Boozer is struggling tonight

[TheSizzle36]

At least that was what I thought before I saw the box score. With 1:01 left, Booz is 9-18 with 15 boards and 25 points with 4 assists and 2 blocks. A couple of dropped passes have hurt bad though. (Now 27 points off of a nice pick and roll) It's sad when you think your starting PF is struggling and he is shooting 50% from the field with 15 boards.

Not putting teams like Seattle away in games like tonight are what keeps Utah from being a top team in the league.

Delonte West sure seems to have given Deron a rough time in the second half. It seemed like on 3 or 4 drives in a row West blocked Williams' drive. He's a guy I've always thought would be a solid player in Utah backing up and even playing alongside Williams.

I also wonder why Ridnour hasn't been playing more. He seemed to be a promising young PG two years ago, now he can't get off the bench behind Earl Watson and Delonte West? Maybe the Jazz could more Hart, Collins, Gira and picks for Luke and help Seattle get out from his salary. I'd feel much more comfortable with him backing up Deron than Hart.

Jazz are lucky to leave Seattle with a win. Games like that against winless teams are always some of the worst with nothing to win and everything to lose.

[cougjunkie]

Just so everyone knows San Antonio improved to 5-1 tonight. The Southwest is very tough by the way.

Houston is 5-1 ( only loss to Dallas)
San Antonio is 5-1 (only loss to Houston)
Dallas is 4-1
New Orleans is 4-2 (one of the losses was to San Antonio)

[TheSizzle36]

Originally Posted by cougjunkie

Just so everyone knows San Antonio improved to 5-1 tonight. The Southwest is very tough by the way.

Houston is 5-1 ( only loss to Dallas)
San Antonio is 5-1 (only loss to Houston)
Dallas is 4-1
New Orleans is 4-2 (one of the losses was to San Antonio)

I think if I had to rank the top 5 teams right now, I'd put them in this order:

1) San Antonio -- They lost to Houston, but they are the reigning Champs and consistently play the best basketball in the NBA
2) Houston -- Very dangerous team. With McGrady and Yao healthy, and some talented guys around them, especially talented role players like Battier, Chucky Hayes, Mike James and Luther Head, they are good enough to beat anybody.
3) Boston -- They are good. Boston is beating teams right now by 18 points a game on average. If they keep that up, they'll move ahead of Houston and possibly San Antonio. There isn't much difference between 1-3 IMO.
4) Dallas -- They didn't win 60+ games last year by accident.
5) Phoenix -- They are playing their best ball right now, but they aren't far off either. With Raja, Amare and Diaw all banged up, they should struggle. But they'll win the Pacific and be competitive in the playoffs.

In the next tier, I think you have Detroit, Orlando, Utah, New Orleans, New Jersey and possibly Denver. I feel like I'm missing somebody else too, but am drawing a blank.

[JohnnyLingo]

Originally Posted by TheSizzle36

I think if I had to rank the top 5 teams right now, I'd put them in this order:

1) San Antonio -- They lost to Houston, but they are the reigning Champs and consistently play the best basketball in the NBA
2) Houston -- Very dangerous team. With McGrady and Yao healthy, and some talented guys around them, especially talented role players like Battier, Chucky Hayes, Mike James and Luther Head, they are good enough to beat anybody.
3) Boston -- They are good. Boston is beating teams right now by 18 points a game on average. If they keep that up, they'll move ahead of Houston and possibly San Antonio. There isn't much difference between 1-3 IMO.
4) Dallas -- They didn't win 60+ games last year by accident.
5) Phoenix -- They are playing their best ball right now, but they aren't far off either. With Raja, Amare and Diaw all banged up, they should struggle. But they'll win the Pacific and be competitive in the playoffs.

In the next tier, I think you have Detroit, Orlando, Utah, New Orleans, New Jersey and possibly Denver. I feel like I'm missing somebody else too, but am drawing a blank.

Regarding Houston, Utah did beat them in the playoffs last year... with a healthy Yao and McGrady. How has Houston improved? Utah now has a serviceable 2-guard in Brewer, which is a huge advantage for them. I don't quite get all the Rockets love.

[TheSizzle36]

Originally Posted by JohnnyLingo

Regarding Houston, Utah did beat them in the playoffs last year... with a healthy Yao and McGrady. How has Houston improved? Utah now has a serviceable 2-guard in Brewer, which is a huge advantage for them. I don't quite get all the Rockets love.

They took Utah to 7 games last year in a series that was tooth and nail to the end. They also added Mike James and Luis Scola, the best big man in Europe. In addition, they also switched coaches to a style that suits them better. Also, they have underachieved big time the last few years. This year they are off to a great start. Utah was lucky to win the series last year.

[JohnnyLingo]

Originally Posted by TheSizzle36

They took Utah to 7 games last year in a series that was tooth and nail to the end. They also added Mike James and Luis Scola, the best big man in Europe. In addition, they also switched coaches to a style that suits them better. Also, they have underachieved big time the last few years. This year they are off to a great start. Utah was lucky to win the series last year.

You make good points. I'd forgotten about Scola and James. And the running style does seem to be working pretty well so far, but I don't know how well-suited Yao is for it.

[TheSizzle36]

Originally Posted by JohnnyLingo

You make good points. I'd forgotten about Scola and James. And the running style does seem to be working pretty well so far, but I don't know how well-suited Yao is for it.

Adelman likes to play up-tempo, which definitely doesn't fit Yao's style. But when they do go half-court, he likes to run his offense through the high post, and Yao is actually a pretty good passer for a 7'6" guy. Also, when I watched them play Utah, they still seemed to do a decent job getting Yao the ball on the block. I will agree though, that how they decide to incorporate Yao into their offense will be a big in determining how successful they are.