Emptying the Noggin
• Jazz move to 5 games over .500. Last year they didn’t get to 5 games over .500 until they beat Portland on the second to last game of the season. The Jazz were 31-30 before a 5 game win streak to end the year last year.

• Jazz allowed just 36 points in the first half 1 short of the season best and 77 for the game just one short of the season best. The Blazers shot just 37% from the floor and only 7 of 20 from three . In three of the 4 quarters tonight the Blazers didn’t score 20 points.

• Jazz didn’t play the 4th quarter well, the offense left the building and the defense couldn’t handle the high pick and roll with Lillard, however when the game got to 5 the Jazz answer with a 6-0 run and while there was nervous time they weren’t in jeopardy. Despite the feeling the Jazz are blowing leads they are 19-3 this year when they lead by 10 at any point in the game. The Jazz have only lost 3 double digit leads all season. On the flip side, the Jazz lead the league in games they have come back from 10 down.

• These are good wins, without Mo Williams and Gordon Hayward the Jazz have some real limitations and to over come those and win games is a testament to the strength and depth of this team.

• Portland tried to go small on the Jazz playing Luke Babbitt at the 4 for most of the night. Babbitt is a long range shooter and the Jazz were able to handle it. Favors has scuffled with stretch 4’s and Babbitt didn’t take advantage and on the flip side Millsap abused Babbitt on the defensive end.

• Earl Watson injured his lower right leg and will have an MRI tomorrow. He was unavailable for the 4th quarter and the Jazz went to Burks and Foye as the back court. They held their own. The Blazers were on an 8-3 run to open the 4th quarter and from the moment Foye and Burks teamed together the Jazz outscored the Blazers 8-7 to hold on for the win.

• Without Hayward and the proud new papa Mo Williams it is almost impossible for Randy Foye to get any air space on the floor. He found a way to get off 11 three point attempts many of which were well behind the three point line. The Jazz desperately need Marvin Williams to start hitting open looks and he just isn’t making shots right now.

• I love Randy Foye’s 7 rebounds !!!!!

• DeMarre Carroll has stopped trying to be a three point shooter and instead is taking the 18 footer and hitting it. He shot over 50% in the month of January and had a terrific 2nd quarter tonight with 10 points coupled with his defensive energy he has become a terrific find by Kevin O’Connor last year.

• The game changed in the 2nd quarter with the defense of Enes Kanter, DeMarre Carroll and Derrick Favors. Favors was a beast. He dominated the inside, the Blazers wanted no part of the rim with Favors in the game. Favors has become a good defensive rebounder. He had 10 defensive rebounds tonight. He was a beast. He is dominating portions of the game.

• Jazz point guards took 1 shot a shot clock three by Earl Watson with 10:50 left in the 4th quarter. It went in.

• Jazz had three field goals for the first 10:30 minutes of the 4th quarter – Jefferson at 11:42, Watson prayer at 10:50 and Burks tip in at 4:59 – Jefferson scored two baskets to clinch the win.

• Solid win – it would be huge to get one in Portland tomorrow – Jazz have won 11 of 15.

Emptying the Noggin
• The schedule taketh away and the schedule gives. Tonight the schedule gave the Jazz one and they took it. The Hornets put their best player on the bench because it was a back end of a back to back. The Hornets were playing on a LA to Utah back to back which is brutal and the Jazz got the win.

• Game had different stars throughout the game – the first quarter was a disaster. The Jazz trailed 29-19 after 1. They allowed the Hornets to shoot 11 of 16 from the field. Rather shocking considering the Jazz performance on Monday night.

• Earl Watson and Derrick Favors lead the spark in the 2nd quarter. Favors had a great 2nd quarter he had 9 points was strong on the glass and was the best player on the floor. He did the damage against Jason Smith and killed him. He didn’t go head to head with Robin Lopez much as Al checked back in and I wish we could have seen him get the minutes against a top level big.

• Watson was energy and he conducts the team so well. Watson went out of his way to get Alec Burks rolling tonight. In the 4th quarter with the Hornets at the line, Earl went to Alec told him what play they were going to run for him then after the free throw Alec brought the ball up hit Watson on the left wing and ran right off Watson who gave it back to him for a drive to the basket. That is leadership – that is what winning teams do. That is what makes Earl Watson a special player.

• The Hornets doubled Al early in the game with Vasquez leaving Tinsley wide open and then Watson wide open. The tough part is they weren’t leaving any of the other players so the only pass was back to Tinlsey or Watson who aren’t a threat. In the second half the Jazz started moving and cutting and spending Watson and Tinsley to the basket. Nice coaching move by Corbin and the staff to adjust to the Hornets plan. This opened up the post in the 2nd half.

• Millsap who looked like he tweaked a knee in the first half was able to play vintage Millsap in the 3rd quarter- He used angles, he played off contact, he went into the body of defenders and he got 11 points in the 3rd. Sap finished with a career high 16 free throw attempts and huge box score line of 25 points and 10 rebounds.

• Late in the game who else but Al Jefferson – 6 points in the final 5 minutes with the game on the line. He went at Robin Lopez. Early in the game Al drove at Lopez a lot and had some success so late Lopez gave him air space and he buried the 15 foot jumper. I can’t imagine what Al’s shooting percentage is from 15 feet out late in the game, I think it would blow our minds.

• Key stretch of the game Alec Burks played the point with Randy Foye. This got the Hornets out of their double teaming of the post and seemed to break the Hornets defensive sequence as they stopped doubling Al later in the game. Burks handled the duties well and hit a huge corner three. Mom and Dad were in town so it is great he got going with them watching. No turnovers in 16 minutes. He did the best he could with Vasquez defensively. Good night for Burks.

• Randy Foye had 8 assists tonight.

• Without Eric Gordon Ryan Anderson’s foul trouble was a big part of the night and Anthony Davis seemed lifeless on the back end of a back to back. Not bad 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and lifeless.

• A win you have to have. Two big games with Portland for the Jazz. They need to play better than they have been but somehow not playing great basketball they have won 10 of their last 14.

Emptying he Noggin
• Historically bad night by the Utah Jazz. The worst loss in Jazz history is 46 points on three occasions – Feb 4 2002 v. Lakers, Jan 18 1996 v. GSW and March 5 1986 v. Lakers. Tonight Kevin Murphy hit a three with :02 seconds left to put the Jazz within 45 points.

• The worst loss in Jazz history is 56 in 1979 when the franchise was in New Orleans.

• This is the worst home loss in Jazz franchise history New Orleans or Utah. The previous worst home loss was 33 points v. Milwaukee in 1980.

• Prior to tonight the Jazz only had lost by 40 on 8 occasions and had only lost by 30 at home twice.

• The Jazz hit a three to start and then the Rockets went on a 12-3 run and it never stopped.

• The Jazz were awful. They had no energy and as a collective group they were an unmitigated disaster.

• This is not a night where it is worth singling out individual performance. Lots of things happened in this game to create this disaster but to point at some of them would be missing out on others and there is no individual blame that would be fair.

• The Jazz do miss Hayward. The second unit couldn’t execute anything and Hayward is vital to playing Burks at the 1 because it adds a ballhandler otherwise Burks is really the only ball handler. He is not ready to handle that role.

• The Jazz second unit can’t survive as is without Hayward.

• Jazz three point shooting is way off below 30 over the last 50 attempts.

• Only thought that would explain this is the Indiana win was really impressive coming off a back to back in LA and maybe it took everything they had.

Emptying the Noggiin

• I tried the best I could to explain the feeling of desperation around the Lakers before the game. D’Antoni pre game presser was largely about what a great city LA is and what a great team the Lakers are to play for, in other words if you don’t get your act together you are getting out. The team meeting the Lakers had in Memphis was a group calling out Dwight Howard and to some extent begging Dwight Howard to come along for the ride from what I was told. Put all this into one pot and if the Lakers had lost tonight it felt as though serious ramifications could have come down. Instead, the Lakers played hard from start to finish and took the Jazz out of the game.

• The Lakers took the Jazz out of their game completely in the first quarter. Detroit and Miami had fronted Jefferson and caused the Jazz some problems but the Jazz were unable to deal with the length of Howard and the ball never got to Al. When the ball didn’t get to Al all of the order and flow the Jazz have been playing with went out the window. Over the past weeks the Jazz predicated so much off what Al and Paul were doing and then everyone played off their action and tonight they had no impact on the game so the rest of the team had a hard time following.

• Derrick Favors length and athleticism was able to play with the Lakers, he was the one Jazz player who impacted the game and made the Lakers react to him. He was active, impactful and hit some nice shots. He has made another step of progress over the last week with his offensive game. He is a much better player off the pick and roll then he is in the post but he is getting more comfortable in the post and handling that situation better. The Jazz are trying to develop him into both a post and pick and roll player. The Jazz could decide to just use him in the pick and roll and it might be easier and maybe even more productive but long term if he can gain a back to the basket game as well it will be very beneficial.

• Gordon had an impact on the game as well tonight. He got rushed a bit on his shots but he was able to get to the basket and he defended fairly well.

• Millsap needed to be closer to World Peace on the three balls but that is hard when you feel like you need to help on the penetration.

• Teams are making Jamaal shoot the ball.. He needs to take the shots because if he is not guarded he needs to try to keep the opponent honest and tonight they didn’t fall going 1 for his first 10.

• When the Jazz couldn’t get to ball to Jefferson then the offense didn’t have anything to predicate the action off, this is where they really missed someone like Mo tonight for his ability to push the ball up the floor and for his ability to make plays. Other nights the distribution point guard has been important tonight the play maker would have been helpful.

• An area where Alec Burks must improve is how he plays off the ball both offensively and defensively. This is new to him since everything he did offensively in college was with the ball and defensively he was inactive in college. He is not impacting the game enough positively when he doesn’t have the ball in his hand. Watch the contrast to how much DeMarre impact tomorrow night when he is not on the ball or with the ball.

• Give the Lakers credit. Their season was spiraling out of control and if they didn’t win tonight who knows what would have happened and they played with great intensity all night and outplayed the Jazz for 44 of the 48 minutes of this game.

EMPTYING THE NOGGIN
• Solid performance for the Utah Jazz. They have won 4 in a row and 8 of 10. These team has looked completely different since the first of two clippers games. Since then they are 8-5 overall and have played well every night but the back end of the back to back in Denver.

• This is since Jamaal Tinsley took over as point guard and for whatever reason since that happened the offense has been sharper, the Jazz are getting plays out of the offense they didn’t use to get. They are moving the ball better, the floor spacing is better. This maybe because of Jamaal or it could be because the team all knew they had to do a little more then they were doing before. Whatever it is this team is playing much better team basketball.

• I have always believed a team should have an idea how the possessions are going to be passed around. We should be able to guess before the game how many possessions each guy is going to use. Early in the season we were all over the map. Now it is clear Jefferson will be #1 Millsap will be a close #2 with Hayward #3 and Foye #4. It makes for better team basketball. This is how it was tonight. Al Jefferson used 18, Millsap 15, Hayward 15, Foye 9 and Tinsley came in with a higher number than usual with 11 but they weren’t guarding him and he was forced to make some plays.

• Jazz rolled to a 22 point lead in the 2nd and a 21 point lead in the 3rd. It would be nice to run away and hide but that rarely happens in the nba and tonight the Wizards got it down to 4 and made it nervous time but the Jazz took it back to 10 in a hurry. Runs are a reality in a 95 possession game – if one team out plays another team for 10 possessions span you will very quickly get a 15-4 run or something of the sort and that is what happened tonight. The good news is the Jazz ended the run once they had to.

• Jazz have found a solid closing line-up of Tinsley, Foye, Hayward, Millsap and Jefferson.

• Sidney Lowe singled out the strong defensive rotations by Al Jefferson in the first half of the game as the key to the defense.

• Another thing that has happened since Jamaal took over the point guard is a much improved defensive effort. Not sure how that is possible but it has happened. Maybe balanced offense is leading to better defense. Also the guards on the roster are doing a much better job with the defensive rebounding and that has made a huge difference.

• Kanter was very good in the first half tonight and Favors looked better in the post in the 1st half but got sped up in the second half and made a few mistakes.

• The balanced minutes maybe allowing these guys to give more intense minutes.

• Coach Corbin has massaged the issues around this roster terrifically and the roles are becoming more defined and the players are prospering. Hayward off the bench has been a great move.

• Finally, the star of the night was Paul Millsap – He equaled a career high with 15 rebounds, 12 on the defensive end !!!!!! – he also had 16 points but most importantly he was terrific defending Nene tonight who went 3 for 14 shooting. Nene is bigger, stronger and longer than Millsap it took a yeoman effort to handle him and keep him off-balance.

• Lakers in LA on Friday.

EMPTYING THE NOGGIN
• Solid performance by the Jazz tonight. The ball movement offensively was great and the Jazz needed to take Kyrie Irving out of the game and they had a super defensive plan to do so and Irving never got into a rhythm that impacted the ball.

• One thing that has jumped out to me the last few games is how well the Jazz are executing their game plans. This sounds so basic but this team is beginning to understand who they are and how they have to play to win. We are seeing them coming into games prepared for what the opponent is going to do on either side of the ball and then doing what was built into the game plan. Truly, this means players are playing team basketball and not playing for themselves. The game plan often means giving up yourself we are seeing that.

• Two sequences of this game that I loved. First, Jefferson goes out to defend Irving and someone didn’t rotate and gave up an open shot to Zeller. Jefferson was pissed. Then on the offense Jefferson gets the ball on the mid block left and bullets a great pass to Millsap for a bucket and one. The minute the offensive play was done Jefferson went to Foye and Tinsley to figure out what was wrong with the defensive rotation and why they had just given up a wide open shot. Jefferson worrying about his defense and getting a tough assist all in one sequence. That is the growth of Al Jefferson who understands what has to happen to win basketball games.

• The second sequence was back to back steals by DeMarre Carroll and Earl Watson. These plays happened just as Cleveland seemed to be getting back into the game. Defense creating easy offense.

• Derrick Favors worked over the last two days to slow down when he got the ball on the offensive end and to let the game come to him a bit more. That was evident tonight. He was methodical and in control around the basket. He hit two jump shots and was his usual self in transition and diving to the rim. The third highest scoring night of his career tonight as Favors had 19 points. What I liked most about Favors the last few nights is his improvement on the defensive glass. Earlier this year Favors was a poor rebounder on the defensive side. Tonight he had 7 defensive rebounds in 25 minutes.

• DeMarre Carroll is playing very well off the bench. His gambling style defense works well off the bench and he makes a play or two a night sneaking around on the offensive glass to steal a possession. He is also making his jump shot – tonight he was 5 of 7 with 13 points.

• Kanter who has not been playing many second half minutes got extended run tonight and had a solid 14 point game. This was just his 8th game in double figures in his entire career.

• Loved the ball movement tonight. 5 players with 4 or more assists tonight

• This is pretty remarkable that the Jazz are staying alive and prospering without much of a point guard. Jamaal Tinsley is playing well and Earl Watson is giving every ounce he has every night but no way you would have thought the Jazz without Mo Williams could do this.

• CJ Miles returned and CJ did what CJ does.

• Jazz will play one game in 8 days and in that one game Millsap plays just 22 minutes, Marvin plays only 20, Foye 29 and Jefferson 30. This is an incredible break for the Utah Jazz.

• This is the momentum that Tyrone Corbin was talking about. The teams surrounding the Jazz are suddenly struggling. Warriors ended their losing streak tonight but have not been playing as well, Houston has lost 7 straight, Portland is on the verge of their 5 straight loss. Minnesota and the Lakers have lost 7 of 10. Good time to be a Jazz fan.

EMPTYIN THE NOGGIN
• The Utah Jazz beat the World Champion Miami Heat !!!!

• The Jazz were terrific tonight. After a sluggish start for the opening few minutes they started rolling and played as well as you can hope this team would play. The ball movement was terrific, the defensive effort was strong and the defensive rebounding was great.

• The Heat surge was to be anticipated and the Jazz really dealt with very well, they won. The Heat are the world champs and they put the screws down on the Jazz and the Jazz struggled but that is what every team in the NBA does. The Jazz made the plays they had to make to hold off the Heat. When Miami got this game down to 3 it didn’t feel like the Jazz were holding on to this game but they made enough plays and got enough stops. There is no scenario where you were ever going to blow the Heat out and run away. That doesn’t happen.

• Gordon Hayward scored the Jazz only field goals of the final 11:15. He nailed a cold blooded three, then a runner going with the right in traffic and then he eyed Ray Allen and went 1 on 1 with a behind the back dribble and hit a step back to clinch the win.

• Jeffers on and Millsap were great again tonight. Jefferson is playing at his highest level of the year. 23 points, 11 rebounds, an assist and a steal This is what he has put up every night for the last 4 games and he has done it shooting at a very high level. Tonight he was 8 of 14. Millsap is re-engaged with the team and is playing great basketball 17 pts, 9 rebs and was active defensively.

• The Heat had zero second chance points

• Late in the game the Jazz couldn’t get the ball to Jefferson and Millsap was 0 for 5 trying to beat the Heat swarming defense. That is what makes the performance of Hayward late even more impressive.

• The second quarter the Jazz ran the offense thru Hayward and he was very solid at initiating the offense getting everyone involved and not turning the ball over – The Jazz hit their first 9 shots in the 2nd quarter and finished the quarter hitting 12 of 15.

• Dwyane Wade sat for the entire 4th quarter tonight – That will be the story in Miami. Chris Bosh got benched for most of the 4th quarter because he couldn’t guard Chris Bosh.

• Marvin Williams did a solid job defending LeBron and DeMarre Carroll was a game changer when he came in during the 1st quarter with his energy, offensive rebounding and tenacity.

• Tyrone Corbin had a big time night tonight. Closed with Hayward and Marvin leaving Foye on the bench. He maximized what he could out of Carroll. He had strong high low adjustments to the Miami fronting defense. He gave Burks some burn but when he was overwhelmed he got him out before it was an issue. He turned the offense over to Hayward in the 2nd. The defense was very well prepared for the Heat action.

• This is a big win. This team has won 6 of 8 they have played well in 10 of their last 11 games. They have made really substantial progress over the last few weeks. This is a great momentum win to propel the Jazz into this next stretch of the schedule.

• I would be remiss if I didn’t mention LeBron. He is simply the best to play the game. He gave 44 minutes of insane effort. He guarded Al Jefferson late in the game and took him completely out of the game, he ran the point for much of the night. He finished with 32 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots. He was incredible and willed the Heat back into the game and just about won it. The game was eerie in how similar it was to last year’s game, the halftime score was the same, the mid third quarter score was the same and then here came the run. The Jazz were able to handle it off and there was no pass to Haslem.

EMPTYING THE NOGGIN
• 2-1 road trip and 20-19 while playing 24 road games the most in the NBA. All year long we have said the team needed to do two things by this point, first improve and second keep their head above water. I am sure you can ask for more improvement and maybe a better record but 20-19 at this point keep the Jazz in the playoff race and unquestionably this team is improving.

• The areas of improvement that are most obvious are on the defensive side of the ball as well and maybe most importantly defensive rebounding.

• When the ball doesn’t have stickem on it the Jazz can be a good offensive team. When everyone holds the ball before making an action, then the post players can establish angles before they catch, wing players have a step before receiving however the amount of times the ball hits a players hand and sticks is maddening. This is the next area of improvement for this team. Losses will teach it, I think. The Jazz had 1 assist in the first quarter.

• The defensive intensity in the 3rd quarter and the 2nd half was terrific tonight. The Jazz let the Pistons get where ever they wanted without any resistance in the early going of the game and in the second half took away all of their movement and made everything they did happened under a contest or a bump. The Pistons scored 26 points in the 1st quarter and then only scored 25 for the first 21 minutes of the second half.

• Burks, Hayward and Foye have become a very productive group for the Jazz. When DeMarre is in it doesn’t feel as comfortable having the three ball handlers seems to allow the line-up to have success. Burks first played the point tonight with 6:19 left in the second quarter and the Jazz at their largest deficit of 15. Over the next 6:19 the Jazz outscored the Pistons 15 to 11. Then Burks came back as the point to open the 4th quarter. For the first 2:45 it was with DeMarre and the Jazz were -3. Once Foye came in with Hayward and Burks the Jazz 19 to 10 run over 7:15. With Burks, Foye and Hayward together Jazz outscored the Pistons 34 to 21 over 13:33.

• Al Jefferson was incredible tonight. His 2nd half reminded me of how he picked the team up in Washington and carried the team to a win avoiding a disastrous loss. This could have been a bad loss tonight and for the second time this year Jefferson has carried the team to the win. He had 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals in the 2nd half playing 20 consecutive minutes. In addition, his pick and roll defense was very good.

• The Pistons tried to come back using the Jazz nemesis the high pick and roll. They ran it for 7 straight possessions and caused the Jazz some problems. However, they didn’t cause Jefferson problems. They got Favors a few times who was worried about getting out to Villanueva and they burned Millsap who never stepped out at all giving a straight line to the basket for layup.

• It is a big deal that Burks and Favors had good nights tonight after the performances they had in Atlanta. Favors had 2 assists tonight and is also getting much better on the defensive glass.

• Our plane is super bumping so I am wrapping this up