The only thing that kept the Jazz rookies away from getting an A, was their lack of playing time.  Forward Paul Millsap was outstanding in his rookie season as he played in 82 games and he averaged 18.0 minutes, 6.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  He also shot an outstanding 52.5% from the floor last season.  Millsap would be a starter for a lot of basketball teams but he’s behind Carlos Boozer in Utah.  G/F Ronnie Brewer also is a good basketball player and a future starter for the Utah Jazz.  He played in 56 games last season and he averaged 12.1 minutes, 4.6 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  He shot an outstanding 52.8% from the floor which is outstanding.  Reserve point guard Dee Brown played in 49 games and he averaged 9.2 minutes, 1.9 points, 0.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  He only shot 32.7% from the floor and he will need to improve on that if he wants to keep playing in the NBA.

The Utah Jazz won the Northwest Division with a 51-31 record, 6 games better than the Denver Nuggets.  The Jazz were great at home as they were 31-10 and they were 20-21 on the road.  The Jazz went 32-20 against the Western Conference and 10-6 against their Division.  They averaged 101.5 points per game and allowed 98.6 points per game.  The Jazz have only won 4 of their last 10 games coming into their playoff series with the Houston Rockets.

Derek Fisher has played pretty well all season for the Jazz until the calendar turned to April.  He has played in 6 games this month and he’s averaged 8.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.  His shooting has been horrible as he’s only hit 29.7% of his shots from the floor and he’s only 2 for 18 from three-point range.  With the playoffs coming next weekend, the Jazz need Fisher to break out of his recent shooting funk.

Some of the Jazz’ players are fading down the stretch, but not Carlos Boozer.  In his last 7 games, Boozer has averaged 18.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  Look for Boozer to do well in the playoffs as Juwan Howard and Chuck Hayes will have problems keeping him away from the basket.

Andrei Kirilenko is out indefinately with a fractured left thumb.  He could possibly return at some point in the playoffs if the Jazz get by the Houston Rockets.  Kirilenko had a disappointing season for the Jazz.  He played in 68 games and averaged 29.5 minutes, 8.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.0 blocks per game.  The Jazz really need Kirilenko back because of his defensive ability.