2014-2015 regular season!

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[QUOTE]In the first start of Synder

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[QUOTE]Griffin and Jordan averaged 35 points and 19 rebounds against Jazz big men Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors, who averaged 27 points and 12 rebounds between them in the three losses.

This time Kanter and Favors had the edge with a combined 39 points and 20 rebounds, compared to Griffin and Jordan

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[QUOTE]Johnson, who played for Dayton, said he intends to make the most of his moment back in the NBA. He was on a Jensen-coached D-League summer league team two years ago.

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Had Alec Burks been healthy, had Rodney Hood not missed significant time to injury, Millsap probably wouldn't be here.

Not sure about that. Regardless they could have used another guy with some experience that plays hard and gets after people on D. Tou're Murry was likely going to be cut regardless.

But Millsap was a rare find for a guy with a 10-day contract: He was ready right away for rotation minutes. And he made the most of them.

Not sure how ready he was. Just a sign of the shitty roster more than anything. I's called tanking!

He's played 12 games with the Jazz, and he scored in 10 of them. He dropped a career-high 12 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers last week, and has proved to be a willing passer and an adequate shooter off the bench.

But it's Millsap's defense that has turned heads. He's already one of the best on the team in that area

Might be the best after Rudy. Ingles has been looking good too.

[QUOTE], and on a young squad that sometimes struggles to contain the ball, Millsap has provided maturity and strength on the perimeter.

"Elijah's journey is one of single-minded persistence," Utah general manager Dennis Lindsey said. "Elijah is a tough and confident competitor, and those two traits have allowed him to grind over a long period of time until the right opportunity came his way."

Millsap is 27, seasoned for a rookie. There was a time when he was close to surrendering the NBA dream, close to playing out the rest of his career overseas and become as financially stable as possible.

He played well last summer for the Philadelphia 76ers and thought this would be his final chance. The NBA doesn't usually pine for first-year players near the threshold of 30. The birth of his son

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Kanter is playing with a "passion" that is forcing his coach to keep him on the floor longer than expected some nights.

His talent should have him out there. He's got a pretty rare skill set.

"We have four bigs, and we like them all," Snyder said after Wednesday's loss to the Clippers. "

Sad to see Jeremy dissed at every turn. I hope he gets traded to someone that might appreciate him. He shoed something last year certainly.

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[QUOTE]For Hayward though, the refiner's fire has paid off.

Five years in, he is the unquestioned leader of the Jazz and is putting up all-star quality numbers. The forward has started every game of the season and is averaging 19 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists a game. He

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3. Future contenders (teams like the Bucks that look to be on a path to contending for a championship 2-4 years from now)

What makes them a championship contender? They are similar to the Jazz right now just in the east. They have some intriguing young players but until they have actually superstars they aren't a championship contender.

4. Rebuilders (teams like the Celtics in the midst of an unfinished rebuilding process)

tankers

5. Sinking ships (teams like the Nets that need to rebuild, but can't even start yet)

The Utah Jazz have been solidly in Group 4 for quite a while. Sure, they were young and rebuilding, but were they actually doing a good job of it? Rebuilding for the sake of rebuilding was not an accomplishment.

Mark it down: The Jazz have leveled up.

There seems to have been a major change recently, led by the emergence of Rudy Gobert, that has pushed the Jazz from Group 4 to Group 3, perhaps a few months ahead of schedule.

No doubt Gobert has changed the Jazz future and fortunes single handedly. They have a guy to build around. Now rather they actually do it remains to be seen. Hard to imagine they won't. They can't blow that can they?

The change: The Jazz are taking pride in their defense.

Rudy is anyway.

[QUOTE]The statistics show that the Jazz have improved defensively; but it's more than that. The change in attitude is visible to the eye as well. Watching the team, there's a sense that suddenly these guys are taking pride and pleasure in stopping their opponents from scoring. This is a new and course-altering development.

It starts with Gobert, and again it's about more than statistics. Gobert has given the Jazz blocked shots, but even more than that he's brought an attitude to the court that has elevated the whole team. Remember, Al Jefferson blocked shots for the Jazz too. But when you watch Gobert play, there's an evident "edge" to his game

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Unlike football and baseball, the prospects for a basketball player or a team tend to be evident quickly.

Less so in basketball than foottball. The guys are younger. Hard to say what Exum and Hood are going to be. Just starting to see what Maxi G and Favors are.

After Stockton and Malone arrived, for instance, you knew within a year that the Jazz had something going.

They already had something going when they added them though. Knew by the '88 playoffs they had something special and they wasted almost a decade treading water with them. Hopefully they don't blow it with Rudy.

[QUOTE] As for the current team, with its Salute to Youth movement: As of Jan. 27, the Jazz were 16-29; exactly a year ago on Jan. 27, the Jazz were 16-29.

According to NBA.com, the Jazz are the third youngest team in the league (23.9). The Rockets (25.7), Suns (25.1), Pelicans (24.9) and Bucks (23.7) also have young teams

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[QUOTE]The Timberwolves have been trying to accommodate Budinger, shopping him around the league. But the team has been unable to find any takers as we head into the final weeks before the NBA

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Is Trey Burke up for sale in exchange you T-Jones and Capela?

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I'd be all over that trade certainly. Jazz might want Canaan instead of Capela though.

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[QUOTE]When asked if he saw Klay Thompson's 37-point quarter, Kanter confessed that he did and said, "Who cares?" "I think we have enough talent to guard (Thompson) and everyone on their team," he said. CSNBayArea.com

"Andrew Bogut: Big guy, knows a littler Turkish, I don't know what to say about him," Kanter said. "He's just, I don't know, a big guy -- nothing special." CSNBayArea.com

Enes Kanter: Yup!! Just like what l said..! What A Win #JazzNation Twitter @Enes_Kanter

The remarks were probably "ill advised," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. Still, the coach appreciated his player's passion. "I like that Enes is being emotional and aggressive and playing that way," the coach said. "I think it was said in that kind of spirit of exuberance. But I think we all know the reality is [Golden State] is a terrific team, and what Klay Thompson did the other night was remarkable, and Andrew Bogut may be the best center in the league

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I'd be all over that trade certainly. Jazz might want Canaan instead of Capela though.

We'd be all over that like white on rice.

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The Jazz took a 20-10 lead and never relented for 48 minutes. The Jazz never allowed the Warriors to have their usual run. They had a 6-0 surge on two Steph Curry 3-pointers but that was it. The Jazz led wire to wire and it was the first time all year. It was also the first time the Warriors were on the wrong side of a wire-to-wire game.

off night for the Warriors obviously

[QUOTE]One of the huge plays of the night was a Favors mid-range shot with 5:47 left in the third quarter. The Warriors had gone on a 6-0 run to cut the game to 12 and Kanter scored one free throw, the Jazz got a stop, and then Favors hit a jumper that put the Jazz back up 15. The Warriors had hit the Jazz with a solid six-minute surge and the Jazz had stretched the lead from 11 to 15 and you could see it took a little out of the Warriors.

Favors had some big jump shots in the fourth quarter as well.

If you