If you're thinking, "It seems like I've seen this before.."

[erudite23]

...its because you have.

07-08:

Jazz start 16-16, win two of the next three to reach 18-17 and then make a red-hot run, winning 14 of the next 15 to get to 32-18.

09-10:

Jazz start 18-16, win one of two to get to 19-17 and then win 12 of 13 to get to 31-18.


Both times, the lone loss in that stretch came against the Denver Nuggets.

Both times, the Jazz reached #1 in the Hollinger Power Rankings.

Both times, Kyle Korver was introduced into the lineup in early January.



...there are probably numerous other similarities, but I think the point has already been made. Interestingly enough, though, the Jazz have been better in defensive efficiency, but not as good on offense. By the end of that season, many considered the Jazz a legit contender. One big difference this year is that the competition in the West is not as stiff as it was that year. 54 wins would almost surely get the #3 spot, and there's a good chance it would yield the #2. That would allow us to stay away from the Lakers until the conference Finals.


So...compare the teams? AK is playing much better this year. Boozer not as good, but close. D-Will about the same. Okur, interestingly enough, was having a major down year and is repeating that this season. Even more interesting, Okur started extremely poorly, but recovered right around the beginning of January to post his regular career numbers in the 2nd half. He has shown signs of doing the same this year. Brewer has regressed. CJ has gotten more burn, but its hard to quantify any improvement. Millsap is giving us less as a reserve, though he is clearly a better player than he was back then.

Still, that team was a dominant team for awhile. The injuries last year derailed us from taking the next step. But it is finally looking like we are back to being that same team.

[cjs55]

Brewer has regressed.

Numbers-wise perhaps, but I think he's more valuable to us as a team right now. He's playing very well.

You also forgot about Wes. He's been a solid addition for us this year.

I think if AK can keep playing like he is when Boozer gets fully integrated again we should clearly be a better team than we were in 07-08. Unfortunately, so are the Lakers.

[Matt007b]

we need a center that can defend against gasol.. that's what we need..

Wanted: Defend Gasol, willing to trade CJ or possibly Brewer for it. Let Kobe carry the dumb team to near breaking his hand.

[Soul Patch]

Brewer hasn't regressed. He's not putting up scoring numbers but his assists are up, his turnovers are down, and he's still doing the little things that really help the team. He cuts harder than anyone else, sets good screens, plays unselfishly, and focuses on defense. If Miles did those same things he wouldn't have any of the hate he gets on here. We're averaging 27 assists per game and Brewer has a lot to do with that.

[idajazz]

erudite

That is a discription of a young team that is growing, I think Boozers injury last year really set the team back and killed any shot they had of giving the Lakers a decent fight.

This year the team has a different "feel" for want of a better term.
I do believe that if they can avoid injuries, this team is going to be a nightmare for other teams come playoff time.
They seem to have found a swagger that this group has never had.
It is going to fun to watch play out.

[HammerDunk]

Anybody that thinks Brewer has regressed is blind to what has happened over the last 12 games. He is passing as well as a PG and has become a facilitator of our offense. This has worked very well because it has taken some pressure off of our PGs and freed them up to get open shots.

One thing I would do would be to go back and look at the quality of teams we beat in those stretches and how much we beat them by. This stretch is different. We are much more dominant and against very high quality teams, beating them by a 12 point average. We are also sharing the ball at an incredible rate. We have been averaging something like 27 assists per game over this stretch, and nobody in the league is even close to that number. This is getting us easy shots in the paint. We get so many dunks, it is a blast to watch, and the players are having a lot of fun too.

Also, like you said, AK is playing better than he has since his 5x5 days. This is the biggest contributor to our success, imo. If he keeps playing at this level, we will be very hard to beat. Of all our bigs that get a lot of minutes, he has the most length and is the biggest defensive threat. When he brings that threat to the game, he is a force.

I would also argue that Boozer is playing as well as before. His offense might not be quite as strong, but that's because we are sharing the ball more and finding other scorers. What makes him as good, if not better, is his defense, which is so much better than it was in those years. He is making a concerted effort and is even getting some key blocks. I don't know if it has anything to do with it being a contract year (it is likely), nor do I really care. His value is going to be much higher at the end of this season than it was at the end of last season.

Finally, I think it comes down to the team maturing and buying in to the system that Sloan has set up for them. He is an offensive mastermind, so the Jazz usually don't have a hard time scoring points if they follow it, but I think it is apparent that they are focusing on defense first, which is what they all talked about in the off-season. Getting stops on the defensive end is leading to more points because they are running the floor so well. It is all very much a joy to watch.

[outerspacefella]

When the Jazz had all those little pretty runs erudite mentioned, I doubted them. That was because the team just didn't look that good. A dozen games ago I doubted this team because they looked awfull. However, recently the Jazz looked legit in my eyes because they actually look like a capable team with several added/renewed options both in D and O (Kirilenko, Matthews, Brewer...).
Of course that's not to say the Jazz are contenders... they migh be, but they still have to show they can mantain the groove on the rood against the great ones...

[FJS]

I'm not excited because we have won 12 of last 13.
I'm excited because we have won those games vs solid playoff teams like:
Dallas (home and Away)
Blazers (home and Away)
Cleveland
San Antonio (away)
Denver (home... okay without melo and billups)
Suns

We have won Lakers and Orlando at home. We have beat 4 times San Antonio... In other seasons we never missed vs weak teams, but we weren't able to beat better teams.

I feel this team in Deron-Boozer era it's the strongest.

[erudite23]

I'm not excited because we have won 12 of last 13.
I'm excited because we have won those games vs solid playoff teams like:
Dallas (home and Away)
Blazers (home and Away)
Cleveland
San Antonio (away)
Denver (home... okay without melo and billups)
Suns

We have won Lakers and Orlando at home. We have beat 4 times San Antonio... In other seasons we never missed vs weak teams, but we weren't able to beat better teams.

I feel this team in Deron-Boozer era it's the strongest.

During the 07-08 season we had wins at Boston (NBA champs), at Denver (51 win team), @ Phoenix (55 win team), at NOR (2nd seed in the west), at Houston (4th in the West) at Detroit (2nd seed in the East) and at Orlando (3rd seed in East).

The Jazz did really well against good teams on the road that season, they sucked against bad teams. I'm waiting to see a difference this year.

[HammerDunk]

Chalk up a gritty road win where our bench stepped up when needed. Let's hope we can get a good road winning streak going. That would prove a lot! We have 3 in a row now.