Athleticism Defines This Century's Utah Jazz, Jazz take down Portland, 97-88

Opponents think they know what they'll see when they play the Utah Jazz.

They anticipate Utah's Pick and Roll v.2.0 with featuring Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer.  They prepare to be executed to death.  They know their effort will have to exceed their talent in order to win.

It's new ingredient that's catching teams off guard, just as the Blazers were Thursday night in their 97-88 defeat at Salt Lake City: athleticism.

That's right, the team once defined by the precise, tough, but unspectacular play of John Stockton and Karl Malone now features a flair in stark contrast to the franchise's grounded reputation.

A youthful committee of Paul Millsap, C.J. Miles and Ronnie Brewer has become a collective X-factor as teams continue to focus on the Jazz's core of Williams, Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko.  Against Portland, the three aforementioned youngsters combined for 36 points and 19 rebounds.

It's not just the production.  It's how they're getting it done.

Millsap is an extremely valuable asset for Utah, given his penchant for rebounding and his overall hustle. When given minutes (which he's getting with Boozer out with an injury), he's also shown his ability to score consistently in the post. 

Millsap outrebounded Portland's entire starting frontline Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum, 12 boards to their 10.  On the season, he's averaging 13.5ppg and 8.3 rpg in under 30 minutes a game.

If Boozer does indeed jump ship this summer when free agency season begins, the Jazz have the best possible scenario: a cheap, hungry and ready player to replace him.  In the event Boozer elects to remain in Utah, Millsap can be either a exceptional piece of the bench or an great trading chip.

Miles and Brewer combine to become the ideal wing compliments to Deron Williams, especially on the fast break.  The two have already mastered moving without the ball in coach Jerry Sloan's system, and have reaped the benefits, being on the receiving end of alley-oop passes or getting dunks off back-door cuts.

All of the above only gets better knowing that none of the young threesome have mor than three seasons under their respective belts.

In the 1998-99 season, the Utah's role players featured the likes of Jeff Hornaceck, Greg Ostertag, Shandon Anderson and Adam Keefe.

Ten years later, their tune is jazzed up thanks to some energetic new pieces.

Other Notes:

• While Steve Blake has overachieved for Portland this season as their starting point guard (11.1ppg and 4.1apg), you have to wonder if he's the man the Blazers want at the point long-term.  Don't be surprised if Portland packages some of their young, under-used talent to upgrade that position within the next year.
• Small forward has been another point of inconsistency for the Blazers.  Thursday night, starter Batum and Travis Outlaw combined for zero points on 0-for-6 shooting in 26 combined minutes of play.
• Boston romped over the Wizards Thursday night to the tune of 122-88.  The contrast of the Celtics' perfectly balanced roster to Washington's hodge-podge assembly was pathetically obvious.
• Assuming there's going to be at least one true point guard on the team, who's going to be the East's point man for the All-Star game?  It's a four-man race between Boston's Rajon Rondo, Toronto's Jose Calderon, Chicago's Derrick Rose and New Jersey's Devin Harris. Those are slim pickings compared to the West (Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Baron Davis, and Chauncey Billups).
• Guards DeShawn Stevenson, Mike James and Nick Young combined to shoot 0-for-14 on the night.  Think Gilbert Arenas could do better than that right now despite his still-injured status?
• Just like the Suns/Lakers game on Wednesday night, the Mavs/Bobcats matchup Thursday evening featured a team depleted by the Richardson/Diaw/Bell trade.  And just like that previous game, the undermanned team gave their opponents all they could handle.  Dirk Nowitzki had to bail out Dallas, nailing a three with 30 seconds left, putting the Mavs up four and the game out of reach.
• Emeka Okafor had a surprisingly dominant outing, scoring 27 points and getting 14 rebounds.  That kind of production is what Charlotte thought they'd be getting routinely after Orlando passed on him in favor of Dwight Howard....