Getting to the Hart of the Matter

Jan 08 2008
Just when all hopes were lost, the Jazz pulled off a shorthanded victory at Energy Solutions Arena. Anything to be excited about? Well, not exactly.
Ronnie Price joined Andrei Kirilenko on the Injured list after last week's game in Portland, leaving Utah with one less hand to help out off the bench.
It could have been for the better. In last week's game against the Trailblazers, Ronnie Price played 4 minutes and Jason Hart was limited to 12. In tonights game, Jason Hart played 23 productive minutes, with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
After the starters put down the hurt on the Pacers, leading 40-19 after the first quarter, the minutes were shared all around. No Jazz player surpassed 26 minutes for the first time this season.
They were all productive minutes too. In 24 minutes of play, Carlos Boozer scored 22 points and grabbed 4 boards. In the 25 that Deron Williams played, he scored 10 points and dished 9 dimes.
Indiana felt bench woes as Utah's outscored them 54-35 and recorded 4 less turnovers.
The curse of the thrid quarter seemed to dissapate as the Jazz outscored the Pacers by 7.
Morris Almond made his first NBA debut since being sent down to the D-League. He went 1-5 from the field, scoring his first career points with 56 seconds left in the game.
The Jazz play Phoenix on Thursday.

Jazz Find Kirilenko's Shoes Hard to Fill

During practice earlier in the week, Utah's small forward Andrei Kirilenko was injured (reportedly back inflammation) and did not travel with the team to Portland for a much anticipated rematch against the Trailblazers. This marked the fourth duel between the teams in 25 days, and the second in three games.

Portland entered the game on a two-game winning streak, and had won fifteen of their last sixteen (the only loss coming in Utah).

With many options to fill Kirilenko's starting position, Coach Jerry Sloan went with sophomore CJ Miles. Perhaps the 6 points in 23 minutes was not the productivity he had in mind.

Who else could he have started? A popular among fans, Kyle Korver, would be the logical choice. Korver scored 4 points and went 0-2 from downtown in 22 minutes tonight. Another choice would be Matt Harpring, who shot a productive 7-11 from the field and pulled down 5 boards in just 18 minutes of play.

Jazz starters committed 14 turnovers compared to Portland's 5. The Jazz were outrebounded 31-43. The Jazz bench, led by Matt Harpring with 14, was outscored 28-43 by Portland.
Carlos Boozer was placed under a microscope playing against Portland's sophomore LeMarcus Aldridge. The last time these two met Aldridge scored a career high 36 compared to Boozer's 19. Tonight, Carlos was held to 6 points on 3-16 shooting while Aldridge scored 20 and swatted 4 shots.

Deron Williams led the Jazz with 23 points while Martell Webster led Portland with 26 (a career high with 24 in the third quarter).

Fan-hated Jarron Collins scored 5 points on 2-2 shooting from the field and 1-2 from the free throw line in 8 minutes of play.

Portland's leading scorer, Brandon Roy, played 9 minutes in the first quarter, but watched the blow-out from the bench for the rest of the game.

Utah plays Indiana at home on Tuesday (01/08/08)