Utah's nice

After a big win last night over the Western Conference leading New Orleans Hornets, the Utah Jazz are right where they want to be going into the playoffs. A team that can both create offensivley and stop your whole scoring game plan, Jerry Sloan has to be confident in his squad with the season winding down. The Jazz have no glaring weaknesses at the moment, though they will be relying on some production from their bench to compliment the starting 5 come playoff time. Andrei and Mehmet had solid outings last night, and one would like to see this translate into a successful playoff push. It's a bit of stretch to think the Jazz will get the #1 seed, but they will certainly have home court for the first round against the likes of Phoenix or Houston. The Jazz can be a tough matchup for alot of teams, with the ability to both put up points in a hurry and slow the game to a half-court crawl.

This team will be very dangerous in the playoffs, especially if they can get it done on the road. The Jazz have the best record at home (35-4 as it stands) and they have shown consistantly that they can be competitive with any team in the league. With straight shooter Kyle Korver looking in good form, and Paul Milli contributing as much as ever, maybe the Jazz will one up their performance of the 07' Playoffs when they lost in the conference finals. Carlos is relishing this opportunity, and Deron won't sleep til his name gets mentioned before Chris Paul, for once. The discipline instilled in players by their coach is often overlooked, but with the Jazz - its essential.