Utah Jazz Fans Have No Reason To Panic, All is Well
Wow. Five short months ago things looked pretty bleak for the two million or so basketball fans in the Salt Lake City market.
Carlos Boozer was gone to Chicago. Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver landed there with him. And rookie breakout Wesley Matthews got a big contract from Portland which the Jazz simply couldn't afford to match.
Add to that Mehmet Okur's expected long rehab and absence from the court after achilles surgery and the Jazz faithful were more fearful than anything, widely expecting a mediocre season.
But as usual, the Jazz Brass made some savvy moves and snagged Al Jefferson and Raja Bell to fill out the roster and restore optimism to the Beehive State.
Hope Springs Eternal, Success Breeds Myopia
After the Jazz made its unexpected moves, fans in Utah were cautiously optimistic. And after a blazing start, filled with dramatic comebacks and an emergent Pau Milsap, fans got excited. Maybe a little too excited.
After a seven game win streak which featured victories over the Lakers and Hornets, the Jazz has lost three of its last five, including two at home. And some fans have reacted unreasonably.
Listening to local talk radio and reading the message boards, you'd think the team was out of playoff contention.
It's a long season, and the Jazz is ahead of schedule
Keep in mind, discouraged fans: those three losses were to the Mavericks (twice) and Miami. By the way, those are two of the three hottest teams in the NBA. And don't forget, one of the wins in between those losses is against a very good Orlando team.
Don't forget, Jazz fans, that this team is still figuring out how to play together. For proof, look no further than the obvious confusion seen by Gordon Hayward as he attempted to fill his role running the offense as a starter in Dallas.
And Big Al Jefferson still hasn't made his way up the learning curve in running the Jerry Sloan system, and it's apparent some times.
But they will continue to get better.
In the end, the team is further than even the most optimistic analysts expected them to be in terms of jelling as a unit and playing together as a team.
Sure, that's helped by the absolutely ridiculously good play of Deron Williams and the shocking emergence of the bench's depth.
But throw a healthy Mehmet Okur back in and give the team time to play together, and this team could very well contend in the West. Wait...it already is.
Lighten up Jazz fans: The future is very bright.
Ryan Teeples can be followed at twitter.com/SportsGuyUtah.
