The Jazz outscored the Sixers 31-26 in the 4th quarter to surge to a nice home win over the Sixers last night. Derrick Favors (20 points, 11 rebounds and 1 blocked shot) and Devin Harris (19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal) led the way for the Jazz last night. Paul Millsap (14 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots), Gordon Hayward (15 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots) and C.J. Miles (10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot) also pitched in for the Jazz last night. The Jazz are now 1-2 on the year.

The Jazz didn’t play ANY defense last night as the Nuggets shot 53.5% from the floor and it doomed them in this game. Al Jefferson led the way for the Jazz last night with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. Alec Burks provided a huge spark off the bench with 15 points and 2 steals in only 10 minutes on the floor. Paul Millsap (13 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals) and C.J. Miles (13 points and 2 rebounds) each played 22 productive minutes off the bench. Gordon Hayward (10 points, 2 rebounds and 7 assists) and Devin Harris (10 points, 2 assists and 2 steals) also pitched in for the Jazz last night. The Jazz are now a very unimpressive 0-2 on the year.

The Utah Jazz looked terrible in their first game of the season last night as they only shot 32.2% from the floor. Paul Millsap led the way for the Jazz last night with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 1 blocked shot in 27 minutes off the bench. Josh Howard also had a solid game with 10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in 24 minutes. Derrick Favors started at power forward for the Jazz last night with 8 points and 6 rebounds in only 19 minutes on the floor. The Jazz are now 0-1 on the season.

The Jazz have dealt 32-year old center Mehmet Okur to the New Jersey Nets for a future 2nd round pick and a trade exception.  Okur played in only 13 games (0 starts) last year for the Jazz and he averaged 12.9 minutes, 4.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.  He played in 474 games (404 starts) in his seven years with the Jazz and he averaged 31.7 minutes, 15.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.  Okur finishes his career #4 in three pointers made with 517 in Jazz’ history.  He is also #9 in rebounds (3,599), #9 in blocked shots (346) and #9 in points (7,255) in Jazz’ history.  The Jazz did Okur a favor as he was going to be sitting behind Al Jefferson and rookie Enes Kanter in 2011-12.

The Utah Jazz have signed 31-year old small forward Josh Howard.  Howard played in 18 games (10 starts) for the Wizards last year and he averaged 22.7 minutes, 8.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.  He has now played in 453 games (381 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 31.2 minutes, 15.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  This was a good signing for the Jazz as they can certainly use some help at small forward.  If Howard is healthy, he might just bump C.J. Miles to the bench in 2011-12.

The Jazz have signed 33-year old point guard Jamaal Tinsley.  Tinsley last played in the NBA in 2009-10 with the Memphis Grizzlies.  Tinsley has played in 436 games (366 starts) in his NBA career so far and he is averaging 28.9 minutes, 9.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game.  Tinsley has only shot 39.5% from the floor in his career, which isn’t too good.  He will battle Earl Watson (and probably lose out to him) for the right to back up Devin Harris at point guard in 2011-12.

The Jazz have signed 32-year old shooting guard Kevin McLeod and 26-year old small forward Trey Gilder.  McLeod played for the Jazz back in 2004-05 and 2005-06.  McLeod last played in the NBA back in 2006-07 with the Golden State Warriors.  McLeod  has played in 200 games (88 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 18.6 minutes, 5.5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.  McLeod has only shot 35.7% from the floor in his career so far, so he isn’t going to help the Jazz light up the scoreboard in 2011-12.  Trey Gilder’s only NBA action came back in 2009-10 with the Memphis Grizzlies.  He played in 2 games for the Grizzlies that year and he averaged 2.5 minutes, 1.0 point and 0.5 rebounds per game.  These guys will both be longshots to make the Jazz in 2011-12.

UPDATE:  (12/22/2011) – The Jazz have waived Kevin McLeod and Trey Gilder.

The Jazz have re-signed 32-year old point guard Earl Watson to a 2-year deal.  Watson played in 80 games (13 starts) for the Jazz last year and he averaged 19.6 minutes, 4.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.  He has now played in 756 games (221 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 23.1 minutes, 7.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  Watson is a solid backup point guard and he will give Devin Harris a break when he needs one.

26-year old Al Jefferson will be the Jazz’ starting center in 2011-12, unless he is dealt before the season begins.  Jefferson played in 82 games (all starts) for the Jazz last year and he averaged 35.9 minutes, 18.6 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game.  Jefferson has now played in 489 games (358 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 29.8 minutes, 15.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  32-year old Mehmet Okur will be Jefferson’s backup in 2011-12.  Okur played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Jazz last year and he is averaged 12.9 minutes, 4.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.  He has now played in 617 games (446 starts) so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 29.1 minutes, 13.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  Okur is shooting 37.7% in his career from three-point range as he is a pretty solid offensive weapon.  The Jazz took 19-year old Enes Kanter with the #3 pick in the NBA Draft last June.  They want to bring him along slowly, but that might be hard to do as he has a HUGE upside.

26-year old Paul Millsap will be the starting power forward for the Jazz if he isn’t traded before the season starts.  Millsap played in 76 games (all starts) for the Jazz last year and he averaged 34.3 minutes, 17.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  He has now played in 398 games (125 starts) in his first five years with the Jazz and he is averaging 26.0 minutes, 11.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  20-year old Derrick Favors will backup Millsap or replace him in the starting lineup if he is dealt.  Favors played in 78 games (27 starts) in his rookie season for the Nets & Jazz last year and averaged 19.7 minutes, 6.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  He has a nice upside.