Game 5 Recap: Utah 104, Oklahoma City 97

Game at a Glance:

The Jazz win despite repeatedly not taking the Thunder for real. The Jazz did not think much of the Thunder to start the game, and Jerry Sloan had to call a time out in the 1st quarter with the score 0 - 8 in favor of the road team. The Jazz plowed their way to a 58 - 29 half time lead (a 20+ - 2 run after that time out). After the half the Jazz started to turn the ball over and miss foul shots -- eventually the Thunder got back in it; then the Jazz finished them off. The game was not as close as the score indicated, it's quite easy to beat a team when only four guys show up (Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Desmond Mason and Earl Watson) -- and those guys were hardly impact players. Jerry Sloan won his 1000th game with the Utah Jazz franchise, apparently, that's kind of a big thing.

[ Yahoo!Sports.com Game Recap -- ESPN.com's boxscore -- NBA.com's game highlights -- NBA TV Post-Game Interview with Jerry Sloan ]

Jazz Quartet -- Top Four Players of the Game:

Andrei Kirilenko	Brevin Knight	Carlos Boozer	Kyle Korver
Photographed by Melissa Majchrzak for NBAE/Getty	Photographed by Melissa Majchrzak for NBAE/Getty	Photographed by Melissa Majchrzak for NBAE/Getty	Photographed by Melissa Majchrzak for NBAE/Getty
AK had a double double (16 and 12) tonight and added 2 assists and 2 blocks. He would have had more assists but Paul Millsap mishandled some easy ones. In my opinion he kind of started to 'force' things on offense after Desmond Mason started to score on the other end of the court -- with varied rates of success.	Brev' continues his solid play off the bench, he had 11 assists in 28 minutes of action last night. His jumper was off (1-4), but he made his free throws. He added 3 steals and had some really good outlet pass/assists to guys who were streaking. (Not in that Will Ferrell / Old School type of way though)	Carlos gets robbed of a double double for the nth game in a row, finishing with 21, 9, 5 assists and a steal and block each. He seems to really feast on bad teams, and continues to do so this season. He was looking to pass more and was robbed of a few assists because of the long arm deflections of the Thunder.	Kyle Korver had a game fit for his name. He shot 5-7 from the floor, and would have gone 4-5 from three on top of his made three had the threes not been negated by mental mistakes like guys getting caught for three in the key. He ended up with 13 points (5-7, 1-2, 2-3), 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal off the bench.

Hon. Mention: This could be renamed the "Ronnie Brewer Award" if this keeps up. Ronnie gets just edged out by Korver tonight. Brewer had 2 more assists, but Korver had 2 more points while shooting 4 less times. Kyle also had a steal, and Brewer did not. Also, Korver had 3 other three pointers robbed from him tonight because of Millsap fouls or turn overs. (Three in the key, etc) When Deron comes back expect Ronnie to be in the Jazz Quartet quite a bit as the season goes on . . . but if Ronnie keeps getting edged out, I may retroactively change it to Jazz Quintet. (something I wouldn't want to do)

Digging Deeper:

This game was not close, what kept it close was a combination of the Thunder's lack of respect for the unsaid rules (scoring the ball on what should have been the last possession of the game, etc), their tenacity in the passing lanes (they got a lot of deflections and 10 steals), and their never say die attitude. They were down big at half, but stormed back to cut it to 15 going into the 4th quarter. The game did not look close, but the Thunder never gave up. So they get props from me. Early on it looked like our benchwarmers (Morris Almond, Kyrylo Fesenko and Kosta Koufos) may get some extended burn in this game, but they did not even get off the bench.

Kevin Durant only really scored on open jumpers . . . methinks that he's going to fit that Rashard Lewis mold in a few years if he doesn't diversify his game. He did have this nasty cross over that planted CJ on his butt, as Durant threw it down. Durant's team mates Desmond Mason and Earl Watson started cookin' in the 3rd quarter, when their team made their run, but the Jazz just got a lot of easy buckets down the stretch.

The Jazz did miss 10 free throws in the game, and were very sloppy in the 2nd half. Carlos Boozer had 6 turn overs and Paul Millsap had 5. A 16 rebound to 11 turn over ratio from your power forwards isn't going to get it done against teams with better bigs. (No disrespect intended to Johan Petro and Nick Collison, starters who ended the game with 8 points and 8 rebounds combined for Oklahoma City.)

Winning 5 games in a row is pretty special, starting the season undefeated is also pretty special -- doing both with our best player out is really special. Sloan has been going 9 deep all season long, and our bench has been producing: 42 points, 25 rebounds, 15 assists, 6 steals and 3 blocks last night. That's a key component of how the Jazz have been winning games. Credit goes to Jerry Sloan for picking up the 1k wins in SLC. He has to be doing something right to win all those games -- it's not like he just had Jordan, Shaq and Kobe get him all those wins.

Next Game: Friday November 9th, 2008 -- Utah Jazz @ New York Knicks [3:00 PM EST]

Sorry Haters -- Deron Williams' injury isn't going to hurt the Jazz

First of all, Deron Williams got hurt over the weekend. Everyone knows about this already, and it's been blogged about already. (Some good reads on the subject can be found: here, here, here, and here) I was particularly surprised to find that David James had basically blogged about exactly what I was going to write. (Props to you, DJ!) That said, everyone is entitled to their take on this situation -- I look at the 'glass if half full' point of view on most things, and as a result, this injury is not going to hurt the Jazz. The best news so far is that Deron isn't going to be out for the season. He's only going to be out somewhere between 2 weeks to a month. That's the estimate that I've read the most online, and as a result, let's say that the worst case scenario is that Deron can't play for 6 weeks. (Three times the best case scenario) What's going to happen in 6 weeks time (from his injury, back on October 18th)?

During this time span the Jazz would have played around 20 games (18 regular season and 1 pre-season), and the first possible game Deron will play in would be the 1st game of December. So that means that in the worst case scenario Deron *may* miss the entire first month of the season. It's a really good thing that the NBA finals happens in June, and not November then. Furthermore, the schedule is pretty light during this time period -- you can take a look at the full schedule here, or read about how important it is for the Jazz to get off to a good start here. The types of teams we play don't change if we don't have Deron playing. For the most part, these teams are pretty crappy.

Lastly, there are some key injuries/suspensions to other players that do make a significant difference as well. (unless, of course, you don't think that Carmelo Anthony, Baron Davis, Gilbert Arenas, Steve Nash and Manu Ginobli aren't difference makers) Now let's break down the hypothetical (and entirely unnecessary) 6 weeks without Deron Williams:

Week 1: October 19th, 2008 - October 25th, 2008

Number of games	Date	Type	Opponent	Location	Opponent Ball Handlers
1	Oct 23	Pre-Season	Portland	Home	Steve Blake
					Jerryd Bayless
					Brandon Roy
					Sergio Rodriguez

The NBA season doesn't start for the Jazz until October 29th, and there is only one Pre-season game left. This game (against the Blazers) means nothing for Deron, so there's nothing lost by having him out. So for the first week of Deron's injury the Jazz are missing nothing -- in fact, the Jazz get a chance to really figure out who can handle the ball, get the Jazz in their offense, and find out who's going to start between Ronnie Price and Brevin Knight. Other candidates for running the team include C.J. Miles, Ronnie Brewer and Andrei Kirilenko. For a whole week of only ONE game (a preseason one at that), this isn't going to be any problem for a Deron Williams-less Jazz team.

For the record, the T-Blazers have the advantage when it comes to ball handlers in this game, but this game doesn't matter at all.

Week 2: October 26th, 2008 - November 1st, 2008

Number of games	Date	Type	Opponent	Location	Opponent Ball Handlers
2	Oct 29	Regular	Denver	Home	Allen Iverson
					Chucky Atkins
					Anthony Carter
					Smush Parker
					Mateen Cleaves
	Nov 1	Regular	LA Clippers	Home	Baron Davis *
					Eric Gordon
					Jason Hart

The 2nd week is when the Jazz start their NBA season. The first game of the season is against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets have the advantage at the point with Deron out as they have Allen Iverson, Chucky Atkins and Anthony Carter all available (as far as I know). I don't know if Smush Parker or Mateen Cleaves will make the roster, but the Nuggets are more capable at the 1 for this game than the Jazz. The good news is that this game is at home, and the Nuggets will be without Carmelo Anthony -- who will be suspended for this game. This is the home opener, and the other team is more hurt than we are (Deron vs. Melo), so I say that we start off the season with a win.

The 2nd game of the season is against the LA Clippers. The only thing we have to know about this game is if Baron Davis will play in it or not. There are conflicting reports on the Internet (he may not miss any time, or he may miss 4-6 weeks), but if he doesn't play, this doesn't look like that bad of a week if you ask me. If he does play changes things a bit, but the Clippers are still a less talented team than the Jazz are without Deron Williams. If the game ends up being Eric Gordon and Jason Hart against Ronnie Price and Brevin Knight I think my Tivo will destroy itself.

Oh, and by the way, most reports suggest that Deron will be shelved for two weeks. This is the end of two weeks. Not too shabby . . .

Week 3: November 2nd, 2008 - November 8th, 2008

Number of games	Date	Type	Opponent	Location	Opponent Ball Handlers
3	Nov 3	Regular	LA Clippers	Road	Baron Davis *
					Eric Gordon
					Jason Hart
	Nov 5	Regular	Portland	Home	Steve Blake
					Jerryd Bayless
					Brandon Roy
					Sergio Rodriguez
	Nov 7	Regular	Oklahoma City	Home	Earl Watson
					Russell Westbrook
					John Lucas III

This is when things start to get a little bit more challenging. There are three games on tap, a road game against the LA Clippers, then home games against Portland and the "we're not even settled in yet" Oklahoma City Thunder. There is nothing too special about any of these games save for the fact that Baron should be healed by now, if he wasn't for the previous game. Over all I'd take the Jazz to win any of these three games (if not all three) as they are the most talented team (hype be damned!) on each night this week. I think the Jazz will be up to play against Portland, and defend their home court against a team that owned us last season. Oklahoma's ball handler's don't scare anyone.

So far we've only played 1 playoff team -- and that's Denver without Carmelo Anthony. I'm sure if Deron is out three weeks that we're not going to be really hurting without him.

Week 4: November 9th, 2008 - November 15th, 2008

Number of games	Date	Type	Opponent	Location	Opponent Ball Handlers
5	Nov 9	East Road Trip	New York	Road	Stephon Marbury
					Chris Duhon
					Nate Robinson
					Jamal Crawford
	Nov 11	East Road Trip	Philadelphia	Road	Andre Miller
					Louis Williams
					Royal Ivey
	Nov 12	East Road Trip	Washington	Road	Gilbert Arenas *
					Dee Brown
					DeShawn Stevenson
					Juan Dixon
	Nov 14	East Road Trip	Charlotte	Road	Raymond Felton
					D.J. Augustin
	Nov 15	East Road Trip	Cleveland	Road	Mo Williams
					Daniel Gibson
					LeBron James
					Delonte West
					Eric Snow

If Week 3 was a bit more challenging, then Week 4 is a killer. This is one of our numerous Eastern Conference Road Trips. This trip is going to be *only* 5 games long, and all takes place within a week. Furthermore, this team features two sets of back-to-backs, three 3 games in 4 nights deals, and ends up being 5 games in 7 nights. How ridiculous! If Deron isn't healthy by Week 4 I just say keep in him Utah. The last thing we need is for him to test out his body against this Eastern Conference Circus. For the record, Gilbert Arenas may not play in this game, the Bobcats suck, and the Knicks do as well. There is no way that we're winning in Cleveland when it's the 2nd night of a back-to-back and the 5th game in 7 nights though.

That said, if Deron is healthy, we can win quite a few of these road games . . . if not, this is the only bad week if he's out for 6 weeks.

Week 5: November 16th, 2008 - November 22nd, 2008

Number of games	Date	Type	Opponent	Location	Opponent Ball Handlers
4	Nov 17	Regular	Phoenix	Home	Steve Nash *
					Leandro Barbosa
					Goran Dragic
					Grant Hill
	Nov 19	Regular	Milwaukee	Home	Luke Ridnour
					Charlie Bell
					Tyronn Lue
					Damon Jones
	Nov 21	Regular	San Antonio	Road	Tony Parker
					Jacque Vaughn
					George Hill
	Nov 22	Regular	Memphis	Road	Mike Conley
					Javaris Crittenton
					Kyle Lowry

Week 5 is much better than Week 4, as there are only 4 games to play. The first pair of games are at home, and the last two are on the road. The first game is against the Phoenix Suns, though Nash may be injured for this game as well. (what luck! No Carmelo, possibly no Baron, maybe no Gilbert, and now maybe no Nash!) It's still going to be tough to beat the Suns without Deron though. Thankfully the next game is against Milwaukee -- and their point guards are worse than ours are. (How many times a season are our ball handlers going to be better than the other teams' when Deron is injured?) The first road game is in San Antonio (Manu is injured as well), but I still expect a loss, as it's in San Antonio. The last game of week 5 is against Memphis -- which isn't a very experienced team when it comes to handling the rock either.

I'd be happy with a 2-2 split this week -- especially after the horrible Week 4 East Road Trip.

Week 6: November 23rd, 2008 - November 29th, 2008.

Number of games	Date	Type	Opponent	Location	Opponent Ball Handlers
4	Nov 24	Home stand	Chicago	Home	Kirk Hinrich
					Ben Gordon
					Derrick Rose
					Larry Hughes
	Nov 26	Home stand	Memphis	Home	Mike Conley
					Javaris Crittenton
					Kyle Lowry
	Nov 28	Home stand	Sacramento	Home	Beno Udrih
					Bobby Jackson
	Nov 29	Home stand	New Jersey	Home	Devin Harris
					Eddie Gill

This is the last week of my hypothetical worst case scenario . . . we all know that Deron Williams isn't going to be sidelined for the first 18 games of the season with an ankle injury. If he was, though, this last week could finish on a very high note on this four game home stand. All four of these clubs stink, and while they appear to have an advantage at PG with Deron out I know that we are still more talented then all of them. The first game is against the Bulls, and you know that the Jazz will be fired up for that, as it's at home (and you know, the revenge factor). The home game at Memphis could very well be an AK-47 5x5 night. Sacramento has a lot of shooters, but they don't have any defenders. New Jersey is crap.

I have the Jazz going 13-5 over the first 18 games of the season without Deron Williams. I have the Jazz maybe winning 3 more games if they had him. The schedule and injuries are in our favor -- and any rest for Deron is fine with me. So yeah . . . Deron Williams' injury isn't going to hurt the Jazz. If anything, all of this time without relying on him is going to make them better.

And really . . . he's not going to be out for 6 weeks, probably 2 or 3 if there is a set back. (You know, a grand total of 5 games)

I still ♥ Raul Lopez

So that whole drafting Raul Lopez didn't really work out that great for the Jazz franchise. He got injured quite a bit and by drafting him, the Jazz missed out on drafting some pretty good players (Gerald Wallace, Samuel Dalembert, Jamaal Tinsley, Tony Parker, Gilbert Arenas, Mehmet Okur, Earl Watson, and Bobby Simmons), but really, which team never makes draft day mistakes? Probably only San Antonio . . . but that's besides the point.

The point is that I still ♥ Raul Lopez. His hobbit-esque/Frodo like features are hard to stay upset with. Plus his sultry Spanish accent is, uh, I dunno. I guess if I was of the chick persuasion he'd do more for me. He had some pretty bad luck with the whole injuries thing. I was a fan of his. For some reason my hard drive is filled with (among other things) loads of pictures of former Jazz players. (yeah, like Tony Massenburg pictures, that's hardcore) Anyway, here are some pictures of Raul Lopez . . .

This is really where it all started. He had boyish good looks and dared to bring sexy back to Utah with that slit of facial hair.	Why were there no 'Misses Lopez' T-shirts back in the day, like they now have for Kover? C'Mon Masha, get on it!	I hear that his sister used to go to University somewhere in Salt Lake City . . . I doubt that she's still there.

Unfortunately, his game never really lived up to the potential positive impact he'd have on the team overall attractiveness ranking.

Here Raul is with Pau Gasol . . . they were the face of Spanish basketball for years	He was a super speedy PG, really, he was!	And a veteran of many International matches

One of my favorite stories happens to be his first time meeting John Stockton. Stockton gestured towards him and asked one of the front office types "Hey, is this our guy?" After an awkward pause Raul flatly denied that he was Raul Lopez, NBA draft pick of the Utah Jazz. That must have made for a really awkward 2nd meeting between the two of them during training camp.

A re-creation of events . . .

Eventually he had to play some NBA games, and sometimes he played well. Other times, well, he didn't play at all due to injuries.

Those shorts are cool	Raul looks out for adoring fans	Raul looks to pass the ball

Raul points to Malone's pick up	Raul cries like only a European man knows how to	Raul hobbles around the Delta Center underbelly

Most amazing of all, this truncated career still had some pretty crazy moments. For example, did you know that he was the regional cover boy for NBA Live 2004?

Raul with John Goodman, I think . . .	Yup, NBA Live 2004	He returns to Spain with even more hair than he started with.

Raul currently plays in Spain and is on the Spanish Men's Basketball team participating in the Olympics. His Utah Jazz legacy is survived by Paul Millsap wearing his #24. If he's ever in Detroit and totally wants to hang out, or watch some DVDs or something, I'm totally up for that.