It is very fortunate for the Utah Jazz that they are in the most uncompetitive division in the League. The Nuggets can’t seem to run away with anything, leaving the Jazz, at 21-22 halfway through the season, only 4 games back.

Once AK (Andrei Kirilenko) finally gets past all of his injuries, I feel like the team will benefit immensely. He is not only a great offensive player, but one of the best, if not THE best, defenders in the league. At the moment, he is ONLY averaging 15.5 points, 8.4 boards, 4.6 assists, 2.8 blocks, and 1.64 steals a game. Those are tremendous statistics, but he has only started 27 of the first 43 games. The Jazz need him if they want a shot at sneaking into the playoffs.

It wouldn’t hurt if other players helped out on offense. Okur is leading the point totals, but that is only at 17.8 a game. The Jazz don’t shoot the ball well. They need their star to get other people better, open shots. When that happens, their sputtering 90 points a game should increase tremendously.

Again, once Kirilenko gets healthy, their defense will pick up. The Jazz have the ability to be a great team. I think they will give the Denver Nuggets a run for their money.

C+