<div align="center"> at <font color=""Navy"">Utah Jazz</font> (23-9) at <font color=""Red"">Houston Rockets</font> (20-12)</div> Date: Friday 5th January, 6:30 PM (MST) Location: Toyota Center Local TV: FSNSW / FSN National TV: NBALP Last Game <font color=""Navy"">Jazz:</font> Sixers 87 at Jazz 98 <font color=""Red"">Rockets:</font> Sonics 96 at Rockets 103 Streak <font color=""Navy"">Jazz:</font> Won 2 <font color=""Red"">Rockets:</font> Won 4 Last Ten <font color=""Navy"">Jazz:</font> 6-4 <font color=""Red"">Rockets:</font> 6-4 <div align="center">Projected Starters <font color=""Navy"">Jazz</font> <font size=""1"">Deron Williams, Derek Fisher, Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur</font> <font color=""Red"">Rockets</font> <font size=""1"">Rafer Alston, Tracy McGrady, Shane Battier, Juwan Howard, Dikembe Mutombo</font></div> Prediction Rockets by 5
I agree with J_Ray, Yao usually kicks our ass...I'm going to say Jazz by 5 And Deron lighting it up in this game
Look out for T-Mac, fellas. He's playing his best ball of the season right now. Last 3 games he's scored 100 points in 103 minutes. Still, Rockets are short-handed playing without Yao, Bonzi, and Snyder. Jazz should win this one.
T-Mac usually does what he does against us, but it doesn't matter, Yao is the one that kills us the most by getting us in foul trouble. as long as Boozer doesn't get into foul trouble, we win this one IMO
54-45 Houston @ half Deron Williams with a nice bank to go into half, to bad that's our only bright spot I can speak of......
The Utah team I watched today wasn't the same team that got off to the great start this season. They just don't seem like a unit anymore, Memo was out of sync, Boozer wasn't making the inside shots he should make, AK seem to not give effort at all, Deron Williams was trying to carry the team, and that SG hole stuck out a lot. T-Mac absolutely tore up whoever was on him, but Fisher should of never been out there with Williams when T-Mac was playing. We need to make a trade for a veteran SG that can play D and isn't small. I say try to get Maggette or Artest, or else this team isn't going to even be a Western conference threat.
Rockets win 100-86. I was half right, Deron did light it up for the Jazz as the leading scorer for 19 pts. Boozer had 14 points and 17 REBOUNDs. But T-Mac had 44 pts...
With T-Mac playing the way he is, the Jazz were always going to really struggle with him. It doesn't help when Memo scores just 7 and Fisher 3. Dikembe Mutombo grabbed 19 rebounds, and one less offensive board than the entire Jazz team. Part of the reason the Jazz started the way they have was their dominance on the boards, which they just didn't have in this game.
Has anybody notice?! Our worst games are with Big SG's that can score, we can take the Power Forwards, the Centers, most of the time is the SGs that kill us. Kobe, Redd, now T-Mac...
<div class="quote_poster">KS1 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Has anybody notice?! Our worst games are with Big SG's that can score, we can take the Power Forwards, the Centers, most of the time is the SGs that kill us. Kobe, Redd, now T-Mac...</div> Sloan should play Brewer more. I thought that's why they drafted him in the first place. They wanted a big, athletic SG who could defend. His offensive numbers this season look pretty good as well. He's got a 15.2 PER, albeit in limited minutes.
<div class="quote_poster">durvasa Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Sloan should play Brewer more. I thought that's why they drafted him in the first place. They wanted a big, athletic SG who could defend. His offensive numbers this season look pretty good as well. He's got a 15.2 PER, albeit in limited minutes.</div> Sloan holds grudges against playing stud rookie guards when he has veterans like Harpring, Fisher, and Giri. But we're a top notch team when Brewer is out there because it just seems like he energizes our team. He's the one that started most of our comebacks, especially that ATL comeback. Brewer just complements the starters and doesn't take away shots from everyone like Fisher does.
Brewer is an excellent defender I've noticed. He's quick on his feet, athletic, and has those long arms that get steals quite often. We definetely should play him more.
<div class="quote_poster">KS1 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Has anybody notice?! Our worst games are with Big SG's that can score, we can take the Power Forwards, the Centers, most of the time is the SGs that kill us. Kobe, Redd, now T-Mac...</div> I've noticed. The Jazz just can't contain the high scoring shooting guards in the league. It's to be expected though, when the Jazz use Fisher, Giricek, Miles and Brewer at shooting guard. Fisher is more of a point guard than a shooting guard, and at 6-1 is always going to struggle with the likes of McGrady. Giricek simply isn't known for his defense at all. Miles has a long way to go before he gets minutes that aren't in garbage time. That leaves Brewer, who is Utah's best defensive shooting guard. He's big enough, and can definitely defend. As J_Ray said, he seems to energize the team when he gets on court. He'll have trouble with the Bryants and McGradys of the league, but who doesn't? He should get more minutes, but unfortunately, he's a rookie under Sloan.
