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The Utah Jazz had some struggles with their personnel this last week, and the “big four” (Boozer, Okur, Kirlenko, Williams) did not play a single game together. They played three games between our last podcast and today, and at least one of those four was out for each of the games. It could have been a potential 0-3 disaster, and instead it was a respectable 2-1 showing.
If we, as fans, have learned anything about those particular four Jazz players, it is that there are players who can do a respectable job of filling in for three of them. Booz, AK, and Memo are not replaceable, exactly, but between Harpring, Fisher, Millsap, Giricek, and a recently resurgent Araujo, the job will get done. However, the Utah Jazz are 0-2 in the last few weeks when playing without Slick Williams. Now, no disrespect is intended to Fisher, who is everything the fans hoped for and then some, but he does not run the offense at the same level as Williams.
With seven of the next ten games on the road, the Jazz need Williams back, and his status is still questionable for the time being. Sacrificing a few games to make sure his injuries do not linger is the right thing to do; so if he needs to sit, then so be it. As a fan, though, I will be hoping D-Will makes it back as soon as possible.
The University of Utah was 2-0 in their games this last week, with victories over New Mexico and San Diego State. This should be a cause for happiness, but ends up being more frustrating as a fan. This Utah team seems to have a great deal of unexplored and wasted potential. They have beaten some very good teams, and they have lost to some very bad teams. There is no consistency to the effort, and I am not sure if all of that can be blamed on the youth and inexperience. To be sure, they are a very young team, but a lot of successful teams win with freshmen and sophomores. By now all of these key young players have college experience and should be coming together. Hopefully this 2-0 week was a sign that we can look forward to better days, and not a simple fluke. (After all, Utah was 0-3 for the three previous outings…)
Brigham Young had an unusual week, one that started bad and ended very well. After a brief stint in the top 25 they absorbed a bad road loss to San Diego State. Now, losing to the Aztecs in San Diego is hardly disgraceful, but it was never close for the Cougars, and they were subsequently dropped from the polls. Then, they came back to beat Air Force at the Academy, which is an even harder venue in which to win. The victory guaranteed them a share of the regular season Mountain West championship and solidified their “bubble” status for the tournament. They should be picked to play regardless, but there have been bigger snubs in the history of the NCAA. Hopefully they can just win the MWC tournament and get the guaranteed spot.
Our top three for this week:
3. Gordon Giricek (but could have been Rafael Araujo)
2. Paul Millsap
1. Derek Fisher
For further explanation of the top three, along with more stuff in general, please listen to the podcast.
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Please feel free to comment at the bottom of this blog or send us an e-mail. We would love to hear from you!
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