Jazz 128, Bobcats 106
Deron Williams officially became a star Tuesday night. I'm sure nobody cares about this except the writers, but Williams is now doing his postgame interviews outside the locker room next to the podium where Jazz coach Jerry Sloan later addresses the media.
It's the kind of treatment reserved for superstars around the league. Just off the top of my head LeBron James and Allen Iverson both do postgame this way. Pretty much everybody else (Kobe Bryant included) just stands in front of his locker.
Williams tried it the new way after the Jazz's victory Saturday over Seattle. We all assumed (correctly) that he was interested in talking as quickly as possible and leaving for Lil' Jon. But Williams surprised us with a second appearance outside the locker room Tuesday.
There's no doubt Williams likes being done with the reporters and television crews as quickly as possible. We're not about to complain, either: Deron sadistically loves to take extra time putting on his watches and earrings when we're on deadline.
Still, it was a shock to face facts that he probably has to do things this way (his locker is next to Carlos Boozer's and the crowd sometimes gets overwhelming) as well as the fact that he's probably entitled to do so given the way he's been playing.
* * *
Mehmet Okur had a tremendous third quarter in Saturday's victory over Seattle and he had a terrific second quarter Tuesday against Charlotte. It did get a little overshadowed with the Jazz nearly blowing a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Had the Jazz cruised to victory, Okur would have been the player of the game. His back-to-back three-pointers sent the Jazz on a 13-0 run to close the first half. Okur also banked in a 16-footer and drew contact for a three-point play earlier in the quarter.
He made two nice defensive plays, blocking Gerald Wallace and poking the ball free from Nazr Mohammed, and made a smart play with 1:39 left in the quarter. Okur crashed the boards from the weak side and was there to follow up a Matt Harpring miss.
"I am feeling good, 100 percent right now," Okur said. "Really play with a lot of confidence right now. My teammates did such a great job and they look for me out there, create open shots for me."
Okur did have to come out after picking up his third, fourth and fifth personals at the start of the fourth quarter. The Jazz went small most of the fourth with Boozer at center, Andrei Kirilenko at power forward and Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver at the wings.
* * *
The Bobcats are in the midst of a stretch that makes the Jazz's December look like a vacation. With their arena booked for the CIAA and ACC tournaments, followed by this weekend's NCAA Tournament regional final, Charlotte has been on the road all month.
They will have played 10 of 11 on the road when it's all over. They arrived in Utah for the first stop on a four-game trip that includes dates with the L.A. Lakers, Seattle and Portland. They returned home for one game, a victory Saturday over Miami.
The Bobcats have had Adam Morrison and Sean May out all season. They got four points and two rebounds out of No. 2 overall pick Emeka Okafor, who scored the game's first points and looked like he'd be a tough cover.
Raymond Felton had 13 points and six assists but didn't play in the fourth quarter. The Bobcats instead turned to Earl Boykins with Ryan Hollins and Jermareo Davidson as their two big men. Okafor returned only when Hollins got a bloody nose from Boozer.
Much as he did with the Knicks earlier this season, Williams paid the Bobcats an compliment that sounded almost like an indictment after the game.
"They've got some good players on their team," Williams said. "I think that their team should be better than they are right now. They came out and played good today."
--Ross Siler
It's the kind of treatment reserved for superstars around the league. Just off the top of my head LeBron James and Allen Iverson both do postgame this way. Pretty much everybody else (Kobe Bryant included) just stands in front of his locker.
Williams tried it the new way after the Jazz's victory Saturday over Seattle. We all assumed (correctly) that he was interested in talking as quickly as possible and leaving for Lil' Jon. But Williams surprised us with a second appearance outside the locker room Tuesday.
There's no doubt Williams likes being done with the reporters and television crews as quickly as possible. We're not about to complain, either: Deron sadistically loves to take extra time putting on his watches and earrings when we're on deadline.
Still, it was a shock to face facts that he probably has to do things this way (his locker is next to Carlos Boozer's and the crowd sometimes gets overwhelming) as well as the fact that he's probably entitled to do so given the way he's been playing.
* * *
Mehmet Okur had a tremendous third quarter in Saturday's victory over Seattle and he had a terrific second quarter Tuesday against Charlotte. It did get a little overshadowed with the Jazz nearly blowing a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Had the Jazz cruised to victory, Okur would have been the player of the game. His back-to-back three-pointers sent the Jazz on a 13-0 run to close the first half. Okur also banked in a 16-footer and drew contact for a three-point play earlier in the quarter.
He made two nice defensive plays, blocking Gerald Wallace and poking the ball free from Nazr Mohammed, and made a smart play with 1:39 left in the quarter. Okur crashed the boards from the weak side and was there to follow up a Matt Harpring miss.
"I am feeling good, 100 percent right now," Okur said. "Really play with a lot of confidence right now. My teammates did such a great job and they look for me out there, create open shots for me."
Okur did have to come out after picking up his third, fourth and fifth personals at the start of the fourth quarter. The Jazz went small most of the fourth with Boozer at center, Andrei Kirilenko at power forward and Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver at the wings.
* * *
The Bobcats are in the midst of a stretch that makes the Jazz's December look like a vacation. With their arena booked for the CIAA and ACC tournaments, followed by this weekend's NCAA Tournament regional final, Charlotte has been on the road all month.
They will have played 10 of 11 on the road when it's all over. They arrived in Utah for the first stop on a four-game trip that includes dates with the L.A. Lakers, Seattle and Portland. They returned home for one game, a victory Saturday over Miami.
The Bobcats have had Adam Morrison and Sean May out all season. They got four points and two rebounds out of No. 2 overall pick Emeka Okafor, who scored the game's first points and looked like he'd be a tough cover.
Raymond Felton had 13 points and six assists but didn't play in the fourth quarter. The Bobcats instead turned to Earl Boykins with Ryan Hollins and Jermareo Davidson as their two big men. Okafor returned only when Hollins got a bloody nose from Boozer.
Much as he did with the Knicks earlier this season, Williams paid the Bobcats an compliment that sounded almost like an indictment after the game.
"They've got some good players on their team," Williams said. "I think that their team should be better than they are right now. They came out and played good today."
--Ross Siler
1:20 AM
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2 Comments:
Everybody gets a chance to do an interview on the podum from time to time especially during the playoffs.
I would assume the bloggers realize that this is not a normal place to do an interview as they cover the team all year long.
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