Chris

Salt City Hoops Podcast #1

Chris — February 26, 2011 — Leave a comment

Episode one of the Official Salt City Hoops Podcast in which our heros discuss the DWill trade, the secret plan to sell the Jazz and Kevin O’Connor’s surprisingly keen draft picks (with some obvious exceptions). Featuring Spencer Hall and Chris Kirkham of Salt City Hoops and Justin Davies of Jazz Hype and music from Fictionist.

This podcast will soon be available for download from iTunes with weekly installments for the foreseeable future featuring interviews with players and coaches, exclusive audio with past players and front office heads and shenanigans aplenty.

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In Deron Williams, NBA, Podcast, Utah Jazz

Infographic – Jazz January Woes

Chris — February 5, 2011 — 2 Comments

It’s hard to predict the future of basketball, but, stats are fascinating and they’re fun to look at. They also can point out some alarming trends. For example, when the team is under .500 in January, they usually miss the playoffs. And for a team that misses the playoffs only every twenty years or so, that’s a big deal. In fact, the year before their (unprecedented) 20-year post-season run started, they went 6-10 in January of 1983.

This infographic shows that in the last 10 seasons, any time the Jazz have won half their games or more in the month of January, they’ve at least gone to the playoffs. Also, interestingly enough, the last time the Jazz went to the Western Conference Finals they were 8-8 in January.

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<a href="http://www.saltcityhoops.com/infographic-jazz-january-woes/"><img src="http://www.saltcityhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/January-Jazz1.jpg" alt="Utah Jazz January Struggles" border="0" width="600" height="1347" /></a><br />Source: Salt City Hoops: <a href=""http://www.saltcityhoops.com/infographic-jazz-january-woes/">Utah Jazz Blog</a><br />

In NBA, Utah Jazz

Jazz still hot after Heat win- Utah 104- Orlando 94

Chris — November 11, 2010 — 1 Comment

STEPHEN M. DOWELL, ORLANDO SENTINEL

It has simultaneously been the best year to be a Jazz fan and the worst. Actually, it’s a pretty atypical year for Jazz fans. But after coming off a 116-114 OT win against the Miami Heat yesterday, even the most optimistic fans didn’t expect the Utah Jazz to pull off yet another upset against a star-studded team.

In fact, I was one of the scant 25% of people on ESPN 360 cheering for the Jazz. And by the end of the game, I was cheering loudly- at my TV.

The Jazz and the Magic started off exchanging the lead, with the Magic taking the lead 23-22 at the end of the first after a amazing buzzer-beater three from Vince Carter, who ended the night with 20 points- 12 from downtown.

The Jazz kept it close until the end of the second when the Magic scored 10 points in the last minute of the half. That’s when Orlando started rolling.

Coming out of the locker rooms, the Magic continued their dominance of the Jazz into the third quarter. Dwight Howard slapped a D Wills layup into the stands…again. The Magic rained threes, almost completely unprotected. They shored up a 18 point lead, 76-54, and then, for the second time in twenty four hours, the roles in Florida were reversed.

Over the next 5 minutes, the Jazz went on a 24-2 run to even up the score, and the Jazz wouldn’t let go. The Magic were handed their first home loss of the season losing 104-94.

The Jazz play in the Hawks in Atlanta, Friday (which you can watch on your xBox 360) and end their four-game road trip in Charlotte on Saturday.

Game Notes-
This is the third straight game that the Jazz have come back from 18 or more points to win.

In Uncategorized

In the final days leading up to regular season action, SCH will be posting divisional previews of the top teams in all six NBA divisions. Come back early and often for updates.

Michael Jordan on the bench with Stephan Jackson. Jordan bought the Charlotte Bobcats in 2010.

Who to watch

Boris Diaw

He will be interesting for Jazz fans to watch, solely because of the Melo trade rumors that proposed bringing Boris Diaw to Salt Lake City. The Jazz should pay close attention to Diaw to see if in fact he is the better player, and whether or not we should be sad that the trade was merely hearsay.

Gerald Wallace

Last year, Wallace scored 57 points in two meetings with the Jazz, accounting for more than a quarter of the points scored by Charlotte. He is a threat at both ends of the court. If the Jazz can keep him contained, and keep him from putting up double digit points every game, they should be able to win both meetings.

I can't tell if this picture is awesome or stupid. But, G Wall versus D Will? That's cool.

High Notes | Low Notes

Expect to see some great basketball being played in North Carolina- if they stay healthy. Already this year, Charlotte has several player with injuries- Dominic McGuire has a stress fracture in his shin, Shaun Livingston is still milking a bad knee, Kwame Brown has a left ankle sprain and Eduardo Najera has a hernia. Things aren’t looking up when you’ve got 4 injuries in the preseason. However, they were able to beat Miami last week despite LeBron scoring 33 points. I think Charlotte will be an exciting team to watch this year.

History

The Jazz are 7-5 all time against the Bobcats and look to be perfectly capable of increasing that to 9-5 this season. However, Charlotte has gone from an 18 win team to a playoff contender in just 6 years. Last year the Bobcats made their first playoff appearance but were promptly swept by the Magic. This year, they hope to improve even farther into the postseason. Maybe even get a win or two.

The Bobcats play in the most competitive division in the country, having to play the Magic, Heat and Hawks- all perennial playoff contenders. Last year half of the teams in the Eastern Conference Playoffs were from the Southeast division. (Coincidentally, half of the teams in the Western Conference playoffs were from the Northwest Division.)

Since becoming a team in 2004-5, the Bobcats are 188-304.

Outlook

The Jazz will have their first stab at the Bobcats on November 13 in Charlotte. The Jazz historically struggle on road games, so there is a chance that this could go 1-1.

Division Previews: New York Knicks, Atlantic Division – Eastern Conference

Chris — October 18, 2010 — 1 Comment

In the final days leading up to regular season action, SCH will be posting divisional previews of the top teams in all six NBA divisions. Come back early and often for updates.

All of the Knicks go up for a rebound against the only Wizards player left- John Wall (AP Photo)

Key Matchups

Price v Douglas-

A second year player out of Florida State, Toney Douglas can put up some serious numbers. And while there is some star power on the starting lineup of the Knicks, it’ll be up to Price and the Jazz bench to hold off a Toney Davis capable of getting some serious numbers (23 against the Wizards last weekend). While Stoudemire and Wilson Chandler will be interesting to watch, it’s the bench that scares me most.

Sloan v D’Antoni-

Another unlikely matchup will be the steady defensive mind of Jerry Sloan vs Mike D’Antoni’s 7-second offense. D’Antoni as been waiting for the 2010 season since he moved to the Big Apple to acquire some talent and key players and unleash. D’Antoni has a lot of pressure to have a good season and has to have a winning season this year if he wants to keep his job.

High Notes | Low Notes

This is a year of desperation for the Knicks- they have to get results or there’s going to be several people in the crosshairs of the organization. However, the Knicks could easily emerge as the leaders of the Atlantic Division given Boston’s penchant for not really trying in the regular season could put the team in the playoffs this year. The Raptors and Sixers aren’t really competition for anyone, and we’ll just have to wait and see how the Nets do this year. A lot of big talk is coming out of New Jersey, but we have yet to see any results.

History

Jazz lead the all-time series 41-40 and were 2-0 against the Knicks last year. The sweep last year was the first Jazz sweep of the Knicks since the 2003-2004 season.

The Jazz and the Knicks are 2 of 3 teams that have never lost 60 games in a season, the other being the Lakers.

Outlook

If the Jazz regular season continues like the preseason, the Knicks will be swept again this year. The teams don’t meet until well into January, but if the Jazz keep firing on all cylinders, it’ll be tough for any team to beat them. However, the preseason is rarely reflective on how the regular season plays out.

Traditionally, the Knicks and Jazz split home and home wins, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see that result this year too. The all-time series is really close, and it’ll likely stay close this year too.

In Divisional Previews, Features, NBA, Utah Jazz jazz vs knicks, mike d'antoni, new york knicks, toney douglas, utah jazz preseason

Jazz improve to 5-0 in Preseason win over Clippers 103-91

Chris — October 17, 2010 — Leave a comment

The Utah Jazz improve to a preseason record of 5-0 for the first time in franchise history after beating the Los Angeles Clippers in LA. The Clippers had an early lead, but the Jazz took over in the second quarter and never looked back.

The Jazz shot 54 percent and had 3 players with double digit points by the end of game, with Okur, Williams, Elson and Fesenko on the bench.

Blake Griffin had 17 points and 14 rebounds after playing 34 minutes, but spent much of the game in foul trouble.

Othyus Jeffers dunks over Clippers shooting guard Rasual Butler during a 103-91. AP Photo

The Jazz had a few standout performances, most notably from CJ Miles who put up 20 points off the bench and Othyus Jeffers who converted two sloppy passes from the Clips into dunks.

The Jazz will try to improve to 6-0 tonight against the Lakers.

In Blog, NBA, Utah Jazz NBA Preseason, Utah Jazz

Snoop Dogg sports Karl Malone Jersey at Utah Concert

Chris — September 2, 2010 — 3 Comments

Snoop Dogg rocked a vintage Karl Malone jersey during a concert at the Gallivan Center on Wednesday, August 25th. The only person who’d look more fly in that jersey is The Mailman himself. Just kidding. Ain’t no one more fly than Snoop.