Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE/Getty Images)

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have people write about my performance every day. How about a radio show that features people who call in to comment on what I should or shouldn’t have done?

Tonight was one of those nights.

First, the Carlos Boozer Redemption Tour rolled on, with Booz racking up 33 points and 16 rebounds in the home win for the Jazz. The rest of the team looked like they were playing in mud to start the game. The Bobcats had no answer for Boozer as he punished them inside with 11 points and 6 rebounds in the first quarter and scored another 16 in the pivotal third quarter when the Jazz fought back to take control of the game.

After the game it was all love for big Booz as the cameras and microphones crowded around his locker. A far cry from the man who was persona non grata just a few short months ago. On this night, Boozer responded to praise from Jerry Sloan and Deron Williams and showed appreciation for the fans who were chanting “Bring… Back… Booze.”

On the other side of the room, CJ Miles was his usual friendly self, but his 1-10 shooting performance was clearly on his mind. Miles played 30 minutes and ended up with 4 points and 1 rebound. He’s only hit 7 shots in the last three games combined.

The emotion boiled over after the game as CJ responded to a Jazz fan on Twitter:

bro to be honest I kno I’m playing bad u think I havnt been in Tha gym u think I like this feeling and I couldn’t tell u Tha last time I rapped …… Which Is why u rarely see me tweet about it I’ve been trying I really have I put in Tha xtra shots and time I’m just not playing good and I do apologized to all my fans and the organization I really mean that

and it’s hard becuz I don’t kno how to handle it I’m mentally goin crazy over this I’ve have Neva been in a position where I could find a way to perform basketball wise this had been Tha hardest year of prolly my life mentally I built myelf so much preparing for this season over Tha summer and to prove i really belonged here and to see it thrown away with an injury really hurt me and then Tha pressure I put on myself not to mention Tha pressure from everywhere else to get back to where I was is basically driving me nuts because all I wanna do is play well and help Tha team it’s not about money or recognition I truly love to play basketball which why I will continue to work and I promise I will be betta it’s just been tuff but once again I apologize for my play to all Tha fans I am better and will be better

In his fifth season with Jazz, it’s hard to believe Miles is only 22 years old. It doesn’t matter how much money someone makes, any 22 year-old would have a difficult time handling that kind of pressure and critique. At 22 I was falling asleep in organic chemistry classes and doing the New York Times crossword puzzle while sitting on floor at the back of my crowded 8am economics lecture because I couldn’t drag myself out of bed on time. What if I would have had to face reporters after each class?

“It looked like you drew the outline of each western state and then surrounded it with ‘The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog’ written in 10 different handwritten fonts. Talk about that decision.”

“You seem to struggle with every crossword puzzle after Wednesday, even though you sit next to a girl who speaks French and gives you all the answers to the pretentious late-week questions. When can we expect you to finish the whole puzzle?”

Forgive the personal narrative, but it’s hard to ignore the human side of the players while we watch them succeed and fail in real time. On Wednesday night the sting of the shooting slump for Miles was accentuated by the break-out night by his replacement, the crowd favorite Kyle Korver. After a slow start by the rest of the team, Korver came in off the bench to score 18 points and hit 5 of 6 three point shots, each one of which drove the crowd into a frenzy. The psychological drama was on full display in the second half when Miles jacked up a heat-check 3-point attempt from 30 feet away after Korver hit back-to-back threes, demonstrating an interesting attempt at basketball alchemy. The shot rimmed out.

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Notes:

Moving away from armchair psychology and back to basketball, there were some nice performances from Jazz players despite the slow start. After sitting out the last game with an injury, Deron Williams put together a solid night with a 20 point, 12 assist double double. Boozer and Korver had the aforementioned solid games, and even Kyrylo Fesenko put together a solid, if not stat-impressive, performance.

The true performance from Fes came in the locker room after the game. Fesenko holds court in the corner and makes jokes in barely intelligible English while reporters wait for the other players to arrive. Much like his game, his jokes don’t really translate to paper. But I’ve always said, any Ukrainian 7-footer with the comedic timing to use his Greek-American teammate as a straight man and keep an entire room laughing can be a star in any reality show. I once asked his former agent why there isn’t a camera crew following Fes around 24/7 and he just laughed and said “Let’s get him a second contract and then talk.” Sound business advice, but it’s our loss in the meantime.

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The theatrics and flopping by Gerald Wallace were just embarrassing. You’d think a man who almost single-handedly created case for the prosecution in the class-action lawsuit Fans Who Paid $500 to Watch a Horrible Dunk Contest v. The NBA would be a little more circumspect about demonstrating his apparent contempt of the game. Wallace mailed in the most uninspired 27 points I’ve seen since Vince Carter. The obvious talent is overshadowed by some kind of cloud that he seems to be trying to shake off with the stumbling and tumbling that gives him the nickname “Crash.”

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Tyrus Thomas accidentally removed his jersey while taking off his warmups to check in to the game. He was left standing at mid-court in his shorts and a black tank top while someone retrieved the shirt from his jacket. He finally got the shirt on while lining up on the block for a free thrown attempt by a teammate. One more reason it’s probably a good thing the Jazz didn’t pull the trigger on that Boozer-for-Thomas trade with Chicago everybody was talking about this summer. Jerry Sloan would have been apoplectic.

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ESPN Recap

Up Next: Friday at Sacramento, 8pm Mountain Time.

(AP Photo/Don Ryan) / Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)

In what has to be the defining win of the season, the Jazz snuck out of Portland with an overtime win and a sweep of the season series after being down by as many as 25 in the second half. Carlos Boozer had a monster game with 22 points and 23 rebounds. Yes, you read that correctly. The play of the game, appropriately on this night, was an offensive rebound and acrobatic put-back by Boozer as time expired in regulation, sending the game into an improbable overtime.

The Sundiata Gaines game against Lebron and the Cavs in January was a euphoric win, but it was almost like a gift from the Basketball Gods. In a more satisfying way, Sunday night’s win felt like the Jazz earned every point as they clawed back in the fourth quarter and gutted it out in overtime. The Jazz seem to have turned the corner from being a group of individuals that fold on the road, to a team that can put together an undefeated road trip featuring hard-nose defense and unselfish play.

Even big Kyrylo Fesenko was a star on this night. Pressed into action with Memo Okur staying home to be with his wife and new baby and Andrei Kirilenko leaving the game early with a recurrence of back spasms, the 7-foot Ukrainian put aside the usual sideshow and turned in a solid game highlighted by an athletic run-down block in overtime, saving the game.

I have a feeling we’ll be looking back at this game for a long time as the moment people really became believers that this Jazz team is a legitimate contender. Although I suspect they’ve known for a while, it could also be the game that makes the players believers too.

More:

• ESPN Recap
• Kevin Pelton at Basketball Prospectus

The Jazz have apparently traded Ronnie Brewer to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for a protected 2010 draft pick.

Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)

ESPN Recap

Due to a little bit of failure-to-set-the-DVR-itis and a chronic case of League-pass-annoyingly-blacks-out-local-games-ia, I was unable to watch this game. I did, however, sit next to longtime Jazz assistant Gordon Chiesa, now a scout for the Memphis Grizzlies, at the Utah Flash game and asked his opinion on the Jazz as currently assembled. He was clearly impressed, and was emphatic that the Jazz are legitimate title contenders this year.

The story of the game was the strong performance from Paul Millsap. From the AP story:

Millsap hit 11 of 13 shots in a 24-point performance that led Utah past the New Orleans Hornets, 98-90 on Wednesday night for the Jazz’s 15th victory in 17 games.

“I’m trying to attack a little bit more. I think I was a little timid earlier in the season,” Millsap said. “I just felt comfortable out there and when you get that type of confidence, the rim looks real big.”

Millsap, a reserve, came in averaging 11.4 points but had scored 20 in his previous outing, a victory at Houston in the last game before the All-star break. Against the Hornets, he was opportunistic inside, hitting a couple putbacks and three layups. There was more to his game than that, though; he hit six jumpers from between 13 and 17 feet, earning 33:30 in playing time off the bench.

“When Paul is given a lot of minutes, he’s always produced,” said Jazz point guard Deron Williams, who had 16 points and 10 assists. “It’s on coach to find him some time to get him out there. If it’s Paul’s night, you’ve got to ride with him.”

Carlos Boozer scored six of his 16 points in the last 3:06, helping Utah pull away after a 3-pointer by New Orleans’ James Posey had tied it at 85. Boozer also had 15 rebounds, and Mehmet Okur added 10 points for the Jazz, who shot 54 percent (38 of 70).

Up next, the streaking Jazz head to the Bay Area for a matchup on Friday with the Bakersfield Jam North, AKA the Golden State Warriors.

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Notes:

• So this is what it feels like to be .500 on the road. The win moves the Jazz to 12-12 away from home, with the best road record this late in the year since Jeff Hornacek retired in 1999.
• With the rest of the league feasting on the fire sale put on by the Washington Wizards ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, the Jazz appear to be set on keeping the team intact. Carlos Boozer was the man most likely to be traded but his strong play seems to have made the front office believe they can make a run with this cast, and I agree. I’m also looking forward to the Jazz keeping their first round pick from the Knicks, if only to make the Draft Lottery exciting.
• The green Hardwood Classics throwback jerseys worn by the Jazz have become somewhat of a lucky charm, especially after being immortalized as part of the Sundiata Gaines game against the Cavs. The Jazz will wear the green three more times, with the Rockets, Pesky Timberwolves, and Raptors scheduled as victims.