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FanHouse Preview: Utah Jazz

Posted: Oct 19th 2009 11:00AM by Chris Tomasson (author feed)
Filed under: Jazz, NBA Preseason, NBA Previews

FanHouse previews all 30 NBA teams in advance of the 2009-10 season.

Carlos Boozer is still with the Jazz.

Well, at least he was 10 minutes ago.

Heading into the season, Boozer's status is the biggest issue surrounding the team. He said during radio interviews during the summer that he wouldn't mind ending up in Chicago or Miami, and that Jazz officials told him they were looking to trade him.

The forward, though, didn't get moved. And now he's saying that, if the Jazz keep him throughout the season, impressive things can happen in Utah.

"If they keep us together, we can be very good,'' he said.

SI.com: Boozer, Millsap Adjust | Tomasson: Jerry Sloan Reflects

Continue Reading FanHouse Preview: Utah Jazz

Tennis Star Maria Kirilenko Clarifies Relationship with Andre

Posted: Sep 26th 2009 10:00AM by Elie Seckbach (author feed)
Filed under: U.S. Open, Australian Open, Davis Cup, WTA, FanHouse Exclusive

2 COMMENTS

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

22-year-old tennis hottie Maria Kirilenko has been ranked as high as No. 18 in the world, but she's getting a lot of attention for her looks instead of her tennis ability. In fact Kirilenko has been on the cover of many magazines and was selected in 2006 to be the face of Adidas. In this video we talk to Maria about her game and her name -- her connection to Utah Jazz star Andrei Kirilenko.

Check out the video after the jump.

Continue Reading Tennis Star Maria Kirilenko Clarifies Relationship with Andre

The Rotation: Fear the Utah Jazz

Posted: Feb 24th 2009 11:30AM by Tom Ziller (author feed)
Filed under: Jazz

5 COMMENTS

The Rotation is a weekly study on the NBA by one of our All-Star voices. In rotation this week is Tom Ziller.

Depending on your interior biases, the Utah Jazz either represent a flimsy facade waiting to be knocked over or the last gasp of insurgent power willing to make the Western Conference playoffs compelling.

As always, the truth falls somewhere in the middle. The public consensus, however, has cast Utah as more bit player than force to be reckoned with. But mis-measuring the Jazz as a Western also-ran is a huge mistake.

Continue Reading The Rotation: Fear the Utah Jazz

Jazz Lose Kirilenko to Ankle Surgery

Posted: Jan 29th 2009 7:00PM by Matt Watson (author feed)
Filed under: Jazz, NBA Injuries

0 COMMENTS

Just about nothing has gone right for the Jazz this year. From Deron Williams missing most of November to Carlos Boozer being on the shelf the last two months and counting, this team has never been healthy all at once.

The team announced that Andrei Kirilenko, who's already missed the last four games, would join the list of long-term wounded. He's set to undergo surgery on Friday to remove bone fragments from his right ankle. It's an ailment he's played through for awhile thanks to grit and cortisone, but finally the pain became too much to handle.

Continue Reading Jazz Lose Kirilenko to Ankle Surgery

Carlos Boozer To Miss One Month After Knee Surgery

Posted: Dec 30th 2008 9:24PM by Matt Moore (author feed)
Filed under: Jazz, NBA Injuries

1 COMMENT

It starts with a simple procedure. The subsequent effects are as dramatic as they are extensive.

Carlos Boozer, who's already missed 21 games this season due to injury, will miss an additional month of action due to arthroscopic knee surgery, according to the Salt Lake City Tribune.

Now, the Jazz have suffered with injuries all over their roster this season. Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko, most of the roster has missed some time. Boozer's time away has been tempered, somewhat, by the emergence of Paul Millsap. Unfortunately, this simple surgery affects that as well.

In the immediate, this makes the Jazz' trek to retain their Northwest title and top four seed that much more difficult, a prospect that's already daunting considering the Blazers' inevitable emergence and Denver's resurgence. It means that the odds are significantly impacted that they will be able to enjoy the friendly confines of their home come April and May, Considering the vast advantage they enjoy in Salt Lake, that's a pretty big hit. But the long term effects are also notable.

Continue Reading Carlos Boozer To Miss One Month After Knee Surgery

So Much for the NBA's Flop Crackdown

Posted: Dec 29th 2008 2:55PM by Tom Ziller (author feed)
Filed under: Jazz, Mavericks, NBA Referees

7 COMMENTS

First, a retraction of sorts: on Sunday, I bemoaned the league's suspension of Dirk Nowitzki for his swing at Matt Harpring's face in Friday's Jazz-Mavs match-up. Rules are rules, and the league had to sit Dirk for a game. It was silly to suggest that ruling had been wrong. (I will not, however, back down from my statement that Harpring is ugly. And also, the opinion at the bottom of this Jazz Notes post regarding Dirk's potential reputation as a dirty player for having the temerity to fight back against the extremely, eternally dirty Jazz is absurd and reeks of localist triumphalism.)

But since rules are indeed rules, what happened to the rules the league created last summer to discourage flopping? In May, ESPN reported that the NBA would create a fine schedule to impose on the most egregious actors in the league. Almost nothing has come from it -- not one fine announced this season, no release of the ground rules or discussion of the review procedure.

This all comes to mind because of Andrei Kirilenko's flagrant flop, shown in the clip posted Sunday. Even Vlade Divac, Manu Ginobili and Anderson Varejao rolled their eyes when they saw that fall. Clint Eastwood is jealous. (And mad, also. He hates wimpy maneuvers. And Russians, also.)

If ever a flop deserved punishment, it was this one. I understand the need to keep fists at bay, but I plea for the league to understand how discouraging modern flopping is to the sport. I daresay that without the flop, Dirk's fist doesn't come out to play.

UPDATE: A league spokesman contacted FanHouse to say that contrary to the May ESPN report, the NBA is not fining players for flops this season. The league is monitoring the trend but has told media it will not fine players this year.

NBA Essentials: Bonzi Conquers China, AK-47 Conquers Azeroth

Posted: Dec 29th 2008 1:45PM by Tom Ziller (author feed)
Filed under: Celtics, Jazz, Nets, Trail Blazers

1 COMMENT

NBA Essentials provides the must-see links, quotes and videos of the day.

* "Former NBA bad boy Bonzi Wells scored 52 points and hauled in 14 rebounds as he continued his spectacular start in Chinese basketball's top league, leading Shanxi Zhongyu to an overtime victory." - AFP, via You Been Blinded.

* "[Channing Frye's] primary World of Warcraft character is Dookiedrawls, a level 76 gnome frost mage -- though he maintains he's not as serious about the game as Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko, who has a 'really nice level 80 paladin.'" -- Williamette Week, via TH.

* Bob Cousy: "This [parade] thing, as I said I had no idea what to expect, I have never seen anything like it. There had to have been a million-and-a-quarter people on a Thursday morning throughout that whole route! There were green people everywhere! They were hanging from the trees and the poles." -- Hoops Addict.

* "Once an energetic spark off New Jersey's bench, [Sean] Williams may need MapQuest to find his way back into head coach Lawrence Frank's good graces." -- Hoopsworld.

* Chris Paul's little things, a new Carnival of the NBA, and Mark Cuban's insane idea to take over sports pages everywhere.

In Defense of Dirk Nowitzki's Elbow

Posted: Dec 28th 2008 12:05PM by Tom Ziller (author feed)
Filed under: Jazz, Mavericks, NBA Videos

11 COMMENTS

On Friday, Dirk Nowitzki was ejected from the Mavs-Jazz game after sending an elbow at Matt Harpring's grill. If you follow the league, you don't need to see the clip to know that Harpring deserved it: for the last five years, the dude's been one of the dirtiest players in the league. He picks fights with anyone and everyone.

When people call Harpring the quintessential Jerry Sloan player, they mean that (like John Stockton and Karl Malone) Harpring constantly punches, elbows, bumps, trips and muscles his opponent. It's something you adore if you root for the Jazz, and something you loathe if you're one of the six billion other people on the planet. With that in mind, this biased breakdown of what led to Dirk's elbow is just what the world needs to see.

It's not all Harpring -- Kyrylo Fesenko gets bumpy too and Andrei Kirilenko provides potentially the greatest flop in the history of the Western Civilization. But I don't blame Dirk. Do you?

The league hasn't told the Mavericks whether Dirk will be suspended for today's game against the Clippers. If there's any justice, instead of a suspension the league will grant him a Christmas bonus for his handiwork on Harpring's face.

UPDATE: Shortly after this posting went live, news broke that Dirk has in fact been suspended for today's game in L.A. Complete bollocks.

Paul Millsap Joins Carlos Boozer on Shelf

Posted: Dec 26th 2008 6:33PM by Tom Ziller (author feed)
Filed under: Jazz, NBA Injuries

0 COMMENTS

If Kevin O'Connor and Jerry Sloan really do have some Magic Power Forward Beans in the safe, now'd be a splendid time to push them into some soil. With Carlos Boozer still ailing and awaiting a second MRI this weekend, replacement Paul Millsap has received a pair of health shackles. Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune reports Millsap will sit for 7-10 days with a strained knee ligament.

Boozer has been out so long and you don't really get the impression he's anywhere close to ready to get back in sneakers -- there have even been whispers of surgery for Boozer. Meanwhile, starting center Mehmet Okur has missed a few starts due to back spasms. That's three of your top four big men off the bat. The Jazz have survived Boozer, Okur and Deron Williams' previously sprained ankle. But this is getting a bit absurd.

Andrei Kirilenko -- who has done masterful work as a sixth man -- will take the power forward position, apparently. Luhm reports that unless Okur can play, rookie Kosta Koufos will start at center tonight when Utah meets Dallas. Yes, it has come to this: Sloan is starting a rookie. (A rookie he doesn't seem to particularly like, at that.) It's only a matter of time until Kyrylo Fesenko gets his big break, right? (Right?)

Jazz: The NBA's Best-Kept Secret

Posted: Nov 21st 2008 8:00AM by Elie Seckbach (author feed)
Filed under: Jazz, NBA Videos, Interviews

0 COMMENTS

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

The Utah Jazz are among the best teams in the NBA, but for some reason people tend to leave them out when it comes to talking about the best of the west. In this video we ask the players about their low-key profile. We also find out from All-Star Andrei Kirilenko why he has a welcoming dog and not a watch dog, and we audition Kyrylo Fesenko as a reporter.

Check out the full video after the jump.