Quick Hits: Jazz Lose to Spurs, NBA Playoffs, NHL, and More...

Last night may have been the best loss of the season for the Jazz...

It seemed a very unfavorable time to take a break from writing on the Blog for the last few days; however, my wife had her Wisdom Teeth pulled and I have been taking care of her. That has really cut into my blogging time. She is doing much better now, and so I am now able to touch some topics I would have liked to have written a full entry on.

The Spurs Flexed Their Muscle Against the Jazz Last Night -- Wow! The Spurs shut down everything that the Jazz were trying to accomplish last night. Sure Deron Williams wasn't going at a hundred percent, but he was completely useless last night. Parker made him look terrible for the entire first half. Yet, it was nothing in comparison to the egg that Boozer laid last night. Letting Tim Duncan go coast-to-coast, was just another highlight on the Defense-by-Boozer highlight real. Though, his offense might have actually been worse last night. He was passing on wide open shots. He wasn't going to the rim. When he would get the ball in good position under the hoop, it seemed he would panic and try to outlet the ball to the outside as fast as he possibly could. His lack of an inside game caused multiple turnovers which the Spurs capitalized on. The Spurs were better at every position last night.

The Good News The Jazz Avoid the Spurs in the First Round--Before the game yesterday, the Jazz fans seemed to be ingesting large amounts of liquid courage. With this courage they were calling for the Jazz to play the Spurs in the first round. Forgotten were the Western Conference Finals of last year or the fact that 1999 was the last year the Jazz won a game in San Antonio. Forgotten, that the Jazz have NO answer for Manu Ginoboli. All of that didn't matter because the Jazz were playing far better basketball over the last five game than the Spurs. The game last night was a giant wake-up-call to Jazz Nation...THE SPURS OWN UTAH! That fact makes the loss last night bearable. With a win the Jazz would have been facing the Spurs in the first round, a very challenging match-up against a veteran team. Instead, the Jazz face the Rockets and Tracy (My hands influence the course of the universe, but I can't get out of the first round) McGrady.

The Greatest Fear All Jazz Fans Should Have Right Now!--How injured is Deron Williams? After Carmelo Anthony took Deron to the ground, Deron has been playing awful. The game against Houston was the first indication that Jazz fans should worry. Bobby Jackson...YES...Bobby Jackson gave Deron Williams problems the entire game. One could have made an argument that this one game was a abnormality, but Parker's schooling of Williams last night proved he is more injured than he is letting on. Why is this a HUGE problem? Deron Williams is everything for the Jazz. Take away Williams and Boozer and Okur become very average players. No one can create their own shot on the Jazz besides Williams. No one can create shots for other people, if Williams isn't orchestrating the offense. Take away Williams and the Jazz wouldn't even be sniffing the playoffs this or any season with the current lineup.

NBA Officiating in the Playoffs -- One more quick thought on the NBA Playoffs. I think it will be interesting to see one year removed from a major officiating scandal how the NBA will deal with the "Star Treatment" that has been present in the playoffs since Jordan. The series that will point out if this is an issue for the NBA is the Wizard Vs. Cavs. This is the third year in a row that these two teams have faced each other in the first round of the playoffs. The past two the Cleveland LeBrons have narrowly won the series, thanks in large part to suspect officiating. If this continues for a third season, the NBA might have a much larger officiating problem than the scandal of last year. This will be an interesting unspoken subplot in that series to keep an eye on.

NHL Playoffs -- Yes, the NHL playoffs are going on right now. This could be shocking to most people considering they get the same exposure as the Mountain West Conference. The shame of the non-exposure for the NHL is the fact that they now have an enjoyable product to watch. I can't name a single player on Detriot's or Nashville's roster; however, it was very enjoyable to watch their game last night between commercials of the Jazz-Spurs. The new rule changes make the game more open, and more athletic. There are players now that have serious talent. Crosby on the Penguins is really amazing. If you have a minute and Versus, you might want to think about giving the NHL Playoffs a look in from time to time.