December Schedule Overview

Just to refresh everyone's memories . . . last season Utah played 16 games in December and managed to go 5-11over that span. The main reasons why the Jazz lost so many games happened to be a mixture of injuries, off-court drama (thanks Giricek!) and the fact that teams learned to just play zone defense against Utah. This season we have a slew of injuries and go into December looking to play 15 games.

The first three games are an away game @ Sacramento on Tuesday, quickly followed by a home game the very next night against the Miami Heat. I've never flown from Sacramento to Salt Lake City before, but that doesn't seem to be too bad -- weather permitting. The Jazz do not play again until Friday, with a game on TV (ESPN) hosting the Toronto Raptors.

After the two game home stand the Jazz face off with a pair of road games -- the first @ Phoenix (the 2nd night of a back-to-back) on Saturday, and then @ Minnesota on Tuesday.

Again, alternating between home games and road games the Jazz return to Salt Lake City for games against Portland (also on TV, this time TNT) and then two days later, against Orlando. Then the fun starts . . .

Fun being our 2nd 5 game Eastern Conference Road trip in two months. Thankfully it appears to be a bit more spaced out than last time. On the 15th the Jazz play @ Boston, on the 17th the Jazz play @ New Jersey, on the 19th the Jazz play @ Detroit. The next night the Jazz play @ Chicago -- this is not only the 2nd night in a back-to-back set but also the 3rd game in 4 nights. The Jazz's last stop is against the Milwaukee Bucks on the 23rd. On paper playing against Boston, Detroit and Chicago should be harder than playing against the Wizards, Bobcats and Knicks -- but the Jazz lost all three of those games too, so who is to say how Utah will fare this time around?

After Christmas the Jazz play Dallas on boxing day, then visit Houston the very next night. Utah finishes the month with a home game against Philadelphia.

For those keeping score at home that's 6 games against the West, and 9 games against the East. (We've only lost once all season against the West so far, and 6 times against Eastern foes) Furthermore, the Jazz play 6 home games and 9 road games.

There are only four back-to-back sets (@ Sac, vs. Mia; vs. Tor., @ Phoe; @ Det, @ Chi; and vs. Dal, @ Hou) this month, so that's one good thing from this mess that we can look forward to.

There are a number of 3rd game in 4 nights: the Toronto game is one, so will be the game @ Phoenix, the game @ Chicago and the game at home vs. Philadelphia.

It's not easy, but December is very rarely easy for the Jazz. Anything less than going 7 - 8 would be horrible.

The best homecourt advantage in the NBA just got better . . .

No doubt you may have already read that 44.4% of all NBA GM's (which kind of doesn't make sense, as there are 30 GMs, so that's 13 1/3 people) agree that the Utah Jazz have the best home-court advantage in the league. (2nd best was Boston with only 25.9% of the vote) This advantage seems to be partly based upon how great the fans are in Salt Lake City . . . and the results cannot be argued as the Jazz won a league high 37 home games last season. (Boston was 2nd best with 35 home wins -- and yes, for the record, the Jazz beat Boston in Boston last season -- by 18 points.)

Well, the rest of the NBA should be upset because the best homecourt advantage in the NBA just got better, thanks to the work of the Jazz Brass (thanks Randy Rigby!) They spent the big bucks to upgrade the sound system and lights (now with spotlights and lasers!) . . . and well, just like the home record last year, the results cannot be argued with either.

Don't expect the Jazz to go into the 2nd quarter behind anymore

Links to the Deseret News website video, thank you to Mike Terry, Michael Brandy and fellow Jazz fans everywhere

I do hate that song because that's the song the most vile and hated Chicago Bulls used to use. This video does not do the entire situation justice, it looked really cool on NBA League Pass last night (even if it was in standard def); but I'm sure it was awesome in person. They even had a pretty hard track playing in the back ground when the Nuggets starters were introduced. Why don't they get rid of the Bulls' track and get our own? There are plenty of awesome songs out there in the world [you can turn down (not off) the volume in the video and listen to the song, they are almost exactly synched up, even to the part where the lights come back on after the introductions]; why piggy back on the home court advantage of another team, when we can build upon our own EXISTING culture of home court dominance?

Utah Jazz on National TV -- what to look for!

I guess this is improvement on some level, you know what I'm talking about . . . I've been a hardcore Jazz fan for 20 years or so now, and I've never seen them on National TV so much in one regular season. How many times are the Jazz going to be seen nationally? 11 times! That is really a lot, as I'm used to the 3-6 games a season that I may get a chance to see (mostly on TNT double headers). Anyway, let's take a look at what to we're bound to see:

November 12th, 2008		December 5th, 2008
	Utah @ Washington on ESPN -- This is the first game on National TV for the Jazz and they face off against a team of excellent outside shooters, led by Gilbert Arenas. He and Deron will feature prominently in this game.		Utah vs. Toronto on ESPN -- I don't know the last time that the Raptors won in Utah, but they are not to be slept on. This game has two deep teams, starting with All-Star Power Forwards Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer.
Photograph by Pablo Martinez Monsivais for AP Photo		Photograph by Unknown for NBAE/Getty Images
December 11th, 2008		February 5th, 2009
	Utah vs. Portland on TNT -- Roy, Aldridge, Oden, that Spanish kid and more . . . why don't we just give them the NBA Title already? (Oh wait, didn't the media already give that to the Rockets or Lakers? I keep getting confused with all the conflicting hype.)		Utah vs. Dallas on TNT -- For some silly reason I think the Mavs will be better (and more desperate) this season. This should be a good match where the good guys should hopefully win. This could be projected as a potential 1st round match up, hence TNT picking this game
Photograph by Unknown for NBAE/Getty Images		Photograph by Melissa Majchrzak for NBAE/Getty Images
February 19th, 2009		March 6th, 2009
	Utah vs. Boston on TNT -- Hopefully the Jazz can avenge their loss to the C's in Utah with a win against the NBA Champs on their home floor. Boston didn't get better this off-season, while we did. Hopefully Ray Allen is shooting blanks.		Utah vs. Denver on ESPN -- Denver really got worse over the off-season, no Camby means that Boozer will probably have a big game, which would be nice seeing how it has become an increasingly rare thing lately.
Photograph by Melissa Majchrzak for NBAE/Getty Images, remixed by Basketballjohn.com		Photograph by Unknown for AP Photo
March 24th, 2009		March 28th, 2009
	Utah vs. Houston on TNT -- I fully expect something insane to happen between Ron Artest and Matt Harpring. I also half expect one of the other two stars on Houston to be injured for this game. Yet, I can easily see Houston winning this game.		Utah @ Phoenix on ESPN -- Memo vs. Shaq, Nash vs. Deron and two power forwards who don't play any defense . . . the perfect TV Game if there ever was one. The team that makes it first to 110 will probably win the game.
Photograph by Harry How for NBAE/Getty Images		Photograph by Unknown for NBAE/Getty Images
April 2nd, 2009		April 8th, 2009
	Utah @ Denver on TNT -- Remember this guy? Hopefully he doesn't go for 40 again as the Jazz face off for the 2nd time on National TV against Northwest Division Rivals Denver.		Utah @ Dallas on ESPN -- The Jazz need to start beating home teams on the road (besides Detroit and Boston). Dallas would be a good place to display this on TV for all the see. Look for Kidd to get the business from Deron.
Photograph by Unknown for NBAE/Getty Images		Photograph by Unknown for NBAE/Getty Images
April 14, 2009
	Utah @ LA Lakers on TNT -- As it's a televised game against the Lakers on the road I fully expect the Jazz to lose. No doubt this game will have playoff implications, most likely are we in the 3 vs. 6 bracket, or the 4 vs. 5 bracket.
Photograph by Unknown for NBAE/Getty Images

Ideally, I would like the Jazz to play games on national TV against crappy teams, so that I can watch the Jazz win. Each of these contests (save maybe for Denver in SLC) should be very close. I'm happy to see Utah getting some TV time though, so I shouldn't complain.

Flashback Friday: Remembering Duckworth

 

This last week we lost another large part of my youth as a basketball fan to the passage of time. On Monday Kevin Duckworth passed due to complications of congestive heart failure. How old was he? Rather, how young was he? He died at the age of 44 -- which we all can agree, is just too soon to go. Many bloggers have already discussed the event, their reactions to it, along with their memories of Duck. Now I throw my hat in the ring as well.

Kevin Duckworth Tribute [3:54] The best picture is the one with the deer. Such a gentle man, sad to see him taken from us so soon.

As a die hard Utah Jazz fan there are several franchises out there they I find it very hard to root for / feel sorry for when bad things happen to them. The first one would have to be the Los Angeles Lakers -- as they have (so far) book ended my career as a Jazz fan with 2nd round defeats (first a 7 Game series back in 1987-1988 and most recently in 2007-2008). The second team would have to be the Chicago Bulls -- as they defeated Utah in the finals twice -- partly due to some dubious calls (Game 6 of the Finals in '98 for example). The last one would be the Portland Trailblazers (though the Denver Nuggets and Charlotte New Orleans Hornets are getting up there). [Additionally the San Antonio Spurs have earned their own personal layer of hell in my heart, and don't fit into this equation.]

I still vividly remember the Jazz getting eaten up by Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Buck Williams and crew back in the 1990-1991 season, and how the Jazz lost in the West Finals to that Portland team (a team that featured Kevin Duckworth) again the next season in 1991-1992. Then Portland took the Jazz out a few seasons later in 1998-1999 -- and ended Jeff Hornacek's career in the 2nd round.

That said, losing Kevin Duckworth cannot make anyone, save for the greatest Portland hater happy.

I watched him play for many seasons and he just looked, moved and acted differently than other members of the Jailblazers Franchise. He was a starter on some very good teams and while he never averaged a double double in his career (that was over a decade long), he was an All-Star twice. He did average over 20 and 10 in the playoffs one season (1987-1988) though. As the Blazers continued to get better, and gather better talent, he appeared to be the weak link in their starting lineup. (Terry Porter, Clyde Drexler, Jerome Kersey, Buck Williams and Duck) Eventually he became a pariah and was not always loved by the fans (which conflicts with the revised story that they apparently always loved him, which came out after he died). I seemed like a really nice, Type B personality guy who for whatever reason, ended up playing basketball as well as he could -- but that was hardly good enough for some people. In that regard he reminds me of how fans, coaches and players treated Greg Ostertag. He was doing his best, but giving your all wasn't good enough sometimes.

One great moment in time that I look back at happened on some TV game back in the early 90's. The Blazers were well on their way to winning the game. Their coach (Rick Adleman) was taking out the starters in slow waves and the home crowd gave each a healthy applause. The TV crew working the game (including Bill Walton and Steve Snapper Jones) concluded that he was leaving Duckworth for last because he had been playing spectacularly well -- and deserved the positive ego boost of hearing the crowd cheering him for his good work. It was a grand gesture that would have made Duckworth happy -- and even though I hated the Blazers, the thought of him -- the underdog -- getting his day in the sun, made me happy.

Unfortunately there would be no happy ending, as after all the starters (save Duckworth) were on the bench and the celebrations started Adleman called a time-out, and Duckworth was substituted out in this manner -- he never got a chance to hear his name called over the arena PA system, he never got his applause, he never got the love that he deserved. And that really sucks.

The only other great Duckworth memory that I have was back when my brother and I would play video games together. We happened to be playing NBA Live '95 on the computer. He was using the keyboard, and I was playing with the mouse (which you can imagine was very hard to do). We were the Washington Bullets and playing against a much better team. It was a close game and many people had fouled out. I controlled Kevin Duckworth with the mouse, and as time was ticking down was able to push the computer's ball handler out of bounds (without a foul being called), thus giving us a final chance to win the game. (Which we did with a Rex Chapman buzzer beating three)

Anyway, Duckworth had career averages of 11.8 ppg (46.8 fg%, 73.6 ft%) and 5.8 rpg. His best seasons were between 1987-1988 and 1990-1991 where he scored at least 16 ppg every year and played around 30 mpg. He was an important cog in several NBA Final's teams, and did a great deal for the community after his death. I am sad to see him go. Why couldn't God have taken Bonzi Wells instead? R.I.P. Kevin Duckworth.

The Making Guard

It really is de rigueur to say that the Jazz don't really have it going on when it comes to shooting guard. When guys like Doug Collins repeatedly say it during a TV Game like it is some mystical mantra you know that everyone in the world already knows this. For the record there really isn't much to say about the Jazz, apparently. Watch a TV Game and they will mention a few of these things non-stop: Jerry Sloan has been coaching for quite a bit; Matt Harpring is tough/scrappy and comes from a strong football background; they lost to the Bulls twice in the finals, Andrei Kirilenko is reportedly upset about his role; Duh-ron Williams is not that bad; and last, but not least, the Jazz haven't had a solid shooting guard since Jeff Hornacek played here. Anyway, that last point is apparently all too true, as Utah really hasn't had much success with shooting guards in recent memory. Jerry Sloan even called the Jazz 2's out, asking for a Making Guard.

MJ's torture was Impossibull to forget for Jazz fans	The Glide used to kill us in the 80's and the 90's	Vince Carter reminds us all how good he is, when he plays the Jazz	If the only guy who can score gets 57, then the defense is broken	Playoff avg vs Jazz: 26.1 ppg, 7.1 apg, 6.9 rpg, 1.1 spg, 0.8 bpg

This is, no doubt, compounded by the fact that Utah has a rich history for getting absolutely owned by dynamic shooting guards. Michael Jordan used to beat up on the Jazz way before he was even an NBA champion. Clyde Drexler was able to score almost at will when he played for Portland -- and the problem never got fixed, he still scored 40 against the Jazz in the playoffs at the end of his career playing for the Houston Rockets. Two years ago shooting guards were having career games against the Jazz. Against the Jazz Michael Redd had something like 9 billion points in one game. Vince Carter is still a superstar . . . though only when he plays Utah. Tracy McGrady, for all of his playoff failures, has put up insane lines in the playoffs vs. Utah. And let's not even forget about Kobe Bryant -- all I gotta say about how he has treated my team over his career is that I sure hope he pays tax on his ownership of the Jazz.

Off the top of my head I have to struggle to name 5 shooting guards of any worth who were a big part of the Jazz when they played here. Pistol Pete Maravich, certainly is the top SG of this franchise. (Don't even get me started on why the New Orleans Hornets have retired his jersey . . . they are the Charlotte Hornets franchise, which joined the league many years after his death . . . go hang up a Muggsy Bogues' jersey instead, at least he played for your franchise!)

Next two on the list would have to be Dr. Dunkenstein aka. Darrell Griffith and Jeff Hornacek. It's hard to say which player was better for the franchise, and both deserve to be in the Top 3 for their combination of excellent three point shooting and nicknames (right, Horny?). Griffith was an instrumental player in those early Jazz teams that struggled and clawed their way into the NBA Playoffs for the first time ever. Hornacek fandom and revisionism has reached nearly Deity-like levels, as he was the third guy in those Stockton-to-Malone NBA Finals teams. (While averaging less than 15 ppg in his time here) After that it pretty much becomes slim pickings . . .

I guess Jeff Malone gets the nod here, but he was better with the Washington Bullets methinks. Either him or Dell Curry, who didn't do anything here. In fact, there is an equally rich history of the Jazz getting rid of some players way too early, and having them develop into pretty good players over time. Dell Curry (1 season) is one of them. Raja Bell became a solid NBA player in his 2 seasons here, then split town to play in Phoenix. Tim Legler (more of a point guard) was a three point ace who played in all of three games for the Utah Jazz. Sasha "Don't call me Aleksandar" Pavlovic was a promising talent who now plays with LeBron in Cleveland after playing in 79 games in his Rookie season for Utah. Same deal with Kelly Tripucka, except he played in Utah for 2 seasons. All of that said, looking at the complete list of players who have played for this franchise, you have to at least admit that The Locksmith has an outside shot at being one of the Top 5 best shooting guards in Jazz franchise history. (If we look at the careers of guards who at some stage have played for the Jazz, and not by purely what they did in a Jazz uniform -- D-Steve managed only 5.9 ppg, heck John Starks two seasons with Utah was better with a 7.0 ppg, but DeShawn has become a much better player than more than half of the shooting guards who have played in Utah) Alas, the fact that a true Top 5 is hard to even discuss, let alone agree upon is evidence enough that the Jazz have had some trouble with this whole "Shooting Guard" thing.

There appears to be no end in sight to the talent rich pool of shooting guards in the NBA. In the Northwest division alone the Jazz have to fend off Allen Iverson, Brandon Roy and Kevin Durant for starters. It gets even worse when you add in all of the other talented guards in the west. I guess the solution is to either get one of these dynamic, show stopping guards onto our roster (through trades of player development), or at the very least, try to close the disparity a bit -- to discover this proverbial two who can play defense and also be, as Coach Sloan calls it, a "Making Guard". (How did we ever win games against the Chicago Bulls when they had Jordan and we had Bobby Hansen checking him?)

Right now Utah has two things going for it at the two guard, they have youth and quantity. Hopefully this translates (through some algebraic formula) into a chance for realized potential, and later down the line, depth and quality. It's much easier to platoon a size position with a number of guys (Like the Bulls did at center with Longley, Perdue and Wennington) than at a skill position. As of today the Jazz bring a whole mess of guys to the table.

Name:	Ronnie Brewer	Kyle Korver	C.J. Miles	Morris Almond
Experience:	2 yrs pro, 23 yrs old	5 yrs pro, 26 yrs old	3 yrs pro, 21 yrs old	1 yrs pro, 22 yrs old
Current Role:	Starting Shooting Guard, 4th or 5th option on offense.	Scorer off the bench, plays during crunch time due to insane FT% and 3PT ability.	Starts at the 2 or 3 if the regular starters are injured, otherwise does not play	Prospect gaining experience by being 'The Man' for the Flash, in the DL.
Best Case for 2008-2009:	Develops into a defensive stopper and keeps defense honest with outside shot while continuing to shoot a higher FG% than most other SGs.	Improves defense & ball handling to the point where he is more than a spot up shooter. Some roster moves could promote him to starter.	Finally puts it all together and earns the right to start in the NBA. Shows a consistent enough effort on defense to be on the floor long enough to be more than just D-Will's boy.	Becomes a rotation player for the Jazz by showing the coaches that he does more than score the ball, or turn it over. Potential to make Korver expendable.
Worst Case for 2008-2009:	Never develops consistent outside shot, slowly becomes off the bench energy guy at Small Forward as career advances	Risk/Reward for playing such a min/maxed guy crunch time minutes becomes too risky as lack of defensive ability and over-all game too much to overlook because of solid shooting ability.	Career fails to take off for 4th season in a row as he dreams of alternate reality where he plays for the Oklahoma City team.	Inability to be a complete player negates his technically proficient scoring skills and he never gets significant playing time for the Jazz for the 2nd straight season.

This season will be quite telling to see if any of these guys are more than what they've shown so far. Kover has been in the league the longest, and as a result, shows the most polish. Jerry Sloan trusts him the most as well, often going down the stretch with him playing alongside the four principal players (William, Kirilenko, Boozer and Okur).  He, aside from the occasional blocked shot, doesn't do much on defense. 'Kover for three!!!' brings the crowd to their feet like 'Hornacek for three!!!' used to, though. So that has to count for something.

Ronnie Brewer is the incumbent starter at shooting guard, and he makes a lot of his shots (55.8 fg%!!!), they just aren't the type of shots that usual shooting guards have to rely upon. I haven't read this anywhere, but the super dynamic Brewer (coming into the NBA Draft was purported to be a 1/2/3, and not just a 2) is probably a better small forward than a shooting guard. Until he develops a more consistent outside shot that keeps defense honest, he can't be the guy we need at the two for the long term. (Floor spacing is poor if your shooting guard can't shoot from very far) He is very, very young still, and has the potential to get better I think.

C.J. and Morris really need experience more than anything. Almond played four years of NCAA ball, and is actually older than C.J.! Alternatively, Miles has "played" in the NBA the second most out of this foursome. Miles clearly has the most potential, as he has shown flashes of being able to do everything from D-up Carmelo Anthony, dunk on Amare Stoudemire and hit threes. He could be that "making" guard that Sloan wants. Will he ever be a dynamic guard like a T-Mac, Kobe, Wade or Carter? Probably not, but he can still be a solid NBA starter. (Surely with a better career than Jeff Malone or Dell Curry, right?)

Morris Almond was the guy who lost the most when the Jazz matched C.J.'s offer. He would have gotten more playing time (theoretically at least), and been the best 3rd string shooting guard in the league. While C.J. shows flashes of doing some amazing things, Almond shows more frequent flashes of doing a much more focused number of things well. Living in Detroit I get to see a lot of Rip Hamilton. Ask Rip to be T-Mac and he would fail. Ask Rip to do a few things well (come off of screens and shoot midrange jumpers), and he can do that to the point of being an All-Star. Almond would flourish in a system that asks only so much out of him. There is nothing that Rip does on offense that Almond can't do just as well. With time and seasoning I think that Almond can be a consistent NBA performer.

Are any of these four guys going to make Jazz fans less worried when guys like Kobe come to town? No. Are any of these four guys going to be a Top 5 Shooting guard in franchise history? Maybe, but it's way too early to tell. Can any of these guys be that Making Guard who makes things happen for the Jazz? Absolutely! Now we just have to wait and see how 2008-2009 plays out to get our answer to that question.

These four players will ultimately have something to say about 'the last good Shooting Guard for the Jazz'. They each have the skills, talent and potential to at the very least, require commentators like Doug Collins say something good about our guards for once. And that would be a huge upgrade the position hasn't seen in years.

Utah Jazz 2008-2009 Schedule Analysis

No doubt you know the NBA released the 2008-2009 NBA Regular Season Schedule. (well, they may have released some other things too, but that's still all pretty hush-hush) I haven't had some time to look at the schedules for the other teams yet, but I will in time. But let's take a look at how things will shape up month-by-month.

Month-by-month at a glance:

Month	# Games	Home	Away	vs. West	vs. East	vs. Playoff Teams	vs. West Playoff Teams
Oct/Nov	18	10	8	10	8	6	3
Dec	15	6	9	6	9	8	3
Jan	15	8	7	12	3	8	6
Feb	11	8	3	8	3	5	3
Mar	15	6	9	8	7	9	5
Apr	8	3	5	8	0	5	5

October/November: There's only 1 game in October, so I included it here for the rest of November. April looks tough, as usual.

Home vs. Road:

The Jazz have 5 road trips this season that of at least 3 games. (Three road trips are of 5 games in length!) The first trip is In November and features New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Charlotte and Cleveland. This trip is a single, then a pair of back-to-backs, and last three games are the 3rd game in four nights. The last game of the trip (vs. Cleveland) will also be the 4th game in five nights for us. New York is a must win as they are the worst team of that bunch, and we need a win in MSG badly. Philly/Washington is a pretty hard back-to-back as Philly has improved vastly this off-season and Washington is always tough with Agent Zero, Caron Butler, Antwan Jamison and crew. The Bobcats game should be better (but they have some good players), and I can fully expect another loss in Cleveland. The more I look at it, the more brutal this road trip looks. I wouldn't be surprised if we got 1-4 on it.

In December there's another Eastern trip that's Boston, New Jersey, Detroit, Chicago and Milwaukee. Only the Detroit/Chicago games are a back-to-back this time around. (The game vs. the Bulls will also be the 3rd game in four nights) We won in Boston last season, but there's no guarantee that we'll do it again. The Nets seem to have our number and the Jazz need to establish that they can beat these Eastern Conference Non-Playoff teams on the road. With my luck I'll be super busy the night of the Detroit game and end up missing it again. Chicago should be playing better at this point in the season again. The Jazz finish their 2nd 5 game road trip in as many months with a game against Milwaukee. This trip is easier than the first one, it's only against two playoff teams, and not three like the last trip. Also, there's only one back-to-back, and only one game is a 3rd game in four nights deal.

January holds at quick three game road trip against Oklahoma City, Memphis and Dallas. The Memphis/Dallas set is a back-to-back, and the Dallas game is the 3rd game in four nights.

In March the Jazz play their last 5 game road trip, against the Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat and finishing with the Orlando Magic. Three of these five teams are playoff teams and this road trip is a single followed by a pair of back-to-backs. Toronto should be a win, as should Indiana;, Atlanta, Miami and Orlando all have the capabilities to beat the Jazz when the Jazz are on the road.

The last road trip of the season is a three game set in April that pits the Jazz against New Orleans, Dallas and finishes in San Antonio. April (like in the 2007-2008 season) is a brutal schedule and at the very least, all of these games are spaced by a day each. The San Antonio game is the first game in a back-to-back with the Jazz playing Golden State in the second game. This is one of the few back-to-backs where the second game is at home. (17 times out of the total 21 back-to-backs have the Jazz playing the 2nd game of the back-to-back on the road)

On the flip side, the Jazz only have three home stands longer than 2 games the entire season. (Trying to make it easier to play in SLC?) There's a home stand at the end of November that's 4 games long. Another in January that's 4 games long, and the last home stand this season is a 5 game stand in February (that also includes time away from SLC for the All-Star break).

The first is a sequence at home facing the Chicago Bulls, Memphis Grizzlies, the Sacramento Kings and finishing with the New Jersey Nets. The last two games comprise a back-to-back, with the last game (New Jersey) being a 3rd game in four nights.

The second home stand (January) involves the Jazz facing off against the Golden State Warriors, the New Orleans Hornets, the Detroit Pistons and finishing against the Indiana Pacers. This will be (probably) one of the best sequences for the Jazz as none of the games are back-to-backs. All of these teams are teams the Jazz should beat when playing in Utah.

The last home stand bookends the All-Star break in February. The last game for the Jazz before the break is against the Los Angeles Lakers. After the break the next four teams are the Memphis Grizzlies, the Boston Celtics, New Orleans Hornets and Atlanta Hawks. This is the longest home stand of the season, and it also features 4 games against playoff teams in five nights.

Overall the three long Eastern trips make the home/road disparity seem worse than it is, I wouldn't have minded a more home friendly last month though. (The Jazz only play 3 home games in all of April, but I guess it all evens out as the Jazz only play 3 times on the road in February)

Schedule Conflict:

Situation:	Total # of games	# of games played on the Road	# of games played vs. 2007-2008 Playoff teams	# of games played both on the road, and vs. 2007-2008 Playoff teams
2nd night of a back-to-back	21	17	11	11
3rd game in four nights	24	12	14	8
4th game in five nights	4	3	3	3

Yeah, 81% of the time the Jazz play the 2nd night of a back-to-back, the game is on the road, 53% either against a playoff team -- and each of those times on the road. Half the games played on the 3rd night in four nights is on the road, and more than half the time, that game is against a playoff team from last season. Lastly, 75% of the time the Jazz play a 4th game in five nights the game will either be: on the road, vs. a playoff team, or both. You know what that is?

Scruffy says: "Schedule Conflict."

It's not all bad:

Because the league insists on playing 82 games (split between 30 teams), not every team plays each of their conference opponents 4 times. This season the Jazz only play three games vs. the Lakers, Spurs, Hornets and Clippers. Sure, it would have been nice to switch out the Clippers game with a game again, say, Sacramento or Portland (two teams that both owned us last season) -- but two of the three games against the Clippers are at home, in Utah.

Contrastingly, two of the three games against the Lakers and Spurs will be on the road. This seems like it hands to series to both of these teams as the Jazz are more likely to win at home, and the games that were taken away (from the 4 game series) appear to be Jazz home games. The optimist in me looks at it like an opportunity to play one less game against a really good team -- and thus avoid a potential loss.

Lastly, the NBA is protecting Chris Paul by having him only face Deron Williams 3 times this season. Thankfully two out of the three games are at home. (The last game of the series is in New Orleans though, and will be a very interesting Game 77 for all to watch)

Oh yeah, I forgot, the Jazz have come out of nowhere to be on ESPN and TNT a grand total of 11 times (or some other ridiculously large number), which is the most I've ever seen in my life as a Jazz fan. (the last 19 of my years)