The Jazz don't have a go-to guy. They are a team that's going to beat you as a team, and not with one, two, or even three options. They can, and really have to win as a team. A classic example of this was the last offensive play for the Jazz. The original offensive set was an isolation to Al Jefferson who had been playing very well against his match up all night, and was the Jazz' leading scorer on the night. Al noticed that the play wasn't there, and passed it up top to Devin Harris who made the best play of his entire tenure with the Jazz, pump faking "The King", than throwing up a floater over D-Wade, drawing the foul and making the free-throw. This was the Jazz' most balanced offensive effort of the season. Six players in double figures, five players with three or more offensive rebounds, and three players with 5+ assists. Another interesting note, every Jazz starter was a minus in the +/- rating, while everyone who came off the bench was a plus.
The Jazz can compete with the big teams. It's no secret that this years Jazz play to the level of their competition, but the Jazz have hung tight with, and beat big name teams this year and usually play better against them when the teams big star is in the game. They have suffered way too many disappointing losses this year, but the young Jazz can play with and occasionally beat the big boys.
We were shown some of the killer mentality that the Jazz have been lacking. When one of the best players in the game had probably the most dominating 4th quarter I've ever seen at the ESA, the Jazz hung tough and won. How they did it is irrelevant. They won. Even though LeBron had a huge 4th quarter, Dwyane Wade was held in check in the final minutes going 2-6 in the closing quarter, and missing a clutch free-throw with 13 seconds left.
Is this win a "season changing" win? The simple answer is, "not yet". In order for it to be a season changing win, the Jazz go on a stretch of winning at least ten of their next thirteen or fourteen games. In order for it to be a season defining game, the Jazz would need to make the playoffs. I believe that people are overlooking the impact the Houston game had on the Jazz. After the DeMarcus Cousins and the Kings royally beat the Jazz in the newly dubbed "Powerbalance Pavilion" (I'm partial to "Arco Arena"), Utah bounced back the next night and throttled one of the teams biggest rivals in Houston. The Rockets at the time were 4th place in the Western Conference. That win gave the Jazz some confidence and swag heading into the game against LeBron and the Heat.
The upcoming road trip will really show us the effect that this memorable victory over Miami will have on the young Jazz. Tonight Utah will face Roddy "Jazz Killer" Beaubois and the Mavs whom the Jazz have struggled to defend all year. After which the team travels to Cleveland and Charlotte, which normally Utah would chock up as a victory. For whatever reason though, the Jazz have lacked motivation and heart against teams they should beat. Following which the Jazz travel to the City of Brotherly Love to face the Atlantic Division leading 76ers, and finish up the road trip in Chicago against the leaders of the Eastern Conference. If there was ever a time to see just how much this win meant to the Jazz, it's now.
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