Lightning struck twice last tuesday night as my beloved Minnesota Twins won in Yankee Stadium, and my beloved Utah Jazz won in the Staples Center against the Lakers. The Utah win was even more impressive as it was the first time in 17 tries and the Lakers were playing for playoff positioning. The real highlight of the game was the outstanding play of the Utah Jazz rookies. Gordon Hayward went for 22 points against the World Champions, and Derrick Favors went for 14 points and 11 rebounds. The game was pretty ugly in the first half, but in the fourth quarter, Gordon Hayward starting to show why he was picked # 9 in last year's draft. He did a great job of penetrating and attacking the basket, finding the open man, etc. His 3 point shot was going well for him as well. As for Favors, he showed why he was the 3rd pick in last years draft, playing great interior defense, getting rebounds, and scoring inside. If Favors continues to develop, the Jazz should have really good depth at the Power Forward position, and if Hayward does the same, the Jazz could have the shooting guard that they've been needing to contend for a championship. What the Jazz really showed Tuesday night was that they have the pieces to be very very good in the coming years. The third rookie that I didn't mention was Jeremy Evans. Evans didn't have much of a game in terms of scoring, since he only had 2 points, but he shows promise in his ability to rebound, play defense, and elevate. Nobody on the Utah Jazz jumps higher than Jeremy Evans, and he has earned the nickname as the "Human Pogo Stick" for good reason. With him and Favors working together, the Jazz show signs of what could be a very active defense in the middle. Combine that with a healthy Kirilenko, and you have a very pesky defense to go against.
As far as the game itself went, the game ended on Hayward hitting a free throw to give Utah a 1 point lead with 6 seconds to go. The Lakers got the ball to Kobe to finish off the game, and the ball slipped out of Kobe's hands as Hayward defended him. It was a great moment to see Hayward stop Kobe Bryant and lead the Jazz to their first win against the Lakers in the Staples Center in 17 tries. Even though the Jazz aren't going to the playoffs beating the Lakers on the road has to give them confidence going into next season. The Jazz showed why they are going to be very good in the coming years. Perhaps the most impressive part of the win was that they did it without Okur, Kirilenko, and Harris who were all sidlined with various injuries. Earl Watson started at PG and had a very good performance with 11 points. Al Jefferson had only 11 points, and seemed to have a real struggle against the Lakers front court. What made the win so impressive was it was the young guys who carried the team and brought the win for the team. Gordon Hayward looked like the shooting guard that everybody hoped he would be. The left handed slam down the middle was the exclamation point of Hayward's night, and as a whole the Jazz should use this win as positive motivation in the Summer. Go Jazz!
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