Utah Jazz: Showdown in Houston, Hayward is 26 & Boogers?!

The Utah Jazz face their most important game of the season to date, Gordon Hayward celebrates a birthday and strange observations from behind the Jazz bench.

On Wednesday night, the Utah Jazz will be at the Toyota Center to take on the Houston Rockets in what is being billed as the biggest game of the year for the team. With the Rockets falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday (thanks for that double-double, Enes Kanter!) the Jazz can move into the top eight with a win.

Moreover, the other two teams battling with the Jazz and Rockets for the final three playoff spots in the Western Conference also face off tonight, as the Dallas Mavericks go toe-to-toe with the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center.

With a Jazz win and a Mavs loss, Utah and Dallas would move into a tie for the No. 7 spot at 35-36. Another scenario to consider: if the Jazz win, but the Blazers lose, the boys in blue, green and gold would hold sole possession of the No. 8 spot, Portland would fall to seventh and Utah would be one game behind the Mavs for the No. 6 spot.

Bottom line–there are huge playoff ramifications in play. It’s a golden opportunity for the Jazz to gain a foothold in the playoff race with the Rockets coming off a hard-fought loss and facing the wrong end of back to back games.

Of course, the Jazz will be in a similar situation with OKC on Thursday, but first thing’s first–BEAT THE ROCKETS.

Happy Birthday, Gordon Hayward!

In addition to playoff scramble that’s occurring and the fact that it’s National Puppy Day, Wednesday is also a noteworthy date because Gordon Hayward celebrates his 26th birthday–

Usually, I don’t dwell too much on player birthdays beyond acknowledging the date, but the fact that Hayward is now 26 really drives home the fact that the young Jazz are growing up. The “development” excuse is becoming less and less valid for underperformance; the time is nigh for the Jazz to take the next step.

Obviously, building up the young talent on the roster will remain a focal point, but you can’t rob Peter to pay Paul. The Jazz need to find a way to develop the youth on the team and still win games.

Rudy Gobert, Rodney Hood and Dante Exum may be NBA whippersnappers, but Hayward, Derrick Favors and Alec Burks are veterans in their prime. Whether or not the team can secure a playoff spot this season, a trip to the lottery in 2017 can’t be viewed as anything but underachieving.

End rant. Happy birthday, G-Time! Hard to believe that twig-thin 20-year-old out of Butler is now one of the premiere players in the Association. His ascension has truly been a joy to behold.

Next: Joe Ingles is the Jazz Glue Guy

Strange Observations from Behind the Jazz Bench

Finally, comedian Chris Trew writes a column for Uproxx documenting his experiences as a New Orleans Pelicans season ticket holder with seats directly behind the visiting bench. The subject of his latest piece was the Utah Jazz.

Trew has several interesting observations about the Jazz, some funny (Jazz coach Quin Snyder rules with fear) some interesting (Favors is the team’s vocal leader?) and others, well…I’ll let you be the judge.

Re: Joe Ingles‘ behavior on the bench–

"A personal highlight was catching Joe Ingles picking his nose and then putting his finger in his mouth. Unsure if he made contact with a booger or not, but that didn’t stop the woman sitting next to me from loudly exclaiming “number two is eating his boogers” to anyone who would listen. I overheard her talking to some friends at halftime about the incident, and at a season ticket holders event the next day, she brought it up again. I didn’t think I was interested in joining her mission to spread the rumor that Joe Ingles eats his boogers, but here I am with a paragraph’s worth of grade school gossip. Sorry, Joe Ingles."

Dirty lies, libel or the source of Slow-Mo Joe’s recent power? We may never know the truth.