I Heart the Utah Jazz

When John Stockton and Karl Malone were with the Utah Jazz, I honestly could not stand to watch them play, similar to how I feel about the San Antonio Spurs right now. It was typical pick-and-roll, pick-and-pop, not too different than the sets they run now. Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful basketball in the most fundamental of ways, but something was always missing for me, or maybe it was just a loathing of Karl Malone that bothered me. Like I already mentioned, the plays have not changed that much since Stockton and Malone failed to win championships in the 1990's, the thing that has changed has been the athleticism.

The duo of Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer is one of the best in the entire NBA. Williams embodies what coaches want in a NBA point guard. He passes well, he runs the offense efficiently, and he can score the ball. Even with all he brings on the offensive side of the ball, he is not a slacker on defense. Teamed with Carlos Boozer at power forward, they have the same on-court connection as Stockton/Malone but with more athleticism, more dynamic plays, and they bring a certain swagger to the game. Although undersized for a power forward at 6'8", Boozer makes up for it in girth as he weighs in at a hulking 266 lbs. The future is bright as long as these two are in the mix for the Utah Jazz.

In addittion to the two stars, Utah has some of the best sets of role players to complement what they do. On any team, you want to have clearly defined roles and the Jazz have that and each player accepts their specialized role on the team. Mehmet Okur is a knock down shooter, and teams that with the ability to take leaner players to the post. Andrei Kirilenko is the defensive stopper, and the hustle player for Utah, and he also a reliable scorer. I love the freakish athleticism of Ronnie Brewer, as you don't find many people with the springs for legs that he has. Paul Milsap in the Jazz's designated rebounder, as he always down low mixing it up for every loose ball. Kyle Korver is another dead eye shooter for the Jazz, but his defense and athleticism are underrated. The rest of the Jazz players like Ronnie Price, CJ Miles, Matt Harpring, Morris Almond, and Brevin Knight provide solid veteren play coming off of the bench.

But to be honest, one of the best things about the Utah Jazz is their cornerstone, and solid block to which the rest of the team is built around is coach Jerry Sloan. He is the longest tenured coach in professional sports at 20 years with the Jazz. His gritty, take no excuses attitude has lasted 2 decades in a era of sports where the attitude is what have you done for me lately. He is one of the coaches I respect because very little "family" stuff involving the team leaves the locker room, and he does not hesitate to discipline a player, whether you are the highest paid star, or the last man on the practice squad. He has adapted with the times, and that is a testament to his foresight, and ability to change as the league has changed. Despite never winning a championship, or even a coach of the year award, many coaches and organizations envy what he has done in Utah throughout his coaching career.

As the Utah Jazz continue to grow, and if they add a couple of the correct pieces to the team, it is highly likely that they could compete for a NBA Championship in the next 3 years. Many teams fall into that same category, but I believe Utah is one of the best run organizations in pro sports from the owner down to the ball boys/girls and will find a way to get it done and make those moves. If they don't win a championship I will still enjoy watching them play, because they play the game of basketball in its purest form.