The Jazz came out flat in this game as they were down 58-42 at the half. They never really made a run in this game that seriously threatened the Suns. Al Jefferson bounced back with a good game last night as he finished up with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Paul Millsap continued to shine with 19 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots last night. Andrei Kirilenko also filled up the stat sheet with 19 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. Deron Williams had another off game as he only shot 3 of 12 from the floor finishing with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in this game. The Jazz are now 0-2 on the year.

The Jazz didn’t have a chance last night as they only shot 38.6% from the floor in Denver. Deron Williams led the way for the Jazz last night with 17 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists on 3 of 10 shooting from the floor in 28 minutes. Paul Millsap had a solid game for the Jazz last night with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Raja Bell (12 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists) and rookie Jeremy Evans (11 points and 2 rebounds in only 11 minutes on the floor) also had decent games for the Jazz last night. The Jazz are now 0-1 on the year.

The Jazz were 53-29 last season and I see little reason to think that they can’t win at least that many games in 2010-11. I really liked the pick up of Al Jefferson and the Jazz will get a nice boost when Mehmet Okur returns from injury. I also think that Paul Millsap is going to bust out as the starting power forward this year. I would make a small bet on the over on the Jazz win total in 2010-11. The Jazz are also 40-1 to win the NBA Championship and that’s nice value.

68-year old head coach Jerry Sloan was inducted to Basketball’s Hall of Fame in 2009. He led the Jazz to a 53-29 (64.6%) record during the regular season last year and he was 4-6 in the playoffs. Sloan has a career record of 1,190-780 (60.4%) during the regular season and he is 98-104 (48.5%) during the post season. The Jazz still have a very solid team and I expect that Sloan will continue to rise up the all-time list in NBA victories as he is #4 right now and he is 145 behind Don Nelson for the all-time lead.

25-year old Al Jefferson will be the starting center for the Jazz this year. Jefferson played in 76 games (all starts) for the Timberwolves last season and he averaged 32.4 minutes, 17.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 407 games (276 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 28.6 minutes, 15.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Jefferson will team with Paul Millsap to give the Jazz a really good starting front line in 2010-11.

31-year old Mehmet Okur is going to miss the first couple of months while he recovers from an Achilles injury. Okur played in 73 games (all starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 29.4 minutes, 13.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 604 games (446 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 29.5 minutes, 13.9 points, 7.2 rebounds andd 1.7 assists per game. Okur has hit 37.8% of his shots from three point range in his career and that’s lethal for a center. Okur will likely be coming off the bench when he returns to action.

24-year old Kyrylo Fesenko looked around a bit in free agency over the summer before re-signing with the Jazz. Fesenko played in 49 games (5 starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 8.3 minutes, 2.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. He has now played in 79 games (6 starts) in his three years with the Jazz and he has averaged 8.0 minutes, 2.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. He will likely get more minutes than he has in the past until Mehmet Okur returns to action. It will be interesting to see if he does anything with them.

34-year old Francisco Elson will likely help out at power forward & center for the Jazz this year. Elson played in 12 games (0 starts) for the Sixers & Bucks last season and he averaged 5.5 minutes, 1.0 point, 1.2 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. He has now played in 405 games (148 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 16.2 minutes, 3.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE JAZZ CENTERS IN 2010-11: A-

Carlos Boozer signed with the Chicago Bulls over the summer giving the starting power forward job over to Paul Millsap finally. 25-year old Paul Millsap has been biding his time until he would be in the starting lineup for the Jazz and his time to shine is now. Millsap played in 82 games (8 starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 27.8 minutes, 11.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Millsap has now played in 322 games (49 starts) in his first four years with the Jazz and he has averaged 24.0 minutes, 9.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. I see Millsap averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds per game this year.

22-year old Jeremy Evans will likely give Millsap a break once in a while. Evans was a second round pick out of Western Kentucky last June. He played in 34 games at Western Kentucky last season and he averaged 10.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game. Evans played in 134 games in college and he averaged 7.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game.

Andrei Kirilenko and Al Jefferson could also get some P.T. here when Millsap needs a breather.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE JAZZ POWER FORWARDS IN 2010-11: B+

29-year old Andrei Kirilenko is in a contract year so look for him to be motivated and very productive for the Jazz. Kirilenko played in 58 games (35 starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 29.0 minutes, 11.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Kirilenko has now played in 617 games (416 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 30.8 minutes, 12.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.1 blocked shots per game. Kirilenko will also likely play some power forward when Paul Millsap needs a breather.

23-year old C.J. Miles is a decent reserve small forward. He played in 63 games (28 starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 23.8 minutes, 9.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Miles has now played in 255 games (116 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 17.2 minutes, 6.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Miles can also handle shooting guard in a pinch.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE JAZZ SMALL FORWARDS IN 2010-11: B-

The Utah Jazz have waived 24-year old guard Sundiata Gaines. Gaines played in 32 games as a rookie for the Jazz last season and he averaged 6.8 minutes, 3.3 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists. Gaines claim to fame came when he hit a buzzer beater to beat the Cavaliers last season. Gaines will likely get a chance with another team this season but the Jazz won’t miss him.

The Jazz have brought back 34-year old shooting guard Raja Bell as a free agent and he’s the likely starter for the Jazz coming into this year. He only played in 6 games (5 starts) last season for the Bobcats & Warriors last year (due to a bad wrist) and he averaged 30.0 minutes, 11.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Bell has now played in 604 games (383 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 28.0 minutes, 10.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Bell is a solid defender and he’s a good three point shooter (41.1% for career) so I like his addition to the Jazz’ starting lineup.

20-year old rookie Gordon Hayward might push Raja Bell for P.T. this year. Hayward played in 37 games for Butler last season and he averaged 33.5 minutes, 15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He played in 69 games in his two years at Butler and he averaged 33.1 minutes, 14.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Hayward has a bright future for the Jazz.

25-year old Othyus Jeffers will be #3 in line for minutes at shooting guard for the Jazz in 2010-11. Jeffers played in 14 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Jazz last season and he averaged 5.1 minutes, 2.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE JAZZ’ SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2010-11: C-