26-year old point guard Deron Williams is taking his game to a new level so far this year. He has played in 11 games (all starts) for the Jazz so far this year and he is averaging 39.7 minutes, 22.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game. Williams is shooting 46% from the floor, 37% from three point range and 83.6% from the three point line as he has been outstanding this year. He is looking for his own shot a little more so far this year which makes the Jazz even more deadly when he has the ball in his hands.

20-year old SG/SF Gordon Hayward is off to a very slow start for the Jazz. He has played in 10 games (1 start) for the Jazz so far this year and he is averaging 12.0 minutes, 2.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Hayward is supposed to be a good shooter but he hasn’t shown any indication of that so far this year. He is hitting 39.4% from the floor, 14.3% from three point range and 50% from the free throw line so far this year. If Hayward doesn’t start shooting better Jerry Sloan is going to nail his butt to the bench. 23-year old forward Jeremy Evans doesn’t get much P.T. but he makes the most of the minutes he does get. Evans has played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Jazz so far this year and he is averaging 7.0 minutes, 4.0 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

The Jazz only shot 39.5% from the floor last night and it ruined a good defensive effort as they held the Warriors to 37.6% shooting from the floor. Deron Williams led the way for the Jazz in this game with 23 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal. Al Jefferson also had a solid game with 16 points, 15 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. Paul Millsap (12 points) and C.J. Miles (12 points) also had solid games for the Jazz last night. The Jazz are now 2-3 on the year.

The Jazz shot 56.5% from the floor last night as they pasted the Raptors. Al Jefferson led the way for the Jazz last night with 27 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot. Deron Williams was outstanding running the offense last night with 22 points, 8 rebounds, 14 assists and 2 steals. Paul Millsap (21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists) and C.J. Miles (19 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) also had a big impact on this game for the Jazz. Ronnie Price (11 points) and Andrei Kirilenko (10 points) also pitched in for the Jazz in this game. The Jazz are now 2-2 on the year.

25-year old Paul Millsap waited for his turn to start for a few years behind Carlos Boozer, so now he’s trying to make up for lost time. Millsap has started all 3 games for the Jazz so far this year and he is averaging 33.3 minutes, 21.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Millsap is also shooting 63.4% from the floor so far this year as he has been outstanding. Millsap is quickly making everyone forget all about Carlos Boozer in Salt Lake City.

The Jazz shot 53% from the floor and they won every quarter last night as they spanked the Thunder on the road. I have been waiting to the Jazz to play like they can and they certainly did that last night. Paul Millsap had a monster line for the Jazz last night to lead the way with 30 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal. Al Jefferson stuffed the stat sheet last night with 23 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot in this game. C.J. Miles shot 8 of 13 from the floor as he finished up with 21 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot in only 25 minutes on the floor. Andrei Kirilenko filled up the stat sheet too last night with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. Deron Williams was superb running the offense as he finished up with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 15 assists. The Jazz are now 1-2 on the year.

The Jazz came out flat in this game as they were down 58-42 at the half. They never really made a run in this game that seriously threatened the Suns. Al Jefferson bounced back with a good game last night as he finished up with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Paul Millsap continued to shine with 19 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots last night. Andrei Kirilenko also filled up the stat sheet with 19 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. Deron Williams had another off game as he only shot 3 of 12 from the floor finishing with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in this game. The Jazz are now 0-2 on the year.

The Jazz didn’t have a chance last night as they only shot 38.6% from the floor in Denver. Deron Williams led the way for the Jazz last night with 17 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists on 3 of 10 shooting from the floor in 28 minutes. Paul Millsap had a solid game for the Jazz last night with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Raja Bell (12 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists) and rookie Jeremy Evans (11 points and 2 rebounds in only 11 minutes on the floor) also had decent games for the Jazz last night. The Jazz are now 0-1 on the year.

The Jazz were 53-29 last season and I see little reason to think that they can’t win at least that many games in 2010-11. I really liked the pick up of Al Jefferson and the Jazz will get a nice boost when Mehmet Okur returns from injury. I also think that Paul Millsap is going to bust out as the starting power forward this year. I would make a small bet on the over on the Jazz win total in 2010-11. The Jazz are also 40-1 to win the NBA Championship and that’s nice value.

68-year old head coach Jerry Sloan was inducted to Basketball’s Hall of Fame in 2009. He led the Jazz to a 53-29 (64.6%) record during the regular season last year and he was 4-6 in the playoffs. Sloan has a career record of 1,190-780 (60.4%) during the regular season and he is 98-104 (48.5%) during the post season. The Jazz still have a very solid team and I expect that Sloan will continue to rise up the all-time list in NBA victories as he is #4 right now and he is 145 behind Don Nelson for the all-time lead.