2014-2015 regular season!

[QUOTE]Harrison Barnes: 4 points, 1 rebound, 0 assists, 2-6 shooting.
Draymond Green: 7 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2-6 shooting.
Andrew Bogut: 4 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2-3 shooting.
Andre Iguodala: 6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2-7 shooting.
Mo Speights: 5 points, 8 rebounds, 0 assists, 1-7 shooting.
David Lee: 7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3-6 shooting.

On the season, those 6 players combined average 57.9 points, 37.4 rebounds, and 13.8 assists on 23 for 47 shooting. Tonight, they accumulated 33 points, 24 rebounds, and 11 assists on 12-35 shooting. The Jazz

[QUOTE]"He's always excelled," Cecil said.[/QUOTE]

Until this year anyway. He's obviously in over his head. I'd guess he'd excell at the D-league level and than be able to bring that back to the NBA. Makes no sense really.

[QUOTE]And as 19-year-old Dante Exum embarked on his latest challenge, his parents' confidence seemed simply to say: Why would that stop now?

Solving the mystery

[QUOTE]"He

[QUOTE]Asked about Golden State's center, Kanter responded: "Andrew Bogut: big guy, knows a little Turkish. I don't know, what you say about that? He's just down low, big guy. Nothing special."[/QUOTE]

He does what Rudy does defensively with a lot more offensive game right now.

[QUOTE]The remarks were probably "ill advised," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said.

Still, the coach appreciated his player's passion.

"I like that Enes is being emotional and aggressive and playing that way," the coach said. "I think it was said in that kind of spirit of exuberance. But I think we all know the reality is [Golden State] is a terrific team, and what Klay Thompson did the other night was remarkable, and Andrew Bogut may be the best center in the league

[QUOTE], the Jazz are giving reason for invested hope for the future.[/QUOTE]

Rudy is anyway.

[QUOTE]A 110-100 win over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night is the latest evidence of growth. Before a raucous crowd of 19,295 at EnergySolutions Arena, Utah beat one of the best teams in the NBA wire-to-wire. They led by as many as 18 points, they never trailed and they played perhaps their best game of the season on both ends.

"We knew coming in that Golden State is a terrific team," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "We just wanted to come in, play hard and execute. We knew how tough it was to play defense against a team like that. We were fortunate, they missed some shots that they normally make. But we played well on both ends, and we played hard defensively. When you do that, good things tend to happen."

Utah is now the hallmark of a young, talented team, one with huge wins over some of the league's best, and mystifying losses against those they should conceivably beat. The proof is in the statistics. The Jazz are 17-30 on the season, with the victory over the Warriors. Of those 17 wins, eight of them are over teams who would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. A ninth is over the Oklahoma City Thunder, certainly one of the most talented groups in the league.[/QUOTE]

Who were without their two best players at the time. :facepalm

[QUOTE]On Friday night, Utah was dominant on both ends, and it started with Gordon Hayward. The star small forward played perhaps his best game of the year, scoring 26 points, grabbing a career-high 15 rebound, handing out six assists and coming up with three steals. He set the tone from the opening tap, pushing the ball, making shots and harassing Warriors star Klay Thompson on the other end.

His performance was quite the turnaround from Wednesday's loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, when a head cold forced him into a subpar game.

"I feel like when I'm active early, I usually have a good night," Hayward said. "Tonight, I got about three or four rebounds very early, so I was able to bring the ball up myself and attack. I feel like I'm starting to read defenses more, and that's helping me."

Besides Hayward, Utah's night was highlighted by a 51 point game from Jazz bench. Trevor Booker scored 17 points, and grabbed seven rebounds. Trey Burke was great in the second half, and finished with 15 points to go along with seven assists. Rudy Gobert had 10 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.

Those guys supported Hayward and Derrick Favors, who had 15. Joe Ingles scored seven of his 10 points in the first quarter.

Everyone who played contributed in some way. The balanced effort was too much for the Warriors on this night. They received a game-high 32 points from superstar Stephen Curry, but he had very little tangible help from his teammates.

"We didn't have enough life tonight on the road against a young, hungry team," Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. "They played a lot better tonight, and they took it to us."

This ends an uneven week for the Jazz, who suffered a bad loss to the Boston Celtics, and played well against the Los Angeles Clippers before losing. But Friday night salvages a 2-2 homestand for Utah. And to get the win at home over the 36-8 Golden State Warriors, snapping a six game losing streak to them in the process, shows another slow step of improvement.

[email]tjones@sltrib.com[/email]

twitter: @tjonessltrib[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]

[QUOTE] There have been a lot of frustrating, disappointing nights for the Utah Jazz and their fans the last couple of seasons.[/QUOTE]

the last 35 years for some of us

[QUOTE]And then, occasionally there are those glorious nights when it's great to be part of Jazz Nation ... ah, yes, just like the good ol' days.[/QUOTE]

the good old days of not getting it done?

[QUOTE]Indeed, Friday was one of those nights.

Yep, EnergySolutions Arena was rockin'; the outcome was shockin'; and the Jazz were busy knockin' off the NBA's best team, the Golden State Warriors, in a 110-100 stunner that only the most die-hard Utah fan might've predicted.

And hey, with the Warriors winning their previous six meetings against Utah, including three in a row at ESA, that's pretty doubtful.

After all, Golden State steamed into town with the league's best record (36-7), boasting both the league's best offense and defense, and appears seemingly headed for the No. 1 seed in this year's Western Conference playoffs.

Utah, meanwhile, had lost its last two home games earlier this week and limped into Friday night's matchup at 16-30 on the season.

But unlike their meeting a couple of weeks ago, when the Jazz played 'em mighty tough for a half only to see the Warriors break free with a monstrous third-quarter showing on their way to a 17-point win, Utah didn't back away this time.

"They're a terrific team," first-year Utah coach Quin Snyder said of Golden State, which was surprisingly added to the list of this season's top-flight victims of the Jazz that also includes defending NBA champion San Antonio, Memphis, Chicago, Cleveland, Oklahoma City, Miami and Phoenix. "We just wanted to try and play hard and execute.

"To be able to play defense against a team like that and really focus on it, for us, was good. We were fortunate

Shams Charania: Utah's Trey Burke has committed to his invite for NBA Skills Challenge at All-Star weekend, league sources tell RealGM. He's reigning champ. Twitter @ShamsCharania

[QUOTE]There may be many reasons why Jazz coach Quin Snyder decided to insert rookie Dante Exum into the starting lineup nine days ago

[QUOTE]One of the Jazz

[QUOTE]A reporter started asking the Jazz coach, who grew up near Seattle and has been a devout Seahawks fan since 1976, about his

[QUOTE]Even when Jazz coach Quin Snyder has bad news for Trey Burke, even when informing Burke five games ago he would be coming off the bench, the second-year point guard responded to Snyder the same way he always has.

"He asked me to hold him accountable at the beginning of the season, and he's always thanked me for holding him accountable," Snyder said.[/QUOTE]

He' still laying huge minutes while shooting like crap. Not sure he's ever been held accountable.

[QUOTE]By now, it isn't breaking news that Dante Exum is the new starting floor leader. [/QUOTE]

He's a new starter. Maxi G and Ingles are the floor leaders.

[QUOTE]It also isn't much of a secret that Burke was initially disappointed with coming off the bench. But he's played admirably in his new role. He says that he's more comfortable with the change and he's adjusting to being more of a scorer.[/QUOTE]

More of a scorer? :facepalm

[QUOTE]This was apparent last Friday, when the Jazz defeated the Golden State Warriors. Burke scored 15 points and handed out seven assists. In his last five games, Burke is averaging 14.6 points per game, up from the 12.7 he's averaged on the season.

"I'm good with it," Burke said. "It's a new thing to me, but I'm playing the same amount of minutes as I always was, and I've just come in and tried to be more aggressive offensively. Coach has been on me about holding the ball, so I've just been trying to work on shooting or driving the ball right away, and just being generally aggressive."

Super Bowl nerves

Snyder

Tony Jones: Alec Burks has been in practice and in good spirits the last two days. He's still in a shoulder brace...it will come off next week Twitter @Tjonessltrib -

Joe Ingles: Cannot wait to marry @RenaeHallinan this off season! ❤️ Twitter @Joeingles7

[QUOTE]it