Jazz 112, Timberwolves 107
Neither Jarron nor Jason Collins played in Tuesday night's Jazz/Timberwolves game, but the twin brothers were responsible for an effort behind the scenes. Given the historical significance of Barack Obama's inauguration, the two tried to coordinate having every player wear a suit to the game.
Not sure how the numbers came out on the Timberwolves' side, but the Jazz had 11 of 14 players in suits. Rookie Kosta Koufos apparently didn't get the memo, leading Deron Williams to ask if he wanted to go retrieve some balls the next time the Jazz have shootaround at EnergySolutions Arena.
Mehmet Okur got a pass for being Turkish. Kyrylo Fesenko was on assignment in the NBA Development League. As for Matt Harpring, let's just say that one of the pleasures of covering the Jazz is listening to him and Collins go back-and-forth on politics. They're probably the closest thing you'll find to "Crossfire" in a locker room.
C.J. Miles, incidentally, has only one suit and wore it Tuesday. Even when he used to be a fixture on the inactive list, Miles didn't even wear a suit to games.
* * *
Mehmet Okur, Timberwolves killer?
Kevin McHale seemed to suggest so after Tuesday's game, saying the two three-pointers hit in the last three minutes seemed to go with the shot he hit in the final minute of the Jazz's 99-96 victory last month in Minnesota.
"He made a big shot up in Minneapolis and he made two big shots today," McHale said. "We kind of had them there for a while, we stopped them a couple possessions, we just couldn't score and we really didn't get good looks after we got to a one-point game."
Al Jefferson had a pretty great quote when you stop and think about it: "Okur, he's a big-time vet. He's won championships. He knows how to win games. He's the reason we lost last time we played against them."
I guess Jefferson forgot that he's got a guy on his team in Mark Madsen who's won championships also. In fact, he's won twice as many as Okur, who played a total of 39 minutes in four games for Detroit in the 2004 NBA Finals.
Madsen didn't play Tuesday, which had to disappoint the fans who started chanting "We want Mad Dog," in the first half.
* * *
Did my eyes deceive me or was that Paul Millsap getting double-teamed in the post in the second quarter? Sebastian Telfair left to go help on Millsap, who found Brevin Knight out of the double-team for an open 22-footer.
Millsap had three assists (along with nine offensive rebounds and two steals) in Tuesday's game, including a sweet pass to Ronnie Brewer cutting for a dunk with 1:24 left in the first half.
* * *
Andrei Kirilenko missed two games in December due to discomfort in his right ankle and he left Tuesday's game for similar reasons. In fact, Kirilenko said he thought the cortisone shot he had in December had worn off a month later, causing him the problems.
He received another cortisone shot before leaving the arena Tuesday. Although Kirilenko made the trip to Houston, he was not expecting to play and talked about hopefully returning Saturday against Cleveland.
Kirilenko also reiterated that he will need surgery on his ankle sometime after the season.
* * *
The Jazz could really regret not finishing off Minnesota earlier by the time they get to Houston for the second game of the back-to-back set Tuesday. The travel alone is daunting, with the Jazz not scheduled to arrive in Houston until after 2:30 a.m.
Without Kirilenko, we'll see what the Jazz have left against the Rockets, who are missing Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest. Morris Almond will be activated and the Jazz will have to lean on Millsap, Okur, Kosta Koufos and possibly Matt Harpring in the frontcourt.
* * *
Give credit to the Jazz for winning Tuesday's game at the start. The Jazz jumped out to a 12-0 lead as Millsap ran the floor for a layup as part of a three-point play, Sebastian Telfair was called for an early technical and Williams served up an alley-oop dunk to C.J. Miles.
The Jazz outscored Minnesota 11-2 on the fast break in the first quarter, but finished with only 15 fast-break points for the night. They might want to stress pushing the ball in the first quarter of games, especially on the road.
--Ross Siler
Not sure how the numbers came out on the Timberwolves' side, but the Jazz had 11 of 14 players in suits. Rookie Kosta Koufos apparently didn't get the memo, leading Deron Williams to ask if he wanted to go retrieve some balls the next time the Jazz have shootaround at EnergySolutions Arena.
Mehmet Okur got a pass for being Turkish. Kyrylo Fesenko was on assignment in the NBA Development League. As for Matt Harpring, let's just say that one of the pleasures of covering the Jazz is listening to him and Collins go back-and-forth on politics. They're probably the closest thing you'll find to "Crossfire" in a locker room.
C.J. Miles, incidentally, has only one suit and wore it Tuesday. Even when he used to be a fixture on the inactive list, Miles didn't even wear a suit to games.
* * *
Mehmet Okur, Timberwolves killer?
Kevin McHale seemed to suggest so after Tuesday's game, saying the two three-pointers hit in the last three minutes seemed to go with the shot he hit in the final minute of the Jazz's 99-96 victory last month in Minnesota.
"He made a big shot up in Minneapolis and he made two big shots today," McHale said. "We kind of had them there for a while, we stopped them a couple possessions, we just couldn't score and we really didn't get good looks after we got to a one-point game."
Al Jefferson had a pretty great quote when you stop and think about it: "Okur, he's a big-time vet. He's won championships. He knows how to win games. He's the reason we lost last time we played against them."
I guess Jefferson forgot that he's got a guy on his team in Mark Madsen who's won championships also. In fact, he's won twice as many as Okur, who played a total of 39 minutes in four games for Detroit in the 2004 NBA Finals.
Madsen didn't play Tuesday, which had to disappoint the fans who started chanting "We want Mad Dog," in the first half.
* * *
Did my eyes deceive me or was that Paul Millsap getting double-teamed in the post in the second quarter? Sebastian Telfair left to go help on Millsap, who found Brevin Knight out of the double-team for an open 22-footer.
Millsap had three assists (along with nine offensive rebounds and two steals) in Tuesday's game, including a sweet pass to Ronnie Brewer cutting for a dunk with 1:24 left in the first half.
* * *
Andrei Kirilenko missed two games in December due to discomfort in his right ankle and he left Tuesday's game for similar reasons. In fact, Kirilenko said he thought the cortisone shot he had in December had worn off a month later, causing him the problems.
He received another cortisone shot before leaving the arena Tuesday. Although Kirilenko made the trip to Houston, he was not expecting to play and talked about hopefully returning Saturday against Cleveland.
Kirilenko also reiterated that he will need surgery on his ankle sometime after the season.
* * *
The Jazz could really regret not finishing off Minnesota earlier by the time they get to Houston for the second game of the back-to-back set Tuesday. The travel alone is daunting, with the Jazz not scheduled to arrive in Houston until after 2:30 a.m.
Without Kirilenko, we'll see what the Jazz have left against the Rockets, who are missing Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest. Morris Almond will be activated and the Jazz will have to lean on Millsap, Okur, Kosta Koufos and possibly Matt Harpring in the frontcourt.
* * *
Give credit to the Jazz for winning Tuesday's game at the start. The Jazz jumped out to a 12-0 lead as Millsap ran the floor for a layup as part of a three-point play, Sebastian Telfair was called for an early technical and Williams served up an alley-oop dunk to C.J. Miles.
The Jazz outscored Minnesota 11-2 on the fast break in the first quarter, but finished with only 15 fast-break points for the night. They might want to stress pushing the ball in the first quarter of games, especially on the road.
--Ross Siler
1:12 AM
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2 Comments:
What can you say? Harpring gets it. The Collins brothers went to school to hug trees.
Scott, how can you say that Harpring gets it when you haven't heard a single word of either of their arguments? Typical.
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