Welcome back "Big Al'...by the way, Kanter is going to "pump fake you all night!"

  Who can forget Enes Kanter's "love note" to Big Al last week!  That was classic!  To make it even better the Jazz got a nice road win in Charlotte.  The Jazz take on the Bobcats tonight at Energy Solutions Arena.  The way the Jazz have been playing, Charlotte will need to bring their A game to get a win.  That shouldn't be a problem for Al Jefferson, after coming off a 23 pts 24 reb game against Paul Milsap and the Atlanta Hawks.

  The Jazz are coming off a 98-90 loss to the Los Angels Clippers in L.A.  The Jazz played a great game and stood toe to toe with the Clippers.  Blake Griffin was a monster scoring 40 points and added 10 rebounds.  The Jazz did not have an answer for Griffin down the stretch as he scored at will and did what he has not been able to do in the past.....make free-throws 14-17 from the line.

  Possibly the biggest mistake of the night, for the Jazz, was being tied with give or take 3 minutes left and not playing the Hack-a-Jordan game.  The Clippers scored on three consecutive possessions and that sealed the deal for the Clips.  Recently, Ty and the staff have done a good job with game management and situationals, but they missed on this one.  On the positive side of things, Ty did a great job riding the hot hand, Enes Kanter and giving him some extended run.

  It was great to see Kanter get some confidence back and play with some toughness.  Kanter and Griffin battled all night in the post.  Each player trying to assert themselves and playing extremely physical.  Kanter finished the game 7-13 from the field for 17pts, 12 rebs and only 1 turnover.  That is a great game and good to see from Enes as he has struggle mightily as of late.

  Tonight's match-up will be equally fun to watch.  It will be interesting to see if Kanter can string together a few good games and build off the success and confidence he showed against the Clippers.  One thing I have notice about Kanter's game of late, he is shooting a really nice jump hook to the middle of the lane.  I would like to see him use this shot a little more than he currently is.  The shot is almost impossible to block and if the defender does try to block it, they generally will have to go through the body of Kanter.

  The match-up of the night, in my opinion, is going to be Trey Burke vs. Kemba Walker.  These players are very similar and equally matched.  Both have blazing speed and can create for their teammates as well as themselves.  Trey has been lights out with the mid-range game of late.  Look for him to use this to his advantage, as he has yet to learn how to score in the lane with contact or drawing fouls.

  Lastly Jazz fans, are the Jazz winning too much?  What do you think?  While I love seeing the development from this young team, I have had numerous conversations with the thought that the Jazz need to lose and secure the best draft position possible.  For example, watching Saturday's game versus the Clippers I found myself torn.  I really wanted the Jazz to beat the Clips because it was the Clips and the hype behind them.  Then again, I knew that it was better for the long term success for the Jazz to lose and continue to accumulate "ping pong balls" if you will.  So I guess for me, Saturday was a win win.....  As long as the Jazz are able to secure a top 5 pick in this summers draft I think I will be fine.  But if the Jazz are not careful and the way this team is developing currently, I would't put it past them to be in the 7-11 pick range.  Don't know if that is a good thing......but I will trust Dennis Lindsay and the front office that they have a plan.....GO JAZZ!

Utah Jazz vs. LA Clippers Preview

  The Jazz have their first back to back of the season tonight against the Clippers.  Granted the Jazz get this one at home, but the Jazz get an improved Clipper team.  The Clippers have a number of new additions to their roster but none more important than JJ Reddick and Jared Dudley.  This will be a good chance to see how the Jazz bounce back from a tough road loss.  Lets take a look at some of the keys....


Lineups-
  Ty went with a different starting lineup last night.  He started Burke, Burks, Hayward, Evans and Favors.  The only player that had a solid game was Gordon.  He played 26 minutes, went 5-11 from the field, 8-11 from the line, scoring 20 points.  He was effective getting to the basket and drawing contact.  The rest of his game was not as solid as the first preseason game.  He only had 2 rebounds and 1 assist.  The Jazz will need a better all around effort from their leader if they want to get a win.  This will also be a big bounce back game for Favors.  He had 3 offensive fouls on moving screens.  This really hurt his effectiveness in the game.  He as never able to get into the flow of the game.  It will be interesting to see if Ty goes back to Kanter and Jefferson in the starting lineup with Evans and Burks coming off the bench.

Matchups-
  There are number of them to watch.  The one that I will be watching the closest will be Trey Burke vs. Chris Paul.  Burke struggled from the field last night and was also taken to school by the athletic Damian Lillard.  This is the kind of game that we will have the chance to see what Trey is made of and how he bounces back.  I also look for him to watch Paul closely and attempt to learn some of the leagues best point guards tricks.  Blake Griffin is questionable for tonight's game after suffering a bone bruise.  With Griffin out the Jazz need to focus on getting the ball down low to Favors and Kanter.  DeAndre Jordan is foul prone which can play in the Jazz's favor.

Execution-
  Early against the Blazers the Jazz executed very well.  They were crisp running their offensive sets, as well as their defensive rotations.  When they fell behind, they started to press a little, causing their play to become sloppy.  They also struggled on the pick and roll defense.  If they had a hard time with the Blazers, it could be a long night as they go against the best pick and roll point guard in the game.  Look for Jazz bigs to hedge hard and get the ball out of Paul's hands.  The Clippers will counter with the addition of the two stretch 4's Antwan Jamison and Byron Mullens.  If Griffin does not play, look for the Clips to run a lot of pick and pop, as both players can shoot the ball from deep.  This will be the first real test for Jazz bigs against some effective stretch bigs.

Coaching-
  In the off-season the Clippers brought in arguably the best coach in the league, Doc Rivers.  He has already changed the atmosphere and attitude of this team.  Less clowning around by the likes of Jordan and Griffin and a lot more leadership with Dudley and Paul.  This team very likely could be the team to come out of the west.

  It will be good for the Jazz to be back home and have the crowd behind them.  Back to backs are always tough be the second of a back to back will be a little easier for this young team having it on their home court.  Look for Jazz to push tempo again and get the crowd in the game early.  No TV again tonight, but you can get David Locke and the radio broadcast at 1280 The Zone AM or 97.5 FM.  Here's to wishing I had some tickets for tonight's game!  Lets go Jazz!