I used to really love watching the Jazz, especially after Deron Williams' rookie year. That Jerry Sloan offense with all the off the ball movement and cuts, with Deron orchestrating, Boozer finishing and directing some of the offense himself from the elbow and high post, Mehmet Okur with his pick and pop magic, Kirilenko, Brewer, and Matt Harpring laying down some scrappy defense and getting opportunistic baskets. Those were some fun teams.

It's still hard to believe it all just blew up a few weeks ago with the resignation of Sloan and the subsequent shocking trade of Deron Williams to the Nets, but anyone who looked closely at the team at the end of last season and the start of this season could see the edges fraying. Despite some exhilarating early season comeback wins against quality opposition like the Heat and Lakers, the team never looked quite as right as it did during its better days. Injuries, free agent losses, salary dump trades all left the foundation teetering, even as the team tried to reload with new faces like Al Jefferson, Raja Bell, and Gordon Hayward.

Coming into last night's game against the Knicks, the Jazz had been short of form on offense and defense for most of the last ten games. They've been a bad defensive team the entire season (in the bottom third of the league, as bad or worse than the Knicks), but their offense was just outside the top 10 as measured by offensive efficiency. However, in 7 of their last 10 games, they maxed out at 103 possessions per 100 (and did much worse in most other games), which is a bottom third level of production in the NBA this season.
 
It wasn't a fair fight once the game actually tipped off -- the Knicks routed the Jazz thoroughly, despite injury no-shows yet again from Billups, Walker and Turiaf. Carmelo Anthony always projects confidence in his jumper and ability to attack the rim against any defender, but after a weaker-than-average showing against the Hawks, he was blazing against Kirilenko (whose back issues made him look landlocked) and CJ Miles (who was just overpowered) -- he shot 12 for 16 for the game, including 4 for 5 on three pointers. The last time he shot this well or better was as a Nugget in November of 2009 against the Raptors (a 12 for 15, 37 point performance in a win).

Toney Douglas and Amare also started the game on fire, and with three scorers spaced well and shooting the lights out against a passive Utah defense, the Knicks blew out to a 40-24 first quarter lead, survived a second quarter that was mostly Amare carrying a subpar second unit, then buried the Jazz with a 21-8 run in the first six minutes of the third quarter to build the lead to 31 points and turn the rest of the game into extended garbage time.

The Jazz offense was almost exclusively Al Jefferson and whatever the Jazz could manufacture from offensive rebounds (a ridiculous 22 offensive boards, including 14 between Al and Derrick Favors) -- there was no perimeter game, Devin Harris/Raja Bell/CJ Miles combined to miss 23 of 28 shots, and only a 35 point fourth garbage time fourth quarter kept the final offensive numbers looking respectable for Utah.

Game notes:

*  There was a lot of post-game buzz about the juicy potential of two elite scorers finally scoring so efficiently together, and what I found most exciting was how the two (along with Douglas and Fields) seem to be settling into comfort zones on the court and patterns of movement that enable optimal scoring opportunities and place a lot of pressure on defenses. As one can see from Melo's shot chart, he continues to score from his favorite right wing and right block spots, though he was so hot that he got baskets from the left side as well:


Carmelo Anthony shot chart vs Utah, 3/7

The threat of Anthony around his favored spots on the right, with Amare setting up in his preferred spots on one of the elbows, and TD floating further out in position where he can either receive a pass for a three pointer, or receive a handoff that enables a drive past defenders worried about the other two scorers, is getting more potent. Fields further expands the opportunities with his cuts and shooting ability -- he can plant himself on the weak side ready to receive a skip pass or kick out from a driver for a spot up three, or cut and receive a pass in the lane.

*  A notable set illuminating the opportunties above, early in the game while things were still competitive, 8:50 in the 1st quarter: Amare at the top of the key with the ball, Douglas goes over to set a screen for Anthony, who fakes toward the screen, then goes inside while TD retreats behind the 3 point line. Amare passes over to TD, who fakes the three then makes the entry pass to Melo in the post,. At this point, all the Jazz's attention is toward Melo, who has the option of passing back to TD who's planted himself behind the 3 point line a few feet to the left of his previous spot. Instead, Carmelo spins toward the middle, Millsap (Amare's man) shades over to double, and Melo passes over to Amare for a wide open 17 footer.





*  Devin Harris is, on paper, a perfectly capable successor to Deron Williams in Utah, and I hope the best for him after everything he had to deal with in New Jersey. It's still disorienting to see him in a Jazz uniform, though, and he didn't help matters by being invisible against the Knicks. For sure, there's a significant adjustment for him to make playing with new teammates and a different big man and offense, but one would be hard pressed to remember when he was ever that ineffective against the Knicks as a Net, for all the Nets' struggles last season. His hyperspeed drives to the basket and attempts to draw fouls were so futile that I was sure he warped into some dimension far, far away from the arena every time he accelerated into another empty possession.

*  Third and fourth quarter garbage time was surreal -- I'm not sure Shelden Williams will ever get so much time in an NBA situation having the offense run through him, not even in practice. The entry of Rautins for notable minutes was fun and kind of cringeworthy at the same time -- poor guy seemed overcome by nerves as every move of his was greeted with over the top cheers, resulting in 3 immediate turnovers. Eventually he got a very generous call on a 3 point play (the referees may have been sympathetic) that got him going, and fans were also treated to Balkman's first 3 pointer in 2 years, Roger Mason firing more threes in his newly liberated role, and Derrick Brown flying around the court dunking.

*  Poor Al Jefferson: 36 points, 12 rebounds, generally playing hard, but a hideous minus 33 for the evening. He's had lots of experience with gaudy scoring lines in bad losses from his Minnesota days, and he probably hoped he left those days behind. Scoring at that level and having your team give up massive points while doing so is hard to pull off to the degree Al did: the closest he's come to this was back in 2008, when he scored 28 points and registered a minus 25 in a 23 point loss to the Clippers.

*  Just as Al isn't as awful/great as his line looked last night, Melo and Amare don't quite warrant praise as gods for their godly efficient scoring last night. But some of the numbers were so gaudy they're fun to bask in. Most notably, from Elias courtesy of ESPN: the Knicks with Melo/Amare on the floor together outscored the Jazz 66-35, with the two scoring 46 of the 66 points,  combining to make 16 of 19 shots.  Also per Elias, they're just the 5th pair of teammates in the last five years to each score 30 or more points before the fourth quarter  -- Carmelo has been involved in 3 of the 5 times this happened previously.

*  I had the Jazz broadcasters (Matt Harpring and Craig Bolerjack) for last night's game, who do an excellent job most of the games I have the opportunity to hear them.  Harpring was laid back and agreeable for a surprising amount of the broadcast, but as the game wore on, the annoyance registering in his voice at how easily Carmelo was scoring was growing louder. Bolerjack and the Jazz production crew further tweaked him by showing highlights of Melo scoring on him and a double technical exchange of shoves from several years ago when Harpring was on the Jazz. At the rate things were going, I fully expected Matt to rip off his broadcast attire and go clothesline Melo in the second half, but it never got to the point beyond "When I was out there, the guy I guarded knew it". Not too bad, considering Harpring's reputation for going homer gonzo on some Jazz broadcasts...really, it was no worse than Mike Breen's occasional exhortation to "deliver a hard foul" during games when the Knicks were lifelessly shuffling through one of their many losses of the last decade.

*  Bench stat stuffer: Anthony Carter, 1-7 FGs, missed all 3 three pointers, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 turnovers, 3 steals, 3 fouls, 2 points. If the game hadn't been so one-sided, I might have been more annnoyed with AC's volume chucking and flailing around the court (no need to chest up Earl Watson near midcourt, AC), but on this night, it was just one more memorable bit of weirdness to soak in.

Travel day for the Knicks tomorrow as they head to Memphis to face one of the hottest teams in the NBA on Wednesday night, maybe one of their toughest matchups yet in the Grizzlies, which has the kind of size inside that will give the Knicks fits, and the toughest defender Carmelo will face yet since the trade in Tony Allen. Let's see if some of this improving synergistic offense and (subtly) improved defense can carry over onto the last Western road trip the Knicks have this season.