The Derek Fisher Folly

[NBA Playoffs] Almost one year has passed since Derek Fisher dumped the Utah Jazz in favor of returning to his old job with the L. A. Lakers. It's done. It's history. So I guess I should just get over my animosity.

But I'm one of those typical parochial Utah fans who's nursing a grudge. And dammit, I can't get over it.

Like most trusting Jazz fans, I truly believed Fisher last year when he told team owner Larry Miller he had to return to Los Angeles to find the best medical care for his baby girl Tatum, who is fighting a rare form of eye cancer. We all remember the high drama of Fisher's return from a medical trip with his family to New York last year. He rolled into Energy Solutions Arena at mid-game in the playoff series with Golden State. Roars of approval, applause and tear-filled eyes all around. Huge hero status for Fisher.

Then he ran.

But when the Jazz come home Friday night for game three, and with two losses in this agonizing-to-watch series, I'm expecting ear-shattering boos for Fisher. In hindsight, his decision to leave the Jazz looks um, fishier than ever. We have world-class cancer research and eye care facilities at the University of Utah. And even if he could find better options for his daughter in L.A., it's what--a 90-minute plane trip? It's not like most NBA players have to live in the city they play for anyway, and many don't. He could have lived in L.A. and played for Utah, still.

Last night, TNT commentators were going on about Fisher taking great pleasure in revealing all of the Jazz's plays to Laker coaches. That made me even more bitter. But I guess when Kobe Bryant calls you, urges you to come back and pick up where you left off, it's tough to say no.

Too bad. I really, really liked Derek Fisher at one time. Trusted the guy, too. All I can say is he'd better wear ear plugs tomorrow night when he takes to the ESA floor. (Holly Mullen)

Beat the Blues

[NBA Playoffs] The Utah Jazz play Thursday night at home against Houston in game three of their playoff series.

Will point guard/god Deron Williams get past his poor, bruised butt and play at 100 percent? Pity those poor Rockets if he does--he played hurt the first two games, after all. Can Kyle Korver sink another of those buzzer-beater 3-pointers? Will Andre Kirilenko stay happy?

These are the important questions. But something else I've gotta ask: Can someone in the Larry Miller organization please, please do something about those awful powder-blue t-shirts Jazz fans found on their seats in the Energy Solutions Arena last year and wore during the series against Golden State? Blecch! Pale blue is just that: Pale. Awful on TV. It has no hope of standing out on camera, and face it--the pasty Nordic types that make up 80 percent of the Jazz fan base look even more washed out when wearing it.

Hey look. The Utah Jazz is already fighting for cred among NBA writers and broadcasters, who rarely mention even one of the players in any title-chasing context. They'd rather salivate over Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Chris Paul. Except for Charles Barkley. Now that man knows the Jazz has mettle.

To recap: If we could simply lose the powder blue, all would be right in the playoff world. Don't you think? (Holly Mullen)

A Case for Korver

[Jazz Fever] I think the Utah Jazz and fans got our money's worth with the acquisition of shooting guard Kyle Korver last month from Philadelphia.

Did you see the kid sink six three-pointers last night against the New Orleans Hornets? He was one short of his career record for three-pointers. And he landed four of them in the first two minutes and 16 seconds of the second quarter.

The minister's son did OK last night. There's hard-charging Deron Williams, sure. But Korver is fast becoming the one to watch. Agree? Besides, he's hot, which shows in that pouty pose to the right. Agree? (Holly Mullen)

Same Old Creepy Jazz Fans

[Pro Sports] Still suffering from too much holiday, we plopped our festivity-enhanced butts on the couch last night and settled in for the Jazz vs. 76ers game.

It was a great game, not simply because Utah won 110-107, but because--as the commentators calling the game and offering color kept pointing out--it was the first face time for guards Kyle Korver and Gordan Giricek, each of whom was traded for the other just last week.

But naturally, fans began booing Giricek as soon as he took to the floor and didn't stop for the whole game.

Korver sunk a series of lovely 3-point shots as well as some key free throws at game's end, and now has Jazz fans willing to tattoo his name on their chests. At least until he misses a few shots. Then they'll turn on him in that familiar way that always perplexes me. It's a long, long season. Can't they simply mete out their shitty behavior over eight months time?

Salt Lake Tribune sports columnist Kurt Kragthorpe offers one of the more thoughtful takes today on the whole booing incident. Jazz forward Carlos Boozer shrugged off the churlish fansas typical of most fans who perceive certain players as traitors (and he should know--Cleveland fans have yet to accept Boozer as barely more than human since leaving the Cavaliers for the Jazz four seasons back).

It's pretty clear that Giricek and Jazz coach Jerry Sloan had some bad mojo, and for quite some time. And that their relationship was having a negative impact on the rest of the team. Sloan finally had a belly full of their "lack of chemistry" and sent Giricek packing from the team's holiday road series. Late last week, Giricek was back at team practice, and everyone appeared to have patched things up. The next day, Giricek was gone, traded to Philaelphia for young Korver, the guy with the shooter's touch and a pair of fabulously expressive eyes that resemble a wolf's.

Kragthorpe has a knack for writing tastefully and tactfully, and for knowing his subject. He was kinder to Utah fans than I ever could be. I thought the fan behavior toward Giricek--from beginning to end--was really lousy. Reprehensible, really. With Korver looking so good in the past two games, it looks like a great deal for Utah. The way the whole trade looks at this point, I'd say fans ought to be lighting candles to Giricek and building a shrine to him.

It's all going to work out. Can't the hayseed fans at Energy Solutions Arena just be decent for a change?

(Above is an NBA photo from a previous game--before the big trade--Korver on the right; Giricek on the left.)

Did you watch the game? Don't Utah fans deserve a kick in the ass? Tell me. (Holly Mullen)

Rocky Mountain Reviewed

[Sports] The fans roared as Utah Jazz point guard Dee Brown stood his ground at the center of a two-on-one Seattle Sonics fast break, deflecting a pass and starting a break that eventually resulted in a three-point play. They booed the referees lustily as foul after foul was called against Jazz players. They fired up chants of “over-rated” at Seattle’s super-hyped first-round draft pick Kevin Durant as Durant launched one off-balance jumper after another, or was stuffed by Jazz second-round pick Kyrylo Fesenko on a layup attempt. The standing-room-only crowd was in mid-season form.

No one told them, apparently, that it was actually the off-season.

The Rocky Mountain Revue—the annual NBA summer league taking place on the Salt Lake Community College campus—doesn’t exactly showcase the league’s finest players. It serves primarily as a place for rookies to learn their new team’s system, and for journeymen and undrafted free agents to show off their game in front of scouts. Most of them are younger than the arena’s time-out soundtrack—seriously, “Get Down Tonight”?—and even more of them won’t see the inside of an NBA arena unless they buy a ticket. The results of the games matter just as much as pre-season exhibitions—maybe even less, if that’s mathematically possible.

Still, the Jazz faithful fill the place when their team’s summer incarnation—one of the seven teams who choose to participate, either instead of or in addition to a league in Las Vegas earlier in July—takes the floor. They come to catch semi-established players like Brown and forward Paul Millsap work on their game. They come to get a preview of the new draftees like Fesenko and guard Morris Almond, cheering when Almond hits a three-pointer not just because of what it means in the game they’re watching but because of what it might portend for the franchise’s future. And they come to get a look at future stars on the other teams—even if many of them on the roster, like Atlanta’s Al Horford and Chicago’s Tyrus Thomas, never play a minute.

They got to see Durant on this night, though, and plenty of him. From the moment he hit the floor for warm-ups, the building was nearly as much about him as it was about the Jazz. In what was expected to be his only RMR appearance between playing in the Vegas league and heading off to practice with the U.S. National Team, the #2 overall draft pick played significant minutes. And despite often being out-played by teammate and fellow lottery pick Jeff Green, Durant led all scorers with 29 points, mostly as a result of the quickness that gets him to the free throw line. In this way, the Rocky Mountain Revue is the closest Utah sports equivalent to the Sundance Film Festival: an opportunity to be in proximity to people who soon will be far too famous to be anywhere near you.

It was more than a little strange to find the Revue so heavily promoting the Utah Flash, the new Orem-based NBA Development league franchise that will begin serving as the Jazz’s “minor league” affiliate. Much of the Revue’s appeal is the play of guys whose energy conveys a fight for their professional lives, rather than the NBA’s glut of guys whose “I’m a star, where’s my paycheck” mentality can be so grating. Come November, the Flash will be like a six-month Rocky Mountain Revue—minus the #2 overall draft pick, and minus the roar of fans for whom love of the Jazz never has an off-season. (Scott Renshaw)

Playoff Fever

City Weekly grand poobah John Saltas sends out a question to the staff every week; the best (or at least most interesting) wind up in the Staff Box below his Private Eye column. This week, he's throwing it out to everyone--please feel free to leave your own answer in the Comments section:

Do you believe in superstitions or random theory? If so, what are you doing to influence the outcome of the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs playoffs? (John Saltas)

Read Saltas' Private Eye column tomorrow afternoon at SLWeekly.com.