No Country for Old Men: A Utah Jazz Story.

[RMJH4]

Game 11: Utah Jazz 98 - 110 Toronto Raptors.



Raja Bell played big minutes tonight, but like all others failed to slow Vince Carter who 30 points.

December 22nd, 2002

Jazz Starters
J. Stockton
M. Harpring
A. Kirilenko
K. Malone
N. Krstic

Raptors Starters
A. Williams
V. Carter
M. Peterson
J. Williams
A. Davis


Game Leaders
Pts - 31 - K. Malone (Jazz)
Rebs - 9 - A. Kirilenko (Jazz)
Asts - 11 - A. Williams (Raptors)
Stls - 3 - A. Williams (Raptors)
Blks - 3 - N. Krstic (Jazz)

Player of the Game
K. Malone (Jazz)
31 pts, 6 rebs, 3 asts, 2 blks.

[RMJH4]

Game 12: Utah Jazz 98 - 90 LA Clippers.



Matt Harpring shot well tonight enroute to 13 points and 11 rebounds.

December 25th 2002

Jazz Starters
J. Stockton
M. Harpring
A. Kirilenko
K. Malone
N. Krstic

Clippers Starters
A. Miller
C. Maggette
Q. Richardson
L. Odom
E. Brand

Game Leaders
Pts - 20 - K. Malone (Jazz)
Rebs - 12 - A. Kirilenko (Jazz)
Asts - 9 - J. Stockton (Jazz)
Stls - 3 - L. Odom (Clippers)
Blks - 3 - E. Brand (Clippers)

Player of the Game
K. Malone (Jazz)
20 pts, 11 rebs, 2 asts, 1 blk.

[RMJH4]

NBA Standings - Updated: Jan 1, 2003
EAST PLAYOFF RACE	W	L	GB
Indiana Pacers	8	2	0
New Jersey Nets	6	3	1.5
Detroit Pistons	6	3	1.5
Milwaukee Bucks	7	4	1.5
Philadelphia 76ers	7	4	1.5
Atlanta Hawks	6	5	2.5
Orlando Magic	7	6	2.5
Chicago Bulls	5	5	3.0
Charlotte Hornets	6	6	3.0
Toronto Raptors	5	5	3.0
Washington Wizards	7	9	4.0
Boston Celtics	5	7	4.0
Cleveland Cavaliers	4	6	4.0
New York Knicks	5	8	4.5
Miami Heat	3	7	5.0
WEST PLAYOFF RACE	W	L	GB
Dallas Mavericks	8	2	0
Utah Jazz	9	3	0
Golden State Warriors	6	2	1.0
Phoenix Suns	6	4	2.0
Sacramento Kings	8	6	2.0
Minnesota Timberwolves	5	4	2.5
Seattle Supersonics	5	4	2.5
San Antonio Spurs	6	5	2.5
Portland Trailblazers	5	5	3.0
LA Clippers	3	4	3.5
LA Lakers	4	6	4.0
Houston Rockets	4	8	5.0
Vancouver Grizzlies	5	11	6.0
Denver Nuggets	3	11	7.0

[RMJH4]

Award Races January 1st 2003.

[RMJH4]

Chapter 13: Past, Present and Future.

So with 2002 in the books its time to have a look at how I am going to work with this roster going forward. If we can keep this run up, things are looking really good for this season anyway. Karl as playing at an MVP level and Stockton is looking like an All Star again. Greg Ostertag is really running on fumes for us though. Luckily Nenad Krstic is out of the blocks quickly. He is now our starting center and has had several double doubles. I really think this has had a big impact on Malone's early play, as he feels he can trust the young guy to have his back in the post. Krstic is in the running for Rookie of the Year and this is delighting us no end.

The other rookie Darius Songaila has been ok in short spells. He's a big guy and very rarely does anything wrong. 4 years in college will do that for you. He can spell Karl for about 4-8 minutes which is all we need for now. Kirilenko has been a revelation. His form has been on the up now, and he is in the running for 6th man of the year too. He has started a few games and this has been equally good for us, we move Matt to the 2 spot and we have a really big lineup.

Do we have enough to win the title? I am not sure but we have had some good progress so far this year. Raja and DeShawn are playing really well at the 2 guard spot, and they have their work cut out as Matt can play there too effectively. We have a lot of competition for wing spots and so far it's kept everyone on their toes.

I've got to keep working the phones anyway and see what deal's present theirselves over the next few weeks. Their are a few players entering the last year of their contracts around the league so we could prize some of them away via trade yet. We are about $9 million over the cap this year with $49,897,044 committed with a $40,271,000 Salary Cap.

Next year we drop down to $23,000,000 approximately with Karl, John and a few of our smaller contracts expiring. If we don't resign them by season end that is.

The cap for next season is projected to be $43,840,000. So things are looking up. But I've got to play it smart. Karl and John won't be happy to rebuild if things don't work out this year. The NBA draft this summer is stacked with some fantastic prospects in Lebron, Carmelo and Dwayne Wade to name a few. If I can pick up another draft pick I will, but it's a balancing act between win now and build for the future.

There is no reason to think we can't continue this run in the Western Conference with some small moves. Maybe just maybe standing Pat will work, but I am not convinced of that. I do think we need a little more scoring. Our defense has been incredible so far.

We have a good number of trade assets to use though so I will keep these in mind.

Draft Picks:
1st Rd 2003.
1st Rd 2004.
1st Rd 2005.

Expiring Contracts:
Karl Malone - $19,250,000
John Stockton - $7,870,000
DeShawn Stevenson - $952,000
Scott Padgett - $612,000
Mark Jackson - $1,030,000
Darius Songaila - $473,000 (+2 Team Option)

We have a number of players that are only committed for two seasons:

Raja Bell
Greg Ostertag
Carlos Arroyo
Jarron Collins
Nenad Krstic (+1 Team Option)

Finally long term contracts:
Matt Harpring - 4 Years


Possible Trade Targets:
Latrell Sprewell - SF - Knicks
Antoine Walker - PF - Celtics
Michael Finley - SF - Mavericks
Theo Ratliff - C - Hawks
Toni Kukoc - SF - Bucks
Tyson Chandler - C - Bulls
Eddie Jones - SG - Heat
Grant Hill - SF - Magic

[kibaxx7]

Good luck here, my friend! After '14, I think 2K11 is up there with the best of them.

[RolePlayer]

This is a great idea for a dynasty and I'm curious to see what happens after the season. Hopefully, Malone and Stockton stay for another rodeo.

The youth of the league has to feel embarrassed though, the MVP race came down to 40 year old Karl Malone and Michael Jordan

[RMJH4]

Quote: Originally Posted by kibaxx7

Good luck here, my friend! After '14, I think 2K11 is up there with the best of them.

Yes I have been playing a lot of the older 2ks and this and 2k14 are the one's i enjoyed most! This roster had all the accurate contracts so it swayed me.

Quote: Originally Posted by RolePlayer

This is a great idea for a dynasty and I'm curious to see what happens after the season. Hopefully, Malone and Stockton stay for another rodeo. The youth of the league has to feel embarrassed though, the MVP race came down to 40 year old Karl Malone and Michael Jordan

Yes I am looking forward to the offseason too, I am only controlling one team so it will be very interesting as to what happens. Malone and Jordan are killing it! You just never know how things will play out. McGrady and Grant Hill were not as hard to beat as I expected!