Ted Sevransky

UTAH JAZZ -10


Utah is a team that comes out of training camp ready to play. Last year, the Jazz turned heads with their 12-1 start, winning six of those games outright as underdogs. This year, Jerry Sloan's squad won seven of their first nine ballgames, before losing back-2-back road games at Cleveland and Indiana over the weekend. But Utah is primed for a bounceback blowout tonight as they return home to face the Nets. People seem to forget how good this Jazz squad was last year - this team, not Phoenix or Dallas, went to the Western Conference Finals. Jerry Sloan brought the same core group back, led by all stars Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams. But the supporting cast is even better this time around, with the revitalization of Andrei Kirilenko's career, the maturity of key role player Paul Millsap, and the addition of first round draft pick (and starting shooting guard) Ronnie Brewer from Arkansas. Yet many pundits still consider the Jazz as a second tier contender in the West. The reality is that this team is championship caliber, not a middle of the pack foe for any opponent. Meanwhile, the Nets have lost five straight since Vince Carter got hurt, failing to cover a single pointspread in the process. New Jersey's offensive output has been downright pathetic without their leading scorer, averaging just 77 points per game in their last four contests. They've lost three times by double digit margins on this current skid, including a 22 point blowout loss in their lone road game. Tonight?s result should get ugly for the road team.