NBA JAM: UTAH JAZZ

In our continuing rundown on the NBA season, Neate looks at the Northwest Division, specifically the Utah Jazz.

Last season: 41-41, 9th in Western Conference
Coach: Jerry Sloan
New faces: Derek Fisher, Rafael (Hoffa) Araujo, Ronnie Brewer
Funny-looking white guy: Andrei Kirilenko, who might be the skinny kid brother of Ivan Drago from Rocky IV (sorry for sounding like Bill Simmons)
Blogs: All That Jazz, JazzFanz.com

For Jerry Sloan, the dean of NBA coaches, getting the Utahns (normally I abjure using anything but the team name, but who often do we get to type Utahns) to .500 last season surely ranks as one of his best coaching jobs. Considering Utah had a ton of injuries, a rookie point guard and wasn't all that good to begin with, 41-41 was a real achievement.

You would have an easier time buying a bottle of Cristal in Salt Lake City, on a Sunday, than find a Kevin O'Connor draft choice who's worked out for the Jazz recently. The only exception is '05-06 All-Rookie selection Deron Williams, who's been reunited with Dee Brown, his backcourt mate from Illinois' NCAA runners-up in '04-05.

It's not all bleak, though. The Jazz can contend for a playoff berth if they can keep Kirilenko, power forward Carlos Boozer and guard Gordan Giricek healthy all season, and continue to get solid play out of veteran Matt Harpring. Harpring is kind of an upscale version of Matt Bonner: he's a dependable shooter and plays hard, but he's got lead feet on defence.

Utah's interior defence needs to get a lot better, though. Kirilenko averaged more than 3 blocked shots per game in '05-06, but the other guys in the low post, Mehmet Okur, Jarron Collins and Boozer, all have well-earned reps for being Jello-soft on D. They traded with the Raptors for the much-maligned Araujo, hoping that being close to where he played his college hoops would help keep Hoffa get over the apparent stage fright he had for two seasons in Toronto, where you could usually set your watch to him picking up two fouls in his first three minutes on the floor.

Also in Northwest: Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle Supersonics

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