(Bad) luck of the draw
The Jazz got a little unlucky during its whirlwind season series against Portland.
They played the Blazers four times in a 26-day span when Utah's travel schedule was as brutal as I've seen in a long, long time.
I'm not arguing that Portland still wouldn't win three of the four games -- the Jazz were especially inept and lifeless during their loss at the Rose Garden on Jan. 5, which came after two off days.
In general, however, the schedule worked against the Jazz precisely when they ran into the Blazers.
Just the luck of the draw.
Tonight, Utah starts its season series against another team -- Denver -- that is capable of winning the Northwest Division.
This time, they don't have any excuses.
The Jazz have just completed the most home-oriented two weeks of the season. They should be fresh, healthy and confident after four straight wins.
Actually, Denver is the team with the legitimate excuses after an emotional couple of days.
First, the Nuggets were smacked in the face this week when Nene underwent surgery for a testicular tumor. Then, Allen Iverson and J.R. Smith came unglued in the final seconds of a 104-93 loss at Atlanta on Tuesday night.
With 1:47 left, Denver trailed by eight. On consecutive possessions, Iverson thought he was fouled while taking an inbounds pass. But there was no call and Iverson ended up turning the ball over twice.
After the second turnover, Iverson picked up two technicals and was ejected. As Iverson left the floor, Smith continued the verbal assault on the officials. He was also ejected, throwing his jersey and headband into the crowd as he left the court.
When I saw the replays on TV, I thought Iverson was clearly fouled on the first inbounds play. I thought he flopped a bit on the second one and that the no-call was correct.
After the game, coach George Karl told the Denver Post, "There's a lot of emotion and frustration on our team right now. There are circumstances out there where, if you feel like you're getting mistreated, you burst. I can understand A.I. I don't understand what J.R. did."
I don't think Iverson or Smith will be suspended for the Jazz game, though their behavior came close to crossing the line.
Meanwhile, Karl found a silver lining in defeat. He noted that his players were extremely upset about the loss. And I agree. Too many NBA players, especially on bad teams, don't take losing badly enough. I have been in a lot of losing locker rooms over the years and you can often tell a good team from bad team by the noise level 15 minutes after a narrow defeat.
"One thing I like about my team now is they taking losing hard," Karl said. "That's a good sign. We might get emotional, frustrated. But we're getting that way because we're angry. If we turn that anger into passion and presence, it will be good for us."
At this point, the Northwest Division race looks like it will remain a three-team battle to the end.
Portland is the real deal, as the first three games of its ongoing swing through the Eastern Conference showed: a double-overtime loss at Toronto, a blowout win at New Jersey and hard-fought loss in Boston.
That's why the first Utah-Denver game of the season is such a rare commodity in the NBA: a genuinely important regular-season game with easy-to-see playoff implications.
--Steve Luhm
They played the Blazers four times in a 26-day span when Utah's travel schedule was as brutal as I've seen in a long, long time.
I'm not arguing that Portland still wouldn't win three of the four games -- the Jazz were especially inept and lifeless during their loss at the Rose Garden on Jan. 5, which came after two off days.
In general, however, the schedule worked against the Jazz precisely when they ran into the Blazers.
Just the luck of the draw.
Tonight, Utah starts its season series against another team -- Denver -- that is capable of winning the Northwest Division.
This time, they don't have any excuses.
The Jazz have just completed the most home-oriented two weeks of the season. They should be fresh, healthy and confident after four straight wins.
Actually, Denver is the team with the legitimate excuses after an emotional couple of days.
First, the Nuggets were smacked in the face this week when Nene underwent surgery for a testicular tumor. Then, Allen Iverson and J.R. Smith came unglued in the final seconds of a 104-93 loss at Atlanta on Tuesday night.
With 1:47 left, Denver trailed by eight. On consecutive possessions, Iverson thought he was fouled while taking an inbounds pass. But there was no call and Iverson ended up turning the ball over twice.
After the second turnover, Iverson picked up two technicals and was ejected. As Iverson left the floor, Smith continued the verbal assault on the officials. He was also ejected, throwing his jersey and headband into the crowd as he left the court.
When I saw the replays on TV, I thought Iverson was clearly fouled on the first inbounds play. I thought he flopped a bit on the second one and that the no-call was correct.
After the game, coach George Karl told the Denver Post, "There's a lot of emotion and frustration on our team right now. There are circumstances out there where, if you feel like you're getting mistreated, you burst. I can understand A.I. I don't understand what J.R. did."
I don't think Iverson or Smith will be suspended for the Jazz game, though their behavior came close to crossing the line.
Meanwhile, Karl found a silver lining in defeat. He noted that his players were extremely upset about the loss. And I agree. Too many NBA players, especially on bad teams, don't take losing badly enough. I have been in a lot of losing locker rooms over the years and you can often tell a good team from bad team by the noise level 15 minutes after a narrow defeat.
"One thing I like about my team now is they taking losing hard," Karl said. "That's a good sign. We might get emotional, frustrated. But we're getting that way because we're angry. If we turn that anger into passion and presence, it will be good for us."
At this point, the Northwest Division race looks like it will remain a three-team battle to the end.
Portland is the real deal, as the first three games of its ongoing swing through the Eastern Conference showed: a double-overtime loss at Toronto, a blowout win at New Jersey and hard-fought loss in Boston.
That's why the first Utah-Denver game of the season is such a rare commodity in the NBA: a genuinely important regular-season game with easy-to-see playoff implications.
--Steve Luhm
10:45 AM
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