Sports News and Trade Rumors: Pro Sports Daily

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November 7

Salt Lake Tribune

"The clouds lifted and the mood lightened at Jazz practice Friday morning, only hours after Utah exorcised the demons of a glacially slow start to the season with a 113-99 victory over San Antonio. Doing drills against some less-than-intense defense by special assistant Jeff Hornacek, Kyrylo Fesenko drove to the basket and watched a layup dribble off the rim. Fesenko threw up his hands and turned to Hornacek, who is 23 years older, eight inches shorter and 100 pounds lighter than the Jazz's backup center. "You pulled me," Fesenko said. Hornacek laughed and replied, "Are you serious?" On the other side of the gym, Andrei Kirilenko smiled about the day ahead. After practice, Kirilenko, ..."

Rookie Matthews gaining trust, minutes and phone calls

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November 7

The Deseret News

"If he keeps it up, Wesley Matthews might need to bump up his cell-phone minutes and text-messaging plan. It was late, but Matthews' family and friends tuned in to TNT on Thursday to see him set NBA career-highs during a 12-point, three-rebound, two-steal performance. They apparently liked what they saw, too. Some late-hour infomercial operators probably don't get as many calls as Matthews did. The Marquette product's night-owl fans flooded his message box after Utah's 113-99 win. "As soon as I turned my phone back on, I had about 40 messages," Matthews said, smiling. "I said, 'Ah, this is going to be a long night.' " A good, long night, of course — kinda like the one he had on the court. ..."

D-Will plans to pull the Jazz along

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November 7

The Deseret News

"He was a tad moody, even mad, after back-to-back losses Monday to Houston and Tuesday at Dallas. Rightfully so. Deron Williams, after all, cares. And, besides, there's not much worse than a Texas triangle of defeats for someone reared in the Lone Star State. It's with that understanding that the Jazz point guard went into Thursday night's TNT-televised win over San Antonio with a mind for making something happen, and a will to get it done. "We needed to get off to a good start and sustain that," Williams said, "so I wanted to be aggressive, push the ball up the court, make sure we got some easy baskets." That he did, and it made a difference. After Ronnie Brewer and Andrei Kirilenko both ..."

Boozer finally breaks loose as Jazz roll

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November 6

The Deseret News

"Carlos Boozer missed his first shot of the game Thursday night against the San Antonio Spurs — a 15-footer that barely grazed the front of the rim with just under nine minutes to play in the opening quarter. And Boozer was booed by some folks in the hometown crowd at EnergySolutions Arena as a result. But Boozer would quickly turn those jeers into cheers — the boos into chants of "Booz" — as the power forward played his best overall game of the young season in leading the Jazz to a late-night 113-99 victory in front of a sellout crowd and a national TNT audience. "Tonight we had a great effort by everybody out there — especially on the defensive end," Boozer said in a TNT interview ..."

Jazz finally look ready for that long road ahead

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November 6

The Deseret News

columnist Brad Rock

"There. Feel better? Now, could everyone please settle down and watch the final 77 games? Just when it appeared the Jazz (and their fans) had developed lasting psychological issues (paranoia, anxiety depression), they dispatched San Antonio, 113-99, on Thursday night at EnergySolutions Arena. If the rest of the season goes anything like the first five games, it's going to be one loopy ride. The real indicator, though, will be when the Jazz finally beat the Spurs in San Antonio — something they haven't done since 1999. Still, Thursday's win looked a lot more like the team that always makes the playoffs and less like a team coming unglued. The Jazz played their third opponent from Texas in a ..."

Team chemistry will not blow up locker room

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November 6

The Deseret News

"It's early in the semester for the Utah Jazz, but the elements on their periodic table have appeared to be a bit skewonkered. Their professor has lectured about mixing rare 'D' with the more common X's and O's, but undesirable results bubbled out of their beakers. It certainly wasn't a consistent winning formula. Combining the basketball and science lab worlds in simple terms: The Jazz chemistry just seemed off the first week. That, of course, has led some to hypothesize that the team's alkali metals, halogens and noble gases are having bonding issues. But players and the team's mad scientist — aka coach Jerry Sloan — claim locker-room chemistry hasn't been a problem. "Not that I'm aware ..."

No need for to hit panic button yet

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November 6

The Deseret News

"Even after a 1-3 start that included devastating losses Monday night to Houston and Tuesday night at Dallas, the Jazz weren't quite ready to reach for something red and round. "It's too early for panic," center Mehmet Okur said after Thursday's morning shootaround. Turned out he was right and — by the time Utah was done beating San Antonio 113-99 in a late-starting, TNT-televised game Thursday night at EnergySolutions Arena — it might have been more appropriate for the Jazz to be pressing the easy button. Because they sure did have their way with a 2-2 Spurs team featuring not only mainstays Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, but also new addition Richard Jefferson. "That was a ..."

Williams' burden feels lighter

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November 6

Salt Lake Tribune

columnist Gordon Monson

"Deron Williams sucked in some air and exhaled deeply in the fourth quarter of the Jazz's game late Thursday night with San Antonio. What he was thinking in that exact moment only Madame Zelda, or some other trained mind reader, would suppose to know. But the rest of us could guess. There might have been relief banging around in there somewhere. The first week of this season had been a tough go for the Jazz's best player, lifted at last by an important win at EnergySolutions Arena, 113-99, over the Spurs. Williams has never suffered defeat easily. He would just as soon get kicked in the head as lose a game, let alone endure three losses in the first four games -- before this victory. And ..."

Boozer delivers first solid game

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November 6

Salt Lake Tribune

"Just when the Utah Jazz needed it, Carlos Boozer put together his best performance of the season. During the Jazz's 113-99 win over San Antonio on Thursday night, Boozer finished with 27 points, 14 rebounds and three assists. He was also active defensively, helping Utah hold the Spurs to 41 percent shooting. Boozer started quickly. He played the first 7:21 of the opening quarter and scored four points while assisting on another field goal. Defensively, Boozer opened on three-point specialist Matt Bonner but quickly switched onto Tim Duncan. Almost immediately, he tied up Duncan on a move across the lane. Less than two minutes later, Boozer blocked one of Duncan's shots. By the end ..."

Williams, Boozer have big nights to help Jazz win big over Spurs

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November 6

Salt Lake Tribune

"For all the emphasis on defensive accountability this season, the Jazz issued a reminder Thursday night that they still can outgun a team at EnergySolutions Arena, even a Western Conference favorite like the San Antonio Spurs. The Jazz scored 60 points in the first half, had all five starters in double figures by the end of the third quarter and rolled to a 113-99 victory, a shocking score against one of the NBA's perennially top defensive teams. It was the most points the Jazz have scored against the Spurs in a regular-season game in the Tim Duncan era, eclipsing a 103-74 victory on Nov. 22, 1997. The Jazz did score 109 points against San Antonio in Game 3 of the 2007 Western Conference ..."

Trend reversed in Spurs' loss to Jazz

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November 6

San Antonio Express-News

"For the Spurs, Thursday began with a change in routine. With no morning shootaround scheduled, as part of the team's new afternoon-only practice routine, players were left with an entire morning and afternoon to kill in the middle of Utah. By noon, some were going stir crazy. "Me and TD (Tim Duncan) had to go to lunch," guard Roger Mason Jr. "Just to get out of the hotel room." By night's end, and much to their opponent's relief, the Spurs had changed a different routine as well. Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer highlighted a list of six Utah players in double figures, as the Jazz broke their curse against the Spurs with a dominating 113-99 victory at EnergySolutions Arena. Williams had 27 ..."

Jazz look to regroup, avoid 1-4 start

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November 5

Salt Lake Tribune

"With one message posted on his Twitter account Tuesday afternoon, Deron Williams underscored the urgency facing the Jazz in the season's first week. "On the way to the Dallas game!!!" Williams wrote. "Need this win ... Bad." Even if it was the first week of November, the Jazz already were playing a must-win game. By the end of the night, they had been punched in the gut, courtesy of Dirk Nowitzki and his 29-point fourth quarter. In the span of 24 hours, the Jazz swung from one extreme to another, yet dropped both games all the same -- embarrassed at home by a Houston team that had eight players score in double figures, and flattened on the road almost single-handedly by Nowitzki. Now ..."

Matthews gets playing time, Maynor not so lucky

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November 5

The Deseret News

"For the first time Tuesday in his short NBA career, point guard Eric Maynor — the Jazz's first-round selection in last June's NBA Draft — did not play, coach's decision. But Wesley Matthews did play in Utah's loss Tuesday night at Dallas, and — with Kyle Korver and C.J. Miles still both recovering from surgery — the undrafted swingman from Marquette has rapidly become a regular part of coach Jerry Sloan's rotation. Matthews logged 15 minutes against the Mavericks and responded in just his fourth NBA game with a season-high eight points, two more than he had Monday night vs. Houston. "Wes, I thought he played pretty well," Sloan said. "I thought he did pretty well staying in what we were ..."

Down but upbeat about effort

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November 5

The Deseret News

"Whether it haunts them down the road remains to be seen. The funny thing, though, is that the Jazz seemed more flustered Tuesday night by their seemingly devastating loss at Dallas than they did spooked. One night after Jerry Sloan ranted about what he deemed to be one of the worst defensive efforts he's seen in his many years during an embarrassing home loss to the Houston Rockets, in fact, the longtime Jazz coach was more upbeat than melancholy. "I told them, 'We had the loss (Monday night), but the effort was so much better (Tuesday)," Sloan said after the Jazz blew a 16-point fourth-quarter lead in the 96-85 loss to the Mavericks. "I thought we competed," added Sloan, whose Jazz return ..."

Spurs and Jazz on the same side

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November 5

San Antonio Express-News

"This isn't baseball, and the Lakers don't have a pinstriped edge. They have spent more this season than any NBA team, but the difference isn't substantial. The Yankees, meanwhile, are proudly triumphant today with a payroll that is more than double that of the league average. Still, even the best NBA small-market teams are suffering. Owners are bleeding money, with a lockout looming in 2011, and those with the biggest gripe will meet tonight. The Spurs and Jazz - similar coaches, systems, cities and books. The Spurs got a lot of publicity this past summer by becoming a luxury-tax payer. Peter Holt tossed in his chips for the final years of Tim Duncan's career, and thus far, the franchise ..."

Nowitzki's huge fourth quarter rallies Dallas past Utah

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November 4

Salt Lake Tribune

"If it wasn't Dirk Nowitzki behind the history-making performance, maybe the Jazz would have greeted the one-man Texas twister that hit them in the fourth quarter Tuesday night with something resembling shock and awe. Instead, the Jazz seemed simply resigned to their fate as Nowitzki tore through American Airlines Center with a 29-point fourth-quarter spectacular, single-handedly erasing a 16-point deficit and sending the Mavericks to a 96-85 victory. Nowitzki scored 14 consecutive points during one stretch midway through the quarter and finished with 40 for the game. He hit 7 of 8 shots from the field in the fourth, including a three-pointer, and went 14 of 14 at the foul line against the ..."

Foul calls frustrate Boozer

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November 4

Salt Lake Tribune

"Forty seconds into the second half Tuesday, Carlos Boozer picked up his third foul playing Dirk Nowitzki along the baseline. He headed back to the bench with his fourth personal not even three minutes later, again on a foul involving Nowitzki. As he sat in the locker room after Nowitzki's 29-point fourth quarter doomed the Jazz to defeat, Boozer couldn't help but feel powerless in trying to defend the former NBA MVP. "It seemed like either he made his shot or he was shooting free throws," Boozer said. "It felt like we couldn't be physical with him, couldn't touch him too much without them calling a foul on us. "Obviously, he was aggressive, he's a great player, but I felt like we were ..."

Nowitzki destroys Jazz with fourth-quarter scoring explosion

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November 4

The Deseret News

"After they blew one game Tuesday night, the Jazz started playing another. It was shoulda, coulda, woulda, and every time they took a turn, Dirk Nowitzki kept coming up the winner. The NBA's 2007 MVP scored a Jordanesque 40 points, including a franchise-record 29 in the fourth quarter as Dallas overcame a 16-point Jazz lead in the final period and beat Utah 96-85 at American Airlines Center. It was the fourth straight time in Dallas that Nowitzki's scored 30-plus-points against the now 1-3 Jazz, and the 12th time in 13 tries — including five straight — that Utah has lost here. "Just another game, same story," said Jazz point guard Deron Williams, whose 22 points were a team-high. Asked if ..."

D-Will hopes to be All-Star in Dallas

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November 4

The Deseret News

"He was here Tuesday night, scoring a team-high 22 points in the Jazz's loss to the Dallas Mavericks, and he'll be back for another regular-season game Jan. 9. But point guard Deron Williams really would love to be in the Dallas area Feb. 14, when the NBA holds its 2010 All-Star Game at the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium in nearby Arlington. "It would mean a lot," said Williams, who feels he belonged in the 2008 All-Star Game at New Orleans. "You know, I wish I would have had one by now," added Williams, who was Texas-raised and played high school ball locally at The Colony. "But it would be special to have the first one in Dallas. Hopefully, all my family can come see me play." Williams, ..."

Sloan pays defense for Boozer

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November 4

The Deseret News

"The Jazz haven't playing much defense at all lately. But Jerry Sloan has been, and he spent part of Tuesday night defending — and dwelling on — Carlos Boozer in particular. "Everybody wants to take a shot at him because of the things that happened over the summer," Sloan said of Boozer, who — after spending the offseason opting into the final season of his current contract with the Jazz, then talking about wanting to play elsewhere — has struggled in Utah's first four games of the season. "I just told him (before the season) you have to come and play, and play through those things, and that's easier said than done. "Instead of criticizing somebody else, everybody's gonna criticize him," ..."

Nowitzki leads Dallas Mavericks in fourth-quarter blitz to beat Utah

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November 4

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"On a drab, lifeless Tuesday night at American Airlines Center, everybody found out how quickly a dud can turn into a stud. It happened with Dirk Nowitzki. And it happened with a dull game that turned absolutely mesmerizing in the final minutes. The Mavericks looked completely dead for three quarters, and Nowitzki was searching for a pulse, too. Then the Mavericks flipped a switch and Nowitzki dominated the fourth quarter as the Mavs pulled off a 27-point fourth-quarter turnaround for a 96-85 victory over the Utah Jazz. Nowitzki had 29 points in the final quarter – including 23 of 25 at one point – smashing the franchise record for points in a quarter, formerly owned by Mark Aguirre, who ..."

Nowitzki leads Dallas Mavericks in fourth-quarter blitz to beat Utah

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November 4

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"On a drab, lifeless Tuesday night at American Airlines Center, everybody found out how quickly a dud can turn into a stud. It happened with Dirk Nowitzki. And it happened with a dull game that turned absolutely mesmerizing in the final minutes. The Mavericks looked completely dead for three quarters, and Nowitzki was searching for a pulse, too. Then the Mavericks flipped a switch and Nowitzki dominated the fourth quarter as the Mavs pulled off a 27-point fourth-quarter turnaround for a 96-85 victory over the Utah Jazz. Nowitzki had 29 points in the final quarter – including 23 of 25 at one point – smashing the franchise record for points in a quarter, formerly owned by Mark Aguirre, who ..."

Fantastic 4th: Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks surge past Jazz in record fashion

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November 4

Dallas Morning News

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Jazz defenseless despite big talk

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November 3

Salt Lake Tribune

"In the preseason, the Utah Jazz talked the talk, declaring the key to a successful season was improvement on defense. Since the start of the regular season, however, they haven't stopped anybody. The Jazz's inability to defend was never more apparent than Monday night, when the Houston Rockets strolled into EnergySolutions, shot 57 percent in the second half and rolled to a stunningly easy 113-96 victory. The Rockets, playing without injured stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, scored at least 25 points in every quarter. In three games, Jazz opponents have scored 25 points or more in 10 of 12 quarters. For Houston, eight different players reached double figures, including rookie Chase ..."

Miller makes extra effort to welcome Boozer back

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November 3

Salt Lake Tribune

"More than a month after Carlos Boozer returned to Utah, Jazz chief executive Greg Miller took the symbolic step of wearing the former All-Star forward's No. 5 jersey to an interview Sunday night on KSL Channel 5. "This is just a 'Welcome back Carlos,' " Miller said. "I want to make him feel welcome. I'm glad he's here. I want to let him know that whatever happened over the summer is water under the bridge and it's all about winning going forward." Miller's relationship with Boozer has been the subject of much speculation following a July conversation between the two. In the weeks afterward, Boozer asserted that he had been told by management he no longer was in the Jazz's future plans. ..."

Houston goes long to defeat Utah

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November 3

Salt Lake Tribune

"Three games into the season, the Jazz's issues seemed almost infinite following Monday night's 113-96 embarrassment against the Houston Rockets, but the foremost question is whether their fans are going to stick around through the search for answers. The Jazz were run off the floor in the fourth quarter and watched EnergySolutions Arena empty as rarely seen, starting with 5 minutes remaining and the Rockets leading by 18 and turning into a full-blown protest march to the exits during a timeout with 3:44 left. With the memories of last season's 2-7 collapse to finish the regular season still fresh, the Jazz apparently exhausted the patience of their fans by the first week of November. ..."

Team hopes to improve back-to-back results

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November 3

The Deseret News

"With a less-than-stellar 3-18 record in the back half of back-to-back sets last season, there's no doubt what the Jazz's mission in such situations — including tonight's visit to Dallas — will be this season. "It's important for us to do better on those second nights," point guard Deron Williams said. "(3-18) wasn't (acceptable)," Williams added. "Just the whole road situation, period, wasn't acceptable." It's for that reason Jazz coach Jerry Sloan has pondered a tactic to address the matter, though — at least for now — he doesn't plan to impose it. "I've always disliked curfews, because you feel like a cop all the time as a coach," said Sloan, whose Jazz went 15-26 on the road last season ..."

Power forwards missing in action

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November 3

The Deseret News

"No Tracy McGrady. No Yao Ming. No problem for the Houston Rockets. The Rockets pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 113-96 victory over Utah, as the Jazz's "dynamic duo" at power forward could do nothing to stop the bleeding on either end of the court. Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap combined to shoot just 1-for-8 from the field and scored a total on nine points in the loss. Those are the same two players that are costing the Jazz more than $20 million in combined salaries this season. Boozer is off to a particularly rocky start to the season after a summer filled with controversy surrounding his desire to be traded by the Jazz. He has now made just 13-of-42 shots from the field — for 31 ..."

Rockets blow by Jazz with balanced scoring attack

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November 3

Houston Chronicle

"Finally, the Rockets had enough. As much as they had seemed to control the game from the opening tip, they could not pull away. They kept building leads. The Jazz kept rallying back. By the fourth quarter, another lead was gone. The Jazz seemed poised for one of those familiar finishing kicks, when everything seems to roll for them on this site of so many Rockets nightmares. Yet, with another lead gone, the Rockets put together another run, and this time, they kept on running until they rolled to a 23-point lead and cruised in for a 113-96 rout Monday of the Jazz. "It's huge, a huge win for us," said Rockets center Chuck Hayes, who had 10 of his 12 points in the first half to help set a ..."

Rotation still a work in progress

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November 2

The Deseret News

"With the Utah Jazz heading into their third game of the 2009-10 season tonight, there's still something they are trying to figure out. Consider it a work in progress. It needs some tinkering and tweaking. It's worked at times, not so much at others. That darn defense, right? Nah. Try the point-guard rotation. The good news for Jerry Sloan, as he's pointed out this fall, is that the Jazz coach really only needs to worry about 10 minutes, give or take a few. Deron Williams is going to gobble up the vast majority of the game's 48 minutes as the team's point man. Barring foul problems or (superstitious types might wanna knock on wood) health issues, versatile veteran Ronnie Price and rookie ..."

Sloan not keeping tabs on Knicks

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November 2

The Deseret News

"The front office is no doubt doing it. Some Jazz fans are, too. But even though Utah gets the bumbling New York Knicks first-round pick — and it could be a high lottery one — don't count on Jerry Sloan to start scoreboard watching anytime soon. "I don't worry about that. I can't worry about that," the Jazz coach said. "I've got the picks right here, guys we've got. ... I don't even want to talk about it. I'm aware of that pick. I'm also aware of ours." If he were keeping track, Sloan would know that the Jazz's magic number to secure the most ping-pong balls for determining the 2010 lottery draft order now sits at 79. The Knicks are off to an 0-3 start, and losing out would give the Jazz ..."

Rockets to encounter size issues against Jazz tonight

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November 2

Houston Chronicle

"For all that is thought of the mini Rockets based on appearances and assumptions, some issues are real and undeniable. On the boards, where the NBA can come down to survival of the fittest, the Rockets — they of the 6-6 starting center and finesse "power" forwards — don't deny the problem that seemed apparent. They have had to find another way. The plan is simple. A pack of wolves can take down an elk. Sending everyone on the floor to the glass, the Rockets hope, might just match what most teams get from one or two giants. "It's got to be all five guys," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "You can't expect our big people to box out and go get the ball. They have the size advantage on it. ..."

Sloan anything but pleased with defense

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November 1

Salt Lake Tribune

"Sense a theme on Jazz coach Jerry Sloan 's part from Saturday's practice? "We gave up 60 points in the first half and it was atrocious," Sloan said the morning after his team's 111-98 victory over the Clippers. "I mean, the mistakes that we made on the defensive end are like we'd never played together. "I don't know if these guys are going to try to take their own initiative to do it the way they want to do it and be embarrassed with it or try to stick with what we're trying to do and get something out of it." Two games into a season in which the Jazz have stressed defensive accountability, Sloan was just getting started Saturday. "I was embarrassed for us the first half because we gave ..."

Sloan already frustrated over defense

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November 1

The Deseret News

"With all the work, emphasis and talk Jazz players have done regarding improving it this fall, there's no doubt they can use the word defense in a sentence. Winning a spelling bee with that word might be another story. "Defense?" Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said when a reporter remarked that the concept seemed to be the theme at Saturday's practice. "I don't know if we could spell it the way we've looked, the situation we're in." That wasn't a slam on their intelligence. It was just the frustrated Sloan's way to spell out that his players haven't put the D part in the e-f-e-n-s-e to his satisfaction this season. Watching video of Friday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers didn't sit too well ..."

Big game gets big cheers for Big Fes

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November 1

The Deseret News

"Throughout Friday night's 111-98 win over the Clippers, four young men sitting eight rows behind the Jazz bench went wild for big No. 44. They cheered Kyrylo Fesenko on during one of his best nights as an NBA player, made synchronized arm motions while pointing his way, and chanted "Fes-en-ko!" and "Fes! Fes! Fes!" Fesenko, starting for just the second time in place of the injured Mehmet Okur, even acknowledged them with a peace sign during a timeout. Perhaps shocked, Jazz teammates also heard them loud and clear. Then the third-year big man heard it from them. He said players mockingly asked him things like: "Is that your family? That's your assistants doing that? Like how much are you ..."

Sloan would welcome extension

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November 1

The Deseret News

"Jerry Sloan suggested Saturday that he wouldn't at all mind signing a one-year contract extension to remain as coach of the Jazz through the 2010-11 NBA season. But the recently inducted Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach isn't in any hurry to get done what has become an annual formality of sorts, and he prefers to commit to only one more season beyond the one that got under way last week. "That's all I'm interested in," Sloan said prior to practice Saturday, his 1-1 Jazz still 80 games away from completing his 22nd season as head coach in Utah. "I don't want to put them (Jazz management and ownership) in a bind, and hold them up if they have other ideas. They've certainly been fair to ..."

Unlike season opener, Jazz get big fourth quarter for win

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October 31

The Deseret News

"It ended with a late-game highlight-reel dunk by Ronnie Price that put a big, fat exclamation mark on the first win of the 2009-10 season. And the Utah Jazz's home-opener began with a pregame meet-and-greet with the Miller family and Jazz brass at entry ways, a stirring rendition of the national anthem by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, a Haka dance by powerful-looking Polynesian performers and fireworks. What happened between all that hoopla and the eventual 111-98 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, however, caught most in the sold-out EnergySolutions Arena by surprise. The Jazz, who were playing with Mehmet Okur (ankle, knee), Kyle Korver (knee) and C.J. Miles (thumb) in dressy duds, ..."

Nothing too convincing in this Jazz win over Clippers

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October 31

The Deseret News

columnist Brad Rock

"Chalk up win No. 1 for the Jazz in 2009-10. It was only the Clippers. Which was largely the problem. It's hard to win a beauty contest when everyone shows up in sweats. The Jazz rallied late to fend off the lowly Clippers, 111-98, Friday in their home opener, but it wasn't exactly a Monet. More like a finger painting. Acceptable results, but oh, what a messy start. There were the ill-conceived shots and layups allowed. And that shot by Carlos Boozer in the third quarter missed the rim but almost took out a Starbucks. Plan on decent games against the Lakers and Celtics, this year, especially at home. But the Clippers and such? You may want to bring a blindfold. It took a 14-point fourth ..."

Jazz, Sloan appear headed for extension

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October 31

The Deseret News

"The Jerry Sloan coaching era in Utah evidently won't be ending any time soon. Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor said Friday night that negotiations on a contract extension between Sloan and the franchise are ongoing, and suggested he's hopeful that an agreement will be reached. "I'd like to think we can get something done at some point," said O'Connor at halftime of the Jazz's 2009-10 NBA season home-opener against the Los Angeles Clippers at EnergySolutions Arena. "But there's no urgency to it." Sloan, inducted last September into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, began his 22nd season as head coach of the Jazz with Wednesday night's loss at Denver. His current deal expires at the ..."

Jazz exercise option on Koufos

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October 31

Salt Lake Tribune

"A year after they declined the third-year option in former first-round draft pick Morris Almond 's contract, the Jazz elected to continue their investment in center Kosta Koufos , exercising a $1.3 million option Friday to bring back Koufos for the 2010-11 season. "We feel like he needs improvement, but I think it's the responsibility of our franchise to show patience with a big guy," Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor said. Koufos played in 48 games as a rookie, averaging 4.7 points and 2.9 rebounds. Even in his second year, Koufos was the 10th-youngest player on an opening night roster in the NBA and won't turn 21 until Feb. 24. "I appreciate the extra commitment the Utah Jazz ..."

It would be insane to expect change

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October 31

Salt Lake Tribune

columnist Gordon Monson

"Having watched the Jazz now play all of two games, losing to the Nuggets in the season opener on the road and beating the Clippers, 111-98, at home Friday night, one thing is clear: They haven't changed. Yeah, it's one of those observations that makes you go "duh." Of course they're the same, they made no moves in the offseason, they bolstered their defense not one iota, they have the same players and coaches, the same strengths and weaknesses, the same schemes and tendencies. How did anybody expect anything different? Well, because Jazz fans are a bunch of dumbcraps. Wait a minute. No, they're not. The Jazz tried to sell customers on the idea that, after they sat on their hands all ..."

Jazz, Brewer can't come to agreement on extension

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October 31

Salt Lake Tribune

"The agent for Ronnie Brewer said Friday that he and Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor had agreed that they would not be able to come to agreement on a contract extension for Brewer ahead of the Monday deadline to do so. "Kevin and I have talked several times," agent Henry Thomas said. "I don't really think there's anything that's going to get done and we agreed on that this morning. . . .It was something we decided we wanted to see what the market would speak to next summer." Brewer would become a restricted free agent at season's end, assuming the Jazz tender him a qualifying offer of $3.8 million. Brewer is the lone member of the Jazz's young core of players including Deron Williams, ..."

Millsap in tune

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October 31

Salt Lake Tribune

"They pulled out all the stops for the Jazz's home opener Friday, with the full 360-member Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the national anthem, but it was Paul Millsap who proved to be a one-man saving grace in their 111-98 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers Millsap scored 14 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, a memorable run that started with an acrobatic three-point play to close the third quarter and ended with Deron Williams barking in his ear after Millsap crossed over Chris Kaman and hit a foul-line jumper with 3:23 left. "It felt great," said Millsap, who hit 9 of 12 shots, grabbed nine rebounds and outscored the Clippers' bench 23-16 on his own. "We had a great effort from ..."

A bad quarter denies Clippers a chance for change

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October 31

Los Angeles Times

"One quarter from ending a streak flirting with ignominy. Twelve minutes from getting their first win in Utah since 2003, so long ago that in those days, Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan were barely starting to think about where they might go to college. After three quarters Friday night, the Clippers were ready and seemingly poised to win a game at EnergySolutions Arena, after having lost 12 straight in Salt Lake City, and 35 of 36. Then they played the fourth quarter. "I don't think it was a letdown. I think they just kicked our butts. They just beast-ed us," Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy said. And the Clippers (0-3) turned into beasts of burden. The Jazz opened the fourth with a 10-0 run ..."

Okur's status uncertain for Friday

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October 30

The Deseret News

"The Jazz are calling starting center Mehmet Okur "day-to-day" after he sprained both his left ankle and left knee in the first minute of Wednesday's season-opening loss at Denver. It's uncertain if he'll be able to play in Friday night's home-opener against the Los Angeles Clippers, but the Jazz — who didn't practice today — were hopeful. "He's actually better today than we thought he'd be," Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor said this afternoon. Okur missed about seven minutes, then returned to finish with 13 points and six rebounds while logging 31 minutes in the Jazz's 114-105 loss."

Boozer looks to get going

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October 30

The Deseret News

"After watching him open 1-for-11 and wind up shooting 3-for-14 in Wednesday night's season-opening loss at Denver, Deron Williams' advice to Carlos Boozer would be to simply shake it off. "It's the only thing you can do," the Jazz point guard said. Yet that's much easier said than done. Though it seemed as if he was fading backward on many of his missed jumpers against the Nuggets, neither Boozer himself nor Jazz coach Jerry Sloan suggested the woes could be attributed to anything mechanical. And while it may have looked as if he were shooting with lead weights in his Duke backpack, as a certain ESPN commercial might prompt one to wonder, it wasn't that, either. What then? "There's a lot ..."

Maynor gets early schooling

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October 30

The Deseret News

"Jazz rookie point guard Eric Maynor was initiated into the NBA on Wednesday — by another rookie. It was a welcoming committee of one, named Ty Lawson. The University of North Carolina product was the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year last season and was selected 18th overall — two spots ahead of Maynor — in last June's NBA Draft. Lawson had Maynor's number in the fourth quarter of Utah's season-opening loss at Denver, twice shaking loose from the Jazz rookie for baskets as the Nuggets pulled away in a 114-105 win. The second basket resulted in a foul and a free throw for the super-quick Lawson, who finished with 17 points in 26 reserve-role minutes, and a trip back to the bench ..."

Fesenko OK with tough love

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October 30

The Deseret News

"Kyrylo Fesenko admits he's the type of player who occasionally needs outside help to stay motivated. Consider him a glutton for pushing and punishment. "For real, I always need somebody ... to yell at me, to push me," the third-year center said. "I'm just that kind of person. And coach is doing good this year with it." Translation: The Ukrainian big man often gets an earful from Jazz coach Jerry Sloan — and though Fesenko doesn't necessarily love being yelled at, it works. Sloan isn't the only one doing the harping, apparently. Fesenko said Utah's special assistant coach also gets on his case while trying to help him fine-tune his free-throw shooting. "I'm working on it," said Fesenko, a ..."

History on Jazz's side

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October 30

Salt Lake Tribune

"From a historical standpoint at least, the Jazz couldn't have asked for a more favorable opponent in tonight's home opener than the Los Angeles Clippers, losers of 34 of 35 games all-time at EnergySolutions Arena. That .971 winning percentage has to offer comfort to the Jazz as they look to regroup after Wednesday's loss to Denver and avoid their first 0-2 start since dropping games at New Orleans and Atlanta to open the 2002-03 season. "I'm always confident when we go home, period," Deron Williams said. "We're a good home team, and coming off a tough loss like this, we're going to be ready to go. "Despite a team's record, it's a big game for us. You don't want to start a season off ..."

'Improved' defense doesn't convince

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October 29

Salt Lake Tribune

columnist Kurt Kragthorpe

"The Jazz's season started without enough stops, just the way the last one ended. While their intentions may have been good, they did nothing to make anyone believe their defense is improved, could not overcome the horrible performance of their controversial power forward and missed a chance to open the season with a meaningful road victory. The Jazz needed much more than merely a few stretches of adequate defense Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center, where they ultimately could not keep up with the Denver Nuggets in a 114-105 loss. Amid all that Deron Williams gave them and everything that Carlos Boozer failed to provide, the Jazz crumbled in the second half of a game they genuinely ..."

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