Boozer's Back

Word on the street is that Boozer will be suiting up tonight. What's more, he'll be starting. And it couldn't come at a better time. His defensive skills will be put to the test against the rugged Zaza Pachulia.

The Jazz brass claims that Carlos will play around five minutes per quarter as he nurses himself back to health. I, personally, will wait to see him suited up and playing at a high level before I put too much hope in the Jazz' return to glory. But, it will certainly be nice to have a legitimate-sized power forward back on the squad. I'll miss Collins, though.

It does seem odd that Boozer became healthy right after (1) the Heat traded away any hope of signing Carlos over the summer and (2) rumors started to swirl that no team has enough money this summer to offer him real $$$. But regardless of the nobleness of his motivation, it seems that Carlos now has incentives to stick around at home games past halftime.

So, let's pour one out for the return of the man they call "the Booze." It's about damn time.

How Good Are the Jazz?

After last night's loss to the Knicks the Jazz no longer have the best record in the NBA.  But how good are they?  We'll know more at the end of this eastern road trip, but I think the answer is "quite good".  Consider the following:

• The Jazz are blowing teams out of the water.  Our scoring differential -- which the stats gurus at ESPN think is a better indication of future success than W-L record (for the record, I agree) -- is +8, which puts us at third in the league.  Only Atlanta and the Lake Show are better.  Sidenote: the Lakers are winning by an average of more than 22 points a game, including a 20-point blowout of an Artest/Yao/McGrady led Rockets team last night.  The Lakers are really, really good this year.  It's scary.
  
• Harpring and Collins, two rotation guys, are still injured.  In my book this is an argument for keeping them out or at least drastically reducing their minutes when they come back.  Brewer had a great game yesterday (seven steals!) and Millsap has been solid all year.  Better to get those young, talented guys more reps than slash their minutes for Harp and Collins.  
• D Will is still out and will be for at least the next four games.  We probably win in New York with him. . . it will be nice to have him back at the point soon! 
• The elite teams in the West aren't looking super elite this year.  Besides the frightening signs out of LA, no team in the conference other than the Jazz has sprinted out of the gates.  Phoenix is 5-2 but it looks like Nash has lost a step.  The Rockets are 4-3.  Chris Paul and Co. are a respectable but not earth-shattering 4-2 and their wins have been fairly close.  Finally, the hated Spurs are 1-4 and Tony Parker is out for at least a month.  Say good night, San Antonio!  

Summer Endings

We all know that the Jazz came up short against the Lakers in the quarterfinals of last season’s playoffs. Also, the Jazz haven’t made any significant roster moves to change the make-up of the team. Will the Jazz be able to contend for a title with virtually the same roster as last season? Will continuity be the difference? Without any huge shake-ups happening over the summer, the Jazz can only hope that retaining CJ Miles, trading for Brevin Knight and drafting Kosta Koufas will be enough to boost their title contending status.

Let’s just hope that we win “the thing” with our current cast!

Next summer will present different challenges for the Jazz. How will the Jazz brass keep the team intact? Here is a list of the competing NBA teams with potential cap space for Free Agency 2009, possibly vying for the services of Boozer, Memo, Millsap, and even AK47 (by way of a player for cap space scenario).

Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks could be a player on the market with Mike Bibby coming off the books. However, with the re-signing of Josh Smith and the inside presence of rookie Al Horford, it wouldn’t seem likely that the Hawks would be interested in more front court players.

Likelihood = Low

Denver Nuggets: Allen Iverson finishes up his contract with the Nuggets, freeing up nearly $21 million. The Nugs already overpay for stalwart talents like Nene and Kenyon Martin. It’ll be doubtful that they’ll even have enough cap space to make a dent in the market.

Likelihood = Not happening

Detroit Pistons: The Pistons are an interesting possibility. Rasheed Wallace becomes a free agent and Rip Hamilton has an early termination option to jump out of his contract. If both leave, the Pistons become a major cap player.

Likelihood = Warm

Memphis Grizzlies: Memphis will have some cash to spend. Evidence of their spending showed when they offered a hefty contract to Josh Smith this summer, only to be matched by the Hawks. Memphis has shown some interest in taking on Zach Randolph via trade this summer. They could certainly use an inside presence. Will anyone take their cash?

Likelihood = Active

Miami Heat: Shawn Marion wraps up his contract after this season, opening up $18 million. The Heat has been known to possess interest in the Booz, through multiple Miami news reports. But will they have enough cap space to lure him? In addition, Michael Beasley plays power forward. The Booz and Beasley are two similar players…offensive minded scorers. It doesn’t seem like a natural fit.

Likelihood = Possible

Oklahoma City Thunder: The franchise in Oklahoma has been preparing cap space for the next summer. They’ve unloaded Luke Ridnour for expiring contracts (Joe Smith and Desmond Mason) and have others coming off the books (Chris Wilcox). OKC should have nearly $25 million to spend in free agency next summer and possess nice, young talented players on the roster. Certainly, they’ll have to save up a little bit in order to re-sign Kevin Durant in the future.

Likelihood = Hot

Portland TrailBlazers: Raef LaFrentz will come off the books after the season and Portland should have a load of money to spend. Their concern however will be in locking up Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden as the up-and-coming nucleus. I doubt Portland will be looking elsewhere in free agency when they’re so loaded from within.

Likelihood = Nope