The Salt Lake Superbs - A Utah Jazz Association

[OliFisher96]

The Salt Lake Chronicle

JAZZ READY FOR NEW SEASON



The Utah Jazz are back after a successful season that saw them dominate at home, but their first game is at the Pepsi Center in Denver to face the Nuggets. A new look line-up behind Sloan (This is NBA 2K11) is ready to defend their playoff birth and go deeper this time after being swept by the Lakers, the eventual champions, in the second round of last years playoffs. History aside, the hope and hype has built up. Let's see how the Jazz fair this year.

[OliFisher96]

JAZZ ANNOUNCE OPENING DAY ROSTER

Utah Jazz Depth Chart - 2010/11
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
PG	Devin Harris	Earl Watson	Ronnie Price
SG	Ben Gordon	Ronnie Brewer	Raja Bell	Kyle Weaver
SF	Dorell Wright	C.J. Miles	Renaldo Balkman
PF	Carlos Boozer	Derrick Favors
C	Al Jefferson

OCTOBER SCHEDULE FOR THE JAZZ

Utah Jazz October 2010/11 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Oct 27	at Denver Nuggets
Oct 28	vs Phoenix Suns
Oct 31	at Oklahoma City Thunder

[OliFisher96]

NEW LOOK JAZZ GET NEW LOOK THREADS

Caption: Although no longer with the Jazz, Kirilenko's jersey appears in this NBA store catalogue

The Utah Jazz showed off their new uniforms and logos at an event earlier today. The modern look introduces new colours such as green and yellow to the uniforms and conveys a cleaner feel but a nostalgic one at the same time.

[OliFisher96]

JAZZ TAKE SEASON OPENER IN DENVER

The Utah Jazz prevailed against the Denver Nuggets in a rematch of the first round of last years playoffs, winning 97-94 at the Pepsi Center.

Utah Jazz (0-0) at Denver Nuggets (0-0)
Oct 27, 2010 1 2 3 4 Final Utah 26 20 27 24 97 Denver 23 27 25 19 94 Top Performers Utah Jazz Al Jefferson - 24pts, 8 rbds, 2 blks, 7-12FG, 10-12FT Dorell Wright - 17pts, 6 rbds, 2 asts, 1 stl, 6-9FG, 4-5 3PT, 1-2FT Denver Nuggets J.R Smith - - 26pts, 4 rbds, 3 asts, 2 stls, 10-20FG, 4-9 3PT, 2-4FT Wilson Chandler - 20pts, 9 rbds, 4 stls, 9-14FG, 2-2FT	Team Stats Comparison UTH DEN FG Made-Att 33-68 36-83 3PT Made-Att 7-13 7-20 FT Made-Att 24-28 15-21 Rebounds 42 43 Assists 23 19 Turnovers 19 13 Steals 5 15 Blocks 3 1
Utah Jazz STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS
Denver Nuggets STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS

Spearheaded by the offensive performance of Al Jefferson and Dorell Wright, the Jazz managed to get a clutch lead late in the 4th quarter and hold it to move them to 1-0 on the season. Down by 4 at the half, Jerry Sloan rallied the troops and the Jazz toppled the lead quickly in the second half before the lead changed possession again and again. The sides could not be separated, with the Nuggets leading by 1 heading in to the final quarter. However, Jefferson excelled in the clutch, picking up 3 buckets and 2 free-throws as the Jazz outscored Denver 24-19 in the 4th, capturing a 97-94 opening day win. Jerry Sloan had this to say on the win:

Quote:

"We let the game go on longer than it should have. We struggled offensively and defensively to an extent in the 1st half but managed to keep the game close. Its times like this we are thankful we have Big Al [Jefferson] because he won us the game today. We managed to keep track with them in terms of scoring even when we played badly, so I knew that if we found a groove it could mean we won the game. And we did."

The Jazz return home to EnergySolutions Arena to face the Suns in the home opener tomorrow, marking the first time the Jazz have opened with back-to-back games in 12 years.

Quote:

"We put in extra hours to prepare for the games" Sloan explained, "Whenever you have a back-to-back schedule you know you are missing out on 7 or 8 hours of training, so we made sure we made up for that. We look forward to having a packed arena and treating the fans to a good show."

[OliFisher96]

JAZZ FREEZE SUNS IN HOME OPENER


The Jazz claimed their second win of the season just a day after they won a thriller at the Pepsi Center in Denver. In front of a packed-out crowd at EnergySolutions Arena, the Jazz offense excelled again, scoring 90+ points for the second game in a row. Al Jefferson and Devin Harris were the stars of the show, combining for 36 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.

Phoenix Suns (0-2) at Utah Jazz (1-0)
Oct 28, 2010 1 2 3 4 Final Phoenix 20 18 18 27 83 Utah 20 23 31 19 93 Top Performers Phoenix Suns Carter - 22pts, 7 rbds, 11-23FG, 1-4 3PT, 1-2FT Hill - 19pts, 7 rbds, 1 stl, 8-11G, 0-1 3PT, 3-5FT Utah Jazz Jefferson - 22pts, 5 rbds, 3 asts, 1 stl, 1 blk, 10-25FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-2FT Harris - 14pts, 4 rbds, 4 asts, 1 stl, 6-11FG, 1-4 3PT, 3-5FT	Team Stats Comparison PHO UTH FG Made-Att 35-82 39-82 3PT Made-Att 4-22 7-22 FT Made-Att 9-13 8-13 Rebounds 44 44 Assists 14 23 Turnovers 9 11 Steals 10 9 Blocks 1 4
Phoenix Suns STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS
Utah Jazz STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS

The Phoenix Suns came to town on the back of 2 tough losses, one of which came in Milwaukee the night before. Looking to correct their losing ways the Suns managed to keep pace with the early scoring of the Jazz, creating a 20-all tie at the end of the first quarter. However, the Jazz then pulled out to a 5-point half-time lead as Jefferson finally began to find form. Utah then extended the lead to 18 points by the end of the third quarter, meaning the game was all but over. A 27-19 last quarter in favour of the Suns meant they trimmed the deficit to 10, but the Jazz hung on and won by a margin of 93-83.

Coach Sloan on the victory:

Quote:

"Well we obviously wanted to get off to a fast start not only in the game but also in terms of home form. We were one of the best teams in the league at home last year and thats something you need if you wanna go back to the playoffs. Obviously we can't focus on the wider scale until we have success in a particular area though, starting with tonights game. Matched in the first quarter [by the Suns], I'm real pleased that we managed to keep up the scoring rate in the second and third quarters where Phoenix kinda tailed off. However I'm admittedly a little disappointed in our performance at the end. Silly turnovers and poor ball distribution meant we didn't win by the margin I feel our performance deserved, but we'll take the win."

On the benefits of back-to-back games to open the season:

Quote:

"It gave me a good idea of the stamina and consistency levels of the group and it meant I could get an un-interrupted, clearer view on their abilities. To top it all off, we won both games!"

On the upcoming game at the Oklahoma City Thunder:

Quote:

"It will be damn tough. they are a high-scoring, high-intensity team and even the best of teams in the league will struggle to keep track with scoring against them. They have Kevin [Durant] and Russell [Westbrook] who are two of the best in their position in the league. But we've won two in a row, have an in-form offense and we'll be ready to take them on."

The Jazz face the Thunder at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on the 31st of October.