Tuesday report
Back in August, I went through the Jazz's schedule month by month and tried to break down how I'd thought they'd finish the season. I had them finishing the season (just like last season) at 51-31 and at 32-21 heading into the All-Star break.
If they beat Seattle on Wednesday night, the Jazz will go into the break 34-19 and two games ahead of my pace. They'll have 29 games left to finish the season, 13 on the road, 16 at home and four against the 10-39 Timberwolves.
I think it's realistic to say the Jazz can finish with 55 wins. They'd have to go 22-8 the rest of the way. Considering the Jazz were 16-16 in late December, it'd mean they won 39 of their final 50 games, winning at an incredible .780 clip.
The danger is that the Jazz played their worst basketball of the season in December, their best in January and they'll level off from here on out. Then again, they come back from the break with winnable games against Golden State, the Clippers, Atlanta and Minnesota.
(No wonder John Hollinger's computer rankings have the Jazz third in the NBA behind only Boston and the L.A. Lakers. His playoff odds give the Jazz an 84.6 percent chance of winning the division, 23.9 percent chance of reaching the NBA Finals and 13.3 percent chance of winning it all.)
Here's how the Jazz have done month by month relative to the pace I laid out in August: October/November 12-5 (11-6 pace), December 5-11 (7-9) and January 11-2 (9-4). I had February as a 10-3 month; the Jazz are 5-1 so far.
* * *
The Jazz will play what could be their last game ever in Seattle on Wednesday. The Sonics have applied to relocate to Oklahoma City, which NBA owners could approve in April contingent on the team winning the right to break its lease two years early.
It's hard to see why the NBA would want to leave a top 15 television market (Seattle) for one that's No. 45, especially when they might want to keep Oklahoma City free in case the Hornets want to return there after the 2008-09 season.
The Hornets can opt out of their lease in New Orleans if they fail to average 14,735 fans between Dec. 1, 2007 until the end of next season.
Should he want to relocate in summer 2009, Hornets owner George Shinn might have to pay $100 million to reimburse the state of Louisiana for past investments, pay a relocation fee to NBA owners and buy out a minority owner of a 25 percent stake in the team.
The Jazz have played two preseason games in Seattle, 62 regular-season games (as the Utah Jazz) and 11 playoff games.
--Ross Siler
If they beat Seattle on Wednesday night, the Jazz will go into the break 34-19 and two games ahead of my pace. They'll have 29 games left to finish the season, 13 on the road, 16 at home and four against the 10-39 Timberwolves.
I think it's realistic to say the Jazz can finish with 55 wins. They'd have to go 22-8 the rest of the way. Considering the Jazz were 16-16 in late December, it'd mean they won 39 of their final 50 games, winning at an incredible .780 clip.
The danger is that the Jazz played their worst basketball of the season in December, their best in January and they'll level off from here on out. Then again, they come back from the break with winnable games against Golden State, the Clippers, Atlanta and Minnesota.
(No wonder John Hollinger's computer rankings have the Jazz third in the NBA behind only Boston and the L.A. Lakers. His playoff odds give the Jazz an 84.6 percent chance of winning the division, 23.9 percent chance of reaching the NBA Finals and 13.3 percent chance of winning it all.)
Here's how the Jazz have done month by month relative to the pace I laid out in August: October/November 12-5 (11-6 pace), December 5-11 (7-9) and January 11-2 (9-4). I had February as a 10-3 month; the Jazz are 5-1 so far.
* * *
The Jazz will play what could be their last game ever in Seattle on Wednesday. The Sonics have applied to relocate to Oklahoma City, which NBA owners could approve in April contingent on the team winning the right to break its lease two years early.
It's hard to see why the NBA would want to leave a top 15 television market (Seattle) for one that's No. 45, especially when they might want to keep Oklahoma City free in case the Hornets want to return there after the 2008-09 season.
The Hornets can opt out of their lease in New Orleans if they fail to average 14,735 fans between Dec. 1, 2007 until the end of next season.
Should he want to relocate in summer 2009, Hornets owner George Shinn might have to pay $100 million to reimburse the state of Louisiana for past investments, pay a relocation fee to NBA owners and buy out a minority owner of a 25 percent stake in the team.
The Jazz have played two preseason games in Seattle, 62 regular-season games (as the Utah Jazz) and 11 playoff games.
--Ross Siler
5:08 PM
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