Rondo = Stockton?

Sure enough, ESPN is reporting that of all the point guards in the NBA today, Rajon Rondo plays more like John Stockton than any other player. Now, there will be plenty of Jazz fans that are upset that D Will's photo is not up there with Stockton's, but I for one agree: D Will is more explosive and more offensively-minded than the Pasty Gangsta, whereas Stockton is just grittier!

Interesting comparison . . . although I never hear anyone say that Rondo is the dirtiest player in the NBA.

Must Love Dogs

Before Michael Vick happened, I was a young, naive, man-child living in Boston, Massachusetts. In those heady days, the Jazz' starting backcourt consisted of Carlos Arroyo and DeShawn Stevenson and the Celtics were an NBA laughingstock. The world was as it should be.


During the brutally cold Boston December of 2002, the Jazz came to town. Thanks to my vast network of NBA connections, I sat in the players' section. It was like going to an NBA cocktail party. I met Matt Harpring's wife (a handsome woman) and Kenny Natt's uncle (not a big basketball fan). Ben Handlogten (who lives in Boston when he's not dominating NBA centers) had a vocal cheering section of 40 plus; they even had banners.



But the eye-opening encounter of the night was meeting a 50-year old gentleman who was invited by Paul Pierce. The man was not Pierce's relative, not a childhood friend, not even a shady, AAU character: he was Pierce's "dog dealer." We spent most of the third quarter discussing how Pierce purchased dozens of pit bulls every year.


At the time, I thought, "Wow, that Paul Pierce is a real dog lover."

Dethroning the Champs

Well, for one night at least. Our Jazz earned a gritty 90-85 victory last night against the best that the Eastern Conference has to offer. The game was not a thing of beauty - two of the roughest teams in the league and the refs were letting them go. But it is an important win for the Jazz as they have reestablished their home court dominance by taking down the two best teams in the NBA in the last three games.

From my viewpoint, the key to the game last night (other than Kevin Garnett playing zero minutes in the second half) was the much-maligned Matt Harpring. The guy is basically immobile, and has a contract that is going to absolutely kill us next year, but last night he provided a toughness that no one else wearing white seemed to possess. The first quarter was an absolute beat down as the Celtics intimidated the Jazz and physically outmanned them at every position other than point guard. Then, Harpring came off the bench, knocked some teeth, and was more aggressive than Pierce. I don't think the Jazz win last night if Harpring is hurt. He pulled down a crucial rebound with a minute to go - a rebound that not Memo, Boozer, and certainly not Collins would have snagged. So kudos to Harpring, and kudos to Sloan for sticking with the old guy during crunch time.

Next up: two home games against good, but not great, opponents before the Jazz head out on the road to see what type of team we really are working with.