The Jazz shot 59.5% from the floor last night but they didn’t play any D as the Pistons shot 50% from the floor and it did them in.  Paul Millsap (23 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocked shots), Andrei Kirilenko (21 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocked shots) and Al Jefferson (20 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot) led the way for the Jazz last night.  Devin Harris got his first start with the Jazz and he had a good game finishing up with 17 points, 2 rebounds and 12 assists last night.  Raja Bell (14 points) and Derrick Favors (10 points in 16 minutes) also had decent games for the Jazz last night.  The Jazz are now 32-28 on the year.

The Jazz played great defense last night in holding the Pacers to 34.8% shooting from the floor and they also outrebounded them 56-46 which helped them win on the road.  But, it wasn’t until the 4th quarter when the Jazz outscored them 30-21 that they finally put the Pacers away.  Al Jefferson (30 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 5 blocked shots) and Paul Millsap (23 points, 18 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots) led the way for the Jazz in this game.  Andrei Kirilenko (14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot) and Devin Harris had a nice Jazz’ debut with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in 29 minutes off the bench.  The Jazz are now 32-27 on the year.

The Jazz got outrebounded 43-33 and they didn’t play any D as the Mavericks shot 57.9% from the floor which helps explain the beating they took last night.  Al Jefferson led the way for the Jazz in this game with 30 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot.  Paul Millsap (18 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 4 steals) and Andrei Kirilenko (17 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals) also had solid games for the Jazz last night.  C.J. Miles pitched in with 16 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals) also had a decent game last night.  The Jazz are now 31-27 on the year.

In a shocking deal, the Utah Jazz have dealt 26-year old point guard Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets for 27-year old point guard Devin Harris, 19-year old rookie power forward Derrick Favors, 2 first round picks and cash considerations.  Williams played in 53 games (all starts) for the Jazz this season and he averaged 37.9 minutes, 21.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 9.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  He played in 439 games (406 starts) in his six years with the Jazz and he averaged 35.6 minutes, 17.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Maybe Deron Williams should have checked himself instead of running Jerry Sloan into retirement.  He wore out his welcome in Salt Lake City when he did that.  The Jazz also can laugh about sending Williams to a lousy Nets’ team.

Devin Harris will replace Deron Williams in the starting lineup.  Harris played in 54 games (all starts) for the Nets this season and he was averaging 31.9 minutes, 15.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  He has now played in 463 games (329 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 28.1 minutes, 13.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Harris is not the pure passer that Deron Williams is, but he is a very solid point guard.  Derrick Favors played in 56 games (23 starts) for the Nets this year and he was averaging 19.5 minutes, 6.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Favors was shooting 51.1% from the floor but only 61.2% from the free throw line so he has some things to work on.  Favors will back up Paul Millsap in Utah. 

The Jazz might not make the playoffs this season but I really like this deal for them as Deron Williams was beginning to be more trouble than he was worth….which says quite a bit about him.

The Utah Jazz are 31-26 right now which has them in 4th place in the Northwest Division, 5.5 games behind the Thunder.  The Jazz are currently tied for the #8 seed in the Western Conference with the Memphis Grizzlies.  The Jazz are only 1 game behind the Nuggets and 1.5 games behind both the Trailblazers &  Hornets so they could move up if Tyrone Corbin can rally the troops.  The Jazz are 0-3 under Corbin since Jerry Sloan decided to resign.

BIGGEST SURPRISE:  30-year old forward Andrei Kirilenko has really stepped up for the Jazz so far this year.  He has played in 50 games (48 starts) for the Jazz this season and he is averaging 32.2 minutes, 11.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  The Jazz hope that Kirilenko finishes strong which would help aid them make the playoffs.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:  31-year old Mehmet Okur just doesn’t look like his old self as of yet.  Okur has played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Jazz so far this year and he is averaging 12.9 minutes, 4.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.  Okur’s shooting has been way off since his return to action as he is only shooting 35.5% from the floor and 31.3% from three point range so far this year.  If Okur gets his groove back, he would be a huge asset to help get the Jazz back to the playoffs this year.

The Jazz didn’t play any D last night as the Warriors shot 54.5% from the floor and it did them in.  The Jazz were outscored 31-24 in the 4th quarter and that’s what finished them off last night.  Al Jefferson (23 points, 11 rebounds and 1 blocked shot) and Paul Millsap (22 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals) led the way for the Jazz last night.  C.J. Miles filled up the stat sheet with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot last night as he also had a solid game.  Deron Williams only shot 5 of 13 from the floor as he finished up with 18 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot.  The Jazz are now 31-26 on the year.

The Jazz outrebounded the Suns 39-32 last night but it didn’t matter in the end.  Al Jefferson led the way for the Jazz in this game with 32 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocked shots.  C.J. Miles (19 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists) and Paul Millsap (13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal) also had solid games for the Jazz last night.  Deron Williams (11 points) and Earl Watson (11 points) also pitched in for the Jazz last night.  The Jazz are now 31-25 on the year.

New head coach Tyrone Corbin had his troops up 56-42 at the half and everything was looking great.  But, the Suns made halftime adjustments and they crushed the Jazz 51-27 in the second half.  Deron Williams led the way for the Jazz last night with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 14 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  C.J. Miles started in place of an injured Raja Bell and he responded with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots.  Paul Millsap (16 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists) and Gordon Hayward (14 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist) also pitched in for the Jazz in this game.  The Jazz are now 31-24 on the year.

34-year old starting shooting guard Raja Bell is getting into a groove for the Jazz right now.  In his last four games, Bell is averaging 37.8 minutes, 15.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.  He is shooting 58.5% from the floor in those games (24 of 41).  Bell has now played in 50 games (all starts) for the Jazz so far this year and he is averaging 30.7 minutes, 8.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.  Bell is already a great defensive player so anything he can add offensively helps the Jazz as a whole, big time.

68-year old Jerry Sloan tired of Deron Williams’ act and that is a big reason that he has resigned as the head coach of the Utah Jazz after 23 years in charge.  The Jazz were 31-23 under Sloan this year which had them in 2nd place in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference, 3.5 games behind the Thunder.  The Jazz were 1,127-682 (62.3%) unde3 Sloan in his 23 years on the job during the regular season.  They were also 96-100 (49%) in the post-season under Sloan.  The Jazz won the Western Conference in both the 1996-97 and the 1997-98 seasons but they lost in the NBA Finals both times.

Jerry Sloan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.  Sloan has a career record during the regular season of 1,221-803 (60.3%) and he is 98-104 (48.5%) during the post season in his career.  Sloan is #3 in NBA history in regular season wins and he’s #6 in post season wins.  Tyrone Corbin will be taking over as the interim head coach of the Jazz and Deron Williams should be ashamed of himself.