The Utah Jazz played without starting center Mehmet Okur who was injured so they played small for a lot of this game. They still outrebounded the Clippers 48-35 and they shot 50% from the floor which were two huge factors in this win. The Jazz had to outscore the pesky Clippers 28-14 in the 4th quarter to win this game. Paul Millsap only played 25 minutes tonight but he still led the Jazz with 23 points and he snatched 9 rebounds. Carlos Boozer had a fantastic game finishing with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists tonight. Deron Williams was the guy who ran the show on offense with 21 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists. The Jazz are now 1-1 on the season.

The Jazz were only down 2 points heading into the 4th quarter when the Nuggets outscored them 32-25 to seal their fate. Deron Williams was outstanding in leading the Jazz on offense with 28 points, 3 rebounds and 13 assists. Andrei Kirilenko pitched in with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Ronnie Brewer also was busy for the Jazz with 16 points and 6 rebounds. The Jazz are now 0-1 on the season.

The Utah Jazz brought everyone back from last season but that might not be enough to win 50 or more games this year. Kyle Korver, C.J. Miles and Matt Harpring are all banged up and that will definately hurt the team’s depth. I would have to take the under when making a bet on the Jazz this season.

The Utah Jazz have lost SG/SF Kyle Korver indefinately due to surgery on his left knee. This will hurt the Jazz who have already lost C.J. Miles for a while hurting the depth of the Jazz big time. The Jazz will likely try to talk Matt Harpring into playing this season as he was considering retirement due to bad knees. If they can’t succeed in talking Harpring out of retirement then Ronnie Brewer will likely be playing big time minutes at shooting guard. Point guards Ronnie Price and rookie Eric Maynor might have to play some minutes at shooting guard until Korver is ready to return and there lack of size will be a huge problem.

Not many teams are led by Hall of Fame head coaches but the Jazz are. Jerry Sloan was inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame over the summer and he deserved it. He is still looking for the elusive NBA Championship as a head coach but who knows maybe this will be the year. The Jazz were 48-34 (58.5%) last season but they were only 1-4 (20%) in the playoffs. The Jazz expect to get past the first round of the playoffs this season. Sloan now has a career record of 1,043-630 (62.3%) during the regular season for the Jazz and he is 92-94 (49.5%) in the post season. The Jazz expect Sloan to get his playoff record over .500 this season with a deep run in the playoffs. Sloan now has a overall career record as a head coach in the NBA of 1,137-751 (60.2%) and he is 94-98 (49%) in the post season.

The Utah Jazz like to get their centers from far away lands because they are more fundamentally sound. It all starts with 30-year old Mehmet Okur who played in 72 games for the Jazz last season in which he averaged 33.5 minutes, 17.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Okur also is a deadly shooter from three point range as he nailed 44.6% from that range last season. He often drags the opposing center away from the basket making it easier for the forwards of the Jazz to get to the boards. 20-year old Kosta Koufos is a player on the rise for the Jazz. He played in 48 games for the Jazz last season and he averaged 11.8 minutes, 4.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Koufos is being groomed to replace Okur one day but that day is not likely to come too soon. 22-year old Kyrylo Fesenko is #3 in line for minutes in the pivot. He played in 21 games for the Jazz last season and he averaged 7.4 minutes, 2.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CENTERS IN 2009-2010: B

Not many teams can match the tandem of Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap. The Jazz have tried to trade 27-year old Carlos Boozer who has been a little bit injury prone for the Jazz lately. Still, when he plays Boozer is one of the best power forwards in the NBA. He played in 37 games for the Jazz last season and he averaged 32.4 minutes, 16.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The Jazz will keep trying to trade him but that won’t likely hurt his play any. 24-year old Paul Millsap is a outstanding player who will likely get time at both forward spots and maybe center this season. He is the reason the Jazz feel that they can trade Boozer and not miss a beat. Millsap played in 76 games for the Jazz last season and he averaged 30.1 minutes, 13.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He has the potential to be a 20-10 player if he gets the minutes.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POWER FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: A

28-year old Andrei Kirilenko’s play the last few years has not been up to his ability. The Jazz need him to get the fire back in his gut as when he is focused he is a darn good player on both ends of the basketball court. He played in 67 games for the Jazz last season and he averaged 27.3 minutes, 11.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocked shots per game. He has the potential to be much more than he is and the Jazz need him to lift his play back to previous levels as both of his back ups (C.J. Miles and Matt Harpring) are out with injuries. 22-year old C.J. Miles will start the year on the injured list and he’s going to miss a lot of time. That’s too bad for both him and the Jazz as he was due to start getting more minutes in the rotation. Miles played in 72 games for the Jazz last season and he averaged 22.5 minutes, 9.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. 33-year old Matt Harpring is considering retirement because of bad knees but the Jazz really need him to play because of all of the injuries that have hit the team (Kyle Korver, C.J. Miles). Harpring played in 63 games for the Jazz last season and he averaged 11.0 minutes, 4.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SMALL FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: C

24-year old Ronnie Brewer will be the starting shooting guard again this season for the Jazz. He played in 81 games for the Jazz last season and he averaged 32.2 minutes, 13.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Brewer is a very unselfish player who plays hard at both ends of the floor. He also is very good at shot selection as he nailed 50.8% of his shots from the floor last season for the Jazz. 28-year old Kyle Korver is the sharp shooter off the bench as he has hit 40.4% of his three point shots in his career. He played in 78 games for the Jazz last season and he averaged 24.0 minutes, 9.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2009-2010: B

22-year old starting small forward C.J. Miles reptured a ligament in his left thumb which will require immediate surgery and cause him to be out indefinately. Miles played in 72 games (all starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 22.5 minutes, 9.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. He has now played in 192 games (98 starts) in his four years with the Utah Jazz in which he has averaged 15.0 minutes, 5.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. This is a bad break for Miles who was finally starting to earn good minutes for the Jazz.