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Poof … it disappeared.

We're talking about the Miami Heat's 24-point lead with just under 9 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter of Thursday night’s game against the Orlando Magic. Those who look at the glass as half full will talk about a great Magic comeback. Orlando closed the game on a 50-23 run, producing the second-largest comeback win in franchise history. The only one bigger was a 1989 win over the Cavaliers after trailing by 25 points.

It marked the second straight comeback win for the Magic, now just 3 1/2 games behind the Heat in the Southeast Division. On Tuesday, the Magic trailed the Knicks by 11 points at halftime, but Jameer Nelson scored 23 of his 26 points in the second half to power Orlando to a 6-point win.

Those who tend to see the glass as half empty will point to the Heat letting another one get away. It happened Sunday night against the new-look Knicks. And it happened again Thursday against their rivals from Central Florida.

The Elias Sports Bureau reports that only one other NBA team has lost a game after leading by 24 or more points this season.

That was the Detroit Pistons, who blew a 25-point lead in a 120-116 loss to the Raptors on December 11.

It's the second time that the Heat have lost a game in which they led by 20 or more points this season. On November 9, also in Miami, the Heat blew a 22-point lead in dropping a 116-114 decision to the Jazz. That was the night Paul Millsap channeled his inner Kobe Bryant, putting up a career-high 46 points.

Miami continues to demonstrate a stunning inability to defeat good teams. Against the Spurs, Celtics, Mavericks, Bulls and Lakers -- the top five teams this season in terms of win percentage -- the Heat are a dismal 1-7. They've split four games with the Magic. And in games decided by five points or fewer, the Heat are 5-12. That yields a win percentage of .294, tying them with Philadelphia (also 5-12) for second-lowest in the league in such games, ahead of only Minnesota (4-12, .250).

Not the reassurance a Heat fan needs with the playoffs coming into focus.

While most of the attention entering the game was on LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat, the postgame focus was on the remarkable comeback by the Utah Jazz and the performance of Paul Millsap.

The Jazz trailed by as many as 22 points in the second quarter and 19 at the half before coming back to rally for the win in overtime. The 19-point halftime deficit is tied for the second largest the Jazz have ever overcome to win a game.

On the individual front, Millsap led the Jazz with a career-high 46 points as he hit 19 of 28 field goal attempts. Millsap scored 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting in the final 30 seconds of regulation, including a game-tying putback to force overtime. The other three field goals Millsap hit in the final 30 seconds were 3-pointers. Prior to those, he was 2-for-20 on 3-point field goals in his career. Millsap's 46 points are the most by a Jazz player since Karl Malone dropped 56 on the Warriors on April 7, 1998. Millsap has been a revelation as Carlos Boozer’s replacement, taking a clear step forward from his reserve role last season, ramping up his offensive output without turning the ball over more frequently.

Meanwhile, Wade led the Heat with a season-high 39 points and scored all 10 of their overtime points. James added 20 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists for his 29th career triple-double and first with the Heat. His 29 career triple-doubles are tied for second most among active players with Grant Hill (trailing Jason Kidd). The triple-double was the first against the Jazz since James had 32 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists Nov. 7, 2007. James has failed to register 25 points in seven straight games, which is the second-longest such streak of his career. The 11 rebounds and 14 assists both represented season highs for him, and he has scored exactly 20 points in four of his past five games.

The game's two leading scorers, Wade and Millsap, worked effectively around the basket, as they've done all season. Wade scored seven of his 12 field goals within 5 feet of the hoop while Millsap added 10 such field goals. Entering the night, Wade and Millsap ranked first and fifth in the NBA in field goals made within 5 feet of the hoop with 30 and 26, respectively.

LOS ANGELES -- If you saw Utah dismantle Denver during the first round of the postseason then you have a good idea of how efficient the Jazz’s offensive system is when it’s running on all cylinders. Against the Nuggets, the ball breezed around the court. Every pass, screen and cut seemed to produce a high-percentage shot for the Jazz against a Nuggets defense that spent two weeks with its head on a swivel.

Utah’s execution-oriented offense should be able to withstand just about any defense it confronts, at least theoretically. But in each of the past two postseasons, the Los Angeles Lakers have quickly dispatched the Jazz. In both instances, the Lakers’ “length” was cited as a key factor. Needless to say, the Lakers’ roster isn’t any longer when playing the Jazz versus any other team, so what is it about the Lakers’ length that specifically gives the Jazz fits?

To start, Jerry Sloan’s system is predicated on continuity. For many NBA teams, scoring is a matter of finding the best one-and-one mismatch on the floor, then exploiting it, but that’s not the case for the Jazz. They flow into their offense by moving the ball in a pattern. The system relies on crisp passes to players who dart off screens away from the ball, and often on entry passes into Carlos Boozer or Paul Millsap from the wings. Against an undisciplined, average-sized team like Denver, swinging the ball around the court is child’s play. But the Lakers make that task extremely difficult.

“Those passes you usually see Wes [Matthews], Kyle [Korver] and I make from the wings? It’s hard to zip those passes because you have three 7-footers with their arms out,” Jazz forward C.J. Miles said.

The success of Utah’s scheme depends on fluid motion, which means the Jazz can’t afford any hesitation or else the offense stalls. Since the Jazz don’t have many shot-creators who can burn the defense in isolation, the ball must keep moving, something that doesn’t come without risk against the Lakers’ battalion of big men.

“Even if you could’ve gotten [the pass] to the post, you’re timid just because they have their hands up,” Miles said. “You don’t want to turn it over and they make it tough.”

For players who thrive on knowing that a good shot will materialize if they execute properly, that’s a serious adjustment. A simple baseline pass to a cutter, a kickout from the low block or an entry pass into the post becomes a lot more complicated. Take the possession at the 4:12 mark of the first quarter. Rookie guard Wesley Matthews held the rock on the left wing with Boozer calling for the ball on the left block a few feet away.

Simple, right?

Not with Pau Gasol harassing Boozer. Matthews tried to lob the ball into Boozer, but Gasol got in front of the pass and knocked it away, resulting in an easy two for the Lakers on the other end.

“It’s length -- those extra inches that they take up on the court,” Matthews said. “They get their hands on the ball. It makes things difficult. We have to be crisper and we have to be more sure.”

That length isn’t just about clogging passing lanes. There are ancillary benefits that come with having big guys who can deflect passes and block shots. For instance, the Lakers’ guards have the luxury of defending with more freedom.

“Fish, Kobe and Ron do a great job pressuring the ball because they know there are three 7-footers waiting back there,” Miles said, referring to Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest.

In other words, playing a lethal guard like Deron Williams more aggressively is less risky because if he beats you, there’s a back line that can clean up the mess. After averaging 11.3 assists per game in six games against Denver, Williams managed only eight assists in Game 1 against the Lakers. Meanwhile, Gasol recorded five blocked shots and Lamar Odom swatted away a pair.

“Gasol is a tremendous player," Sloan said. "He’s very long, and they’re very long for us to deal with. He’s so big and long and that’s where he hurt us. Obviously, his ability to block shots keeps us off the basket.”

Then, of course, there are the offensive benefits that come with that length, illustrated by Gasol’s 25-point afternoon on 9-for-15 shooting from the field. The Lakers’ big man had his way in the post against both Boozer and Millsap, the latter of whom gives up four inches to Gasol. Eight of Gasol’s nine field goals came inside of eight feet, some of those buckets against active double-teams down low by Utah.

Gasol’s offensive exhibition aside, there was no better demonstration of the Lakers' advantage than Odom's rebound of a Kobe Bryant miss in the game's final minute -- one of five offensive boards for Odom on the day. Odom squeezed his way inside the tangle of bodies beneath the Lakers' basket and elevated above the scrum for the putback to give the Lakers a 3-point lead with 48 seconds to play.

How do the Jazz combat this length? They must move the ball briskly East to West and inside out to keep the Lakers' defenders from smothering the strong side. Apart from that, there are no easy solutions, save a delivery of Magic Grow to the Jazz's hotel tonight.

"Unless I grow another three inches before tomorrow, there’s nothing we can do about it," Williams said.

SALT LAKE CITY -- When the Utah Jazz greet the media at their practice facility in Salt Lake City, each player (and the head coach) stakes out a familiar spot in the gym where he addresses the scrum. Andrei Kirilenko, Kyle Korver and Wesley Matthews take questions in the middle of the court. Carlos Boozer fields questions along the far baseline beneath the basket. The peripatetic C.J. Miles roams freely, while Jerry Sloan stands stoically in front of the plastic purple bleachers. Once the camera crews from local affiliates are gathered, there will be a moment of deferential silence as the reporters make sure Sloan is ready, at which point he blurts out, "Whattaya got?"

Where can you find Deron Williams? The Jazz point guard is in the far corner of the gym, slouched on a training table leaning back against the wall. That's his spot, away from the busy flow of the gym. Williams had a reputation of being truculent with the media during his first couple of seasons, but now in his fifth year, he accepts the spotlight with a fairly polite tolerance, though he's still a somewhat reluctant participant. More than anything, he's still -- legs stretched out in front of him, head tilted back, a dozen voice recorders in his face. As he's peppered with questions, Williams barely moves from that position.

On the court, it's an entirely different story. Williams never stops moving. He's not hyperkinetic like Steve Nash or Chris Paul. It's a more orderly velocity, a good kind of reactive. Williams rarely lets the defense dictate where he's going, but he uses every piece of information to make snap decisions with an impressive change of speed. Where are the other nine guys on the floor? What does the system demand of my talents at this instant? Can I counter-program and get to the hole off the dribble?

The answer to each of these questions usually produces a foray into the paint, where the Jazz are getting anything they want against Denver thanks to Williams' orchestration of the offense. Williams is averaging 28.2 points and 11.6 assists in the series with a player efficiency rating (PER) of 28.19. He's the first player in NBA history to have five consecutive 20-point, 10-assist games within a single postseason series. Williams is both statistically and operatively the best player on the floor in this series, which prompts the question:

Despite the absence of Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur and the presence of an undrafted rookie and a project big man in the starting lineup, can a team with a supernova like Williams controlling the action truly be called an underdog?

When Okur went down, conventional wisdom deemed the Jazz a long shot, present company included. Even the Jazz's success in taking a 3-1 games lead headed back to Denver was framed as a triumph of discipline over combustion, the achievement of a cohesive team over a disparate collection of talent. After all, the Nuggets extended the Lakers to six games in a grueling conference finals last season, earning the mantel of the team most capable of dethroning the Lakers if the champs were to falter. Denver features Carmelo Anthony, one of the preeminent shot creators in the game. The Jazz? High I.Q. players, but no competition for the Nuggets' athletes.

Now that we've been living with this series for the better part of two weeks, the matchup has a different quality to it, in large part because of Williams' influence. Anthony has undoubtedly produced over the five games, but Williams has dominated. The execution of the Utah system held in such high regard isn't merely a product of whiteboard magic -- it's a direct result of Williams' leadership and court vision.

"He's as good as it gets,'' Nuggets point guard Chauncey Billups said at shootaround prior to Game 5 in Denver. "He can do everything. He really doesn't have any weaknesses. I think that's the ultimate compliment that you can pay to a player is to say that he doesn't have any weaknesses, and I think he's reached that point now.''

Williams doesn't merely ignite an effective transition or choreograph the Jazz's motion offense, he's also become a knockdown shooter from long distance, hitting at a 54.2 percent rate in the series from beyond the arc. He's also Utah's second-best option behind Carlos Boozer in the post, where he can score and wreak havoc with brilliant kickouts. In this series, he's doing stellar work off the ball and on the defensive end. But Williams' defining quality might be, more than any point guard in the league, his unwillingness to waste a possession.

Singling out Williams shouldn't discount the synchronicity carried out by each of the Jazz players in Sloan's offensive scheme, but the old construct of this series as a battle between a system and an individual talent is no longer relevant. The Jazz have their individual performer in Williams. They also have Boozer, the best big man in the series (something that was true before Nene went down with a sprained left knee), and reserve Paul Millsap, whose 24.08 PER ranks him 10th in the postseason among players who have logged more than 15 minutes per game.

Denver notched a much-needed victory at the Pepsi Center on Wednesday night, a feat it accomplished by moving the basketball and running a coherent offense for the first time this postseason. But in reassessing this series headed into Game 6 -- a possible clincher for Utah on its home court -- it's time to bury the idea that the Nuggets have considerably more talent than the Jazz. Denver might have a decisive edge in athleticism (less so now that Nene is out), but Williams' repertoire of skills should give us pause about the long odds originally assigned to Utah after Game 1.

It might spoil the storybook narrative, but we're now learning that Deron Williams is simply too good to be an underdog.

SALT LAKE CITY -- It’s not that Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams isn’t an emotional player, but during the course of a game, that palette of emotions rarely features a smile. So when he flashed a big grin as he headed to the bench after Denver called a desperation timeout, it was obvious that things were falling into place for the Jazz. On the preceding possession, Williams picked off an errant pass on the defensive end and raced down the floor for an easy layup.

Jazz by 20 with fewer than nine minutes to go in Game 3. Utah ultimately won the game going away, notching a 105-93 victory to take a 2-1 series lead.

Leading up to Friday night, acting Nuggets head coach Adrian Dantley made no secret of his intention to devote inordinate attention to Williams, who burned the Nuggets for 59 points and 25 assists in the series’ first two games. While Williams didn’t record the gaudy numbers he put up in Denver, he still finished with 24 points and 10 assists on a very efficient 8-for-14 shooting from the floor. In doing so, he fell one point short of being only the second player in NBA history to rack up 25 points and 10 assists in each of the first three games of a playoff series (Michael Jordan, first round, 1989).

More notable than Williams’ individual production on Friday night was his leadership of the offense. The Jazz point guard made the Nuggets pay for loading up on him. Call it the Law of Basketball Reciprocity: A defense can’t commit disproportionate attention to one player or area without surrendering an advantage elsewhere on the floor.

“[Denver] made a commitment to keep Deron boxed in,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. “Deron has played against that stuff, and if our other people do their job, we can get decent looks at the basket.”

Those decent looks materialized all over the court against a Denver defense that seemed off-kilter for most of the night. Once Williams worked out of the trap, open shots were available all over the floor.

“They kept doubling me,” Williams said. “I got it to the middle. We were able to run some pick-and-rolls and hit the middle guy and get down the lane. We patiently waited.”

For much of the first half, that “middle guy” for the Jazz was othersized forward Paul Millsap. The Jazz's supersub took over the game in the second quarter, when Utah built the lead it would never relinquish.

“Oh my God he was a monster tonight!” Boozer said. “That’s the Paul Millsap we love.”

Millsap had a perfect first half -- 18 points on 9-of-9 shooting from the field, along with eight rebounds. He finished with 22 and 19, a source of some disappointment for Boozer.

“I told him, ‘I didn’t know you had 19 boards,’” Boozer said. “’If you’d let me know, I would’ve gotten you one more!’”

Millsap set up shop just above the baseline, where the Nuggets laid out a welcome mat. A quick shift in balance by Denver’s interior defenders was all it took for Utah’s perimeter players to find Millsap with their typically crisp passing. When Millsap wasn’t being fed on the block, he was gobbling up offensive boards or taking the likes of Chris Andersen off the dribble from the elbow.

“I just wanted to be aggressive, try to establish myself down low,” Millsap said. “There was an opportunity down there, so we attacked them.”

Asked about Boozer’s offer of a 20^th rebound, Millsap demurred.

“That wouldn’t have been right,” Millsap said with a chuckle. “I wouldn’t have accepted it.”

As sound as the Jazz were offensively, the Nuggets were disoriented. Consider the matchup at center, where stand-in Kyrylo Fesenko outscored Nene 9-8 in 15 fewer minutes of playing time (and Fesenko actually matched Nuggets point guard Chauncey Billups in assists with three). Prior to the series, Dantley cited passing the ball and getting Nene touches as his two primary goals on offense. On Friday night, the Nuggets failed miserably on both accounts. They recorded only 12 assists, while Nene managed just four shots from the field to go with eight free throws.

“What I’m most disappointed at is the way we failed to compete tonight as a team,” Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said. “We knew we were going to be in a dogfight tonight. Nobody said it was going to be easy. As far as our effort, I’m highly disappointed.”

Anthony and Billups were the only two Nuggets to score in double-digits, with 25 points each. Denver’s troika of big men (Kenyon Martin, Nene, Andersen) were particularly ineffectual, combining to shoot 3-for-15 from the field. Credit the Jazz defense. After a harried first quarter, Utah did a solid job denying post entry passes into the Nuggets' big men, and plugged passing lanes to the weak side (Utah recorded 10 steals), causing the Denver offense to stagnate and rush shots. The Nuggets' offensive output was lousy, but their interior defense might have been worse.

"Defensively, we've got to do a better job playing their post guys," Dantley said. "They scored a lot of points in the paint. We know we're supposed to double when they get in the paint, and we didn't do that."

After taking a double-digit lead early, the Nuggets disintegrated against a Utah offense that finally started to knock down shots after posting a 32 percent shooting clip in the first quarter. From there, Denver played a game of whack-a-mole against Utah's constantly evolving, well-tuned attack.

"I thought we had control of Boozer and Williams in the first half," Anthony said. "Once we made adjustments to gain control of Millsap and Matthews in the second half, Williams and Boozer woke up."

Denver's tactical failures weren't pretty in Game 3, but the Nuggets also have to be concerned about disposition. Though they suffered a grueling loss on their home court in Game 2, the Nuggets never lacked for effort. But on Friday night, they looked like a dispirited, directionless bunch, especially in the second half when they were blown out of the arena. Billups' selection of off-balanced contested jumpers was uncharacteristic and hurt his team. Anthony picked up his fifth foul on a silly hack in the backcourt toward the end of the third quarter, after which Denver imploded. Thirty seconds later, Billups botched an easy transition opportunity with a lazy pass downcourt. On the ensuing possession, Andersen picked up a technical foul. It was the sort of meltdown to which the Nuggets are occasionally susceptible.

After the game, the Jazz were buoyant -- though measured -- in victory. Quality teams rarely duplicate a performance in the postseason and the Jazz are well aware that Denver has the talent to bounce back.

"You know, they'll try something different the next time, and we'll have to be ready to adjust," Sloan said. "That's what the playoff are."

SALT LAKE CITY -- When Jazz center Mehmet Okur collapsed to the floor on Saturday night in Game 1 of Utah's series with Denver, the prevailing sentiment -- even among those with the highest reverence for what the Jazz do -- was that Utah was cooked. Already without Andrei Kirilenko in a series that demands an elite perimeter defender, the Jazz would now have to start an untested 23-year-old project at center and hope for the best. When the Jazz squeaked out a win in Game 2 at Denver, the improbable outcome produced a lot of head-scratching. How did the Nuggets lose on their home floor to a short-handed skeleton crew like the Jazz? You can attribute the improbability of the Jazz's victory in Game 2 to a number of factors, but the long and short of it is this:

The Nuggets are a very suspect defensive squad. That's been true all season and for the first two games of this series.

Among playoff teams in both conferences, only Phoenix gave up more points per 100 possessions in the regular season. The Nuggets have some very bad habits -- ball-watching, needless gambling and a tendency to allow Utah's defenders to move off the ball to the rim. Yesterday, the Nuggets promised to get more physical with the Jazz, but bodily presence doesn't seem to be the issue on the defensive end nearly so much as court awareness. Video of the first two games of the series reveals that the Nuggets make a lot of bad choices. They're consistently one step behind a Jazz offense that loves to make defenses pay for iffy decisions and overcommitment. You see a lot of confusion and miscommunication on Denver's part, and there isn't a team in the league that understands how to exploit a harried defense better than Utah.

No answer for Deron Williams
Carmelo Anthony's 42-point performance on Saturday night was the dominant theme between Games 1 and 2. Utah's young wing defenders were pressed to respond: What were they going to do to contain Anthony? Denver won't keep Williams from racking up points and assists any more than Utah will be able to stop Anthony from scoring. But just as the Jazz were able to make Anthony a less efficient producer in Game 2, Denver must figure out how they're going to slow Williams as both scorer and playmaker.

Williams has scored 59 points in the first two games of the series and he's done much of that damage in early offense situations. He's using his speed to take Chauncey Billups and Arron Afflalo off the dribble and his strength to beat Lawson off the bounce. There's not a lot the Nuggets' guards can do to keep Williams from bullying his way to the hole, but it's incumbent on Denver's back line to get down the floor and in position to close that seam. Right now, the Nuggets' inability to do that is costing their backcourt defenders a bunch of fouls, and allowing Williams to make a living at the stripe, where he's notched 25 of his 59 points.

In addition to breaking down Denver's defense off the dribble, Williams is succeeding as a jump shooter. He's getting a surprising number of clean looks from the floor because Denver isn't reading screens by Utah's big men. Afflalo, in particular, has repeatedly yielded open space to Williams by either not anticipating or running beneath screens up top. If that's not enough, the Jazz are regularly running plays with Williams as a primary post option. Yikes! They're particularly successful with this when Lawson is in the game, but Williams has tested Billups down low as well.

Dealing with Williams will continue to be a tricky exercise for the Nuggets. First and foremost, they have to be prepared for him to attack. But they can't afford to be burned by his ability to make plays off a collapsing defense either. Denver did a fairly good job of containing Williams the Scorer in the fourth quarter of Game 2 -- but that opened up all kinds of opportunities for Williams the Facilitator to beat them.

Utah's cutters are having a field day
Carlos Boozer aptly describes one of the central tenets of Utah's offensive philosophy. "If somebody has the ball, don't just stand there and let you defender help out on the guy who has the ball -- cut and make them be occupied." Boozer said. "Option A and B defenders are always going to be there, so you have to go to C, D and E."

C, D and E have been killing Denver during the first two games. Much of that damage originates from the pick-and-roll that Williams executes so fluently. Once that high action with Boozer or Paul Millsap challenges the Nuggets' defense, swaths of open space are opening up for the supporting cast. Denver's other defenders are so desperate to stop a penetrating Williams or a rolling Boozer/Millsap, that they forget about, say, C.J. Miles. On consecutive Jazz possessions in the final four minutes of Game 2, Anthony leaves C.J. Miles on the wing to shade on Williams off a pick-and-roll -- and twice Miles dives to the rim completely unmanned for an easy seal and slam off a pass from Williams.

"It was just pick-and-rolls and C.J. made good reads," Williams said. "It was a Ronnie Brewer read ... He used to run that baseline. It was just a good adjustment by C.J. I try to tell those guys that a lot of the tension is on me, so when you see the back of a guy's head, just cut to the basket. I'll find you."

Boozer's "C, D and E" declaration might be a little too generous, because on many occasions Denver has done a lousy job of covering Option A. Take the possession at the 2:40 mark of the fourth quarter on Monday night with the Jazz trailing by three. Williams brings the ball downcourt and executes the oldest play in the book, a simple UCLA cut that completely baffles Denver. He dishes the ball off to Kyle Korver on the left wing, then dives to the basket, rubbing Chauncey Billups off Paul Millsap at the left elbow. With ease, Williams dives beneath Kenyon Martin, where Korver delivers him an easy lob pass for a layup.

Until Denver's defenders consider that Utah can read defenses better than any unit in the NBA, they're going to continue to get burned by the Jazz's counters.

Nugget defenders are doing a poor job off the ball
Some credit is due to Williams' capacity to command the full attention of all five defenders when the ball is in his hands, but good NBA defenses know how to multitask. Denver's doesn't.

In Game 2, there weren't bigger beneficiaries of these lapses than Korver and Miles. Both were able to find open looks on Utah's basic flex action that frees up the Jazz wingmen for jumpers. More times than not, Denver simply falls asleep off the ball. Korver went 5-for-7 from the field on Monday night. Though his big 3-pointer to vault the Jazz into the lead is the most YouTubable moment of the series, we shouldn't forget about his sequence of three huge jumpers in the final 1:15 of the third quarter that helps turn back a strong run by Denver.

"On the down screens, they were chasing me in Game 1," Korver said. "In the second game, they were cutting over the top, so I was just flaring out to the corner. It's just a matter of reading how they're going to guard me."

With the aid of strong screens from Utah's big men, Korver is able to pop out to open space on the perimeter. Korver's release is so quick that even a slight delay by a defender getting around those picks is fatal. If you want to understand how Jerry Sloan can get away with putting a lineup on the floor of Ronnie Price, Kyle Korver, Othyus Jeffers, Paul Millsap and Kosta Koufos, it's because each of these guys knows his function in such a scheme. In the case of the last of Korver's three jumpers, Koufos plays the role of traffic cone on the left block. First Jeffers curls and clears, then Korver runs Afflalo directly into Koufos before Price delivers the ball on target to Korver for the shot.

Everything in its right place.

Denver is allowing these sorts of actions to go off without a hitch on possession after possession, even though the Jazz have few players outside Williams who can beat them in isolation. Crafty defensive squads force Utah to play one-on-one basketball, but so far the Nuggets haven't.

From afar, the Nuggets appear to be favorites over the Jazz going forward, and nothing about Denver's Game 2 meltdown changes that. Yet the closer you look at the early results of the series, the more apparent it is that until the Nuggets makes a conscious effort to defend, the Jazz are very much alive, irrespective of how many healthy bodies are on their roster. Utah's system was designed to maximize efficiency against an easily confused defense. Denver hasn't demonstrated that it has the wherewithal to match Utah's guile.

It's possible the Nuggets can ride their offense to a series victory without putting in the work on the defensive end. But do they really want to take that chance?

DENVER -- The Utah Jazz have lost Mehmet Okur for the remainder of the playoffs. The veteran starting center tore his left Achilles tendon Saturday night when he slipped on a drive to the hole in the second quarter of the Jazz's loss last night to Denver. Okur underwent an MRI on Sunday morning, which revealed the tear. Utah general manager Kevin O'Connor addressed the media and Okur's timetable for recovery.

"The cookie cutter answer is anywhere from three months to start back on the court to four to six months," O'Connor said.

Okur had been suffering from Achilles tendinitis, and prior to Saturday night's game, he received a numbing injection in the Achilles area. O'Connor made a repeated point of saying that the shot had nothing to do with Okur's injury.

"We would never put a player in a compromising position," O'Connor said. "If there was any indication that the shot would've masked anything or done anything like that, we would have never done that. We've never put a game ahead of a player."

The mood at the Jazz's practice Sunday afternoon at the Pepsi Center was glum. Teammates, staff and those who cover the team regard Okur as an accessible, kind player.

The basketball ramifications are also devastating to the squad. How is Utah able to move so fluidly in the half court? It has a lot to do with Okur's shooting prowess from the perimeter. As a threat from beyond the arc, Okur is able to drag opposing bigs out of the paint, where so much of Utah's flex action occurs. Those cuts, back screens and slips will be a lot tougher for Utah to execute with a front line of, say, Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap, or Boozer and Kyrylo Fesenko, none of whom demand attention 23 feet away from the basket.

There's some changes going on
I'm beginning to understand
When I'm holding her
I swear I feel the presence of another man

--"Stranger in My House" by country singer Ronnie Milsap

New people in new places. New faces in the spotlight. It can be hard to keep track of everything. I get it. So I can't be too mad when I read this, which is in the Associated Press recap in newspapers across the country this morning:

Kyle Korver hit four three-pointers and scored 16 points for Utah and Ronnie Millsap had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz.

Like I said, I'm not mad. But Paul Millsap might be.

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz

The Las Vegas Summer League is a lot like the Sundance Film Festival of the NBA. Whereas the pageantry of most NBA games has gotten out of control, Summer League games are small indie productions. The event certainly has its share of fanfare, but it also allows participants to brush shoulders with some notables they wouldn't ordinarily have access to during the grind of the NBA season. Just as festival-goers at Sundance might find themselves sitting next to an A-List movie star in a cozy bar, it's not unusual for Summer League attendees to sit down in the stands at Cox Pavilion, only to look over and see a high-profile general manager in cargo shorts and flip-flops.

Since team executives, agents, player development personnel, and veterans who've come to watch their younger teammates are all convened in one place for 10 days, Summer League is one big, casual schmoozefest, and a great place to take inventory of the state of the NBA.

What were all those big names talking about in Las Vegas this year? Here were eight hot topics:

A Lot of Competent Players, but Only One Sure-Fire All-Star
Since early spring, the 2009 talent pool has been regarded as a one-man draft. By and large, NBA folks left Las Vegas with that consensus intact. Blake Griffin was the story of Summer League. Though he wasn't able to replicate his explosive 27-point debut, Griffin's 19.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game stood out. There were other players who matched his statistical output, but few generated the enthusiasm Griffin did among those who got a look at the full roster of rookies. "It's not only his work ethic and competitiveness," said one scout. "It's the balance, athleticism, body, and control. The stuff he can't do yet? It'll happen in no time." When asked how many certain All-Stars would materialize from the class of 2009, interviewees set the over-under barely above one, with Tyreke Evans earning a few votes. Despite the low expectations for stardom, many observers were pleasantly surprised by the depth of solid, if unexceptional, players. The prevailing opinion in Vegas was that the 2009 group is a far cry from the notoriously fruitless class of 2000. Though there was little unanimity, James Harden, Austin Daye, Wayne Ellington, Jonny Flynn, DeJuan Blair, and Earl Clark were all mentioned as possible contributors, or "third options" as one assistant general manager put it. But conversations about potential greatness consistently and almost exclusively returned to Griffin.

Anthony Randolph: All grown up? (Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

Anthony Randolph is Ridiculous
Summer League play always warrants a disclaimer, because the level of competition falls way short of what guys will confront in an NBA game, but the Warriors' 20-year-old forward seemed almost too advanced for Summer League play. Normally jaded execs and crusty sportswriters alike had their jaws agape watching Randolph command the game when he was out on the floor. Randolph came into the league as a candy dish of disparate talents, but he's graduated from curiosity to crackerjack. He has a band of admirers who gush over his range of talents, and that group got a lot bigger in Las Vegas, as his skill set was on full display. Randolph saw the court, ran the floor, passed the ball, blocked shots, got to the line, and drained mid-range jumpers as well as anyone in Summer League. In his four games, he averaged a Summer League-high 26.8 points per game on 60.9 percent shooting from the floor. He also got to the line 39 times and blocked 12 shots. But it was about more than the stats for Randolph. There's a moment when a player's talents unify into a single, coherent package. Judging from Randolph's performance, that moment has arrived.

The Global Economic Crisis
There's an area behind the near basket at Cox Pavilion where European coaches, general managers, and scouts sit and talk shop during the games. The NBA presents Summer League as a showcase of their future stars, but the real business in Las Vegas is being conducted by these guys, along with the agents and bridge-builders who are trying to get jobs overseas for the less recognizable names on Summer League rosters. Although there wasn't a visible black cloud hanging over this corner of the gym, the anxiety was palpable. They had a lot to be stressed about. Basketball clubs the world over are suffering, but none more than those in Europe. After years of escalating salaries and profits, the market has collapsed. "I've told all my European guys to expect, on average, salaries to go down between 30 and 40 percent," one European agent said. "It's definitely a buyer's market." This dynamic puts pressure on everyone -- the players who are facing a pay cut (even if they're coming off banner seasons), the agents who are terrified to communicate this to their clients out of fear of getting fired, and the teams who still haven't filled out their rosters because they're short on cash. The result is an impasse with neither players nor clubs budging, and a few teams on the verge of economic collapse.

Salary Cap Troubles & the NBA Financial Situation
The international game is in meltdown mode, while the NBA game is suffering from its own set of monetary issues. In Sections 104 and 115, where most of the NBA execs and team personnel sit, the dominant conversation of the week was about the financial pinch NBA franchises are feeling. In his press conference here in Vegas, NBA Commissioner David Stern said that fewer than half of NBA franchises made money last season. Ticket sales, sponsorships, and television contracts are all down. With the salary cap and luxury tax level dropping -- and scheduled to do so for the foreseeable future -- teams are having to calibrate their spreadsheets. This affects everyone: owners, general managers who are under pressure to build legitimate NBA rosters, free agents sitting on the sidelines, their agents, and also the journeymen and undrafted rookies trying to earn a spot on an NBA roster. To save money, a team that would normally carry 15 guys might trim that number down to 13 -- meaning fewer jobs. And players who would've inked rich, multi-year deals are finding that, with some exceptions, they have fewer suitors, with thinner wallets.

The Point Guard Class
Several point guards who came to Las Vegas made strong impressions. Jonny Flynn, despite all the turmoil surrounding Ricky Rubio, stood out. Though many in Vegas questioned the wisdom of playing Tyreke Evans at point guard long-term, few doubted that his strength, size, and capacity to get to the rim would make him a scoring machine. Observers had reserved praise for Brandon Jennings and Stephen Curry, the former for his unrefined shot, the latter for looking more like a gunner than a floor general. Some of the mid-first-rounders earned a lot of praise. Dallas' Roddy Beaubois led Vegas point guards in oohs and aahs, zipping through the lane in traffic and filling it up from beyond the arc. Of all the point guards in Las Vegas last week, Darren Collison was among the most polished before going down with an ankle injury. After starting Summer League 1-for-15 from the field, Ty Lawson bounced back to turn in three dominant performances, averaging 23.7 points over that span. Lawson is the kind of point guard who needs to be surrounded by scorers to excel. He'll have that in Denver.

LO, AI, Booz, and the Blazer
s
As much as NBA fans love speculation about trades and free agency, nobody appreciates the rumor mill quite like the NBA chattering class. Talk of the disintegration of Lamar Odom's negotiations with the Lakers provided plenty of fodder for late-night dinners. The same was true of the l'affaire Allen Iverson, where Carlos Boozer may land, and what the Blazers will do with the money they threw at Paul Millsap. The Odom situation was far and away the most intriguing to the insiders. Odom and the Lakers are in the second act of a romantic comedy: They need each other. The Lakers would slip measurably without Odom, and Odom needs the Lakers to solidify his place among the Lakers greats -- or at least the Lakers very, very goods. The Iverson and Boozer matters exemplify the financial issues mentioned above. So far as Portland, few teams run as much informational interference, and even some of the wiliest insiders were stumped about what the Trail Blazers might do.

The Death of the Back-to-the-Basket Game
"Name one guy here who can hit a jump hook over their left shoulder," an NBA assistant general manager asked. "I can't think of one." Whether it's the trickle-down effect of the European game, the rule changes implemented by the league a few years ago, or college teams appropriating Mike D'Antoni-style basketball, the vast majority of the young bigs who were in Las Vegas are face-up players who work either along the perimeter or out of the pinch post: Anthony Randolph, Earl Clark, James Johnson, Taj Gibson, Dante Cunningham, DaJuan Summers, Austin Daye, and even Blake Griffin. Is this a momentary trend, or will the pendulum eventually swing back? "If I were a big man about to enter college, I would develop that back-to-the-basket game," the executive said. The implication: At some point, those skills will be at a premium, and that kid will be impossible to defend. Forward-looking teams are all about buying low and, right now, traditional post players are undervalued because they don't conform to the current climate of the NBA game.

Dysfunctional Organizational Structures Breed Dysfunctional Franchises
What is going on with Minnesota? That was a popular topic of conversation among senior NBA people in Las Vegas. The team still has no coach. Though it had one of the Summer League's most prolific players in Flynn, there's no telling if the system he played in over the 10 days will be the one installed by a new coach -- whoever that might be. This makes the Summer League evaluation process a lot less useful. Who's in charge? CEO Rob Moor? General manager David Kahn? Will the new coach be fully empowered to do his job? Critics also looked at Memphis. How did the Grizzlies end up with Hasheem Thabeet? Because owner Michael Heisley reportedly made the call. The Clippers, too, generated buzz this week with the Iverson speculation. While owner Donald Sterling wants to make a splash with Iverson, Clippers management would like to target Ramon Sessions. These historically beleaguered franchises all have one thing in common: There's no clear hierarchy that allows basketball people to make basketball decisions. The best franchises have well-defined roles that emanate from the top. Owners allow their senior executives to do their job. Those executives give their head coaches full reign, and so forth. Look no further than the San Antonio Spurs.

In the next couple of days, everyone I have talked to suspects, Utah will match the offer that the Portland Trail Blazers have made to Paul Millsap, and the whole thing will be seen as no big deal.

Except in Utah, where they will feel like victims, because they'll feel a ton of financial pain.

They may even have the idea that Portland completed the whole exercise not to get Millsap, but simply to make problems for Utah. (Problems that, it must be acknowledged, could induce the Jazz to shed salaries, and no team is better positioned to help shed salaries than ... Portland.)

A key question is: Does Portland really want Paul Millsap?

On one level, I think any team would like the guy -- he's a very effective player, and the Blazers have expressed an urge to get tougher.

But Portland has been storing up this cap space for ages, and they won't have space again, essentially, forever, after the re-sign their core players. They have young talent and could make all kinds of lop-sided trades.

Would they really go all-in for Millsap? Was the pursuit of Millsap sincerity or strategy?

My best guess is that it was 100% strategy.

My evidence is circumstantial:

• Exhibit A: The team has LaMarcus Aldridge as a fixture big man at power forward. (With Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden at center, this isn't one of those teams that will sneak two power forwards out there for long stretches either.) In addition, the Blazers just drafted three forwards -- Dante Cunningham, Jeff Pendergraph and Victor Claver. On top of all that, Travis Outlaw has played effective minutes as an NBA power forward, and will be looking for ways to get on the court.
• Exhibit B: Kevin Pritchard took over the Blazers in March 2007. Since then Portland has tried out many different big men to play alongside Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla. LaMarcus Aldridge, of course. But also Channing Frye, Ike Diogu, Josh McRoberts, and now Cunningham, Pendergraph and Claver. Your typical power forward is not a shooter. But these all are. Doesn't that send a strong message? My conviction is that a core strategy of the Blazer offense is to have four shooters on the floor at all times. That's why Brandon Roy is so effective: He can get to the hole at will, but no matter where you send the double-team from, he can easily find someboy who will be ready to shoot. That system breaks down a little if you play a power forward who doesn't hit jumpers. A player like Paul Millsap. Which is why the Blazers have never, to my knowledge, courted any big men who can't shoot.

Now, if my hunch is right, and Portland signed Millsap more to mess with Utah than to acquire Millsap, does it matter?

Not really. It's all part of the game.

But we have been seeing more and more of those quotes from other GMs saying negative things about the Blazer front office, and after the Darius Miles letter, the aggressive way they hijacked Brandon Roy in the 2007 draft, and incidents like the Millsap signing, it's less of a mystery than ever as to why.

Ron Artest supplants Trevor Ariza as the three-man in the Lakers' triangle. Celtics fans bid a wistful farewell to fan fave Leon Powe. And is Paul Millsap the right guy for OKC's front line? 

Rob Mahoney of Hardwood Paroxysm: "[Ron] Artest only makes sense offensively in situations where his skills can be utilized without damaging the team concept. Los Angeles, home of the triangle offense, is not that place. Artest's tendency to stop the ball, throw possessions into the wind, and take what can only be described as 'Ron Artest Shots' can't fly well with Phil [Jackson], with Kobe [Bryant], with Pau [Gasol], with Tex Winter, or with just about anyone who has come to know and love (or at least respect) the most dominant offensive unit in the game. The Lakers ... were able to dissect a fantastic defensive team in the Finals because the talent was there and the system was there. Artest brings plenty of one, but substitutes the other for generally poor basketball IQ and the possibility of going bonkers at any particular time. Sweet. On top of that, the Lakers seem to be severing their ties with Trevor Ariza. Signing Artest is doing more than showing Ariza the door. It's pushing him out, throwing his stuff out on the lawn, and handing Ron a molotov cocktail ... The true delight comes in the fact that Ariza could function within the system at a level we can never expect Artest to. Trevor made a habit out of deferring on offense, and perfecting a few offensive skills in his ability to hit the three from select spots and his tremendous finishes ... This team clearly competes at a different level with Ariza on the floor, and that's a credit to just how hard he's worked on his game."

Zach Lowe of Celtics Hub: "I really hope Leon Powe knows how much Celtics fans like him and will miss him. We all know why that is -- the well-documented childhood difficulties, the never-ending series of knee injuries that seemed to happen right when he was turning a corner, and the way Leon responded to all of it by working even harder. He's a bit of a cliché fan favorite, actually -- the scrappy role player who overcomes personal and professional obstacles to contribute to a championship team. But let's talk about basketball. There was something that drew me to Leon Powe from the moment I saw him play: He's a bit awkward ... Leon is not pretty to watch. You see -- almost feel -- every bit of effort it takes him to put the ball on the floor, lower his shoulder into a taller defender and flick a one-handed shot toward the rim. He can't leap much without a head of steam, and he's not quick or explosive enough to beat his defenders with spin moves or dribble-drives ... He often pushed off with his left hand to create the minimal space he had. Every time he attacked the rim, I cringed, expecting an offensive foul. The shots, once released, look a bit like blind tosses toward something approximating the correct area of the rim or the backboard. And they always seem to bounce around the rim and off the backboard before going down. And they went down 52 percent of the time, and 57 percent of the time in the '08 championship season ... He is a graceless, below-the-rim player for the most part, and I love him for it."

Royce Young of Daily Thunder: "I think the organization sees Uncle Jeff [Green] as its power forward. But if they sign [Paul] Millsap, I guess we'll know they think differently. Unless of course Millsap is being signed just to take Nick Collison's spot, which would be great if the Thunder could sign Millsap for the same money they're paying [Nick] Collison. But that probably has about as much chance of happening as me getting a 10-day contract. Millsap is a nice player. He was excellent in Carlos Boozer's absence last year and that great play earned him what's sure to be a nice contract. But the Thunder's fairly stacked at power forward. Of course there are Green and Collison, but what about D.J. White who played just seven games last year? White looked pretty darn good in those games and with some added weight and a little refining, what's to say he's not going to be an excellent backup big man? Or even Serge Ibaka? He's coming over and playing in the summer league. Maybe he blows management away and makes the roster as an extra big. Now you're jammed full of power forwards, but one of them you just signed for five years and $40 million. To me, signing Millsap isn't a very [Sam] Presti-like move. It seems like a rushed, let's-get-better-right-now move instead of the planned, calculated progression Presti has had since he took over. Signing Millsap would make you either take some clothes to Goodwill or make you completely rearrange everything."

THE FINAL WORD
Bucksketball: An open letter to Detroit fans, re: Charlie V.
The Two Man Game: Welcome to the Big D, Marcin Gortat.
Orlando Magic Daily: A concrete-heavy photo tour of the Magic's new home for 2010-11. 

(Photos by Jeff Gross, Steve Babineau, Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)

Is the Spurs-Suns rivalry still relevant? How about Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Marc Iavaroni?  The TrueHoop Network has all the relevant information: 

John Krolik of Cavs the Blog: "On the road against a tough Magic team and still without Z, the Cavaliers were able to establish a rhythm early, but at about the midway point of the second quarter lost their momentum and never really grabbed hold of the reins after that. After they put up monstrous lines against the Kings, the league's 3rd best defense was able to hold LBJ and Mo to a combined 14-42 from the field...

Without Z, we just don't seem to have enough to beat elite teams on the road. It's not the worst admission in the world, but you would hope that we could at least hang a little tougher with these games and not lay eggs on national television.

We'll start with LeBron. I actually don't think he did anything all that wrong, despite the fact that he had one of his worst games of the year. A 23/8/8 line is nice, but taking 30 attempts with a true shooting % of 38 is tough for a team to bounce back from and not all that good.

LeBron took it to the hole, but again seemed to shy away from making really aggressive moves, possibly because the Magic were able to cut away the corners and possibly because LeBron was completely unable to get to the foul line despite driving and getting contact, only shooting 6 free throws the entire game."

Graydon Gordian of 48 Minutes of Hell: "I'll be honest: There is nothing I love more than beating the Suns. Some commenters have suggested that in order for a team to be a true rival they must have beaten us in the playoffs in recent history but in my opinion that is not the definition of a rival. Do they make your blood boil? Do they make you rise out of your seat? Does every single match-up (even regular season games) have an added element of intrigue? Well, that's a rival. So, yes, we have bested the Suns time after time over the last 6 or so years. But this is about more than final scores. Opponents who inspire the depth of emotion I feel deserve the term 'rival.' And, as so many Suns-Spurs games have, this contest did not disappoint."

Ryan Schwan of Hornets247: "...It was announced that David West will be heading to Phoenix to take part in the All-star game again this season, and much like last year, there's a bit of storm raging around the internet about his selection.  I have to admit that at first I was a bit torn by this selection.  I am, first and foremost, a Hornets fan, and I'm pleased he's being recognized for his production despite being one of the quietest and least self-promoting players in the league.  Still, the fact remains I'm also a stat-geek, and by any measure there were better producers in the West that got left off the team.  There are three players in particular I have a hard time dismissing out of hand as worse than Fluffy: Manu Ginobili, Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap.  I could be persuaded to put Nene on that list as well."

THE FINAL WORD
The Painted Area: Marc Iavaroni, we told you so.
Valley of the Suns: Hack-a-Bowen?!
Hardwood Paroxysm: The Spurs-Suns rivalry is kaput. 

(Photos by Fernando Medina, Barry Gossage, Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz

• Brew Hoop wants to get excited about the improved Milwaukee Bucks, but is having horrible flashbacks of the optimism of seasons past: "As of last night the Bucks were clinging to the 8th and final playoff spot in the East despite a road-heavy schedule and their fair share of injuries.  Not bad.  But you're probably also a bit wary, because the Bucks always seem to offer some early-season hope...and then the New Year hits and the wheels come off.  And the wheels explode into fireballs." Brew Hoop is hopeful that Scott Skiles could be the difference-maker this time around.
• Celticsblog offers very gracious words for Pau Gasol: "Pau Gasol has received a lot of grief over the last couple of seasons regarding his perceived softness on both ends of the floor and an inferred tendency to shrink in big spots. Whether that reputation is entirely fair overall, I'm not sure.  What I am certain about is that if we are going to call Pau's toughness and play in the clutch into question, it would be disingenuous not to recognize him when he does step up in crunch time.  That is exactly what he did in yesterday's Christmas Day circus with the Celtics."
• The league has upheld Rasheed Wallace's two most recent techincal fouls, which means the current count is at 10.  When and if Wallace hits 16, he'll be suspended one game. Each subsequent T will cost him another game.  [Hat tip: Detroit Bad Boys]
• Blazers Edge wishes it could be Jason Terry...at the bank?: "Speaking of shooters, this isn't news or anything but Jason Terry can get any freaking shot he wants at any time.  Something about those Seattle boys.  That is one skill I wish I had.  Just walking around during life pulling up and dropping buckets at any random moment.  In line at the ATM, swish.  There goes the teller. She doesn't faze me.  I'm wet."
• Former NBA center Todd MacColloch is a pinball wizard, and is a real comer on the professional pinball circuit: "MacCulloch bought pinball machines. So many, in fact, that they spill from the basement of his sprawling, 6,000-square-foot house on this island a half-hour ferry ride from Seattle, taking over a guest room, an eight-car garage and all of the lower storage room beneath the garage as well as half of the family room upstairs."  
• Clippers rookie DeAndre Jordan has had just about enough of the team's strength and conditioning coach: "Rich Williams, our strength and conditioning coach, always gets so mad at me when he knows that I'm eating sweets. Let me tell you something about Rich. Okay look, I'm not the biggest guy in the world at all, but Rich seems to think that I'm going to be overweight when I finish playing basketball. If I'm drinking a Gatorade, he'll take the Gatorade out of my hands and give me water. If we get Krispy Kreme donuts, he'll take the donut out of my hand and give me a protein bar. Before games, I'll get a little thing of popcorn and hide so I can eat it in peace. Then he'll come out of nowhere, take the popcorn and give me a plate of fruit. He always tells me, "DeAndre, you're going to be 400 pounds when you're finished playing if you eat like this." No way! It's not in my DNA. I don't like Rich."
• FreeDarko was struck by comments in Ric Bucher's recent column about Anthony Randolph, namely that "some believe [Randolph] has the talent to one day be among the league's top 10 players." (FD has been bullish on and devoted to Randolph for some time): "I might be treading on the old 'potentially potential' territory, but at this point, I think the real drama is seeing what kind of prospect Randolph develops into, not projecting what he might do as a refined NBA player. I'm especially attached to the kind of athlete who forces this kind of thinking. The charm, and the irony, of it is that you've got the fantastic doubling as the height of scouting acumen, the whimsical and the shrewd forced to pull in the same direction. But there's a big difference between venturing there selectively (less so if you're a half-serious blog) and applying it as a matter of course, as front offices once did; it's also bizarre to see it show up at all now, seeing how the climate has changed, the age limit has sobered everyone up, and there are so many embarrassing quotes on the record about past duds."   
• The Kings' lackluster season has inspired Tom Ziller to consider the nuances of team-building. Ziller concludes that, whether the Kings turn to Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto or try to replicate the San Antonio Spurs' "three-star model," all the evidence points to one unequivocal truth: "Sacramento needs a megastar."
• Down goes Paul Millsap: "Jazz forward Paul Millsap will be sidelined 7-to-10 days after suffering a sprained posterior cruciate knee ligament on Tuesday night at Milwaukee. Millsap attended the Jazz's shootaround on Friday morning, when the Jazz announced the results of an MRI exam done on Wednesday. Millsap's PCL is not torn and surgery will not be required, but he will likely wear a knee brace when he returns."
• It's safe to say that NBA ref Joe DeRosa has a boatload of Starwood points: "On Christmas Eve, the Ohio native and North Canton resident checked out of a Detroit hotel after working a Chicago Bulls-Detroit Pistons game and was told it was the 173rd night he'd spent in a Marriott Hotel this year."  The good news for DeRosa was that he got to spend Christmas at home in Ohio...working the Wiz-Cavs game. 
  
• Who's the league's best alley-oop combo?
  

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz

One telling attribute of a contender is the ability to persevere when one of its best players is on the shelf.  While beating the Clippers twice in 72 hours is no crowning achievement, the Jazz have looked strong during the first week -- even in their Deronlessness.  And it's a testimony to their system's fluency that the Jazz have appeared so precise offensively, even without their floor general.  Their sets have been crisp and incredibly efficient. 

Paul Millsap: Making Tim Thomas, Among Others, Look Really, Really Foolish (Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

I realize that most people don't watch basketball to see flex cuts and flare screens, but for those still mourning the death of systematic beauty in Phoenix, spend some time watching Utah this season.  By no means are they as lovable as the c. 2005-2007 Suns and the aesthetics are different, but they're running some beautiful stuff. 

For all their finesse, though, the Jazz also feature some brute force.  Last night it was Paul Millsap who applied that force. Millsap, among whose primary assets is his ability to guard virtually all five positions, took over the game on the offensive end. He scored 15 consecutive points for Utah during a single stretch in the fourth quarter to turn a close game into a laugher.  He did it on ugly putbacks, graceless but effective drives to the hole, and by forcing his way to the line.  [He also profited from Tim Thomas' abject negligence] Long after Carlos Boozer was scheduled to return to the floor after his 4th quarter respite, Millsap was still out there because he was carrying his team.

The Jazz are intriguing in that they don't feature a bunch of dynamic, explosive perimeter players who can dominate their defenders off the dribble.  And though they have the capacity to build a dominant two-man game with a healthy Williams and Carlos Boozer on the block, Jerry Sloan prefers a more expansive offense that relies more on space than on pure matchups.   Without Williams, they display an uncanny efficiency.  When he returns, they could be downright lethal.
 

Utah not only wins at Golden State, but takes a 3-1 lead. I'm not buying that this is over. Not for a second. Anything can happen when one of the teams on the court is the 2007 Golden State Warriors. But for this night at least, Utah looked pretty tough. Observations:

• In Game 3, Deron Williams was out for the last play of the first quarter. Andrei Kirilenko was the fill-in point guard, which is a tall order in a clock management situation like that. Utah had the ball with about seven seconds left. They ended up not only not scoring, but they also gave up a Golden State three. Tonight they also had the ball to close the first quarter, but this time Deron Williams was not in foul trouble. Utah scores, Golden State doesn't.
  
• Every team has players that get hot shooting threes. Only Golden State and Phoenix have teams that get hot shooting threes -- and only Golden State and Phoenix have coaches who drill it into their team that they are good shooters who should shoot without hesitation. Confidence is a huge factor in shooting accuracy.
• You don't need me to tell you that Paul Millsap is sent straight from basketball heaven. He has some skill and some size, sure, but mostly he has a perfect basketball motor. He just wants it like he wants oxygen. And he doesn't rush or panic when he has the ball.
• I have no confidence in Gordan Giricek. I suspect he feels the same way.
• Why didn't Deron Williams launch a shot inbounding with 0.3 left on the clock? Decorum? Shooting stats? All I'm saying is ... no shot = zero percent chance at points. Shot = free chance at points. Shoot the ball.
• Golden State commonly drives and then kicks to the corner where someone is usually pretty open, with a defender closing fast. That guy often kicks back along the perimeter to someone who is WIDE open for the three. However Utah's (and every team's) defensive rotations are working, it's clearly really tough to get to that guy with Golden State's fast ball movement.
• There were periods of this game when the Golden State crowd was not deafening. I'm not remembering that ever happening in the first round.
• Remember when the NBA said they wouldn't tolerate complaining after calls? Is that policy still in place?
• That referee bias study did find predominantly black crews were slightly more likely to call fouls against white players. Utah has got to be one of the whitest teams in the league, and tonight the referee crew is 2/3 black. At the rate the research identified that trend, I suspect it would have have zero effect on such a small sample size as one game. But still, if ever you hoped to see that study in action, this series could be your opportunity.
• Giricek essentially melted.
  
• Jazz junkyard dogs: Boozer, Harpring, Fisher, and Millsap.
• Mehmet Okur, on defense, is not great at meeting the penetrator. He does the whole "but I'm just standing here!" thing, which is too passive for the playoffs. You have to draw the charge or stop the shot.
• Holding a lead on Golden State is like holding a lid on a boiling pot.
  
• Weird deal by Baron Davis nailing Derek Fisher. Then Jason Richardson nailed Okur. You see Derek Fisher playing ambassador after that event? Does anyone in the league have more poise?