouth, he definitely has that.

So, of course, I can’t wait to see what Al Jefferson could bring to the Utah Jazz. He’s young, athletic, dominant, and he is feeling much better since tearing his ACL a couple of years ago. But what I am truly excited about is the hard work and commitment that he is going to put into this team. The type of hard work and commitment that it takes to hopefully one day become a world champion.

With Karl Malone headed to the Hall Of Fame on August 13, Rod Zundel sat down with The Mailman to ask him questions about his career with the Utah Jazz in addition to some other things. Check it out:

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

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(Sportsnet.ca)

Well, it seems like a vast majority of Jazz fans believe that this year’s trio of Jefferson, Hayward, and Bell is better than last year’s trio of Boozer, Korver, and Matthews (See my last post). Despite this, seeing Wesley Matthews donning his new Portland Trail Blazers uniform was very hard for me. Matthews only got to play one season with the Utah Jazz, and I feel like one year was just not enough.

Watching this undrafted rookie succeed with the Jazz last season was something that I loved about this team because it embodied everything that the Utah Jazz represent. Yeah, maybe the Jazz don’t have All-Stars across the board like the Lakers and the Celtics, but they are a team that is built on hard work and never-say-die attitudes. Wesley Matthews was exhibit A last season, as his hard work got him to a point where he was Utah’s starting two guard, and he had the responsibility of defending one of the most gifted offensive players to ever play the game in the second round of the playoffs. (And believe me, he didn’t just fall into that position, he had to earn the respect of Jerry Sloan and the organization as a whole). An experience like that in your rookie season can only be a positive one moving forward. Unfortunately for Jazz fans, Matthews is no longer with their team.

But let’s forget about the Jazz fans for a second, and let’s try to see things from Matthews’ point of view. How do you think he is going to handle the move to Portland and the inevitable downgrade in playing time? After all, he will be backing up Brandon Roy who clearly has the shooting guard position locked down for the Blazers. Like Roy, Matthews is strictly a shooting guard, which means that if Roy is on the court – and he will be for the majority of games – there is a great chance that Matthews will be riding the pine. With that being the case, how long do you think Matthews will be able to accept his reduced role? Remember, as a rookie Matthews was playing crucial minutes in the playoffs. That definitely built up his confidence, and it will undoubtedly have an affect on his psyche in the future. Will he just sit on the bench quietly collecting his money, or will he demand a change in favor of some more playing time?

If you ask me, this move by the Blazers has disaster written all over it right now. I just can’t wait to see how this whole thing turns out. Maybe Wes will end up back in a Jazz uniform before all is said and done. Yes?

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Things have certainly changed for the Utah Jazz ever since they selected Gordon Hayward with the 9th overall selection in the 2010 NBA Draft. I remember watching the selection and having so many questions, yet still trying to keep my faith up that the head men of the Jazz knew what they were doing.

Shortly thereafter, Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver packed up their stuff and headed to the Windy City to play with the new-look Bulls, and the Jazz looked like they would be in big trouble if they didn’t make a drastic move soon. So, of course, that’s what they did, as they acquired the 25 year old PF/C Al Jefferson from the Minnesota Timberwolves and 9-year veteran Raja Bell from the Golden State Warriors. (Oh, and with the acquisition of Bell, the Jazz released a fan-favorite in Wesley Matthews after just one season with the team)

At this point, the production that both of the acquisitions can provide is still in question, as they are both coming off of injuries, and Bell is going to be turning 34 this season. But despite the question marks, the potential that these two guys have is well worth the uncertainty in my opinion. At his best, Al Jefferson can be one of the most dominating offensive big men in the game, and Raja Bell can provide the Jazz with some top-notch perimeter defense and a solid 3-point stroke.

Wait a minute… If you ask me, those two descriptions sound a lot like Carlos Boozer and Wesley Matthews. Throw in a comparison of two, good white shooters with Gordon Hayward and Kyle Korver and you basically have an even 3-for-3 trade. So the question is, “Which team would win in a 3-on-3 game?” Would it be the team of Boozer, Matthews, and Korver, or would it be the team of Jefferson, Bell, and Hayward?

Because I was so curious, I decided to simulate the game to find out for sure (at least according to the simulation). Fortunately for all you Jazz Rowdies out there, the new Jazzmen came away with the victory 21-17 (game was by 1’s and 2’s). In the game, Al Jefferson and Carlos Boozer led their respective teams in points, as Jefferson had 12 and Boozer had 9. Although you can credit each big man for superb offensive performances, each guy showed the inability to stop his counterpart effectively. On the bright side for Jefferson, he did finish the game with 3 blocks, which all came on Boozer attempts. Jazz rookie Gordon Hayward scored a cool 6 points and Raja Bell rounded out the newbies with 3. Korver and Matthews scored 4 points each for the X-men.

If this computer simulation is any indication of an improvement with the Jazz for this upcoming season, that would be fantastic. Is it enough to finally get them past the Lakers? Let’s just put it this way: I am not going to simulate to find out.

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Since I’ve been so busy lately, I have not been able to formally welcome Al Jefferson and Raja Bell to the Utah Jazz. Funny thing is, right now I’m in a rush, and I will not have the time to give them their full respect, which I intend on doing very soon. However, I felt it would only be right to have a picture of the two new additions to grace the front of the site with.

Welcome aboard, guys! Posts are on the way soon!

Fearless Wes takes it into the teeth of the Bulls' defense. (news.xinhuanet.com)

As most of you have probably heard, the Portland Trail Blazers have extended an offer to Wesley Matthews. If the Utah Jazz don’t match the offer within the week, Wes will be a part of the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Utah Jazz would have lost their 3rd key player of the current off-season.

Seeing the Jazz slowly lose all of the pieces that made them so exciting to watch last season is very hard for any Jazz fan to absorb. But specifically when you talk about a guy like Wesley Matthews, who had such a promising rookie campaign with the Jazz after being overlooked in the NBA Draft, it is even harder to let him go.

(Media.Oregonlive.com)

After last night’s despicable display of character by the former King, I have vowed never to utter his name ever again. Instead, I am only going to refer to him as ‘6.’ Here’s why:

When 6 entered the league, his expectations were sky high, and everybody KNEW that he was supposed to be the heir to Michael Jordan. And throughout his first few seasons, 6 did not disappoint. He took a dreadfully weak Cavs team to the NBA Finals – ala Allen Iverson with the Sixers – and there only seemed to be green pastures lying ahead in his future.

(NBA.com)

Surely you don’t want to put too much stock into Summer League games, but if you saw the game between the Utah Jazz and Orlando Magic today, you have to be encouraged by the performance of Gordon Hayward. Hayward, who led all Jazz scorers with 14 points (on 3-5 shooting), came up with the biggest shot of the game when he hit a 3-pointer with 49 seconds left in the game.

(NBA.com)

After some time off, the Utah Jazz are back in action in the NBA Summer League. Of course, the Summer League roster doesn’t feature players like Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, but it is fun to be able to watch the growth and development of some young hopefuls who will try to make this season’s roster.

In yesterday’s opening game against the Charlotte Bobcats, the Utah Jazz got a wonderful performance out of James Augustine, who coincidentally played with Deron Williams in Illinois back when the two were still in college. In the game, Augustine scored a Jazz-high 20 points on a very efficient 9-10 shooting from the field. Augustine is a 6”10 power forward who still hasn’t had the opportunity to prove much on the NBA level after having a pretty successful college career at Illinois. However, if he continues to work hard in practice and exhibition games, he might just get the break he is hoping for. There is no doubt that he has basketball skill and the desire to improve his game. With those two attributes, I wouldn’t count out Augustine’s chances at becoming a valuable player in the NBA at some point in his career.

Other than Augustine, the Utah Jazz also got the opportunity to watch their two draft picks play for the first time. Gordon Hayward put up 8 points on 2-2 shooting from the field. He also collected 5 rebounds, dished out 2 assists, had 2 steals, and he rounded out his stat-line with 1 blocked shot. On the other hand, Jeremy Evans had a very quiet debut in just over 16 minutes of game action. During that time, Evans attempted 0 shots and recorded 1 blocked shot. Unfortunately for Evans, his 3 personal fouls were his highest statistic. Moving forward, I can almost guarantee that Evans will improve his numbers dramatically during the Summer League.

Although the Summer League is a poor indication of the regular season NBA experience, it is nice to see how certain players play and how they fit into the system that is being run. Despite the fact that you can’t always determine everything about a player in these types of games, you can still learn a lot. For most of these guys, the Summer League is one of the very few chances that they have to showcase their skills against second-tier NBA competition. With that being the case, they are going to try their best to impress, and they are not just going to play like it means nothing. The ones that actually take advantage of their opportunities during the Summer League are the ones who will get rewarded in the long run.

In their next Summer League game, the Utah Jazz will face the Orlando Magic.

Utah cannot let Boozer go

With free agency “heating up” and well under way, Carlos Boozer’s name has been thrown around an awful lot. Of course, the possibility of Boozer leaving Utah has been a hot topic for quite some time, but right now when everything is a no-holds-barred free-for-all, his possible departure is hitting me harder than ever before. Sure I have heard things like, “Boozer’s gonna be gone after this year,” or, “Yeah, I hear the Heat are interested in Boozer,” for a while now, but the actuality of it happening has never been so real and so close. At any given moment, Carlos Boozer can jump on board with another team, and the Jazz will be left trying to figure out how they are going to replace him.

For me, personally, I see Boozer as the beating heart of this Utah Jazz team. His energy and passion, which can be heard all around the world during Jazz games, is second to none, and I am not so sure that it can be replaced so easily. And not only that, but his numbers are also valuable, as he is a consistent double-double, night in and night out. Boozer’s ability to finish near the basket with either hand and his ability to knock down the mid-range jumper causes defenses headaches, and it makes the job of Deron Williams much easier than most people realize.

A huge reason why I don’t want to see Boozer leave now is because of the way he ended off with the Jazz. Watching Boozer struggle down the stretch against the Lakers in the playoffs was really hard for me, as Boozer has truly become a guy that I love to root for. How can you not? You see how much this guy wants to win, and he is willing to leave it all out on the floor for the goodness of the team. When you see a player like him trying so hard, yet still falling short, you can’t help but feel bad. The emotions that he feels are so easy to read, and when he is down, I am down. On the other hand, when he is charged up and doing the things he does best, there is nobody better to root for.

In my honest opinion, I believe that the Jazz need to do everything in their power to lure Carlos Boozer back to Utah. Between his character and emotional leadership in the locker room, and his on-court production, there is nobody realistically available that the Jazz can acquire right now that can make up for his loss. He is truly the Malone to D-Will’s Stockton, and I believe that Jerry Sloan is well aware of that. Sure the Jazz have an uncanny ability to find players to fill roles, but when it comes to a piece like Carlos Boozer, there is only so much you can do. Without Boozer, what do the Jazz really have as a team? Can Batman actually be Batman if he doesn’t have Robin? (or vice versa. Whatever you prefer.)

I think not. And if the Jazz do eventually lose Carlos Boozer to free agency, I think everybody will see it too.