The Preseason is Now

The preseason is now underway. The Jazz started their preseason on Wednesday, falling 90-81 to the Milwaukee Bucks. Go here for the box score. Here are my observations:

1. The shooting guard picture is far from settled, but Ronnie Brewer is the front-runner in my opinion.

2. Morris Almond will be a very valuable asset to the Jazz. He won't make a huge impact this year unless injuries become an issue, but he's got a bright future. If he focuses on his defense in particular, he'll be in the league a long time.

3. Kyrylo Fesenko is the type of player the NBDL was created for. Fess has potential for sure, but the D-League will be great for him.

4. The game was sloppy, which is to be expected as the first preseason game. Hopefully things will look better over the next few games.

5. AK-47 is still capable of putting up great numbers with the Jazz. He looked good last night doing a little bit of everything. He needs to keep it up all year.

Tonight the Jazz will be squaring off against the Pistons at 5:30 P.M. Mountain time. The game isn't televised or on radio, but if you go to utahjazz.com and look at the calendar section, there's a link that allows you to listen to it online. I'll probably just read about it tomorrow, but if my wife isn't home by the time the game starts I'll try to catch some of it live.

I'll try to post twice next week. I look forward to any comments. Until later.

Fantasy Basketball and Training Camp

Let's talk fantasy basketball. More specifically, let's talk about the Utah Jazz and fantasy basketball. For anyone not familiar with fantasy basketball, here are the basics. Things can vary from league to league. First, you sign up, and a draft is held. That can be done live online or just done by the system when the league is full. You have a chance to pre-rank players to help determine who's on your team. Once you have your team (the exact number of players varies) and the season starts, the teams in your fantasy league are ranked according to the statistics compiled by the players on their respective teams. For me, one fantasy basketball question that must be answered each year is: What Jazz player(s) will I have on my team? I always like to have at least one Jazz player on each of my fantasy teams each year.

This year I have two teams in two separate leagues run by Yahoo. On the Egomaniacs, my Jazz representative is Carlos Boozer. I know he'll do well for me. On WJ Wamboozle, I was in a live draft and I was able to snag Deron Williams and Paul Millsap. I expect good production from them. Here is a page listing Jazz player fantasy rankings according to nba.com. Yahoo and other sites have varying rankings. My last comment is that in both the Yahoo and NBA.com rankings, Chris Paul is ranked ahead of Deron Williams. Every analyst in the world is making excuses for Chris Paul's season last year. He was playing hurt, sure, but it's ridiculous to me that he's ranked as far ahead of Deron as he is. But they'll definitely be compared to each other their whole careers.

Now on to training camp. Things have a little unusual in that Carlos Boozer hasn't been there since he's still in Miami awaiting his son's discharge from the hospital. Also, until last night, Deron Williams hadn't participated in any practices after having his wisdom teeth removed on Friday. Other than that, everybody's just been working out and getting ready for the season. Kyrylo Fesenko is trying to adjust to differences in NBA and international rules. The Jazz have again enlisted the help of Jeff Hornacek to work with Andrei Kirilenko. However, in this case, he won't only be working with AK. Hornacek has signed on as a part-time coach to work with different players on their shooting. He's starting with AK but will work with others as well. He'll meet up with the team a couple of times a week. The key factor in his being able to take this position is that all of his kids are out of elementary school and he's more flexible. I'm grateful he's with the Jazz on a part-time basis, expecially considering he could easily have ended up doing something with the Suns, living in Phoenix and all.

Finally, Saturday's 10:30 A.M. practice at the Taco Bell Arena is open to the public. So if you live near Boise or have the chance to make the trip, it could be fun. That's all for now. I'll be back next week with the latest combination of my opinions and Jazz news.

CAN YOU FEEL THE ANTICIPATION??!!

Coming Soon....

Well, I haven't posted in a while. I've been a little busy, but that's not much of an excuse. I am currently preparing for my fantasy basketball draft that starts in about ninety minutes. Once it's over, I'll post about that, where Jazz players are ranked on several fantasy basketball sites, and the latest from the Jazz training camp in Boise. Stay tuned.


Edit: Well, hours have gone by and I haven't updated. I sincerely apologize. It's been a very stressful day with many unforseen events going on. I'll do my best to post again tomorrow, October 5. Sorry again.

AK Trade Possibilities; Training Camp News

Hello Jazz fans. I'm back after taking a few days off of writing. Let's start off by throwing out some AK trade possibilities. In recent weeks, the news made a big deal out of the Jazz and Suns discussing an AK-for-Shawn Marion deal a few months ago. Actually, it was really just one phone call. Anyway, Shawn Marion has now requested that the Suns trade him. Maybe this could become more of a possibility. Maybe not. The Suns are in a much better position with Marion than the Jazz are with AK. Marion has continued to produce good numbers and hasn't thrown stuff out there about being willing to walk away from the NBA.

Another option could be AK to the Lakers for Lamar Odom and possibly another player. I personally don't see this one happening.

I've also heard a rumor of AK-for-Richard Jefferson of the Nets. I'd like that one, but I honestly don't think the Nets are sending Jefferson anywhere. So the end result is that out of current AK trade rumors, AK-for-Marion is the most likely one out there. But in the end, AK might not get traded until closer to the trade deadline in February or maybe not at all. I would like to either see him get traded soon or at least be content. One thing that would not be good for the Jazz is to have uncertainty and rumors floating around all year.

In other news, it has been reported that Carlos Boozer has received to permission to report to the team late. The reason? His son has recently undergone a bone marrow transplant in Miami to combat sickle cell disease. Carlos has pledged to report when his son is out of the hospital and stable. But he's been working out all summer and staying in shape, so I don't think we have much to worry about, other than wishing the best for Carlos and his family. For more details, click here.

That'll be all for today. In honor of Carlos Boozer, I'll post a cool picture of him. In my next post, I'll be ready to talk fantasy basketball. Until then, enjoy life.

Jazzbots, Dee Brown, and D-Will

I have a lot to report on today since a lot has gone on in the Jazz and NBA world.
First, Dee Brown is off to Turkey to play with a team there. He talks about it on his blog. I for one wish him well and look forward to seeing him back in the NBA at some point in the future. Hopefully he'll get a chance to talk to Mehmet about Turkey sometime before he leaves, which is Wednesday.

Now, in the latest in the Jazz Drama Department, Deron Williams has publicly spoken out against Andrei Kirilenko, and more specifically, his work ethic (or lack thereof). Perhaps the most telling quote from the interview (given to 1320 KFAN), a summary of which can be found here, is the following: "If he's [AK] coming off a screen on one side and Matt [Harpring] is coming off a screen on one side, who do you think you're going to pass to?"
"You think you're going to pass to the guy you see working every day in the gym or are you going to pass to the guy who never works on his shot but yet wants to shoot 'em every time?"

Not that the situation was good anyway, but to be honest, I hope that everyone in the Jazz organization can keep their mouths shut at least until training camp opens on Oct. 2.

I think that if AK really wants to be traded, the Jazz need to get the best deal possible. Granted, with his big contract, that could be difficult. I think AK is being ridiculous in placing all the blame on coach Sloan. Sloan is not the reason AK had an off year. AK had an All-star year under Sloan. The fact of the matter is, the Jazz have upgraded their roster the past few years as they have brought in Boozer, Okur, and Williams. The Jazz simply don't need AK to score many points. If AK would just focus on helping the team as best he can, there certainly wouldn't be any problem.

The last piece of news is that Jazzbots.com has officially launched. It features blogs by Jazz fans as selected by the Jazz organization. I wanted to be a part of it, but my essay wasn't good enough to even get me an interview. But I'm not too bitter about it. Right now only the very first post by each of the authors is available. Since the season has yet to begin, there's nothing too exciting yet, but once the season kicks off, it should be fun to read. That's all the news I have for now. In the coming days I plan to comment on possible AK trade scenarios as well as any other news that happens.

Finally, thanks for the comments Renton and Diana. It's good to know at least a few people have found their way here. By the way Renton, are you up for some ANTW fantasy basketball? I am.

Kirilenko Wants Out

Say it isn't so. According to the Salt Lake Tribune (and presumable the Deseret News), Andrei Kirilenko wants to be traded from the Utah Jazz. The information comes from a blog written by Kirilenko on a Russian sports web site.

I'm too depressed/angry to write much more about the situation now, but if you want more information, click here for the article from the Tribune. The Deseret News has a small online article about it, but there's nothing too unique when compared with the article I linked to. Anyway, if anyone reads this, please feel free to leave comments. Peace out.

Goings-on to Think About

Well, it's been a few days since I last posted since there hasn't been earth-shattering news or events to report. There are, however, a few things that I feel are worth mentioning.

It looks like Dee Brown won't be playing for the Milwaukee Bucks. In his blog, he said that the Bucks are looking for a bigger guard and it isn't likely he'll end up there. But he's still working out, staying in shape, and hoping for the best.

In news that surprisingly hasn't been mentioned much (if at all) on the Jazz website, Andrei Kirilenko was named MVP of the recently-completed EuroBasket 2007. In leading the Russian team to the gold medal, AK-47 averaged 18 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game. For more information on what went down at Eurobasket, go here.

What implications will AK's Eurobasket performance have on him and the Jazz for the upcoming NBA season? I think it will work in one of two ways. First, it could increase his confidence, help him "get his game back," so to speak, and allow him to play much better than last year. On the other hand, it could make things worse if he starts pouting again about not being more involved in the Jazz offense when he scored so much at EuroBasket. To me, AK is at his best when he plays hard on defense. Often his own defensive plays lead to offensive opportunities for himself and the whole team. I know he wants to contribute on offense, and there's nothing wrong with that. The problem is when he gets a bad attitude and stops playing hard on defense. I hope he can overcome the problems he had last year and comes out strong and emerges as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

Here's a link to a picture of AK-47 doing what he does best, coming over on the help defense and swatting the would-be shooter.

That's all I have for now. If any breaking news occurs, I'll write about it as quickly as possible. Have fun.

Brief updates

I don't plan to write on anything major today, but there are a couple of things I'd like to mention. First off, nba.com has quoted the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as saying that Charlie Bell is ready to move on from the Bucks after both sides have failed to reach an agreement. This should improve Dee Brown's chances of getting an offer from the Bucks. I'll post any other developments on that end as I hear them.

Second, I made a wallpaper decision. I decided to go with the Carlos Boozer wallpaper that I posted last night. I'll stick with it for a couple of months at least before switching.

That's all for now. Stay excited about the Jazz.

The Perfect Wallpaper

Well, as promised, I am ready to chronicle my journey to find the best Jazz wallpaper to help keep me excited about the upcoming season. I started out by going to the offical Jazz site because it seemed like the most logical place to start. Let me just say that I am very impressed with a lot of the wallpapers on the Jazz site. Links have been provided. After looking over them, these are my top 3:









Well, since pictures take up so much space, those are the only ones I uploaded, but my journey wasn't done just yet.
My next step was to Google "Utah Jazz Wallpaper in hopes of finding other sites. One site,
Jazz Hoops, had a few decent ones, but not too many that interested me. I even found a blog, nba-wallpapers, that offered a few impressive ones, including one I really like of Carlos Boozer. I didn't see any other sites that looked very inviting, so I turned to my final option: Google Image Search. I began by searching for "Utah Jazz Wallpaper" (without the quotes) again. The main issue with this is that all interesting and cool pictures were too small in my opinion to make a good wallpaper.

I'll take a few days and decide which one I'm going with. I think a good plan of action is to just change my wallpaper every couple of months because there really are several I like. So when I post again I'll let you know which one I'm starting with. There are other search engines like yahoo and msn that I didn't use, so you may want to consider them. Also, if you're artistic and creative you can make your own. Feel free to comment on any you've designed personally. Until next time,

Blake

Dee Brown to Milwaukee? What's with CJ?

A couple of Jazz personnel questions have been running through my mind a lot lately. First off, where is Dee Brown going to end up? The other is wondering about CJ Miles. In response to the first, Dee reported on his blog (see link) that he's been working out with the Milwaukee Bucks. His chances there may depend on whether or not Charlie Bell decides to re-sign with the team. Whether things work out with the Bucks or not, I hope he ends up on some NBA roster on opening day. I wish he could stay with the Jazz, but by bringing in Jason Hart and Ronnie Price, the Jazz made their decision with regards to the point guard position. While I'm excited about the addition of Price, I wish the Jazz would have given Dee a multiyear deal as opposed to bringing in Hart. But it is what it is.

Now, on to CJ Miles. Several weeks ago, I innocently googled CJ Miles in the hopes of finding some information on the status of contract talks with the Jazz. To my surprise, I discovered that there is a beautiful (and not too modest) female model named CJ Miles. Now I know to type in basketball or Jazz when I want CJ Miles information. Unfortunately, the latest news is several weeks old, which is that CJ wants to stay and the Jazz want to keep him, but the qualifying offer tendered by the Jazz hasn't been accepted and contract talks continue.

That's all for today. If you read this and happen to know any recent developments concerning Dee and/or CJ please comment. Stay tuned, because coming up in a few days, I'll take you along as I search for the perfect Utah Jazz-themed wallpaper.

Introduction

Hello fellow Utah Jazz fans! My name is Blake and this is my new blog. I'm new to actually writing my own blog, but I'm very excited. It's been a long summer since the Jazz lost to the Spurs in the western conference finals, but a new NBA season rapidly approaches. Throughout the coming months I'll provide my thoughts on the Utah Jazz and NBA. I welcome any comments and/or suggestions for improvement anyone may have. That's all for now, but check back for updates at least once a week.