Utah Jazz News

SALT LAKE CITY — Al Jefferson left for the Charlotte Bobcats and Paul Millsap left for the Atlanta Hawks in the offseason, and suddenly, Gordon Hayward became the Utah Jazz's main offensive weapon.

Dec 4, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Tristan Thompson watches as point guard Kyrie Irving drives against Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson in the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena.

Commissioner David Stern loves to see the Knicks and other big-market teams go deep into the playoffs -- that has always been the suspicion of small-market teams and their fans.

Quite a contrast: The Blazers lead the NBA Western Conference at 16-3. The Jazz are last at 4-16 - and applying for a transfer to the Eastern Conference.

The Utah Jazz come into Portland tonight to take on the Blazers and their Western Conference-leading 16-3 record.

Portland Trail Blazers' Mo Williams passes the ball around Phoenix Suns' Channing Frye during the first half in an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, in Phoenix.

During the first 14 games of the season, the Utah Jazz offense was often politely described as sputtering and disjointed.

Paul Millsap was the best offseason signing by any team. Boom! I said it. Yes, move over Dwight Howard , you were not the best free agent acquisition this offseason.

The two games this week for Xavier were about as polar opposite as they could get.

Utah Jazz fans and bloggers all over Twitter may be jonesing for them to tank, but the team are looking to be competitive this season.

Williams was examined by Utah medical staff and had a bone scan on his right foot in Salt Lake City on Tuesday that showed inflammation.

Kyrie Irving scored 23 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped the Denver Nuggets' seven-game winning streak with a 98-88 victory Wednesday night.

Dec 4, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Tristan Thompson celebrates with his teammates in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Utah Jazz are winning some games. Let that sentence filter through your mind for a minute, like sands of time through an hourglass that fans thought had ceased to exist a week ago.

Paul George had a rough shooting night against the Utah Jazz. Was it due to the altitude? Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images Perhaps the main ingredient to Indiana's defensive success is how they discourage teams from taking high-efficiency shots.

And when the smoke cleared, we went 3-1 for the day and now have improved to 21-10 win-loss betting record.

Following an offseason that saw them reel in two future Hall of Famers , a host of free-agent gems and an NBA legend-turned-leader fresh off a swan song in rival garb, the Brooklyn Nets were greeted with a flurry of hype tailor-made for a borough on the rise.

New York, NY - There are plenty of factors that go into the Nets' 5-13 start, but you have to begin with the rash of injuries they've had to deal with, which includes losing their two best players, Deron Williams and Brook Lopez for extended periods of time.

A few weeks ago, the point guard situation for the Utah Jazz was dire. Rookie Trey Burke was out with a fractured finger and the veteran duo of Jamaal Tinsley and John Lucas III were not cutting it .

The Indiana Pacers tip off against the Utah Jazz tonight at 9 PM EST, and unfortunately will not be catching this one due to limited TV coverage.