March 24th, 2010 by Salt City Hoops
I’m still buzzing from that Boston game. The show rolls on, however, and tonight the Jazz are back in action on the road against Toronto. It will be interesting to see if the Jazz can get back to their winning ways on the road, or if the strong play last month was only an aberration.
Here’s a snippet from the ESPN Preview:
In the opener of a three-game road trip, the Jazz look to win their 10th straight against the Raptors on Wednesday night.
Utah (46-25) faces plenty of competition for a chance at home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, leading Phoenix by one game while San Antonio and Oklahoma City trail by three. Division leaders Dallas and Denver are also within reach for the Jazz, who have won four of five after losing their previous two.
The Raptors have lost five of eight at home overall after winning 14 of their previous 15.
Utah should enter this contest particularly confident, coming off a 110-97 win over Boston on Monday night. The Jazz beat one of the East’s top teams despite missing Andrei Kirilenko (calf) for the fifth time in six games.
Kirilenko’s status is uncertain. The veteran forward had 20 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks in a 104-91 win over Toronto on Nov. 18.
Also, I chipped in at Raptors Republic with a few thoughts. Let me know what you think.
December 29th, 2009 by Salt City Hoops
BYU’s Jimmer Fredette put on a clinic Monday night in a 99-69 win against the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson. We focus on pro basketball around here, but when a young man follows up a 33 point night with a merciless line of 49 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds, ON THE ROAD… well, he deserves more than a passing mention.
Fredette was absolutely on fire. At one point late in the second half he was being double teamed well beyond the three point line, drove to his right, crossed over and broke the ankles of both defenders, pulled back and hit a three. Nasty stuff all the way around.
| PLAYER |
MIN |
FGM-A |
3PM-A |
FTM-A |
OREB |
REB |
AST |
STL |
BLK |
TO |
PF |
PTS |
| Jimmer Fredette, G |
36 |
16-23 |
9-13 |
8-9 |
1 |
7 |
9 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
2 |
49 |
In an interesting twist, the McKale Center scoring record was previously 45 points and was set by Providence’s Eric Murdock on Dec. 23, 1990. Murdock would later be drafted by the Jazz.
These Cougars are fun to watch, and it’s downright jarring to watch them run and gun with reckless abandon after watching the Jazz run each play with the predicability of Sunday Mass. BYU plays a very uptempo game and every player seems to have the green light on any shot they like.
In the spirit of “going green,” I’d like to suggest that the Jazz give every player the green light on nights when they wear their green throwback jerseys. Would it be so wrong to mix things up every once in a while? Why not have one night to turn Kirilenko loose and just run up and down?
saltcityhoops