.:| SacrificingEverythingButBelief |:. Hiatus/Shutdown

[kibaxx7]

:: My first photoshop work... comments & criticism welcome. Click for full view ::

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[Justine.]

You surely got skills in photoshop Nice roster btw! Wonderin' how you got those players. I'm following.

[dare]

How did you get Odom and Manu ?

[|)e8*]

Great moves. Now Jazz is gonna win a ring

[Valor]

How did you get Odom and Manu ?

and fisher...if you tell me u traded Paul Milsap to the Lakers for Odom and Fisher i'll boycott this

[kibaxx7]

You surely got skills in photoshop Nice roster btw! Wonderin' how you got those players. I'm following.

Thanks man. Gotta admit for the Pacers openers I downloaded a bunch of PSDs and copied some layers together ... so this is the first photoshop work I've made from scratch (I'm taking a course!)

Great moves. Now Jazz is gonna win a ring

Hope so Aiming for the West Finals

How did you get Odom and Manu ?

and fisher...if you tell me u traded Paul Milsap to the Lakers for Odom and Fisher i'll boycott this

Signed Fisher in the offseason, traded for Odom and Manu. Will later do a quick season recap with all the moves!

[mp3]

Manu - Williams - Boozer - Odom - Okur

Starting lineup ?

I like the lock down signing of Brue Bowen !

[Oznogrd]

please tell me that suggested starting lineup isnt in the usal order of PG SG SF PF C

How dare you blaspheme the jazz with flopping and laker castoffs.

[kibaxx7]

Manu - Williams - Boozer - Odom - Okur

Starting lineup ?

please tell me that suggested starting lineup isnt in the usal order of PG SG SF PF C

Hope not My lineup would be: Deron, Manu, Odom, Booz, Okur. I have Delonte and Fisher from the bench, as well as Bonner, Korver, Matthews.

I like the lock down signing of Brue Bowen !

Me too, saw him in the FA pool and didn't hesitate to sign him. But it's almost a lock he will retire by the end of the season.

How dare you blaspheme the jazz with flopping and laker castoffs.

My favourite players man!

Making the season recap now... but will post it tomorrow...

[mp3]

Manu - Williams - Boozer - Odom - Okur

Starting lineup ?

please tell me that suggested starting lineup isnt in the usal order of PG SG SF PF C

Hope not My lineup would be: Deron, Manu, Odom, Booz, Okur. I have Delonte and Fisher from the bench, as well as Bonner, Korver, Matthews.

I like the lock down signing of Brue Bowen !

Me too, saw him in the FA pool and didn't hesitate to sign him. But it's almost a lock he will retire by the end of the season.

How dare you blaspheme the jazz with flopping and laker castoffs.

My favourite players man!

Making the season recap now... but will post it tomorrow...

Yeah thats the lineup i ment just wrote it in different order

[Justine.]

Nice lineup right there. Goodluck Hope this will last for more than 3 months. Haha!

[kibaxx7]

NOTE: This is a monthly recap of the 2009/10 season like I did with the Pacers, so Kirilenko, Millsap, Miles, are still around.

• 2009.11.19 :: Carlos Boozer @ Spurs: Carlos Boozer remained red-hot, but the Utah Jazz almost wasted his effort. Boozer scored 22 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and had a crucial steal in the final minute as the Jazz held on for their second straight win over the San Antonio Spurs, 99-93. The 28-year-old power forward has scored at least 16 points in eight of his last ten games. He scored six in the first half but posted 16 in the second, as Utah established a 70-66 lead through 36 minutes; Boozer went 10/15 from the field and 2/3 from the free-throw line, while Deron Williams scored 28 points and 12 assists. “The Spurs tried to double early,” Boozer said. “By having Deron and Andrei and those guys spotting up, it's really tough for teams to double up off those guys.” The Jazz extended the advantage to ten points with just 3:02 left, but Richard Jefferson made a jumper, a layup and a free throw in a 40-second span. Manu Ginóbili, who scored 22 points, converted another layup with 2:10 remaining to cut San Antonio's deficit to 95-92. Tim Duncan, who was held to a season-low 7 points, forced a jump ball with C.J. Miles (13 points). The Spurs controlled the tip, but George Hill missed a potential tying shot at 95 from beyond the arc and a Kosta Koufos dunk was the dagger for Gregg Popovich's team. “The best thing about it is CJ's put in so much work over the summer and now,” coach Jerry Sloan said of Miles. “The biggest thing for him is he's seeing results. The sky's the limit for him.”

• 2009.11.21 :: Deron Williams vs. Pistons: Deron Williams had just buttoned his shirt after his best game of the season when his cell phone rang. Mehmet Okur couldn't travel to the Utah Jazz's latest victory, but the injured center clearly didn't miss a minute of the point guard's breakout performance. “I told you! I told you!” Williams said into the phone, breaking into a wide grin. “You're crazy. Thanks for the advice.” Whatever Okur has told his teammates while he's sitting out, it's working. Williams had a season-high of 38 points, while C.J. Miles also posted a season-high -- his 3rd in a row -- of 18 points in the Jazz's third win in a row, 120-108 over the Detroit Pistons. Williams added 11 assists -- but had nine turnovers -- , as Utah followed up their victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night with a thorough thumping of Detroit. “We need every win we can get, especially without Mehmet here,” Miles said. “We must get these wins at home, it'll help us a ton.” Utah plays its next five games at the Energy Solutions Arena against Oklahoma City, Chicago, Portland, Memphis and Indiana. Okur stayed at his home to rest his broken finger; coach Jerry Sloan doesn't know when Okur will be back in action -- but with Williams' impressive play and Miles' steady efforts, the Jazz didn't need him tonight. “We have a lot of guys who can do a lot of things,” Sloan said. “If we can get them to understand their potential and their ability to work together, I think we're going to have a really good ballclub.” Richard Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey scored 25 points apiece, while Ben Gordon scored a season-low 7 points for the Pistons.

• 2009.11.24 :: Paul Millsap & Kosta Koufos vs. Thunder: Center Kosta Koufos asked to be traded last spring in part because he wanted to play for a team that could give him more minutes; he just might have gotten his wish by staying put. Koufos scored a career-high 20 points and Paul Millsap added 25 points to go with seven rebounds, and the Utah Jazz beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-109 on Tuesday for their fourth consecutive win. “I'm focused on one thing and one thing only -- grow as a player,” Koufos said after the Jazz reached .500% at 7-7, within three games of the Northwest Division-leading Denver Nuggets. Koufos, who complained about a lack of minutes for him last season (11.8 mins per game), has gotten plenty of playing time recently (averaging 16 per game this season). He found a great partner in 24-year-old Millsap, who shot 12/19 from the field, outplaying OKC power forward Jeff Green (12 points). Both Koufos and Millsap left to a roar of approval from the Energy Solutions Arena crowd and hand-slaps from point guard Deron Williams when the game ended. “We're getting better. It's just about getting better each day,” Williams said. “It's good to have games like this. We have a solid foundation, we really do. When you play against an up-coming team like the Thunder, you have to be solid.” Williams added 18 points and 12 dimes and Carlos Boozer had 17 points for Utah. Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with a game-best 32 points, and rookie James Harden added 20. The Jazz are making their home a tough place for opponents to play: three wins a row at the ES Arena.

With 2009/10 around the corner, Carlos Boozer might want to think about picking up a new hammer, if he hasn't done so already. Old ranch hand Karl Malone probably has an extra lying around his woodshed somewhere and knows something about mending fences. That's the job ahead for C-Booz, and it's bound to leave his hands calloused and his ego a little bruised. There's plenty of work to be done in and around Salt Lake City after an offseason of flirtations with other NBA outposts. “That's way over and done with,” he said of the tumultuous offseason. “I'm looking forward. I have this Jazz uniform on and I'm happy to be back.” Talking openly about moving on to Chicago or Miami doesn't sit too well with the blue-collared masses that inhabit Energy Solutions Arena; nor did Boozer's goal of opting out of his contract, which he said was his plan during last season. He didn't, realizing the $12.7 million left on his deal was better than anything available on the open market.

The jury is still out on whether Jazz fans will forgive. Boozer received a chilly reception at home in Utah's preseason opener, which didn't go unnoticed by coach Jerry Sloan. It's also nothing new in Utah: the Jazz coach noted that Malone was booed several times throughout his career for things he said in the papers, most dealing with his contract. “You just come to play,” Sloan said. “That's all you can do. You can't go out and change what happened in the past. You've got to bury the ax and go on.” Coming to play and keeping his uniform on is the surest bet to win people back. Boozer didn't do enough of either last season, as he underwent knee surgery and missed 45 games, complicating the affections of the Jazz faithful was the yeoman-like job done by Boozer's understudy. Paul Millsap won over hearts last season by filling in for Boozer with a 19-game double-double streak. Showing that his work was appreciated, no one batted an eye when Millsap tested free agency by signing an offer sheet with Portland.

Utah matched, of course, setting up a potentially awkward balancing act with the two burly power forwards. Millsap is in Utah for the long term, if no attractive trade comes up. Management has made it clear that an extension isn't in Boozer's future. (Faced with the same situation with center Mehmet Okur going into the last year of his deal, the front office quickly worked out a new deal.) Boozer remains the starter, but for how long? With only one season left, he could be part of a blockbuster trade during the season. In the meantime, Sloan is working on lineups that feature Boozer and Millsap on the floor at the same time. “We can be really explosive. You think about the height that we have, we can be really big. Paul is close to 240, great skills, he can play a lot of 3 for us, mix it up and rebound, and bang a little bit,” Boozer said. Millsap added: “We have a very talented group of guys and coach has a great depth on this team. We have to go out and prove it.”

The rest of the Jazz are buying into the something-to-prove theme. “We definitely do,” point guard Deron Williams said. “If we reach our potential and play well together and shore up our defensive intensity, there's no reason we can't compete for a Western Conference title and hopefully play for a championship in the coming seasons.” The Jazz expected to be in contention last season before being derailed by injuries. Nearly 150 games were lost to injury/illness last season, with the majority coming from rotation stalwarts Boozer, Williams, Andrei Kirilenko and specially veteran Matt Harpring, who has been plagued by knee and ankle injuries throughout his career, and made his retirement official this past month. Utah limped into the Playoffs as the eighth seed with a 48-34 record and was quickly ousted by the Lakers; not the ending the Jazz imagined after winning more than 50 games the previous two seasons and advancing to at least the Western Conference semifinals both times.

“The way we finished the season was very disappointing because we finally got everybody healthy, but couldn't get into a rhythm,” Kirilenko said. “It was an injury-plagued season that really put a damper on things.” The burden of having that good season may not start with Boozer, but he feels like he's at the center of it all. A former All-Star and member of the 2008 United States Olympic team, Boozer is set to show he's still that guy.

• 2009.11.02 :: Jazz vs. Rockets: Nothing like a rout to get your first triumph and pump up the growing confidence of your team. Deron Williams scored 35 points and gave away 14 assists, and the Utah Jazz beat the Houston Rockets for their first win of the season, 131-110. Led by Williams, the Jazz had five players in double-figures, with Andrei Kirilenko scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, and Paul Millsap, Mehmet Okur and rookie Wesley Matthews adding 14, 13 and 12 points, respectively. In what was a back and forth, high-scoring first quarter, which Utah eventually won 42-40, Williams had 15 points and Kirilenko 11. The Jazz, who shot 58 percent, led by as many as 25 in the third quarter. “We're just scratching the surface of how good we can be,” Kirilenko said. Kevin Martin, acquired from Sacramento, led Houston with 33 points. “They're playing well with each other, and they're lethal when they do that,” Martin said about Utah. Yao Ming added 19 points, six boards and three blocks. The Jazz are now 1-2 since losing their first two contests of the season (103-108 at Denver, 87-108 against the Clippers). Carlos Boozer had a season-low 7 points, controlled by Yao; his only shot was a rebound basket with 3:44 to go in the first half, the rest coming from the charity stripe.

• 2009.11.03 :: Jazz @ Mavericks: After the first quarter (a 12-point lead), Utah never had control again of Tuesday night’s matchup in Dallas. With 5:10 left in the third, they were down by 15. When they took an one-point lead with under 30 seconds to play in regulation, it seemed done; but a quick shot by Caron Butler gave Dallas the edge. Andrei Kirilenko canned a three-pointer to put the Jazz back up by a deuce. Jason Terry’s jumper tied the game when the buzzer sounded and the game went to overtime, where Deron Williams' 3-point bomb put the game just out of reach -- a 5-point lead -- with 15 seconds left. Shawn Marion drilled three free throws but it wasn’t enough as the Jazz handed the Mavericks a tough 126-124 OT loss at the American Airlines Center. Even playing without superstar Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs were the aggressors all evening, and they took advantage of a sloppy Jazz team that turned the ball over 13 times -- 7 on the third period alone -- but had more luck. “We gave ourselves an opportunity to win, but we can't turn the ball over like we did, including myself,” said point guard Ronnie Price. "Me, personally, having three turnovers on a row, all unforced? I just can't do that. It was all about luck tonight.” Aside from Williams (game-bests of 33 points, 17 assists and five steals), the next highest scorers were Kirilenko, with 22 points, and Carlos Boozer, who tallied 21 and 11 boards. Mehmet Okur was extremely effective early -- 5/5 from the field on the first half -- , but foul trouble sidelined what could have been a stronger game; he finished with 16 points on 5/9 shooting to go with 11 rebounds, rounding out four Jazz scoring at least 16.

• 2009.11.18 :: Jazz vs. Raptors: Kosta Koufos and C.J. Miles are giving the Utah Jazz an unexpected boost off the bench. Koufos scored 16 points and Miles added 11 -- both season-highs at the time -- as the surging Jazz are back on winning ways following three straight Ls, a 109-105 victory over the Toronto Raptors. Andrei Kirilenko collected 22 points and seven rebounds for Utah, and led six Jazz in double figures; Deron Williams added 21 and 13 assists, and Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap posted 10 apiece. The Jazz, are slowly rebounding from an 0-2 start -- now 4-7 -- and Koufos and Miles, along Millsap, are big reasons why, leading a reserve unit that was supposed to be a weakness. Koufos finally broke out after being held to single digits in his last six games and Miles reached double figures for the third time. “It was tough coming in here and coming off the bench last season, with only a couple of minutes,” said Koufos. “I had to adjust and figure out my new role now, with the confidence I gained. Now that I've got my role figured out, I want to stay.” Miles added, “Every game we all come in and try to do our best. It's seems that every night one of us has stepped up big. I don't think that there is too many teams that can bring legit players like that.” Kirilenko made 7/9 shots and 8/10 free throws as he helped fuel two separate surges in the second half. Koufos made 4/6 shots and 8/11 from the charity stripe, while Miles shot 4/7 and a perfect 2/2 from 3-point land. “That's what we expect from them,” Boozer said. “Both Kosta and C.J. could easily start. They've just been handling their roles. They know that they are not starters but they know that they need to give us a lift off the bench.” Chris Bosh led Toronto with 26 points and 12 boards, while Hedo Turkoglu added 20.

[|)e8*]

Deron Williams

[Martti.]

Don't really like that you got rid of Millsap and Miles, but at least you still have Korver.

[kibaxx7]

Nice lineup right there. Goodluck Hope this will last for more than 3 months. Haha!

Me too man, me too... (crosses fingers)

Deron Williams

Man, he's a MONSTER... I gotta say everyone can be traded but him!

Don't really like that you got rid of Millsap and Miles, but at least you still have Korver.

Miles is gone and Korver's staying, but not sure about letting Millsap go now. Might trade Boozer instead, but I'd have to work another deal. Everyone vote

Added on the index the roster I'm assembling for 2010/11 (Delonte, Ginobili, Odom, Fisher; but it's up to changes until I'm done with this simmed season) and its rotation, and also the roster I'm using for the sim.

[Martti.]

I vote C - Mehmet Okur.

[kibaxx7]

I vote C - Mehmet Okur.

Millsap at PF and Boozer at C? Edited the poll, then.

[mp3]

Yeah id go small with Boozer at center , i voted to trade Boozer but only because i dont want to see Milsap leave.

Okur can go !