Jazz 117, Sacramento 93 . . . Time for the road
Just like Saturday's victory over Memphis, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan wasn't happy to watch his team give back a big lead Monday against Sacramento. It's Sloan's job to never be satisfied, but it's also human nature for the Jazz to play the way they did.
They polished off Seattle, Memphis and Sacramento in the span of four days. In a lot of ways the time is right to head out on the road and see if they can extend their four-game winning streak and prove their 6-2 start isn't a fluke.
"These guys can play with anybody if they put their minds to it," Sloan said. "But they can't play halfway. We have to have five guys compete like the devil when they're out there on the floor.
"It's even more apparent when you get out on the road, because home teams have a little bit of an advantage. The people get behind 'em, give 'em a little bit of extra spirit, and you try to bury that spirit if you can by doing the right thing and not just getting numbers."
The numbers the Jazz are putting up right now are truly remarkable. They scored 117 points against Sacramento and got only six points, seven assists and six turnovers from Deron Williams. Yes, that's right: Jason Hart outscored Williams in Monday's game.
The Jazz had 18 points inside to 4 for the Kings in the first quarter and cruised the rest of the night. Worth noting: The Jazz, labeled as soft defensively by the Kings in a preseason scouting report, had 14 combined steals and blocks to 6 for Sacramento.
Gordan Giricek sparked the Jazz with 12 points off the bench in the second quarter. Giricek hit three three-pointers - - one of which was a 30-footer with the shot clock set to expire - - and also scored on the fast break as part of an old-fashioned three-point play.
The Jazz got good minutes from Giricek, Hart and Matt Harpring, who returned with 10 points after sitting out Saturday with right knee inflammation.
"Guys are getting more comfortable and getting better," Carlos Boozer said. "That's what we have to do. We have to continue to improve.
"It's always good to see the guys come off the bench and give us a good contribution because there's going to be games where our starting five isn't going to do what we do on a regular basis."
It also was good to see Ronnie Price get his first points with the Jazz in the fourth quarter. Price has played in only five games so far (he has been active for all of them) but said at the pregame shootaround he had no problem waiting his turn.
"It hasn't been [a problem]," Price said, "because I've been in many different positions already in my career, so it's part of being a professional. We're winning games and I'm enjoying myself."
* * *
A couple of things I noted:
Matt Harpring managed to get to the foul line in the third quarter before the clock even started after he checked in. Harpring was held by John Salmons on an inbounds play and drained two free throws to make it 79-65. . . .
Jerry Sloan put one of his smallest lineups of the season on the floor at the end of the third quarter. The Jazz went with Paul Millsap at center, Andrei Kirilenko and Harpring at forward and Ronnie Brewer and Jason Hart at guard. . . .
The Jazz committed a blunder at the end of the first half. Mehmet Okur took out the ball under the basket with 0.9 seconds left and tried to throw a full-court pass to Carlos Boozer that skipped out of bounds without being touched.
The ball went to the Kings to inbound under the Jazz's basket with enough time to get off a shot. They couldn't convert and the Jazz took a 65-42 lead into halftime.
* * *
Two things you'll be happy to know:
Matt Harpring was cited as an example in the NBA referees' points of emphasis this season for having model interaction with an official. In the DVD the league sent out, Harpring is shown "talking calmly and in a normal tone of voice" to referee Eric Lewis.
Kyrylo Fesenko is so enthusiastic about playing for the Utah Flash that he told one Flash staffer he wants to bring a championship to Orem this season. He's been reminded that the bigger goal is to get him back to the Jazz and contributing in the NBA.
--Ross Siler
They polished off Seattle, Memphis and Sacramento in the span of four days. In a lot of ways the time is right to head out on the road and see if they can extend their four-game winning streak and prove their 6-2 start isn't a fluke.
"These guys can play with anybody if they put their minds to it," Sloan said. "But they can't play halfway. We have to have five guys compete like the devil when they're out there on the floor.
"It's even more apparent when you get out on the road, because home teams have a little bit of an advantage. The people get behind 'em, give 'em a little bit of extra spirit, and you try to bury that spirit if you can by doing the right thing and not just getting numbers."
The numbers the Jazz are putting up right now are truly remarkable. They scored 117 points against Sacramento and got only six points, seven assists and six turnovers from Deron Williams. Yes, that's right: Jason Hart outscored Williams in Monday's game.
The Jazz had 18 points inside to 4 for the Kings in the first quarter and cruised the rest of the night. Worth noting: The Jazz, labeled as soft defensively by the Kings in a preseason scouting report, had 14 combined steals and blocks to 6 for Sacramento.
Gordan Giricek sparked the Jazz with 12 points off the bench in the second quarter. Giricek hit three three-pointers - - one of which was a 30-footer with the shot clock set to expire - - and also scored on the fast break as part of an old-fashioned three-point play.
The Jazz got good minutes from Giricek, Hart and Matt Harpring, who returned with 10 points after sitting out Saturday with right knee inflammation.
"Guys are getting more comfortable and getting better," Carlos Boozer said. "That's what we have to do. We have to continue to improve.
"It's always good to see the guys come off the bench and give us a good contribution because there's going to be games where our starting five isn't going to do what we do on a regular basis."
It also was good to see Ronnie Price get his first points with the Jazz in the fourth quarter. Price has played in only five games so far (he has been active for all of them) but said at the pregame shootaround he had no problem waiting his turn.
"It hasn't been [a problem]," Price said, "because I've been in many different positions already in my career, so it's part of being a professional. We're winning games and I'm enjoying myself."
* * *
A couple of things I noted:
Matt Harpring managed to get to the foul line in the third quarter before the clock even started after he checked in. Harpring was held by John Salmons on an inbounds play and drained two free throws to make it 79-65. . . .
Jerry Sloan put one of his smallest lineups of the season on the floor at the end of the third quarter. The Jazz went with Paul Millsap at center, Andrei Kirilenko and Harpring at forward and Ronnie Brewer and Jason Hart at guard. . . .
The Jazz committed a blunder at the end of the first half. Mehmet Okur took out the ball under the basket with 0.9 seconds left and tried to throw a full-court pass to Carlos Boozer that skipped out of bounds without being touched.
The ball went to the Kings to inbound under the Jazz's basket with enough time to get off a shot. They couldn't convert and the Jazz took a 65-42 lead into halftime.
* * *
Two things you'll be happy to know:
Matt Harpring was cited as an example in the NBA referees' points of emphasis this season for having model interaction with an official. In the DVD the league sent out, Harpring is shown "talking calmly and in a normal tone of voice" to referee Eric Lewis.
Kyrylo Fesenko is so enthusiastic about playing for the Utah Flash that he told one Flash staffer he wants to bring a championship to Orem this season. He's been reminded that the bigger goal is to get him back to the Jazz and contributing in the NBA.
--Ross Siler
12:43 AM
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