December 2014 NBA Draft Rankings: Things Muddy

For the anticipated top prospects in the draft, particularly the handful of “franchise” freshmen, the college basketball season started with all the tumult and glamour of a NASA launch.  The top hoops talent outside the NBA...

Favorite Jerry Sloan Memories

The Utah Jazz will take time next month to honor Jerry Sloan, the Dean of Coaching. It is something that fans have been clamoring for, but as reported, it was ultimately Sloan’s decision as to when the inevitable would take...

The Emergence of Alec Burks

This season has been quite a bumpy ride for Alec Burks. With Trey Burke injuring his finger in the third game of the preseason, Burks was thrust into playing the point guard position—something he was asked to do last year for...

The Triple Team: Three Thoughts on Jazz vs. Blazers 12/9/2013

1. Surprisingly subversive tweets from Jazz players and parents tonight. With the frontcourt of Richard Jefferson, Mike Harris, and Andris Biedrins starting the 4th quarter tonight, Alec Burks not getting playing time in crunch...

SportVU and the Jazz

While the general public would likely associate the name “Moneyball” with the 2011 film starring Brad Pitt, those who are analytically inclined would think of something entirely different. Spawned near the turn of the...

20-Game Utah Jazz Check-In

With another 10 games in the books, the Jazz now close in on the quarter point of their 2013-14 season. And while no team is the exact same from one ten-game span to another, the Jazz may have seen some of the largest changes...

Checking the Metronome

The new era of Jazz basketball is a quarter-season old following Utah’s Wednesday night loss to the league’s best team, so any attempt to discern the identity of this squad is probably a bit premature. Still, I can...

The Triple Team: Three Thoughts on Jazz vs. Pacers 12/4/2013

1. Indiana’s defense, designed to force mid-range shots, did so by minimizing scrambling rotations.  Perhaps the main ingredient to Indiana’s defensive success is how they discourage teams from taking high-efficiency...

Diante Garrett: Helping the Jazz

A few weeks ago, the point guard situation for the Utah Jazz was dire. Rookie Trey Burke was out with a fractured finger and the veteran duo of Jamaal Tinsley and John Lucas III were not cutting it (and that may be being a bit...

What A Difference A PG Makes

It’s amazing what a difference a point guard makes. Since Trey Burke has been in the starting lineup, the Jazz are 3-2. But what’s even more incredible is how quickly this looks much more like a team that knows how to play...