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The Utah Jazz (4-0) have gotten off to their best start since 2001. Judging by their play thus far, the Jazz may not only blow past expectations of merely making the playoffs but could actually enjoy home court advantage in the playoffs. Why the early success and high expectations?

Jerry Sloan: Snubbed time and time again for Coach of the Year honors, his system works and his players respond. Amazingly enough, the third and fourth-string point guards are running this team as if they've been doing this for years. Howard Eisley got a sum total of one hour of prep time before he joined the team for the first game after a five year absence. The same excuses that other teams give for players who have poor initial performances (Nuggets, Lakers) only highlights what Coach Sloan has done very early on in this season with the new rotations.

New Additions: Barely missing the playoffs with a 42-40 record last year, the additions of Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur have loaded the frontcourt with scorers and rebounders. While Carlos had an off night against the Nuggets on Monday (4pt, 7rbs, 4pf), Okur picked up the frontcourt with 12 points and nine boards. Boozer is a legitimate 20 and 10 guy and Okur should be good for 14 and 8 with this team.

Andrei Kirilenko: The Human Stat Sheet's averages over last four games are a fantasy freak's dream (17.5ppg, 2.3 stl, 6.5 blks, 6 rbs, 2.5 assts). How many players in this league can change the outcome of a game even without scoring many points? If you've watched the last few games, you saw opposing players around the basket trying to find out where Kirilenko is on the floor before they try to put it up. In two of the four games, Kirilenko had eight shot-blocks! All this defense from a small forward? Mark it down, Defensive Player of the Year honors is going to the Russian.

Deepest Bench in the NBA: Watch out, Dallas. One of the biggest assets the Jazz have is that they keep coming at you with athletic scorers and defenders. The team has shot over 50% and scored over 100 points in every game. Matt Harpring, Raja Bell, and Mehmet Okur are coming off the bench and making every minute count. Look for the box score to show anywhere from four to seven players in double-digit scoring in every game this year.

Prognosis for the future

Yes, it is early and Jazz fans are in danger of euphoric intoxication. The team needs to handle the Texas death trap (Dallas, Houston, San Antonio) before counting on home court advantage in the playoffs. Also note that Carlos Arroyo is coming back this weekend from his high ankle sprain. Jazz fans are on a wild ride this season and the rest of the league needs to recognize that this team is legit.